A replacement reading head for the Z-axis on my mill.

At less than £7 including postage it's worth remembering that the cheap scales can be cheaply repaired – the scale doesn't go wrong.

Next up, a cheap deburring set because the one I've got already has proven itself invaluable, but I've lost one of the four tools.

Neil

Hi nick,

I'm looking at upgrading my milling machine to assist with the build of my 4" Traction Engine build which will start as soon as I get my new Warco GH1232 lathe installed. I actually purchased it about 10 months ago but have had to wait while I convert one half of my double garage into a half-decent workshop. My most recent purchase was a trip to B&Q this morning for a bag of mortar and four concrete blocks to construct 2 raised plinths to set the lathe cabinet onto so as to get the bed up to a comfortable working height.

You will find you gradually acquire tools as your experience grows, it's very difficult to recommend a " basic tool kit" as it really depends on what you intend making, the scale and to some extent the materials you intend working with. If finances mean you have to prioritise your tool purchases, it is often more cost effective to purchase individual items such as taps and dies as you need them rather than being seduced into buying shiny boxed sets which may contain several items that you may never need to use. Also don't be afraid to explore the second hand market. eBay for instance can turn up some great bargains on small tooling, cutters, end mills, material off-cuts & measuring equipment to name a few.

One thing you'll find for sure is that your pockets are never deep enough and the tools you bought for your last project probably won't be big enough for your next one! Best of luck!

Regards, Martin.

John,

I'm surprised you don't just tie them to the forklift and give them a haircut with your blow torch, should be fairly pain free if you stand upwind while your doing it!

Regards, Martin.

Hi Nick,

my latest purchase was some reamers, slot-drills and some gauge plate I need for a project.

Thor

The only supplier of replacement read heads appears to be Machine DRO, one of our advertisers —>

Neil

Andrew, show us a picture of it, I thought this was a mythical beast. I don't think I can afford to be that curious.

That's a good idea Gordon as the dangly down bits on this dog has already been unbolted.

Seriously these are Old English Sheep Dogs and they don't have fur but wool. Historically they would have lived out in the fields with the sheep to protect against wolves.

At shearing time they would have been sheared with the sheep but because their wool is second grade this would have been kept back by the crofter to use in making their own clothes and release all the high grade wool that they needed the income from.

These animals, often referred to as Dulux dogs do have differences in the breeds, one of the main ones is the coat.

Some like the Dulux dogs you see on the TV have long straight coats which can be easily groomed but it's very hard work. The other type has a springy wiry coat that defies any normal grooming short of a rotary wire brush.

Add to the equation that they have two coats, a top coat and a waterproof undercoat and once these coats have reached a certain length the only way is to get under, next to the skin and shear away. For a couple of weeks they look a bit of a mess but they grow fast enough that everything gets smoothed out.

Sulking because it's raining.

Edited By John Stevenson on 22/04/2014 11:08:05

Thanks Murray! So they do exist, albeit rather rare I suspect. Despite the wavy chuck key the chuck itself seems to operate smoothly throughout it's whole range.

No gliding today, 'cause it's raining. Good flight yesterday though in my small glider, unexpectedly nearly 4 hours in very weak wave, a 1 knot climb rate was luxury. Flew the big glider down south last Tuesday; not a great day but we did 280km without getting particularly low. There was a bit of an 'oeeer missus' moment over Silverstone on the way back to Cambridge, as the sky looked a bit ratty. But we met up with another two seater from Cambridge over Milton Keynes and flew back in loose formation.

Regards,

Andrew

I need a lathe so I HAD to buy a pulley to make……….

no no no that's wrong, I need to get my story straight for the other half before I come home from Harrogate with a WM180/DB7VS/920 in my boot…………

Bought a Leytool divider setting gauge because it was there, it has little dots 1/4" apart to 6" and a vernier scale to set to .001", don't know if it's any use, we'll see. Also an old vernier calliper by Zeus, reading in 1/128" and .001".

According to my computer, vernier is either wrong spelling, or not a recognised word?

Ian S C

Ian,

Try spelling it with an upper case 'V', maybe your spell/grammar checker knows it's a name.

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!