Well today I completed the countershaft for the Myford refurbishment and am really pleased with the results (that makes a pleasant change!) and you can read all about it on either the main website or my Myford specific site www.myfordml7.co.uk
Yesterday i spent a little time on making up a template for the wing mirror brackets. Some time ago I was asked if I could make some extensions for wing mirrors mounted on the 'A' post of a classic MGA sports car. The end result was some short stainless steel rods machined to fit. However when placed on the car they didn't really suit the task so another solution was required. This time, rather than adapt an existing arrangement, a new bracket all together is being designed, and made.
The initial idea was to try and get some stainless steel sheet of sufficient thickness to form the brackets. Failing the sourcing of the stainless steel, then brass brackets would be made and chromed. Following a tip from the owner of the MGA, a small local engineering firm (not a usual sight in our fishing port of Brixham) sold some 'scrap' stainless steel to me. Beacuse of its shape a design was drawn in colabaration with the MGA owner, that would allow two brackets to be cut from the steel sheet (see photo below).
Since the material was just about enough I thought it would be best to 'practice' on some brass of the same thickness. So a paper template was the fisrt stage in setting out the shape of the proposed bracket which mirrored in some imensions the original brackets. After chain drilling, the shape was achived by sanding on the linisher working to the scribe lines.
The next stage was to bend the brackets to shape to see what allowance was needed in the bends themselves. So the metal roller/bender/guilotine tool was brought into use and the first bracket produced. The result was a bracket with nice 90 deg. bends but the marks may have to be adjusted to account for the final shape required. One good reason for 'practice'. The template bracket will be tested against the car itself to see what, if any, tolerance is available when bending.
Another lesson to note from the exercise was the 'mark' made by one of the bending jaws. The proper stainless steel brackets will need protection at this point when they are made. So until the bracket is tried, little esle can be done on this small project.
About Mike Freeman
Hello, my name is Mike Freeman and I am a retired Chief Fire Officer from the United Kingdom with a keen interest in model engineering, silver caddy spoons and sea fishing. I live in the pretty fishing port of Brixham, South Devon, in the United Kingdom.
I am a sufferer of degenerative osteoarthritis, which impacts on the amount of time I can spend in the workshop, and is the reason why you will see seats and a stool in some of the photo's. I have only recently added the above sentence after a discussion with one of my Doctor's from the excellent pain clinic, based in Torbay. This does affect concentration one of the reasons why I double then re-double my measurements and set ups.
Before completing nearly 30 years of public service I and my wife Sandy, owned and ran, a small restaurant in Okehampton Devon. Prior to marriage I worked for my father in his various businesses, in the early days these were garages, which he bought in a run down state, then built them up before moving on, to start again.
I took every opportunity in those early days, to work in his workshop's
learning 'on the job' rather than as an apprentice. This, I suspect, is the reason why my building various model's in the early days, turned into model engineering, when funds allowed the required equipment to be bought.
My workshop comprises one half of a detached double garage. It has a
stud wall separating the two halves and unusually perhaps, its own
shower/toilet/washbasin compartment! (the true reason for buying the
bungalow - don't tell the wife!!!)
It is fully insulated with a ceiling and fluorescent lighting supplementing the one window. Several double electrical sockets are dotted around in
relevant positions.
Equipment consists of 2 lathes (1 Myford ML 10 and 1 Chinese variable
speed motor with etched glass DRO's), 1 milling machine (RF25 far East) floor standing pillar drill, Proxxon bandsaw, Warco bandsaw, 6" wire brush and polishing mop motor, 6" coarse and fine grinder, Proxxon mini drill, various benches and an engineers vice. I have just acquired a third lathe, a Myford ML7 which I am at present evaluating so I can decide which of the Myford's I will keep.
I have only just bought the Chinese lathe and had it fitted with DRO's prior to delivery. And what a bonus they are! So good in fact that I decided to buy another set for the Milling machine. Whilst my engineering experience can only be described as limited, I find the use of DRO's has affected my accuracy levels which have improved tremendously (although that's not saying much!) and would recommend their fitting to any model engineer.
Prior to retirement I built for my son's 17th birthday a Locost car. This
was a tremendous project and a great feeling when it passed its test. The book it was based on suggests it can be built for £250. Ours was nothing special in the sense of all new parts but still cost about £900 to build!
