Hi,
Last week ended well. I needed to reduce the end of the new counter-shaft from 5/8" dia down to 8mm and had considered rigging up a temporary drive to the Clarke lathe using the new servo motor but running the "A" belt directly around the chuck in the headstock. Unusual but for light cuts I'm sure it would have worked and would have got me out of a problem; after all there is usually a number of ways to complete a job with a bit of thinking.
Joe had very kindly offered me the use of his lathe so as the sun was shining yesterday after dinner I asked Bron if she would like a trip out in the car to visit Joe? I phoned Joe to confirm it would be convenient to visit him and sure enough Joe was happy to help out.
Our lives are never dull; we were surprised by the amount of traffic and whilst parked at another red light near Joe's we saw two cars almost kiss each other; a guy had obviously become lost and tried to turn into the oncoming vehicles as the lights changed; no damage but on the pavement to our nearside just by Bron was two coloured guys and having seen what happened they both started shouting obscenities at the top of their voices to the poor guy who had made an honest mistake; it was rather bizarre to hear these guys behaving like football louts even though they were not in any way involved. A couple of minutes later we arrived at Joe's.
Joe as usual put the kettle on and was making a brew as I carried kit in from the car. Whilst Bron was made comfortable in the front room I got cracking on the lathe. I installed a tipped cutter and chucked the first blank. Joe's lathe at around 80 years old is one of the old type lathes which I like so much; basic with no frills and certainly no electronics to blow up at the most inopportune moment; I was quite amused to find the saddle traverses in the opposite direction to what I expected so I would need to be careful not to run the tool into the work rather than out.
With everything set up which must have taken at least five minutes I was roughing down finding the limits of the lathe as it talked to me chattering away if I put on too deep a cut. As this was an impulse visit I had only grabbed basic tooling together with my digital vernier calliper; I hadn't realized Joe had an identical calliper which Joe had put out ready for my use.
I'm unfamiliar with using the calliper in metric whilst turning but I thought I would give it a go; it was most strange because the lathe is set up for imperial and I had fun applying the fishing cuts. The first blank was roughed down and finished to 7.83mm dia and I had taken the precaution of very slightly undercutting as the actual size required was 7.86mm dia. By the time I was roughing down the second blank I was getting the hang of the lathe and knew just what cut to apply to avoid chatter; this second blank was finished bang on size with a nice smooth cut. The first was undercut because I wanted to be absolutely sure the small plastic toothed pulley would go home without forcing as it's an hours drive over to Joe's should the diameter be slightly over size.
A miracle occurred because the sun was beaming in through the glass and I had removed my anorak and was actually working with sleeves rolled up; what a delightful set up Joe has got with the lathe where it is; brilliant sunshine allowing easy reading of the calliper and being able to see exactly where the tool was cutting. It was truly delightful and I could get used to working in such pleasant conditions. The lathe was running very well indeed and on top of this small job; the flat belt was clicking merrily away as I turned and I was in a world of my own. What a difference to working in my workshop at the rear of our bungalow where it cold the year round and plenty of lighting needs switching on.
Joe and Bron were having a good natter whilst I was turning and when I had finished Joe said never mind tidying up do you fancy another brew. What a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon; thank you so much Joe you made us both feel very much at home and we look forward to our next trip over to see you in the near future.
I had taken along the new Servo motor to demonstrate to Joe and now I'm a bit nearer to installing it onto the Clarke; both shafts will need a keyway cutting which is another challenge but at least they are to the correct diameters. The new pillow block bearing will arrive this week then I can really start to make positive progress; I'm keen to see how this servo motor behaves on the Clarke.
So far I'm resisting the temptation to buy lathe #6 because I know our local postmaster has an old lathe for sale.
Joe's lathe will still be capable of excellent work when brand new Clarke lathes which have not yet been manufactured will have been scrapped. The Clarke is a nice small lathe but let down by modern electronics; give me stepped pulleys or better still a gearbox any day and let me work the lathe manually; I can play for hours on a lathe.
I was sorry to leave part of my personal black cloud with Joe but most of it accompanied us home; it follows me everywhere.
Kind regards, Col.
Last week ended well. I needed to reduce the end of the new counter-shaft from 5/8" dia down to 8mm and had considered rigging up a temporary drive to the Clarke lathe using the new servo motor but running the "A" belt directly around the chuck in the headstock. Unusual but for light cuts I'm sure it would have worked and would have got me out of a problem; after all there is usually a number of ways to complete a job with a bit of thinking.
Joe had very kindly offered me the use of his lathe so as the sun was shining yesterday after dinner I asked Bron if she would like a trip out in the car to visit Joe? I phoned Joe to confirm it would be convenient to visit him and sure enough Joe was happy to help out.
Our lives are never dull; we were surprised by the amount of traffic and whilst parked at another red light near Joe's we saw two cars almost kiss each other; a guy had obviously become lost and tried to turn into the oncoming vehicles as the lights changed; no damage but on the pavement to our nearside just by Bron was two coloured guys and having seen what happened they both started shouting obscenities at the top of their voices to the poor guy who had made an honest mistake; it was rather bizarre to hear these guys behaving like football louts even though they were not in any way involved. A couple of minutes later we arrived at Joe's.
Joe as usual put the kettle on and was making a brew as I carried kit in from the car. Whilst Bron was made comfortable in the front room I got cracking on the lathe. I installed a tipped cutter and chucked the first blank. Joe's lathe at around 80 years old is one of the old type lathes which I like so much; basic with no frills and certainly no electronics to blow up at the most inopportune moment; I was quite amused to find the saddle traverses in the opposite direction to what I expected so I would need to be careful not to run the tool into the work rather than out.
With everything set up which must have taken at least five minutes I was roughing down finding the limits of the lathe as it talked to me chattering away if I put on too deep a cut. As this was an impulse visit I had only grabbed basic tooling together with my digital vernier calliper; I hadn't realized Joe had an identical calliper which Joe had put out ready for my use.
I'm unfamiliar with using the calliper in metric whilst turning but I thought I would give it a go; it was most strange because the lathe is set up for imperial and I had fun applying the fishing cuts. The first blank was roughed down and finished to 7.83mm dia and I had taken the precaution of very slightly undercutting as the actual size required was 7.86mm dia. By the time I was roughing down the second blank I was getting the hang of the lathe and knew just what cut to apply to avoid chatter; this second blank was finished bang on size with a nice smooth cut. The first was undercut because I wanted to be absolutely sure the small plastic toothed pulley would go home without forcing as it's an hours drive over to Joe's should the diameter be slightly over size.
A miracle occurred because the sun was beaming in through the glass and I had removed my anorak and was actually working with sleeves rolled up; what a delightful set up Joe has got with the lathe where it is; brilliant sunshine allowing easy reading of the calliper and being able to see exactly where the tool was cutting. It was truly delightful and I could get used to working in such pleasant conditions. The lathe was running very well indeed and on top of this small job; the flat belt was clicking merrily away as I turned and I was in a world of my own. What a difference to working in my workshop at the rear of our bungalow where it cold the year round and plenty of lighting needs switching on.
Joe and Bron were having a good natter whilst I was turning and when I had finished Joe said never mind tidying up do you fancy another brew. What a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon; thank you so much Joe you made us both feel very much at home and we look forward to our next trip over to see you in the near future.
I had taken along the new Servo motor to demonstrate to Joe and now I'm a bit nearer to installing it onto the Clarke; both shafts will need a keyway cutting which is another challenge but at least they are to the correct diameters. The new pillow block bearing will arrive this week then I can really start to make positive progress; I'm keen to see how this servo motor behaves on the Clarke.
So far I'm resisting the temptation to buy lathe #6 because I know our local postmaster has an old lathe for sale.
Joe's lathe will still be capable of excellent work when brand new Clarke lathes which have not yet been manufactured will have been scrapped. The Clarke is a nice small lathe but let down by modern electronics; give me stepped pulleys or better still a gearbox any day and let me work the lathe manually; I can play for hours on a lathe.
I was sorry to leave part of my personal black cloud with Joe but most of it accompanied us home; it follows me everywhere.
Kind regards, Col.
Happiness is a wreck of a cabinet to restore.
