SHED MATTERS 2

[micktoon]

Hi Stanley, looks like top class work, glad you lost the defects in the casting as you turned it away. As Mick sys looks like the holes are not evenly spaced ? Seems strange if they are not but means the backplate could only fit one way but would it effect balance ?
Hope you find its spot on tomorrow, would using Allen socket heads give you more clearance if they are not used already ?
Cheers Mick

[Stanley]

David, no shame in Ignorance, only not asking! The original mounting was on another lathe with a smaller nose and there wasn't enough metal to bore it out for the larger size of the Harrison so a new back was needed.
Mick (Osset)... The mounting bolt holes are equidistant, based on a 4 hole pattern, on either side of the master adjuster screw for the scroll, marked with a '1'. Common of course in all self centring chucks. The opposite two have to be between the other two sockets as it is a 3 jaw SC. They wouldn't have fitted if kept at the same distance as the other two, too close to the tightening screws. It's an accident that this means the back can only be fitted in one position.
Mick.... Thanks, I did my best to get it accurate but I'm not satisfied yet. Cap screws could be the answer, I suspect one of Johnny's HS set screws is bent. I shall have a close investigation this morning and refit. I tested it with a piece of 1" ground round HS cutting steel and it is 4 thou out. Not down to my work! I want to get it to less than 1 thou.... There is also the fact that at some time the chuck has been laid in water and one side is corroded. I shall track it down and correct it!
All part of the fun......

[Stanley]

The trick when you are looking for a fault is not to guess but start at the beginning and work your way through everything. Looks slow but it's always the fastest way in the end. So, the first thing to do was get the back off.



I ran the 3/8" die down all the set screws to make sure the threads were good.



Then I drilled out all the holes in the chuck back to make sure there was plenty of clearance. By the way, I had checked the accuracy of the register, absolutely no play, a perfect fit.



Then I mounted the back in the Pratt chuck and took a very light skim off the register and polished it.



A good coat of anti-sieze on the threads and all the set screws screwed down using fingers only, all perfectly free.



Then out with the indicator and the moment of truth. I used a piece of ground HS steel, that should be true. Before I did this I took the same reading off my other favourite 3 jaw chucks. The Taylor chuck was improved, the readings were Polish chuck .005, Original Pratt chuck with Harrison's mounting was .003 and the Taylor was .003. There is almost certain to be a slight error in the HS steel so we can say that the Taylor and the Pratt are better than .003. As I have always said, no 3 jaw is dead accurate, the only accurate chucking method is either the 4 jaw independent clocked in correctly or collets. I am satisfied I have done the best I could.



There's a clue here. As I said before this chuck is virtually new and has had no wear. However, one of the jaws is damaged at the end, can't say what has happened, I suspect corrosion, but this isn't helping matters.



A bit of cosmetic, I polished the outside of the body. Doesn't help accuracy but it looks good!



As you know I love working with cast iron but it's mucky stuff. So I vacuumed up, cleaned Mrs Harrison, put a new bag in the Hoover, washed my hands with hot water and scrubbed them and changed my clothes! Everything is clean again.
Not wasted time, I have confidence in the chuck and it's nice to have it as another 3 jaw on the Harrison. It was wasted on the big OT lathe and I have a 3 jaw on that already. You can't have too many chucks!

[Stanley]

Later after having my sleep. I went in the shed, chucked a piece of steel and after a light skim checked it with the clock. Dead accurate as of course it should be. Then I reversed the piece and gripped it on the freshly turned surface and clocked it again. Same error...
It struck me that as is the way of the world, someone out there is saying "My chuck is better than that." Oh yes? Have you got a chuck that is at least sixty years old that's as good as that? Go and check it, you may get a surprise. We have to work with what we've got and it does no harm every now and again to check how we are doing.....

[Stanley]

I'll tell you what I'm making later. The start was a piece of silver steel and I wanted a piece about 3" long turned down to half a thou under .5". Notice one thing, I have set the crosslide over to 5.75 degrees because if it's set at that angle one thou advance on the crosslide gives a tenth of a thou cut.



Next was to make a bush to fit the shaft. I'm using the same bronze that British Rail specified for the bushes in the wagon axle boxes.



I opened the bush up with a succession of drills that took me to a sixty fourth under half an inch. Then I popped this reamer through which I know is dead accurate.



First check after reaming was OK so I chamfered the ends of the bore and cleaned it up.



Here's the finished article after a good clean and a lovely fit in the bush, just half a thou under size which was what I was aiming for.
As for what it's for..... Some of you may remember that my son in law, Big Harry, was killed when the plane he was in crashed and burned after take-off in August 2003. The subsequent inquest identified the cause of the crash as the seizure of a shaft in a bush that drove the fuel pump in the port engine. Investigation showed that it had been made out of Aluminium bronze instead of the leaded bronze that the engine makers specified. If the proper bronze had been used for the replacement Harry would still be alive. At the time I promised Janet that I'd make her a shaft and bush to the right specification and she said she'd like that. I never got round to it and decided it was about time! I shan't tell Janet, I'll just mail it to her.

[micktoon]

Hi Stanley nice job on the chuck , I am sure it will be useful and as accurate as you will get .
I remember you telling me about the air crash and Harry ' s tragic death, it just goes to show how such a small detail can have such massive consequences. Did they ever find out why the wrong bronze was used, was it a case of ignorance or someone trying to not have to buy a bit of bronze ? You would think with aircraft that only certified materials and parts would be used. My mate works on train maintainace and even every day items like fuses or bolts etc all have to come from certified traceable supplies, if a packet is opened and its the wrong size etc it's straight in the skip with it so only sealed known parts are used for repairs. It all costs a fortune mind but that is probably the price that has to be paid to stop incidents like Harry ' s happening ?
Just sad to loose someone with such a stupid thing Stanley.
Cheers Mick

[Stanley]

Good question and it took a 4 year investigation to get to the answer. The dick who was supposed to be the expert supervisor either made a mistake or was grossly incompetent because he specified aluminium bronze. The turner when asked if he could make the bush said "Sure, it's a piece of piss" and knocked one out. It gets complicated because the engine makers had stopped supplying the bush as a replacement part, they would only sell a complete drive assembly which was expensive. I believe this was because the shaft was lubricated by excess aviation fuel from the pump and this was at the time when lead levels in fuel had been lowered. My investigations at the time showed that taking the lead out of fuel had caused a lot of problems in many applications where the fuel was the lubricant but everyone was keeping stum about it. The aero engine manufacturers specified a high lead content bronze for the bush but never said why or why they had stopped supplying the part. I suspect it was because they wanted to make sure the bush was correct and properly fitted. As old bronze bearing men like me know, lead is a useful lubricant and can prevent a seizure in boundary lubrication conditions, like first starting the engine before the excess fuel got to the bush. I got my evidence from many impeccable sources ranging from a man who drafted the Mines Regulations at Bootle to a man who taught tribology at university, he sat on the committee that decided the name of the discipline and while I had him I asked how it should be pronounced and he said they decided the 'tri in the name should be said as 'try'. Janet and I fed all the information I gathered to the inquest over many months and in the end they decided that using the wrong grade of bronze was the basic reason why Harry was burned to death and three other technicians with him never worked again.
By the way, they were in the plane because they were working on 'battle space management' for submarines and they flew out over the ocean and controlled a US LA class submarine and a frigate using the computers they had in the plane. Janet worked with Harry on this project and if you look up NASNET on the web you'll see what the commercial application was. Such a waste of talent!
By the way, can you turn up two hardwood plus for the ends of the cylinder?

[Stanley]

Apologies to the congregation for missing out on the shed for two days. I have been reading the 2 volume history of the Sentinel works.... I've got it out of my system now and normal service will be resumed tomorrow!

[micktoon]

Hi Stanley , I hope you enjoyed the Sentinel works book. Yes I remember the lead issue causing problems on various car engine pumps but again all kept under wraps really but everyone in the trade knew what the situation was. Like you say such a waste of talent but more importantly such a waste of life. Your investigations will have surprised them I bet.
I was going to do the wood plugs anyway Stanley, there is a loose plan to visit with John on Friday 23rd a week come Friday as we were planning on going to the last steam rally somewhere in the Liverpool area, so thought set off early visit you then get to the rally Friday evening ready for the rally Saturday. So would this be ok in principle with you Stanley ?
John will have his camera and we will have the castings and all the rest of the swag for you .
I will keep you posted and see about the DTI it's a ten thousandths type you need ? Bob might have one as collects them like a magpie, is it plunger or finger type ideally you prefer.
Cheers Mick

[Stanley]

Lovely news! Plunger type clock would be fine. A visit would be just the thing at the moment! Friday 23 is fine.

[Stanley]

It's quite amazing how the smallest matters can take up so much time! My kitchen tap was misbehaving, jamming shut, so I stripped it down this morning and did everything I could think of to it. Not sure what the fault was but I put it back together and it's running as smooth as silk. We can cross that off the list!

[Stanley]

The tap repair has worked. Back to normal with a smooth cut off. Today's task was a bit different, refilling the cartridge for my Laser printer... Unknown territory!





A very comprehensive refill kit that includes the heat gun for cutting the aperture in the cartridge to refill it. As soon as I opened the kit and read the instructions I realised that I had slipped up, I should have waited until the printing faded instead of believing the warning light on the machine. Too late to worry about that as the new cartridge is installed. So I followed the clear instructions and refilled the cartridge. Surprisingly it took almost all the toner supplied, the instructions say that the introductory cartridge hasn't enough room. I sealed the cartridge up, put it in the original packing and it's back in the office. I shall know whether I did good when I put it back in the printer when the current one runs out.

[Stanley]

Apologies to the congregation. I am snowed under with messages this morning and they have to take precedence.....

[Stanley]

I shall do my best to have a visit but my mornings are taken up at the moment with communicating with Oz as that's when I am in synch with their Time Zone.

[Stanley]

Later, I have had an hour and a half in the shed. Nothing exciting, a bit of tool maintenance and height setting. That's a very old India Stone, lovely for honing.





Nice to be doing something different than messaging! As I say nothing important but my 45degree chamfer tool refurbished and a right and left hand cutter sharpened honed and adjusted for height.

[micktoon]

Hi Stanley, looks like more tinkering been going on, as you have said before its always good to have tools at the ready for the next time you need to use them. I have been over to Johns tonight and its all stations go for the visit come rain or shine. Most of the swag for you is sorted out and I am going to do the wooden plugs for the casting tomorrow. Fingers crossed for decent wetaher for the weekend. Looking forward to the visit. Have a think if there might be anything else you need we could have.
Cheers Mick

[Stanley]

Bring me anything you have that is spare! I love unexpected pressies. I have John's belt guard and non-ferocious chips ready. I've mailed him this morning after watching his new mill come in and asked him the mandrel size as it looks bigger than mine, over 1". Ring him and nag him and tell me the size as I could have good cutters for him and if I know I can sort them out. The engines are of course ready to go.
We had word this morning that daughter Janet is sitting up, talking, has lost no feeling in left side which was a big danger and so far all is good. Yesterday was 8 hours of solid messaging and visitors, that's why I didn't get in the shed...

[micktoon]

Good morning Stanley,
I must have missed some info I think as you had not mentioned Janet having an op, sounds like it's went well but hope it was not emergency due to condition getting unexpectedly worse ? Hope she continues to make a good recovery, Susan will be there now too I think.
The arbor on John's new mill is one inch Stanley, I am not sure if there is an inch and a quarter version available? I think Bob might have got him some cutters too by the sound of it. We wil just bring what ever random stuff we can to compliment your goodies
It's a lovely day so hope your getting the sun too .
Cheers Mick

[Stanley]

Bugger! The spare cutters I have are bigger than that.... Ask Sarah about Janet, she is up to speed. I'll include you in the mailing list I have setup for updates.



I got in the shed for a couple of hours. I watched John making an adapter for his Harrison, spindle nose taper to Morse 3 and decided I would make one. I had a taper fitting for the collets that came with the lathe so I got that out to get the taper off it because it's a funny one. Then I realised that the collet holder was an insert in the bush and when I got it out it looked like Morse 3. I checked that the fitting for the Harrison horizontal mill was different.



Then I hit a secondary issue! (There's always one of them....) I've always been annoyed because the height bolt on the Harrison quick change holder that carries the indicator clock wasn't long enough to to set the clock horizontal when it was on centre so I found some 3/8"whit threaded rod and made a longer stud. Then I found that I couldn't get the clock perfectly horizontal because the block won't go any lower so I had to accept a slightly less than perfect result. No matter, it's a lot better than it was.



Not quite there but a lot better.



I tested the accuracy of the taper with a Morse3 centre and it was not concentric, about 5thou run out even when knocked in. I tried the collet holder and it was a lot more accurate and yes, I did try the bush itself and that's OK. Blue showed the problem up and I had to ask myself if it mattered! If I ever used it for a drill it would be a big one and so probably accurate enough but for the life of me I couldn't remember ever being held up by lack of the bush. So I called the morning a success, partially and took Jack for a walk! I've got it out of my system and the clock is better mounted. That's OK, not a bad morning!

[micktoon]

Hi Stanley I got the E mail about Janet and glad to hear she is doing well and hope she gets to better ward soon, it sounds as things have gone as well as expected considering what she is going through. It must be a big relief for you she has had the op.
I have been looking at the spindle nose bush there Stanley but not sure what is what, I am assuming the small bush fitted inside the main spile adaptor turning it from Mt3 to Mt2 ? And the other collet chuck is from the horizontal as it looks like INT30 fitting the same as the new mill John had just got ?
Do you need another MT3 dead centre like the one you had blued ? as either me or John might have one but I will have to look.
Hope you get more good news about Janet Stanley , only two more sleeps until the visit , as kids would say
Cheers Mick

[Stanley]

Thanks for the offer, I am OK for centres. Yes, two sleeps!



Went in the shed. First thing that was on my mind was to check my two Verdict clocks, one metric and one imperial. Good clean up and oil as they don't get out much.



I sharpened and honed a round nose tool and decided to test it by cleaning up a piece of old shaft I had in the scrap. The HS tool was fine on facing it but wouldn't look at it when I set it up for cleaning up.



Then I realised what was up. Do you remember me talking about the old piece of shafting being wrought iron and full of hard shops and slag? Must go back to the 19th century. This is the same piece. I gave up with the HS steel, sharpened a carbide tipped tool and got into it. Even so it was not easy!



Here's a close up of it when I had it all clean and a uniform size. Click on the pic to enlarge it and you'll see the striations of slag included in the bar, a characteristic of wrought iron. It makes you marvel at how the old turners managed to work it with Carbon Steel tools.... Anyway it looks the part now. Cleaned the lathe up and knocked off. That passed a couple of hours nicely and I learned a bit more.....

[Stanley]

This is the height of it this morning. John's loot ready for when he comes. The blue bag is about a stone of brass turnings and milling chips, the plastic bottle is full of scrap brass fittings and valves I will never use. The sheet metal object is the belt guard for his Progress drill. Comms are going mad.....
Looking forward to seeing them tomorrow.

[Stanley]

Wonderful visit by two lovely blokes today! Here is proof they have taken delivery of the engines and the contract has been filled! I ran the engines and John videoed them, me and the shed. I'll post a link when he puts it on Youtube....



They brought me wonderful things! I shall be like a pig in shit sorting them out, sharpening milling cutters and drills and drooling over the other stuff. Two items in particular, a lovely genuine 9" Starrett clock vernier calliper and the plaque Mick has made for the shed. I think it's too good to go in there, I'll have to have a think....
Good day, good mates and they went forward to a steam rally on the Wirral. I hope they have a good day. They deserve it!

[plaques]

the plaque Mick has made for the shed. I think it's too good to go in there,

A lovely piece of workmanship. Lettering of this standard is a work of art in itself. Nice work Mick.

[Stanley]

Exactly P. It is on the dresser in the kitchen. I shall give it some thought, too good to be exposed to the grinding dust and pipe smoke!



This morning's lovely task is to sort the goodies that the lads brought me and get some order back in the shed. First thing was to take the temporary link off the air hose and get rid of the packaging in the bin and recycling. Next job was to sort the drills into taper shank and straight and get all the milling cutters together. I sharpened the small straight drills and put them in their respective places. Sharpening the other drills and the milling cutters is tomorrow (and the next couple of days as well!)



This is one of the gems, a brand new genuine 9" Starrett dial calliper....



Grinding wheels, silver steel, brand new files and the engineer's square is particularly good because it's the intermediate size between the two I have already.The blue numbers on the left are brand new carbide tipped cutters. Don't miss the magnetic base and indicator arm, the new indicator and the cylinder castings..... There are also bags of Jubilee clips, assorted BA screws and nuts and assorted larger metric nuts and bolts. Oh, and a bunch of pop rivets as well. All put away in their proper places.



I got to this stage and knocked off. It was only then I realised that the white bucket had originally held yellow urinal disinfectant blocks, when I was doing that job we always referred to them as 'pineapple chunks'. Colin came just as I finished and I sorted him out with the big spanners he needed. Another satisfied customer!