Table of contents for May 2024 in Model Engineer & Workshop

That's Annoying! Is there one tool that you always seem to mislay? For my it's those retractable knives I have known since childhood as 'Stanley Knives'. I think these are known across the Atlantic as 'box cutters' – presumably as they are so effective for opening cardboard boxes (and scoring the contents if you aren't careful). I am so good at losing them I seem to have more than I can count. Originally launched in 1952, the current version of the Stanley 99E has a peculiar but effective interlocking arrangement that keeps the two halves of the body aligned where the blade exits. I have several iterations of earlier designs as well as new ones. I also have some cheap clones that vary from the half-decent to barely usable, and…

TIP OF THE MONTH WINNER! A datum for Accurate Boring This month's winner is John McLaughlin from Leeds, who has found an interesting way of boring a hole to an exact depth with a boring head. The graduations on my tailstock spindle are too coarse for accurate use and access to use a dial gauge was impossible. I selected the largest hexagon key which would fit in the 'side' hole of the boring head, filed a flat near the top for the dial gauge to read from and successfully bored with complete accuracy. We have £30 in gift vouchers courtesy of engineering suppliers Chester Machine Tools for each month's 'Top Tip'. Email your workshop tips to neil.wyatt@mytimemedia.com marking them 'Readers Tips', and you could be a winner. Try to keep…

Most machining operations benefit from some sort of lubrication and cooling in the form of soluble oil or neat cutting oil. This reduces the generation of heat through friction, and for commercial purposes the tool is flooded to maximise the removal of heat. This is fairly easy to do on a lathe, but not as simple on a milling machine in a home workshop, unless you have an enclosure that catches the excess and returns it to a sump. Even then, machines have a nasty habit of leaking, and experience shows that you still need to sit the machine in an oil tight tray if you don't want to be paddling in it. The Denford Mill in my workshop has been converted to CNC, and that's often left quietly running…

BEGINNERS WORKSHOP These articles by Geometer (Ian Bradley) were written about half a century ago. While they contain much good advice, they also contain references to things that may be out of date or describe practices or materials that we would not use today either because much better ways are available of for safety reasons. These articles are offered for their historic interest and because they may inspire more modern approaches as well as reminding us how our hobby was practiced in the past.…

When it comes to screw cutting, I revert to my second lathe, (swank!) an elderly Myford ML4. A venerable old prewar machine found at a car boot sale, complete with change wheels, for £30. Before you whisper “lucky blighter” it was some years ago when “the pound in your pocket etc.” One of the most important aspects of screw cutting is making sure you “pick up” at the same spot every time you take a cut. There are all sorts of mathematical calculations you can make concerning the T.P.I. of your lead screw, the T.P.I. of the thread being cut, and talk of chalk marks, and hand reversing without disengaging; some, or all, of which I have tried. However for real peace of mind a “thread indicator dial” is the…

YOUR CHANCE TO TALKTO US! Different Approach to Inverter Protection Dear Neil, your latest editorial (MEW 338) made me realise just how many talents the model engineering community possesses with the ability to find their own solution to a problem and then the skills to manufacture the solution using what was available to that person both in materials and tools Faced with the problem of how to keep our inverters safe and clean you used your skills with 3-D printing to produce an enclosure. I took an entirely different approach to the same problem by mounting the inverter on one of the workshop's power distribution boards some distance from the lathe, see my first photo, and using my electrical and electronic skills to produce a remote-control panel, the working prototype…

To mark the paddle steamer's centenary in 2024, Richard Halton takes a look at one of the 'workshop' tasks undertaken by the Medway Queen Preservation Society's volunteers. The paddle steamer, Medway Queen, photo 1, is preserved in static condition at Gillingham Pier, Kent, where restoration work continues. In 2021 she was towed to EAPL's yard in Ramsgate for hull maintenance. We knew that both paddle box fascias would need remedial work and planned this for when she returned. When work started on the starboard paddle wheel, they found that the fascia was in a worse condition than expected and for the safety of the EAPL crew it was agreed to remove it. Where Medway Queen is moored the starboard side receives little direct sun and does not dry out quickly…

Using and setting a fixed steady is fairly simple but here are some ideas and uses that are particularly useful. The main use is to hold and support a long shaft or tube whilst turning, drilling or parting off to length. The first thing to do is fit the steady to the bed looking at the location faces and checking for swarf and damage to both the steady and the bedways. I give the mating faces rub wit a small smooth stone and after giving a wipe with a clean paper wipe followed by a lite oil smear as it is likely that it will be slid along the bed at sometime during use. The other thing is to check that the steady clamps in the correct places, for example…

The Midlands Model Engineering Exhibition The Midlands Model Engineering Exhibition Thursday 17th to Sunday 20th October 2024 Warwickshire Event Centre THE Show for Model Engineers Meridienne Exhibitions look forward to welcoming you to one of the UK's largest model engineering exhibitions. Over 30 clubs and societies will be present, displaying hundreds of exhibits covering a wide range of modelling skills. There will also be nearly 40 of the leading model engineering specialist trade suppliers, all waiting to meet you and provide everything you need for your modelling activities. The competition and display classes are open to all from beginner to experienced modeller. They are free to enter and all entrants receive two 1 day passes to the exhibition. If you would like to enter your work and be part of…

Reduction A chemical reaction in which an atom gains one or more electrons. Refractory Heat resistant, as a firebrick. Refractory materials may or may not be good insulators. Rehardening If carbon steel tools are overheated (by being forced to work too hard, or being ground too fiercely), they will loose their temper, become soft and blunt. Such tools can be rehardened, but first they must be annealed. There is a risk of burning out the surface carbon through the various cycles of reheating required. To avoid this wind a few turns of soft iron wire wound around tool and coat it with a paste of ground chalk. Rockwell hardness test To determine the Rockwell hardness of a metal sample a hard ball bearing or a diamond stylus is pressed into…