Spares stock…

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Mostly just belts and some plastic change gears.

Some parts, like timing pulleys, I've replaced if they start to show wear but kept as an emergency replacement.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Mike Poole on 20/11/2020 14:27:22:

… The stores department policy of deleting and scrapping items that sit around too long meant they wanted to throw it out, it eventually was withdrawn from the stores and lived in various maintenance areas until the line was moved to another plant. It makes no sense to me to dispose of a vital component you might need with no chance of sourcing a replacement in a short time and you have paid for it but I am not an accountant.

Mike

Having had the dubious pleasure of managing a budget, I have some sympathy with Accountants, god forgive me!

Problem is storage is far from free. Purchase cost is just the tip of the iceberg. Outgoings like rates, heat, light, fire precautions, security, wages, and building maintenance tick away in the background eating money for years on end. Unless the thingy is used, it's money down the drain.

Very common for the workforce to keep stuff for a rainy day without realising money is being wasted on a grand scale. And when years later the thing is finally wanted, it's rusted solid.

Another way is to balance the probability of a bad loss against the cost of owning spares. Turns out ruthless stock management is usually cheaper than holding stock. (Not always!)

Just In Time provisioning can and does go spectacularly wrong but on average it's cheaper for a business to take the hit rather than tie money up in stock. I had contingency money for 'no spares' type disasters: unlike holding physical stock, the dosh took up no space whilst earning interest at the bank! It's also possible to insure against losses or to offset them against tax.

In an ideal world Accountants would understand engineering and engineers would understand accountancy. Otherwise one is playing the game knowing only half the rules! But it's too difficult, which is why accountants hold engineers in deep contempt and vice-versa!

At work I was all for brutal economies. Now I'm retired my home is full of treasures, ie junk! Don't care – it might be useful one day.

Dave

 

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 20/11/2020 16:18:17

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

I don't keep any spares for my machines, belts, bearings and other consumables can be obtained from local sources, I keep a stock of materials and top up as I use it.

Martin P

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

Tilt

Edited By martin perman on 20/11/2020 16:28:15

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

5amp plug fuses for my 1 HP motor, since they fail every couple of months

a couple of leadscrew nuts for when the cross slide or main carriage fails, because they always fail at 5 to six with 20 mins left to complete the job

because as long as you can run the lathe there's not much you cant fix

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

I admit to being a hoarder of spare parts for the museum's Smart & Brown model A lathe, it is over 70 years old, so you cannot just go out and get the parts. My latest haul is a complete Norton QCGB with a cracked case, nobody else wanted in on ebay despite it being relisted twice and being cheap. I do keep a few of the safety links made to drawing for the leadscrew drive. The machines at the museum do not use any tufnol gears, but if yours does, some spares are a good idea as already mentioned. For many lathes, a length of the link type belt is useful to keep, and it doesn't mean removing the spindle to fit. Mini lathes have a fuse which tends to blow if the spindle stalls, when drilling, for instance, spares are worth having.

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

Posted by Ady1 on 20/11/2020 16:53:28:

5amp plug fuses for my 1 HP motor, since they fail every couple of months

a couple of leadscrew nuts for when the cross slide or main carriage fails, because they always fail at 5 to six with 20 mins left to complete the job

because as long as you can run the lathe there's not much you cant fix

I think 5A is rather marginal for a 1hp motor, the starting current is going to stress the fuse so it will blow sooner rather than later. A 5A plug top fuse is unlikely to save the motor from an overload condition, a starter with correctly adjusted overloads will stand a better chance. It is often said that the fuse is to protect the cable and not the equipment so as long as the cable is at least 1.5 square millimetres a 13A fuse could be used and save you a bit of hassle.

Mike

[Stuart Smith 5Participant @stuartsmith5]

You can obtain most parts for your CJ18A lathe from Amadeal. When I have ordered anything it has been despatched the same day by Royal Mail and arrived the next day (may be a delay at the moment because of coronavirus though). I have had similar service from the other UK suppliers of machines/parts and materials. For instance, I ordered some milling cutters from Tracy Tools on Tuesday evening and they arrived today.

So unless you can’t manage without the lathe for a couple of days you don’t really need to keep spares.

Stuart

[UncouthJParticipant @uncouthj]

That’s good news on the ease of supply. In that case, I’ll focus on what parts I can make myself and get some hand in along the way…

J

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

It is often said that the fuse is to protect the cable and not the equipment so as long as the cable is at least 1.5 square millimetres a 13A fuse could be used and save you a bit of hassle.

Should be always, not just often. The fuse is there to protect the supply lead only.

Standard BS plug fuses are 1, 3 and 13Amp only these days. The list, I believe used to contain other values (5,7 and 10), but not for the last few years.

A motor could draw up to six times its normal running load at start-up – particularly if started under load.

Think here of motors with two sets of windings – one for running and the other as a ‘start’ winding.  That should make it clear that a one horse motor could be stressing a 5A fuse.

Edited By not done it yet on 20/11/2020 19:37:21

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi, plenty of plug top Fuses including 1, 2, 5, 7 and 10 amp B&Q also sell 5 amp Fuses. Fuses are all I have as far as machine spares go plus a new plug or two.

Regards Nick.

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