Table of contents for October 2024 in Model Engineer & Workshop

Hull Marina Last weekend I went for a short break which took in a visit to a friend living near Hull Marina. I found an interesting example of engineering history. It is a steam engine built by S&H Morton & Co. Interestingly, this company were primarily shipbuilders, but they also produced slipway winch systems. Thomas Morton invented the Patent Slip or ‘marine railway’, a three-rail system that allowed a wheeled cradle to be used to move ships in and out of the water. The engine was used to power such a system. The engine, powered by a coal fired boiler) was originally housed in the former Winding House at Plimsoll way. The Winding House is now luxury flats and was the only dockside building retained when the area around Victoria…

A Quick Paint Turner This month’s winner is Geoff Warner with a simple adaptor for stirring paint. I wanted a quick way to stir some Humbrol paint so rigged up what you see in the pics there is a button magnet in the centre of the nylon paint tin holder. Geoff Warner We have £30 in gift vouchers courtesy of engineering suppliers Chester Machine Tools for each month's ‘Top Tip’. Email your workshop tips to meweditor@mortons.co.uk marking them ‘Readers Tips’, and you could be a winner. Try to keep your tip to no more than 400 words and a picture or drawing. Don’t forget to include your address! Every month we’ll choose a winner for the Tip of the Month will win £30 in gift vouchers from Chester Machine Tools.…

WHLE IT CANNOT be claimed that contours or profiles are easily produced or dupicated in reverse, the problem is far less formidable than might appear at first sight-given time, care and some acquaintance with the principles, which, in general, differ little whatever the size or class of work. In the case of a reverse duplicate, the problem is easily solved if the existing contour is accessible in that the part or material containing it can be laid flat on the other material and marked round. Then it simply means cutting, filing, finishing, etc., as necessary. A contour, however, which is inaccessible in this sense beacuse of its position or the form of the part must be duplicated by other means. The simplest case, perhaps, is in fitting line to an…

The 10” swing on my Myford lathe is usually more than sufficient for model and clock making needs but occasionally something bigger needs to be turned. In this event there are two options, take the part to the club workshop and use one of their large lathes or find a way to machine at home. My “local” club is the Society of Model and Experimental Engineers which has very fully equipped workshops able to machine parts I doubt I could lift! For large heavy castings this is definitely the best solution. Parts only moderately bigger than the swing on the Myford, however, can be machined at home with a little ingenuity. As illustration I recently had the need to machine a clock bezel (the brass ring around the clock face)…

Some years back I was having trouble with the belt drive on my Myford ML7. The V belts would heat up the pulley on the main spindle and the press fit between the pulley and the back gear would come loose. This happened enough times that I decided it was time for something better. Poly-V belts were an obvious answer, photo 1, and in fact my late father, who owned the lathe before me, had thought about this and got as far as buying some pieces of continuous cast iron bar to make the pulleys from. There is a kit from Hemingway to perform this modification on a Super 7, but apparently there is sufficient difference to make this not applicable to the ML7 So I was on my own.…

The process used is the same as the one described by Mr Snell in Model Engineer in January 2005. This concept is, I think, easier to make if like me you are not keen enough to file a good square hole. See photo 1 and figure 1. Principle and use of the attachment: A reference part 5 (of a known tensile strength Rref) is pinched between the ball 6 (used as an indenter) and the punch 3, the ball resting on the piece to be tested, a strong hammer blow is given on the punch and a circular dimple is obtained on the reference part of diameter d1, and on the test piece diameter d2. The test piece tensile strength compared to the reference piece is found from the ratio between…

Stevenson Trophy Update At this year’s exhibition, the John Stevenson Trophy will be awarded in association with Model Engineers’ Workshop and the www.model-engineer.co.uk website. We have had an excellent ‘crop’ of entries for this year’s Stevenson. The entries appeared in Issue 343 of MEW and the vote is now open for all readers and Model Engineer Forum members. The full list of entries is: Lathe Saddle Stop – Alan Girvan Eccentric Chuck – Bernard Towers Bevel Gear Test Rig – Bob Reeve Tailstock Tap Holder – Brett Meacle Myford Screw Cutting Indicator – David George Taylor Hobson Engraver Spindle – John Cuckson To see full details and photographs of all the entries and get a link to the vote are at https://tinyurl.com/mrxjxnv5 or use the QR Code on this page.…

Readers! We want to hear from you! Drop us a line sharing your advice, questions or opinions. Why not send us a picture of your latest workshop creation, or that strange tool you found in a boot sale? Email your contributions to meweditor@mortons.co.uk. An Angle Bracket Dear Neil, it was interesting seeing the use of angle iron in “A Workshop Diary”, Sept 24 issue of MEW. The attached photo is of a simple angle plate that similarly started life as a piece of angle iron and was brought to shape by milling and fly-cutting. It can be bolted to a faceplate, the mill bed or held in the vice for mounting awkward parts and has proved its worth a number of times now. The countersunk holes allowed it to be…

With over 125 years of Model Engineer magazine and nearly 35 years of Model Engineers’ Workshop in our archives, there’s a huge selection of fascinating and often useful ideas for the workshop to be found. From Issue 218, August 2014, here’s a handy article by Neil Greenaway, detailing how he brought some worse-for-wear G-clamps back into usable condition. Repairing G-Clamps Neil Greenaway brings a selection of well-used g-clamps back into good order. Over the past few years I have found my collection of rough looking G-Clamps has grown somewhat as a result of my magpie nature! The general fault found is that the swivel foot on the end of the screw has been lost, leaving a ball-end to bear on any workpiece. My normal use for the G-Clamps is for…