2016 POTD Thread Archive

[2volts]

almost finished installing DROs to the mighty Rong Fu clone.
it still needs a cover for the long gauge on the front of the table
and to tidy up the cables
while doing this I knocked up a very rough "prototype" linkage (not shown) for locking the long feed instead of winding the two screws in/out
the cross feed can be done be similar but theres not as much room
when I'm home again next week I'll finish everything off

pete

ps I took the 3 handles off the quill coarse feed a while back and put them somewhere. If anyone knows where that somewhere is then please let me know pronto to save turning the workshop upside down finding them.

 

[BGHansen]

I loved my meccano sets as a kid.
I wanted to get some old sets a couple of years ago but the prices were astronomical.
The modern stuff is terrible as far as I am concerned.

Savarin,

Meccano sets were much more versatile than Gilbert's Erector sets. Absolutely no comparison with the gears and other parts available in Meccano vs. Erector. Do a little Google'ing for the Meccano web-ring and you'll see some amazing models built with Meccano parts; full size Harley, working Catepillar excavators, etc. No doubt many an engineer played with metal construction toys as a kid and developed their love for making things into a career. The engineer who developed the Disneyland ride "Soarin over California" worked out the kinematics of the ride seats with an Erector set. The Chrysler engineer who designed their minivan "stow and go" seating worked out the kinematics with an Erector set. My wife works as a Unigraphics designer; did a design for a nail polish shaker (high metallic content that quickly falls out of suspension) that we prototyped with Erector parts to get the cam throws correct.

Bruce

 

[BGHansen]

almost finished installing DROs to the mighty Rong Fu clone.
it still needs a cover for the long gauge on the front of the table
and to tidy up the cables
while doing this I knocked up a very rough "prototype" linkage (not shown) for locking the long feed instead of winding the two screws in/out
the cross feed can be done be similar but theres not as much room
when I'm home again next week I'll finish everything off

pete

ps I took the 3 handles off the quill coarse feed a while back and put them somewhere. If anyone knows where that somewhere is then please let me know pronto to save turning the workshop upside down finding them.

Pete,

I can guarantee you the handles will be in the very last place you look. Maybe start there.

Bruce

 

[RJSakowski]

I believe that my shop is infested with gremlins. They will hide things and delight in my frustration in looking for them. If I pretend disinterest and start on something new, the gremlins get bored and usually put the missing object out in plain sight.

 

[savarin]

Ah ha! So they're yours are they? I wish you would hurry up and come round to collect them!

 

[hman]

almost finished installing DROs to the mighty Rong Fu clone.
it still needs a cover for the long gauge on the front of the table
and to tidy up the cables

I ran the X axis scale along the front side of my RF-30's table, too ... spaced away to allow room for the switch housing, etc. Just went downward instead of outward.

ps I took the 3 handles off the quill coarse feed a while back and put them somewhere. If anyone knows where that somewhere is then please let me know pronto to save turning the workshop upside down finding them.

Since you're in OZ, isn't your workshop already upside down?

Anyway, I no longer use the original handles. They kept getting in the way of stuff on the table. Fabbed up a new handle. The aluminum collar is pressed on and contains some rare earth magnets. That end of the handle is turned down to the "root" diameter of the screw threads in the "spider". It's easy to remove and reposition, yet the magnets hold it very securely. I've even tried letting the spindle free-wheel from fully down into the stop, and the handle stays in place.

 

[Tony Wells]

Great use for neodymium magnets. Tons of uses, and that's a good one.

 

[Whyemier]

Great use for neodymium magnets. Tons of uses, and that's a good one.

I agree...DANG! 'Nuther thing I have to do to mine.

 

[uncle harry]

I believe that my shop is infested with gremlins. They will hide things and delight in my frustration in looking for them. If I pretend disinterest and start on something new, the gremlins get bored and usually put the missing object out in plain sight.

My shop not only harbors gremlins (I often suspect that I'm one of them) but also has a friend, a "rent-a-grunt" assistant who likes layering things, sending them into oblivion.

 

[Rick Berk]

Amazing what fun could be had with an erector set, I think I got mine at 3 years old and played with it until high school before cars came next, Mine was the Engineer Set in a round 6" cardboard tube with a threaded steel lid. Kind of funny that after the Navy I went to Purdue and got a degree in ME.