SHED MATTERS 2

[Stanley]

The first job was to make 8 4BA studs, round the ends and run the die down them to make sure the threads were good. Check that all the holes in the castings are burr free and correctly sized for a tight clearance. I want a tight fit as I can't put too much pressure on the castings when I bore them.



A while later.... All the studs made, fitted and tightened up.



All the castings rubbed down and ready for boring but one more job first.



All the eccentric bosses needed drilling and tapping 1/4" Whitworth for the grub screws. I wanted these done and check fitted on the shaft before I bore the castings because the last check on them will be to fit them in their sheaves and I don't want to have to take them out while I do this.



Close of play. All the eccentrics fitted with grub screws and checked on the shaft. All the castings ready for boring to finished size and a lot of tackle put away so the dog can see the rabbit! If you are just starting out building a shop up don't despair when you see all the tackle you need and haven't got. You'll do the same as we all did, make a do and gradually build up your treasure chests. Tomorrow is a boring day......

[Stanley]

First job as usual was to clean the lathe up, take the Pratt 3 jaw off and put the two jaw brass chuck on. In case you're wondering, the bowl is their to remind you of the benefits of having one. It's got a magnetic base and is so handy, if you put something in there it stays there! I use it for my Slocombe drills.



You may remember that some time ago I took the risk of milling the faces of the jaws in this chuck and I'm so glad I did. They are dead square and it's a big help when you have a tricky set up like this. I centred them with the big tailstock centre and then adjusted squareness by eye (!) with a toffee hammer.... If you are doing this beware of tightening the chuck too much, it will distort the castings because they are so thin in places and about get thinner! A light nip and light cuts is the order of the day.



See what I mean? This is the first one done, this one is the biggest bore and you'll see I have only just got away with it! But it's OK, it will do the job. Once I had one done I crashed on with the others.... But gently!



Some time afterwards.... Here they all are bored to suit the matching sheave, clearly numbered and with the oil hole drilled in each of them. Than it was a matter of some light fitting, de-burring and fitting on the shaft orientated properly so the oil holes are all at the top. The bosses nipped on and clearance between the side faces of the pedestal bearings and the boss checked for clearance.



Close of play, all fitted and nipped up, all a good fit in their sheaves and we're ready to start thinking about the pedestal bearings.... Nice morning's work, I'm pleased with how it has turned out.

[Stanley]

First job on the bearings was some measurement and into the treasure chest. I thought I could just manage with this off-cut. But then I found that whet I thought was a marker line was actually a cut reducing the available metal.



So back into the treasures and here I am splitting this block of bronze to make two bearings....



I can get them out of these easily. There will be too much waste but we have to go with what we have....



Into the VM and start getting some square faces so I can measure and mark accurately and get nearer the finished size.



The cutter was a bit dull so into the T&C grinder to get a sharp edge. This grinder was a good buy..... never regretted the £600 it cost me....



Close of play. One blank square and ready to mark, one to go.... Quietly away and good progress. Nice morning.

[Stanley]

I was out early for my walk this morning and in the shed before 7AM. First job I did was sharpen a blunt milling cutter that I forgot to do yesterday, I know the grinder is set for 6degrees, the leading edge cutting angle, and so I didn't have to go to the bother of looking it up or re-setting it.



While I was playing out I gave this lovely little Kayes oilcan a clean up and filled it with Centigard.



Then I got down to business, finishing squaring up the blanks for the bearings.



Here we are, both about the same size and square on all faces ready for marking

.

I'd forgotten the thickness so one blank had to have some taken off the face so they match.



That's better. Now they can be blued and marked!



I decided to saw the excess off in the VM, easier to set up and hold. In case you're wondering why I'm using a rusty cutter, it's actually a new one out of the scrapyard, never been used.



No problems at all and a lovely clean cut. By shortly after 10AM I had two square blocks exactly the right size for the bearings. Instead of moving over to the lathe I had a good clean up rescuing the non-ferocious for John and vacuumed the carpet which was covered with dust from the saw. Tomorrow I can bore and split the shells and start thinking about the pedestals. Satisfying morning....

[Stanley]

We have our blocks prepared, now we need to turn them into bearings....



A 43/64ths drill is just right.



The ends of the bore have to be relieved for the shoulders of the journal.



I put this pic in to show all the various stages in making the bore.



The blocks bored and relieved.



The cutter has been centred and the depth set on the stop, just a question of cutting the channel in six sides on the two blocks.



Not long afterwards we have two bearings ready to be split and installed. I harvested all the brass chips on the mill and the lathe for John.



Next a bit of designing and a trip to the treasure box for some stock....



Not my favourite occupation but I need two cuts in 2" square stock. No problems until I withdrew the saw from the second cut, Then, guess what, as it was moving back through the cut it jammed on the chips and shattered my last 6" slitting saw... There will be a period of mourning and thinking..... I can't help thinking my cheapest way out is to buy an old Rapidor.....



One block done, I thought this was a good point to knock off.......

[Stanley]

I am still fuming over that bloody slitting saw. I knew something was wrong as the traverse tightened up but ignored it. Old age I reckon! Not fit to let out.....

[Stanley]

It won't surprise you to know that the slitting saw and the mess I had made was on top of my mind and I was going to retrieve the situation. I ruled out just the hacksaw...



I went for a dig and brought out this little lad. It's an old Black and Decker from the days when they built stuff properly. It's a beast and I hate it, I'll bet I haven't used it for over 15 years but it looked like a good alternative to the hacksaw.



Outside in the yard. Half an hour later after setting my apron on fire with the sparks! This is not cutting, it's not even decent butchering! But the bar is in two pieces.



No way I was going to have butchered metal like this about so I popped the 4 jaw SC chuck on the lathe and set to to get some clean faces.



The final touch was to square the blocks up in the VM.



I had to do half an hour's overtime but by 11AM I had all the blocks squared up, even the off cut! Nothing now to show I ever cocked up. I feel slightly better now......

[Stanley]

I've had an email from Mick the Shed. He might know someone who has a small power hacksaw for sale.... Exciting! Lovely to have mates looking out for you!

[Stanley]

I started on getting the blanks to the same length.



I can't trust my eyes but if I finish cutting them both together they have to be identical.



By the way, I'd touched the cutter up before I started. Here I am gang milling the two blocks to finished height.



Time for a bit of a think now I have the two blanks the same size. It struck me that with a bit of care I could get away with cutting both pedestals out of the same block. So a bit of measuring and marking....



I decided that I could get away with it so I mounted the slitting saw (!) in the VM and got set up for splitting the block. I think I can get away with it if I take light cuts.... But that's for tomorrow!

[Stanley]

Good news from Mick, he's found me a power hacksaw....



I carried on with the slitting saw in the VM until it got a bit hairy and then chickened out. Into the vice and twenty minutes healthy upper body exercise...



Popped into the mill and gang milled to same size...



Both blocks square and just slightly too thick but I'll address that later. I have a plan....



Some measuring and marking for the cut out I need in the middle of the block for the bearings to drop in.



The quickest way to shift metal is the drill so I popped the brass chuck in, found my centre and went through the usual progression to a 1" drill....



Close of play. I'll drill the other block tomorrow and then finish both apertures.

[Stanley]

You can't beat having mates..... Mick the Shed has found me a tidy little power saw in good nick at a very reasonable price. It belonged to one of his mates and I shall see that Dave gets a good do in return, I shall send him some goodies when Mick delivers the saw. (Yes, delivery as well!) At the moment it's sitting in Mick's shed.
Mick tells me that I have been elected an honorary member of the Geordie Shed Mafia.. Now there's an honour for you! The saw is a McMaster, small, dead simple but well built with a proper gear drive and built in stop/start. It will take up to 3" so will do all I need. Now all I have to do is work out where it will live in the shed.....
All this because of OG and Shed Matters. Lovely!!

[Stanley]

I started this morning by dressing the grinding wheel and sharpeni9ng my drills. I used to be pretty good at freehand sharpening but with the way my eyes are at the moment it's a movable feast! However, it looks as though I got this one right!



Once I'd finished making muck I cleaned the lathe, chucked the swarf out and changed the chuck.



Then I got into the VM and started taking some more metal out.



Quietly away, no heroics, the finish of the first stage.



Then into the vice and a bit of upper body exercise to get four more nasty chunks out.



Back to the VM and some milling to the marks, again no rush, plenty of time tomorrow!

[Stanley]

I missed my afternoon sleep today because of F1 so instead of vegetating I decided to see what space I could find in the shed (Tardis?) for the power saw when it arrives. This involved relocating stuff from a likely corner around the house and yard.



One of the bigger items was this subsidiary treasure chest. Mick's always laughing at my treasures so here's a rare view of one of them. Mostly Johnny related bits and pieces and very seldom entered. The chest has a close fitting plastic lid and so is waterproof. It's now living under the top of the bench in the yard. Unfortunately this means that the cat refuge has had to go, I shall make a smaller one to keep my lodger cat happy on wet days!



Here's the nice little nook I have created. Should be big enough I think and handy as well.

Here's a mystery item I found in Johnny's bits. Anyone like to hazard a guess at what it is?

[Stanley]

It's been a varied morning.... First item on the agenda is to assure you I haven't forgotten the Beaumont's Egg experiment. The straight mixture of double boiled oil and cast iron dust hasn't set, it's just solidified into a hard paste. I shall do a bit of research and decide what will make it set hard.



You might wonder what I am up to here.... I had decided to finish getting the space for the power saw ready and one task was to drain the cutting oil tank on the HM, take the cock off as it sticks out a fair way, and drive a plug into the pipe, the easiest way to make sure it was stopped up. Here's a nice piece of seasoned oak getting a taper. Then a vacuum up of the shavings.... I then made sure my boxes under the lathe were tight up against the wall, swept up, found my floor paint and a brush and got cracking....



A while later we had a nice result. If you look at the side of the mill you'll see the end of the plug blocking the pipe. While I was at it I painted the steps at the front and back door. They've both been done before but needed freshening up. I also got the cutting oil I had drained out and into the reservoir over the Harrison and cleaned all my jugs out. Brew up, have a smoke and we're ready to carry on with cutting the pedestals out.



I finished cutting the side I had been working on yesterday and decided to sharpen the cutter before I started on the other side. I backed it off as well at 15 degrees. One thing I have learned is that backing off behind the cutting edge is just as important as the actual sharpening.



Just before knocking off time. The other side is going well, cutter is sharp! I've checked the width as well and adjusted it. I just have the last cuts in the bottom tomorrow and I can polish the first pedestal off. A good interesting morning, lots done and no cock-ups. That'll do me....

[Stanley]

I should have reduced the thickness of the blocks to fit the bearing brasses before I started cutting the aperture out but didn't. I decided to do that first this morning so I put the brass chuck back on the lathe, had a good clean up, including the carpet and sharpened and honed my cutter.



I did a bit of measuring, deepened the aperture in the one that was already cut and sorted out what thickness I wanted. Then into the lathe for some facing cuts to size....



Nowt to it but I hadn't gone far before I had a jag. I couldn't see what was wrong so I got set up agin and had another go. Same result so I decided to go the plan B....



Into the mill and some bog standard facing cuts, once I had one side clean I turned the block over.



The first one down to size, it now fits in the channel of the bearing brass. I took the cutter out and put a new edge on it in the T&C grinder....



It didn't take long to get a result, they fit the brasses this way. I had to do a bit of old fashioned fitting with a sharp file to get the brass to fit the one I had already cut out. I'll take a bit more out of the next one....



Close of play, a sharp cutter and the second block set up for the aperture. I've adjusted the width a bit and marked it both sides. I took a few cuts and then knocked off, the printer has arrived and Pluggy has been summoned!

[Stanley]

Bit late starting this morning after a few problems that needed sorting. Cutting the aperture out for the bearing in the second block.



A bit of old fashioned filing and fitting and we have two bearings sat in their pedestals.



Time for slitting the bearings, I found my thinnest slitting saw and got set up. After I had the first one mounted and ready to cut I remembered that I should have numbered the pedestals and both halves of the bearing to make sure I have a match.



So, before I knocked off I marked the one that was still sat there and also the second pedestal. I've put a dab of Sharpie on the one that's in the mill so I can match that one up after it is cut. I'll number it then.
A word about these bearings. Those of you who watched me building the Stuart 5As will remember me splitting the brasses, soldering the two halves together and then boring them. These bearings are a bit different as they are on a horizontal engine. In common with full size practice with square steps, there is very little pressure on the top half of the shell, almost all the weight and the driving forces are on the bottom step. When fitted they are not tightened together, the function of the top half of the shell is to retrain the shaft should it try to lift. The bottom step always wore out first.....

[Stanley]

Splitting the bearings with the slitting saw was noisy (cutting dry) but uneventful because I went at it carefully.



I remembered to number the ones I'd missed, broke all the edges and did a bit of light fitting....



Both bearings fit, now we need to make bearing caps.



I was a good lad, I touched up the cutter and backed it off as well because we shall be milling steel next.



A bit of measuring up to get the size, then a trip into the treasure chest for some stock and I found a ni9ce piece of steel that will do nicely. I cleaned it up, coated it with layout fluid and marked off two 1" strips. It was knocking off time so I left the job of setting a slitting saw up in the HM until tomorrow......

[Stanley]

This Starrett hook rule turned up this morning. I ordered it from America because it was less then half price to what they are over here. Brilliant little bit of kit and I have fallen in love with it already.



In view of my recent history with slitting saws I approached the first job this morning with a bit of trepidation... I made a discovery and I shame to say it is yet another proof of my incompetence... Can you remember me saying that I knew something was wrong but carried on and broke the last thin slitting saw? I noticed afterwards that the cuts I was making at the time were not square. I remembered this and before I started this morning I checked the setting of the rotary scale on the big vice that Mick gave me. True enough, it was a touch out. Then I checked the saw against the cut I had marked on the stock and it was a mile out. Thinking that the base may have moved I went to slacken the holding down bolts between the base and the table. I needn't have bothered, they were already loose!
I have no idea how long they have been like this but certainly when I broke the last saw while rewinding it through the cut I had already made. No wonder it jammed up! So I lined the saw up with the mark on the stock which I knew was accurate by moving the base. When I had it spot on I made sure the base was firmly locked down, checked the rotary scale again and started cutting. No problems at all and a lovely cut on automatic feed.



Two blanks beautifully cut...



The blanks marked for length and cut off.



Even the cut offs are perfectly square....



Now they need to be milled to fit the brasses. Glad I had already sharpened the cutter. It didn't take long.



When I had a fit I had to decide about the thickness. I was going to cut them down to 1/4" but decided that was wrong, they looked pretty good the way they are so I just took a light cut off each side to tidy them up, broke all the edges and checked the fit and stamped them with the same number as the rest of the pedestal and the brasses for a fitting mark.



Close of play, ready for marking for the holding down bolts, drilling for the oil hole and making a lubricator for each of them. Very instructive morning and I feel much better now that I think I have bottomed the slitting saw problem. I shall still be using the HM for small cutting jobs even when I have the power saw. (Which should be this weekend.....)

[Stanley]

As is my habit, I started the day with a clean up, everything must be spick and span for Mick's visit on Monday! When I was doing the big clear up in the corner the other day for room to accommodate the power saw I found this perfectly good file jammed in a corner and rusting away. I gave it a good cleaning this morning with the file card and the brass wire brush. It's a perfectly good dead smooth file. Now all I have to do is find the bag of file handles I have somewhere.....



Then down to business. I wanted to mark the caps for drilling for the bolts and the centre of the oil hole. The new hook rule is very clear and was ideal for setting the hermaphrodite callipers, still one of the best ways of marking out. Tip, notice that when you can scribe from both sides to find a centre line you don't need to be dead accurate, the centre of the tramlines is what you are looking for.



Out with the parallels to set the caps up for drilling. Because the caps and the body are the same width I can set the centre line now and lock the bed because it will be the same for the other drillings.



The two caps drilled and the edges of all the holes slightly countersunk.



The caps become the templates for drilling the bodies. Remembering to match the fitting marks of course. Once one is drilled 3/16" clearance, a spare drill is used to locate the drilled hole so that the other matches perfectly. I have no problems with the centre because I haven't altered the table.



Both blocks drilled right through, the holes are a perfect match and have all been countersunk to clean them up. Ready for temporary studs and fitting on the journals after popping a brass lubricator in the top of each of them.



One last pic. Using the new hook rule has alerted me to the advantages of having all the divisions numbered. I have always used conventionally marked rules but once convinced I went into the treasure chest and found replacement rules marked the same way. It makes things much easier for my old eyes!
I have got my men arranged for Monday afternoon when we will need a lift out of Mick's car. Two strong lads at the end of a telephone, they can be round here in five minutes. Lovely to have young fit friends!

[Stanley]

Today's job is studs and lubricators so the first job was to take the brass chuck off and put the three jaw on.



3/16" rod is ideal for making 2BA studs so the first job was to find some in the stock pile, clean it up and cut four lengths with clean faced and rounded ends. Then out with the BA taps and dies and the tailstock die holder. Then some quiet stud making....



Notice I am using my favourite threading compo for mild steel, Trefolex. I've never found anything better and it struck me this morning that I have been using this tin for over twenty tears and I have an unopened tin on the shelf so no danger of running out!



A bit later I have the studs made and I'm thinking about the lubricators. If you remember when I was making the small lubricators for the donkey I made a fixture so I could hold the threaded body in the chuck while I finished it off, By a miracle I remembered where I had put it. Would you believe in the tub marked small pipe fittings.....



I found some 1/2" round brass and soon had two blanks turned down to 3/8", threaded 26tpi, drilled 1/8" and cut off to length. At knocking off time I had the first one mounted in the fixture ready for boring out and finishing.



Just as I was ready for knocking off I realised that yet again I had a bench full of tackle. It never fails to amaze me how much stuff you need to do even simple jobs properly. I'm glad I spent a fortune when I had money. Far better than it going behind the bar in the pub!
All ready for the royal visit tomorrow. Tension mounts!

[Stanley]

I've been gathering the goodies together to send to my mates in the NE. God knows they do plenty for me. So when Mick leaves after dropping the power saw off later today he will be carrying gifts for the lads. I find it very easy to give things away these days. My criterion is "Am I ever going to need/use that?" Amazing how the answer is 'no' so often and so I gradually get more room on my shelves with no pain.



But, back to today's jobs. First I finished making the two small lubricator cups for the main bearings, then I drilled the top block of the pedestals and tapped it for 3/8" 26tpi. Trefolex again!



The two pedestals ready for trial fitting.



Here they are fitted into place and both fitted perfectly with no messing about. The shaft is looking populated now!



Then into the drawing office and I made a few decisions about the cranks. I found one piece of stock that was almost perfect. The other will have to be cut out of the block which involves sawing so I decided to knock off at this point and saw them on the new saw when it arrives....



As I was having a wipe down after knocking off I noticed these marks in the end of the massive casting which is the top arm of the horizontal mill. I have no doubt they have been there for years but I had a very close look with the loupe and decided it wasn't a crack but a flaw in the casting and the paint has flaked off it. Interesting but not enough to cause me to lose any sleep!

[Stanley]

Mick delivered the saw yesterday and Phil and Martin popped round to help lift it out. Weighs a lot more than you'd think. I shall be playing out with it this morning......

[Stanley]

Time for a ply out with my new toy. First thing I noticed was that the locking screw for the strut was bent and when I took it out the thread was almost broken off at the end.



I needed some steel for the new locking screw so I did my first cut with the saw. No problem at all and it's not noisy.



After a short interval I had a new locking screw.... I think you can see the difference!



While I was cutting the bar for the locking screw I noted that the vice was shuffling about on its mounting so I took it off, cleaned everything up...



Then I cleaned and greased all the threads and put the vice back on again.



I decided to give the saw a good test and cut a slice off a piece of 2" square bar.



By the way, I forgot to mention that as the old blade had been in the saw since new I fitted a new Eclipse all hard blade. It did a good job and it was nice to be doing stuff in the kitchen and hearing the saw chonking away in the shed. (The automatic stop is set just right so you can l;eave it to get on with the job. The slice was a nice clean square cut.



While the saw was cutting the block I noticed that the drive unit was moving about so I had a furtle. I've found one stripped Allen screw and suspect something else is loose underneath. I'll look into it tomorrow...
Very pleased with the saw, only minor problems and we'll soon have it as good as new. Exactly what I wanted and it's well built. By the way, it doesn't mo0ve around on its wheels when its sawing, just a gentle rocking motion....

[Stanley]

The regulars may notice that I'm posting an hour earlier than usual. I was in the shed by 07:00 and came out at 09:00 because this morning has been hard work, not stood at the bench but crawling about, getting into funny positions and some very heavy lifting. I know, I should have shouted for help with the lift but I like to think I'm still 38 years old and can lift anything! In case you're wondering, because I know how to protect my back I haven't triggered anything. It's tired but not damaged.
The job was to finish my maintenance of the saw. The main concern was the fact that the drive unit was nodding as it drove the saw while doing a heavy cut....



This was how I left the saw last night. I've found that it's easy to disengage the saw frame from its guide bars by simply leaning the top of the unit back. Last night I sprayed the guides with penetrating oil to soften the old grease and this morning I gave them a good clean, taking all the old grease off.



While I had it opened up like this I took this pic of the top of the gearbox which is of course integral with the motor. What I had noticed was that the Allen screw you can see just above the switch was loose and when I tried it it was stripped. This was allowing the unit to move about under load. I couldn't believe that it was only held by 4 X 1/4" bolts to the main frame and so I did nothing at this point. I wanted to have a look underneath to see exactly how it was attached. You might notice that there is a plug on top of the gearbox and I assumed this was for topping the lubricant up.



Back to greasing the slide.... It just so happened that I had a tin of Molyslip grease about my person so I gave the slide and guide bars a good coat with this. Nasty black stuff but it does a good job!



This was the heavy lift.... It wasn't too bad actually because most of the weight was over the wheels. I wanted it on its end so I could examine the motor and the mount. I can't read the details on the motor accurately but as far as I can see It's Hoover 1/4hp, 2,800rpm. It is flange mounted onto the gearbox and all those nuts were tight. I still can't quite believe it but it does depend on those 1/4" bolts accessible from the top!



Once I'd finished underneath I put the saw back on its feet again. This was the hard part! After a couple of goes and a bit of grunting I got it the right way up and in a position where I could get to the offending Allen screw. I noted that the other three set screws were 1/4" Whitworth and realised that this Allen key was a replacement. When I got it out I found that it was BSF and not Whitworth. I measured the depth of the hole and found I had a bit more length so I found a 1/4" Whitworth cap screw and cut it down to size so it reached the very bottom of the drilling. I was considering tapping it for 5/16" but didn't like that idea as I didn't know how much meat there was in the casting. Remembering that a screw thread has maximum grip when the depth of thread equals mare than the diameter, I put some shaft lock on the cap screw and gave it a good but not excessive nip. It feels solid so I am calling that a cure. If it ever comes loose again I can go to Plan B! I nipped the other three set screws and called that finished. Then I took the plug out of the gearbox top and found that there was grease in the hole but when I dipped it I couldn't find a level. I don't know whether you've ever stripped a gearbox that is grease lubricated but over the years the grease hardens and gets squeezed out of the teeth, most of it stuck to the outside casing so I filled a grease gun with ordinary Castrol Grease. It had a fine nozzle so I could poke the end right in the hole and pumped a gun full of grease in, following that up with some SAE40 oil to encourage the grease to flow. I can't see that getting me into any trouble!



I had noticed that the thread on the cable protector wasn't a good fit in the switch so before Ian gets on to me I made sure it was secure by strapping it with insulting tape.... Notice that it's a proper on/off switch. When it's running the outside edge of the red centre pops up and is the emergency stop. The automatic cut out actuated by the depth of the saw doesn't actually switch the machine off, it breaks the circuit to the motor, when the saw stops you have to depress the red outer ring until it clicks to completely switch off.



Close of play. I think that apart from the normal wear in the crank pin and the big end it's as good now as when it was new. Better really because that locking screw on the strut was a bit tatty. I didn't bother trying another cut, that will come soon enough. I'm sure it will be OK. Dave did me proud, it's a heavy well built bit of kit that does a good job.
Now all I need is a small Adept bench shaper for slotting pulley wheels..... Are you listening Lads?

[Stanley]

I never tested the saw when I came out of the shed early so I went in last night and tried it. I have cured the nodding gearbox and the saw runs more quietly and smoother. I have repressed desires to fit a restraint on the motor to take the strain off the four small bolts holding it on to the saw and a yen to take the con rod off and re-bush the pivot pins.... I shall just use it as it is and maintain it as necessary......