The Home Machinist!

on my Student I rewired the start stop lever on the lathe body to act as the remote switch for the VFD, so you still have the relevant switch next to you while you work (its also the brake lever). I also rewired the reverse switch as a remote for the vfd, so I only need to reach to the vfd for speed...

nice job, I do a fair bit of bike work and the bleed nipples are always a PITA. For future reference, you might be interested to know that you can buy banjo bolts with a nipple built in, which is the simple and economic fix, but not as elegant as yours. Also, on most Jap bikes the nipple can be dril...

Big Pete, That's a pretty good mixture! I guess a good question would be which system do you THINK in? .......... Glenn depends on what I'm doing, I think in both systems, and have been known to mix them (only on my own jobs never on a work related project), such as 2ft + 4.5mm, depending on the job.

I live in the UK, and work in engineering, have worked in a few areas, stress work (aero, nuclear, vehicles, odd stuff), design work, (fuel cells and switchgear) some Dev stuff, some pressure vessel stuff. I tend to use both systems regularly, but only metric for work, its just easier, especially fo...

however much you need, do a full crucible, that way you minimise the risk of short pours, plus its easier to skim etc when the crucible is full. In addition, for me it means I can reduce the volume of my scrap pile because ingots stack in a smaller space the crankcases and wheels.

If they are plain shafts, a length of hydraulic hose (steel reinforced stuff for high pressure use) slid over the shafts and tightened up with hose clamps will transmit a surprising amount of power. I've seen it used up to IIRC 11kw, so it might be worth a try on 18 hp. Its not going to break the ba...

I use inverter drives on my gear, they're excellent, variable speed at the turn of a dial and cheap for the sort of power rating you are looking at. No reduction in motor power either.

:? i can't say I've ever had those sorts of problems on Jap cars or bikes, (or any other kit for that matter) and I use fasteners manufactured in Europe and the States. The UK has only really been metric for about 20-30 years, certainly in the 70's lots of stuff was still Imperial. MGBs seem to use ...

Whats the problem between English metric and Japanese metric? I work on Jap bikes all the time, and I buy standard fasteners from my local bolt supplier, I've never had any problems. You need to pay attention to make sure you use the right pitch, but thats all, same as UNC and UNF.

I don't know how many of these joints you want to do but these might make life a lot easier for you

http://www.rencol.co.uk/en/technical.html

They are designed for mass production, but you can buy small quantities.

Jose, thats the sort of thing I'm talking about, but I'm hoping to avoid a wiper because they look really tricky to machine. I should be able to bend 1.6 wall with just a mandrel and follower. Peter, if you go to the Tools For Bending site: http://www.toolsforbending.com/ and download the tube bendi...

Those 3 point roller benders do nice big radius curves, and they will do tight radius stuff on heavy wall tube, but they tend to crush thinner stuff if you pull the radius down. the compression bender I have will bend 1.6mm wall pretty well, at about 3D. I need to get the mandrel bender finished tho...