Druidic Dabblings and General Twaddle !!

[V8Druid]

Leaf blower makes them disappear. My missus uses them in the poly tunnel, or the chicken coop cant remember which, but they dont go to waste!

sound idea ..... Clara has two chickens .... I'm sure they (Vicki) might like 'em .... tarp down and work on that it'll have to be then. Contain as much as possible anyway
trouble with the leaf blower is it'll all end up in me drains round the edge .... have enough trouble keeping it all leaf free and at least they fly, when they're dry ..
WHEN!!

 

[V8Druid]

if you don't want to try to integrate, what's the point ... I love France and would've been there years ago, but for the Gaucher's (ironically it was identified by a Frenchman, Dr. Gaucher ) .... and used to be able to hold my own after a week or two of being there .... but could at least get by, off the boat. Plain bloody rude not to try.

it's '09 since I was last there and dare say things've changed a lot .. but you always got a 'better reception' if you made the effort .... Pam and the kids were surprised and dare I say, impressed, at just how much I could understand and respond to, very quickly ...... I get my 'French head on', an' I'm away .... remarkable just how much you can recall when you have to ..... and i enjoy the challenge .... having spent a great many weeks there, over the years also helped and the French I was compelled to learn in school was invaluable in understanding structuring speech. Vocabulary is the key though

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Graham, may I be cheeky and ask what your lathe has set you back? A ballpark figure is more than enough, don’t need to know the exact price.

I am looking at buying a lathe myself (in the future) but the last time I used one is about 26 years ago. Hence it is fair to say that I am a novice and finding a good used lathe is quite a challenge.
As a result I have been looking at buying something new. I own a Warco pillar drill and I am happy with the quality and the service received from Warco. They do a lot of metal working machinery and I am considering a Warco GH1236.

Warco GH1236 Metalworking Gear Head Lathe

The Warco GH1236 is Fitted with a full range of equipment as standard including integrated coolant system and a full 3 axis digital readout system.

www.warco.co.uk

Yes it is made in China but I know a couple of people that have one and they are very happy with it. At least with Warco if something is wrong you have warranty. If I buy a 40 year old used one than it is all on me.

 

[TiltyShaun]

Glad to see peace and harmony has broken out!!
I have no ear for learning another language. I tried to learn Romanian when I met my now wife and other than some numbers, beer and wine I didn’t get far!! But in the unlikely event I am dragged there in retirement I would expect to HAVE to learn the lingo. I think France has got the right idea now that if dealing with the state you have to talk French. When my daughter was born in the NHS my wife was asked if she needed to see an interpreter. Her reply was I would prefer to see a doctor!!

 

[V8Druid]

Graham, may I be cheeky and ask what your lathe has set you back? A ballpark figure is more than enough, don’t need to know the exact price.

I am looking at buying a lathe myself (in the future) but the last time I used one is about 26 years ago. Hence it is fair to say that I am a novice and finding a good used lathe is quite a challenge.
As a result I have been looking at buying something new. I own a Warco pillar drill and I am happy with the quality and the service received from Warco. They do a lot of metal working machinery and I am considering a Warco GH1236.

Warco GH1236 Metalworking Gear Head Lathe

The Warco GH1236 is Fitted with a full range of equipment as standard including integrated coolant system and a full 3 axis digital readout system.

www.warco.co.uk

Yes it is made in China but I know a couple of people that have one and they are very happy with it. At least with Warco if something is wrong you have warranty. If I buy a 40 year old used one than it is all on me.

aye .. no sweat ... cost me £2.5k delivered ...... have seen 'em for £6-7.5k .... don't think the lad who had it quite knew what he had TBH, but wasn't gonna argue and he was happy to take a sensible profit and turn stuff over quick .. he'd cleared a workshop from a retiring engineer and all the gear he'd moved on was at a similar sensible/priced to clear, level.
I liked him TBH ...
I was after a big spindle bore with a short bed, which're not an 'easy find'

that Warco looks decent enough ...
Warco been around a looong time and their stuff has established a decent rep. for non production use. ...
good size spindle bore in it, decently equipped ...
'proper' D1-4 camlock chuck mount, #3MT quill and #5MT spindle taper - excellent speed range and good metric/imperial screw cutting range
third axis DRO scale would be a PITA, the way it's fitted.

basically a Colchester Bantam copy .... they can make £2+k s/hand and more.

Only real issues with Warco was bearings in their drill stands, when they were first on the scene .... but imagine they'll have addressed that long ago with some decent quality bearing suppliers.

If you've had an opportunity to see one of them in the metal and are getting decent reports from other owners, you're going to struggle to get any real further feedback, other than your own experience and're too young to feature in the Archive ( Lathes + Machine Tool Archive ) ... a very useful source of info. ...

at the size of machine you're looking at there are hundreds of used machines available ... bear in mind that you can do small work on a large m/c, but not the reverse, so choose carefully what scale of m/c you need .....( and many a good tune can be played on an old(er) fiddle )

knowing what you do though, I'd guess accuracy is going to be pretty paramount for you, so a lot to be said for a shiny new, out the box, purchase.

 

[V8Druid]

Glad to see peace and harmony has broken out!!
I have no ear for learning another language. I tried to learn Romanian when I met my now wife and other than some numbers, beer and wine I didn’t get far!! But in the unlikely event I am dragged there in retirement I would expect to HAVE to learn the lingo. I think France has got the right idea now that if dealing with the state you have to talk French. When my daughter was born in the NHS my wife was asked if she needed to see an interpreter. Her reply was I would prefer to see a doctor!!

My best friend was Hungarian ... sadly long gone to the big C ..... but that was some language to try to get yer head around ... learnt a bit, but'd take a lifetime to be competent with, let alone master can imagine Romanian is very similar

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Thank you Graham. You have been very lucky with the machine at that price!!

At the moment precision is not the greatest requirement but I just haven’t got the experience to look at a s/h lathe and see if she is straight etc. For the work I want to do with it a smaller lathe would suffice. However everybody tells me to buy the biggest lathe you can afford for the same reason as you have already mentioned.

My other issue is the lack of a three phase power supply. Which means that most machines need to be fitted with a converter or change the motor.

I haven’t seen the Warco in the flesh but have spoken to some owners. In due course I need to go down to the Warco showroom and have a look. They sometimes do open days and sell their machines with a discount.

 

[Cyberprog]

it's '09 since I was last there and dare say things've changed a lot .. but you always got a 'better reception' if you made the effort .... Pam and the kids were surprised and dare I say, impressed, at just how much I could understand and respond to, very quickly ...... I get my 'French head on', an' I'm away .... remarkable just how much you can recall when you have to ..... and i enjoy the challenge .... having spent a great many weeks there, over the years also helped and the French I was compelled to learn in school was invaluable in understanding structuring speech. Vocabulary is the key though

I found the same

Glad to see peace and harmony has broken out!!
I have no ear for learning another language. I tried to learn Romanian when I met my now wife and other than some numbers, beer and wine I didn’t get far!! But in the unlikely event I am dragged there in retirement I would expect to HAVE to learn the lingo. I think France has got the right idea now that if dealing with the state you have to talk French. When my daughter was born in the NHS my wife was asked if she needed to see an interpreter. Her reply was I would prefer to see a doctor!!

I always thought that, but seems some French has stuck.

 

[V8Druid]

Thank you Graham. You have been very lucky with the machine at that price!!

At the moment precision is not the greatest requirement but I just haven’t got the experience to look at a s/h lathe and see if she is straight etc. For the work I want to do with it a smaller lathe would suffice. However everybody tells me to buy the biggest lathe you can afford for the same reason as you have already mentioned.

My other issue is the lack of a three phase power supply. Which means that most machines need to be fitted with a converter or change the motor.

I haven’t seen the Warco in the flesh but have spoken to some owners. In due course I need to go down to the Warco showroom and have a look. They sometimes do open days and sell their machines with a discount.

can always mount a smaller chuck in your machine's bigger chuck for fine stuff ..... did it for years in work and kept several suitable specimens

VFD is the way to go ...... are now cheap as chips 2.2kW 12A Single-Phase/3-Phase AC220V Variable Frequency Drive Inverter VSD VFD 8852096781279 | eBay
considering getting one for the Ajax ..... save running the genny for the odd quick job/hole
world is your oyster with 440 on tap
or this'd run the Harrison ........ 7.5KW Single To 3 Phase Motor Variable Frequency Drive Inverter Converter 220V | eBay

 

[Rob65]

can always mount a smaller chuck in your machine's bigger chuck for fine stuff ..... did it for years in work and kept several suitable specimens

VFD is the way to go ...... are now cheap as chips 2.2kW 12A Single-Phase/3-Phase AC220V Variable Frequency Drive Inverter VSD VFD 8852096781279 | eBay
considering getting one for the Ajax ..... save running the genny for the odd quick job/hole
world is your oyster with 440 on tap
or this'd run the Harrison ........ 7.5KW Single To 3 Phase Motor Variable Frequency Drive Inverter Converter 220V | eBay

I have one of those inverters on my Colchester Triuph lathe. When the lathe is set in a high speed gear you have to be careful not to engage the clutch too quickly. If you do the over current trip on the inverter goes.
None the less, highly recommend.

Just a general comment, when I have had those sort of inverters fail it’s been due to abuse, it’s usually just the rectifiers in them that blow and they are dead easy to replace for less than a fiver.

 

[Gecko]

I have one of those inverters on my Colchester ~ the over current trip on the inverter goes.

Some of the VFD's allow you to adjust the soft-start time. Adding an extra half-second may be enough to stop it tripping.

 

[V8Druid]

Some of the VFD's allow you to adjust the soft-start time. Adding an extra half-second may be enough to stop it tripping.

Yeh you'd want a long soft start on the Harrison .... it's 7.5Kw, (10HP) so on the limit for running and start current'll be higher .... Rob's Triumph'll be 5.7Kw (7.5HP)

 

[Grahams]

Seeing the bit about tripping and soft start, is there such a thing as a soft start adapter I can plug in between my mains disc cutter and the extension lead so I don't continually trip the fuse on starting? (A bit like plugging in an RCD).
A quick google only seems to come up with circuit boards etc - way beyond my competence with electrics.

 

[Cyberprog]

Change the breaker. C or D curve.

 

[maz]

I'm going down the rotary phase converter route my self. Got several 3phase machines now with auxiliary motors for suds pumps etc and that causes the VFD's to mount up.

Pony motor on the bottom, and 7.5hp 3phase top right.

I just need to get round to putting it together.

 

[V8Druid]

I'm going down the rotary phase converter route my self. Got several 3phase machines now with auxiliary motors for suds pumps etc and that causes the VFD's to mount up.

Pony motor on the bottom, and 7.5hp 3phase top right.

I just need to get round to putting it together.

View attachment 20340

gonna need a bigger motor driving the 7.5 horse .... needs to be 1:1 to maintain the correct speed of the big un - assuming they're both the same running speed .... don't know if an induction'll work without a brushed exciter to kick it off ??? I'd guess a brushed motor'd be more useful ........ rotaries usually require as much in as you're hoping to get out, in the donkey stakes from memory

 

[V8Druid]

I'm going down the rotary phase converter route my self. Got several 3phase machines now with auxiliary motors for suds pumps etc and that causes the VFD's to mount up.

Pony motor on the bottom, and 7.5hp 3phase top right.

I just need to get round to putting it together.

View attachment 20340

big un looks to be a Brooks .... somewhere here I have Brooks's bible on all their motors of that sort of era ..... if you need any info. on it, give me a frame no. and I'll see if
(a) I can find 'the bible'
and
(b) it's listed
be surprised if it isn't though

 

[Lancs Lad]

Seeing the bit about tripping and soft start, is there such a thing as a soft start adapter I can plug in between my mains disc cutter and the extension lead so I don't continually trip the fuse on starting? (A bit like plugging in an RCD).
A quick google only seems to come up with circuit boards etc - way beyond my competence with electrics.

Yes :https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Anlaufst...-elektonische-Geraete-Softstart-/151003842736

You can adjust them to suit from memory.
Not used one for a bit but will need plugs swapping to UK.

 

[Rob65]

Sorry guys, I should have been more specific. The inverter is set with a few seconds of soft start to spins the motor up with no problems.
The over current trip only goes when you pull the clutch leaver on the lathe a bit sharpish with the spindle set in a high speed gear.

 

[V8Druid]

Yes :https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Anlaufst...-elektonische-Geraete-Softstart-/151003842736

You can adjust them to suit from memory.
Not used one for a bit but will need plugs swapping to UK.

Starting current limiter 7770, up to 3600w, 16a, 10-25a, k700, soft starter, start-up | eBay
should do a grinder sweet @Grahams and simple plug and play