What did you do today (2015)

[Involute CurveParticipant @involutecurve]

Posted by NJH on 03/10/2015 15:53:02:

Peter

If you have a project that you wish to share then simply create a thread for it in the " Work in Progress" section and that should ensure a continuity in your project's information.

The reason that " What did you do today" is so popular is, I suspect, that many folk are not presently engaged full time in a specific project but, nevertheless, have small items of interest or parts of a project to share. l find it of interest to see how others tackle problems but I would not, for example, find a thread on " How I am building my 7 1/4" Brittania " very useful – you of course might find it riveting!

I live in a very rural area with little contact with other M.E. I find the general chat and info. on this site – particularly "What did you do today" ! gives a feeling of " belonging" to the M.E. Community and provides a ready way of getting answers to any queries I may have. ( Sometimes they may even be useful!)

Norman

Edited By NJH on 03/10/2015 15:54:46

Seconded

[Gas_mantle.Participant @gas_mantle]

Posted by NJH on 03/10/2015 15:53:02:

Peter

If you have a project that you wish to share then simply create a thread for it in the " Work in Progress" section and that should ensure a continuity in your project's information.

The reason that " What did you do today" is so popular is, I suspect, that many folk are not presently engaged full time in a specific project but, nevertheless, have small items of interest or parts of a project to share. l find it of interest to see how others tackle problems but I would not, for example, find a thread on " How I am building my 7 1/4" Brittania " very useful – you of course might find it riveting!

I live in a very rural area with little contact with other M.E. I find the general chat and info. on this site – particularly "What did you do today" ! gives a feeling of " belonging" to the M.E. Community and provides a ready way of getting answers to any queries I may have. ( Sometimes they may even be useful!)

Norman

Edited By NJH on 03/10/2015 15:54:46

I agree with everything you say.

Why can't that chat be in an off topic forum ?

What on earth have diesel emissions got to do with a thread that clearly states at the beginning it is for work in progress and to share photos of your work so far ?

This has to be the only forum I've been on that has no off topic section so any talk of fuel emissions / dogs dinner etc has to be shoe horned into discussions relevant to the website.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Posted by NJH on 03/10/2015 15:53:02:

Peter

If you have a project that you wish to share then simply create a thread for it in the " Work in Progress" section and that should ensure a continuity in your project's information.

Peter has created at thread on his latest build, maybe you miss it in all the off topic stuff

The reason that " What did you do today" is so popular is, I suspect, that many folk are not presently engaged full time in a specific project but, nevertheless, have small items of interest or parts of a project to share. l find it of interest to see how others tackle problems but I would not, for example, find a thread on " How I am building my 7 1/4" Brittania " very useful – you of course might find it riveting!

Thats the problem, the thread is getting less of what things people did (that are engineering related) today and is just chat that has little to do with any work in progress, be it a quick update of a longterm project or just an odd item that came into the workshop, that they went to see, etc

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Peter Nichols on 03/10/2015 13:50:33:

It's in the 'Work in progress completed items / photos' section, I agree a lot of posts here are of interest but some people (myself included) are starting to think its a waste of time adding any on topic material here as it will get swamped with messages about fuel emissions or taking the dog for a walk.

A few days ago people used this page to post engineering related photos of work done, then the fuel emissions chat started and the people who want to show their work stop doing so.

If astronomy can have it's own forum why the hell can't 'off topic' ? You think I was trying to censor chat – all I'm suggesting is if you want the forum to generate more 'work in progress' items then you need to make sure it doesn't get lost in all the off topic meanderings.

.

Peter,

For what it's worth [probably not much]: I think the underlying problem is the Title of this thread. … I fully accept that it's in the 'Work in progress" section, but the Title almost invites chat.

There is clearly an 'emotional need' for general discussions, and unfortunately this thread appears the most obvious place to use.

I agree that there should be some [appropriately named] other thread for general nattering, but I also suggest that this thread, or at least its 2016 successor, needs a more specific title.

MichaelG.

[Bob Brown 1Participant @bobbrown1]

General Natterings now there's a title

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 03/10/2015 16:27:11:

… but I also suggest that this thread, or at least its 2016 successor, needs a more specific title.

.

and, as if by Magic, there it is

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I've altered the title of this one.

Bob, I was thinking of "The Armchair" if an offtopic thread were created.

Edited By JasonB on 03/10/2015 16:38:11

[Mark CParticipant @markc]

So, are automotive fuel systems not engineering related?

Mark

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Well they are certainly not work in progress unless you are working on any cheating software yourself

[Mark CParticipant @markc]

Hmm, It is interesting though, I have a V8 that I eventually intend to try supercharging and building my own mapped fuel/ignition system. Too busy with other jobs at the moment so it will have to wait.

Mark

[Gas_mantle.Participant @gas_mantle]

The point I'm making that few people seem to understand is, there is very little in the 'work in progress section' that is ongoing – that should be the most popular section of the site yet it is one of the least posted in.

There is at the minute only 3 build threads ongoing – (one of which is mine) so I come to this page to see if there are any 1 off posting of builds etc where the poster doesn't wish to create a thread of their own. Yet when I visit I have to troll through pages of fuel emissions chat etc to the point I can no longer be bothered and miss peoples work.

The backbone of this site is looking at what people have built ( and how they did it) and sharing advice ideas etc. Clearly there is plenty of advice but we need more relevant postings showing builds etc (or at least comments about build) whilst the 'off topic' chat is in its own section.

[Involute CurveParticipant @involutecurve]

Use the CNC miller as a plotter today, I find this very useful for sheet metal work, I draw the part up as a 3D model in Cad, I then shell the 3D model using the final sheet metal thickness and convert this to a sheet metal cad component, this gives all the allowances for the bends, at this stage the model can be flattened and subsequently plotted and cut out, then folded and welded up, this is the oil tank for the current bike project……..

I might be slow but I'm cheap……..

Shaun

[Mark CParticipant @markc]

Peter,

Do you really think that would work? Even if you posted something very specific there will be "experts" enough on the subject with opinions that differ and will tell you what you did wrong whether you want the opinion/advise or not…..

Far easier just to search for specific stuff and have a quick glance at what is attracting attention by the number of posts or clicking recent posts. Then you can decide if you want to participate or ignore it until the next interesting (to you) subject bubbles up.

Mark

[Mark CParticipant @markc]

Shaun,

(get ready for some un-requested advice)

Do you not have the ability to create sheet metal parts in the first place rather than using that work around? Do you not have problems with complex surfaces when converting from solid to sheet metal?

Mark

[NJHParticipant @njh]

So Jason

You have redesignated this thread "What did you do today that's Engineering related" so:-

How do you decide what makes a post Non engineering related and how will you deal with those?

Where do folk post items that you may decide have no engineering content but may well be of interest to forum members? ( If I decide to post from my pc in the workshop is this "Engineering related" whereas if posted from the pc in my Study then it is not ?)!!

Come on this is madness – " What did you do today" has gone along happily for years, it has given us all a greater knowledge of each other and provided much entertainment.

If you are involved in a super scale model of a fantastic widget then let' s have a dedicated thread If your post is of a general nature and of likely interest to other forum members then "What did you do today" is valid – I'm always happy to hear of Andrew's flying exploits for example – the thread is predominantly engineering related after all.

Norman

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

As Neil said he will start deleting, I may do the same.

Current full build being posted elsewhere

I'm not doing a thread on my latest build as I have said Diane can have it for the mag but here is a bit of last night and todays efforts.

Worked out how to use a plumbing 15mm full crossover to form the exhaust passage on the Tidman cylinder.

Then soldered on the 10mm steel endplates.

The rest was then assembled with JBWeld and M3 cap heads as I did not feel I could get enough heat into teh job to solder it all.

Edited By JasonB on 03/10/2015 17:12:40

Edited By JasonB on 03/10/2015 17:15:19

[Gas_mantle.Participant @gas_mantle]

Although my main build at the moment is the 'Potty mill' engine I have been building a simple double acting wobbler as a bit of fun and hopefully fairly easier for a beginner to build.

I'm intending to build a simple boiler shortly so wanted a slightly bigger than average wobbler to test it out – this will be no monster but it will be double acting and be 24mm bore – approx. 30mm stroke.

I've ringed the piston with PTFE tape and it has a good reassuring feel to it – the aluminium disc with holes will be the piston rod end cover and I'll pack that out with PTFE also.

The piston rod at the moment is a temporary one – I have a silver steel rod to make a proper one once I have the cylinder end cover made and reamed.

Ultimately it's intended the cylinder will operate vertically with the flywheel above and I'm building it in such a way that I'll be able to make it a twin cylinder if it turns out ok.

[Involute CurveParticipant @involutecurve]

Posted by Mark C on 03/10/2015 16:54:23:

Shaun,

(get ready for some un-requested advice)

Do you not have the ability to create sheet metal parts in the first place rather than using that work around? Do you not have problems with complex surfaces when converting from solid to sheet metal?

Mark

Hi Mark, thanks for that!, I can and sometimes do, however the above component is a part need to fit quite tight in the bike, room is limited, I don't have problems with the more complex shapes, if I design them with sheet metal in mind, if the part has compound curves this section is made by hand or on the wheeling machine or both for example the fuel tank on the bike will pretty much all be done this way, marking out sheet metal can take time I don't have, this is far quicker.

Which bit is the advice?

Shaun

Edited By Involute Curve on 03/10/2015 17:20:38

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

I've not been on here for a week or so, has this been renamed if so whats happened to the "what have you done today" thats wasn't all engineering.

Martin P

[Mark CParticipant @markc]

Shaun,

When I do sheet metal work it tends to have to fit something else like your parts. i get around them by modelling the associated bits and then modelling the sheet metal "in-context". This ensures the geometry fits without any bother (assuming you can get the bits in place of course).

This would obviously not help with the marking but your solution seems as good as any I have ever seen – turns the mill into an expensive plotter!

For the benefit of anyone who does not know about "in-context" design it simply means that the sheet metal part (or any other part you wish to add) is linked to the geometry of thew associated parts – if you had a biscuit tin and needed a lid, the lid would be linked to the geometry/dimensions of the tin, so changing the tin forces a change in the lid to maintain the relationships.

Mark

PS. At what point do my replies get deleted or moved to the CAD section – breaking the link in conversational sense (in-context to out-of-context)?

[Anonymous]

 

 

What did you do today thats engineering related?

I couldn't possibly say, in case it gets deleted, although I did mark out and drill a 3mm hole in a washer for the traction engines. But of course that's machining, not engineering.

It takes time and effort to create coherent posts. Since I am already running a build diary for the traction engines, and a technical discussion on steam and related equipment, on another forum I won't be bothering to post any more work in progress in this thread, as it probably isn't relevant to the majority of members.

Andrew

Norman: Never fear, I will still be posting in the Aircraft Discussion thread.

[roy entwistleParticipant @royentwistle24699]

Peter I wouldn't use silver steel for your piston rod Stainless is the material to use

Hope you don't mind me sticking my nose in

Roy

[Gas_mantle.Participant @gas_mantle]

Posted by roy entwistle on 03/10/2015 18:57:17:

Peter I wouldn't use silver steel for your piston rod Stainless is the material to use

Hope you don't mind me sticking my nose in

Roy

Hi Roy,

I'm glad of the advice to be honest.

I just happened to have a piece of silver steel laid around that is of the right size so I had thought it would be ok but I'm open to suggestions, I can get a piece of stainless if that will do a better job.

I had intended to make a brass gland and pack it with PTFE so I'd like something that will operate smoothly through the packing and give a good seal.

Peter.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Silver steel tends to rust very easily so it won't be operating smoothly for long, 303 stainless should do the job.

[Gas_mantle.Participant @gas_mantle]

Ah ok thanks, I didn't realise that.

Stainless steel it is then

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