Blondihacks: Chinese lathes

[Jim Bow]

She’s one of my YouTube regulars.
https://youtu.be/znZgT3Zmf5Y

[Sandlapper]

A great review.

[Durnik]

asked my machining/everything else brother if he knew of her - oh, yes he said.. he's subscribed and finds more than a few of her vids good.. for whatever that's worth, machining ain't my thing. (-:

[Jim Bow]

She’s a software engineer and amateur racer. Elsewhere in the interweb she has a treatise on the rear downdraft wing on her beater Nissan racecar. It’s powered by window motors and an Ardino (sp) breadboard.

[Canoeyawl]

She's wrong (in that video) about when the metric system was invented...

[Durnik]

ok, so history ain't her strong suit.. honestly, I'd need to google it. I do know that it was in the 1800's when Congress made the metric system legal in the U.S...(a vague memory, I googled for the exact date) and business doubled down on stupid. 130 years later, my '91 Ranger has a mix of metric & SAE.. as PP says - DSE. Hell, with electronic ignition, it has a fender mounted solenoid & a starter mounted solenoid.. why? One does naught but drive the other. Admittedly they use the fender mount one for a battery tie point, but..

[Garret]

She's wrong (in that video) about when the metric system was invented...

There was a popup message onscreen that sorta corrected her. I think it was "when it became popular" or some such.

[Garret]

ok, so history ain't her strong suit.. honestly, I'd need to google it. I do know that it was in the 1800's when Congress made the metric system legal in the U.S...(a vague memory, I googled for the exact date) and business doubled down on stupid. 130 years later, my '91 Ranger has a mix of metric & SAE.. as PP says - DSE. Hell, with electronic ignition, it has a fender mounted solenoid & a starter mounted solenoid.. why? One does naught but drive the other. Admittedly they use the fender mount one for a battery tie point, but..

Actually, I think you'll find that the one on the fender may be called a "solenoid" but is really just a relay.

[epoxyboy]

I watch her on and off. She actually explains some of the how and why, that lots of guys doing similar stuff just assume that you know already.

Pete

[Canoeyawl]

French Lathes: https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Mercklein_Lathe

circa 1790, relatively sophisticated
(I suspect metric system on this crossfeed dial)

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[Durnik]

^ have to say, those are beautiful.

Actually, I think you'll find that the one on the fender may be called a "solenoid" but is really just a relay.

true.

tho still redundant!

[robm]

tho still redundant!

Maybe not. Although 1991 would be early for it, it might be an interface relay between the main computer and the starter motor. You tell the computer to start the engine, the computer controls the relay. The relay needs less current than the solenoid, which controls a vast amount of current to drive the starter motor.

I like Quinn. I am not sure why, but many of the best Youtubers I watch frequently are Canadian, like her: AvE, Mr. Carlson, Hand Tool Rescue, 12Voltvids, and a few others that I can't recall right now.

[Durnik]

Maybe not. Although 1991 would be early for it, it might be an interface relay between the main computer and the starter motor. You tell the computer to start the engine, the computer controls the relay. The relay needs less current than the solenoid, which controls a vast amount of current to drive the starter motor.

I like Quinn. I am not sure why, but many of the best Youtubers I watch frequently are Canadian, like her: AvE, Mr. Carlson, Hand Tool Rescue, 12Voltvids, and a few others that I can't recall right now.

took a quick look and google fails - again, but a 3.9 v6 (yes, a completely different engine) of that era comes straight from the ig sw. still, your observation has merit, it may be. shirley to gawd tho they could have used a traditional relay?

[robm]

It seems unlikely in 1991, although anything goes these days! Adding a relay to the Subaru Loyale starter circuit was a common way to overcome corrosion and high resistance in the "pilot" conductor coming directly from the ignition switch "start" position. Perhaps Ford was being proactive?

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

French Lathes: https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Mercklein_Lathe

circa 1790, relatively sophisticated
(I suspect metric system on this crossfeed dial)

F884202F-7F65-46F7-B527-C3C40C25D63E.jpg

E3E0427E-8B26-47E5-AD7B-4B55CF868814.jpg

F08E3C15-CD90-4BCA-B71F-F406C4DB795E.jpg

https://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/...image=10326590

[Paul Pless]

you guys need this book

0062652567.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_SX500_.jpg

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

Henry Maudslay is one of my heroes.

(“What precise notion can any man have of such things as « a bare sixteenth » or « a full thirty-second? »)

[HRDavies]

(“What precise notion can any man have of such things as « a bare sixteenth »

.0623"

or « a full thirty-second? »)

.03125"

For almost anything in our normal lives, 3 1/2 places in inches is enough. I liked that she didn't dis imperial, which is in practice superior for the average mechanical device, but (no offense to cheap imports) do not care for the variable frequency little lathes, and don't like roller bearings at all for the cheap stuff. An older flat belt 13" South Bend with plain bearings for the headstock is so much quieter, makes rounder parts and is more pleasant to run than these inexpensive things. They do the job but for anyone thinking to get a lathe, if you have enough space, seriously. 13" South Bend will be a lot more enjoyable.

[Canoeyawl]

.0623"


.

Ahem
Ahhh...
(You know better than this, I'm sure that's a typo)

[HRDavies]

Ahem
Ahhh...
(You know better than this, I'm sure that's a typo)

No, intentional. He said "A bare sixteenth" which to me is less than a brch (.0012" from what I've been told, tho never got to measure one personally) under, just two tenths shy. As opposed to the full thirty-second, which should be right on

I s'pose this is what Maudsley was complaining about but most of us do it all the time. If you know what the part is intended for, you adjust size to fit the purpose ....

[epoxyboy]

.0623"


.03125"

For almost anything in our normal lives, 3 1/2 places in inches is enough. I liked that she didn't dis imperial, which is in practice superior for the average mechanical device, but (no offense to cheap imports) do not care for the variable frequency little lathes, and don't like roller bearings at all for the cheap stuff. An older flat belt 13" South Bend with plain bearings for the headstock is so much quieter, makes rounder parts and is more pleasant to run than these inexpensive things. They do the job but for anyone thinking to get a lathe, if you have enough space, seriously. 13" South Bend will be a lot more enjoyable.

How so? The part doesn't give a fig whether it was made using metric or Imperial measurements, dimensionally you can get the exact same result using either, a common 0.01mm metric micrometer has better precision than a 0.001" imperial equivalent - but we're splitting hair at that point.
I'm old enough to have been brought up with both, metrics are by far and away easier to work with.

Pete

[Canoeyawl]

A "bare sixteenth" is 7/128 ths

[HRDavies]

How so? The part doesn't give a fig whether it was made using metric or Imperial measurements, dimensionally you can get the exact same result using either, a common 0.01mm metric micrometer has better precision than a 0.001" imperial equivalent - but we're splitting hair at that point.
I'm old enough to have been brought up with both, metrics are by far and away easier to work with.

She did a nicer job explaining it but disagree, inches rule

For instance, easy rule of thumb for slip fits, one thou per inch of diameter. In metric that's 1/40th mm per 25 mm. Or shrink fits, the opposite but same 1/40th mm per 25 mm. Or run it out to 100 mm and get 1/10th mm per 100 mm ... it's just more cumbersome. A thou per inch, hard to top that. Metric threads (imo) suck, they are either too coarse for the job or too fine. The numbers work out nicely but the strength is not there. Don't get me started on gears, module is such an upside-down abortion.

Sure, you can use any unit or measure you want but for general use in daily life, inch is a lot more rational.

Betcha that'll start an argument but back to the video, I thought she did a nice job with that.

[Sandlapper]

I get questions about availability of my plans in metric but I will not make the conversion. While I wish the whole world used one system, I still like imperial as being easier for many uses. Metric is better for scientific work as relative measures are more sensible. Really small atomic structure or really great distances are ridiculous in imperial.

Anyone building in wood should be able to use both.

[birlinn]

I wish the whole world used one system.

It does, apart from the US and North Korea.

[Paul Pless]

It does, apart from the US and North Korea.

when did the u.k. convert to metric?

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[birlinn]

For science and industry, 1965, eight years before we joined the EU.
But not for everything- we drive at mph speeds, for mile distances, but buy fuel in litres! Trust us to muddle it as usual.
Groceries etc. are sold in kilos, grammes and litres; weather is in degrees C.

[The Q]

For science and industry, 1965, eight years before we joined the EU.
But not for everything- we drive at mph speeds, for mile distances, but buy fuel in litres! Trust us to muddle it as usual.
Groceries etc. are sold in kilos, grammes and litres; weather is in degrees C.

And more importantly our beer in pints....

I was taught foots and inches , chains poles and perches, at primary school, but went to secondary school in 1969, and everything was metric.

Everyone measures in metric...
Since 1959 in the USA, and a couple of years later the UK, the inch changed size and was defined as 25.4millimetres and the foot as 304mm.
I work in a metrology department that's the science of measurement.
Not meteorology the science of weather.

[birlinn]

Did the department used to be footology before metrology?

Sorry!

[robm]

Groceries etc. are sold in kilos, grammes and litres;

Except for milk, which is available in pints from certain suppliers. Not sure about beer, last time I was there, I didn't look too closely at how much they were pouring. Since the plimsoll line disappeared, what is the point?

[Hugh MacD]

For science and industry, 1965, eight years before we joined the EU.
But not for everything- we drive at mph speeds, for mile distances, but buy fuel in litres! Trust us to muddle it as usual.
Groceries etc. are sold in kilos, grammes and litres; weather is in degrees C.

I understand that the post-war British automotive industry was heavily bolstered by US Army surplus fasteners due to manufacturing infrastructure damage, but it meant using an admix of British Standard, Whitworth and SAE.

[Canoeyawl]

I like the Import lathes, they have pretty good rigidity and having the ability to cut both metric and Imperial threads can sometimes be important.
She covered most of the bases, and she is correct by saying you get what you pay for, but my empirical experience with import cast iron and USA cast iron indicates significant differences. When you break that import iron for whatever reason (usually stupidity, and I'll be among the first to admit to that, but sometimes it is a structural failure) they are all over the map in strength, porosity and etc.
There are many grades of cast iron and USA "fine" gray iron as seen in our machine tools, is beautiful stuff with high dampening quality and strong...
I often use cast iron pipe fittings etc. as raw material for gears etc, and even piston rings. An old USA cast manhole cover or pipe section is my preferred "stock"

[Paul Pless]

An old USA cast manhole cover or pipe section is my preferred "stock"

ductile

[HRDavies]

ductile

Was going to say that ductile iron was only invented in 1950 but I guess that qualifies as 'old' now ... eek !

[Canoeyawl]

Some of the cast iron bits that I have collected are 12" water main bolt together flanges (not threaded) and caps/covers from the city of San Francisco and likely part of the Hetch Hetchy project So probably not ductile, they are seriously thick, over an inch, coated with asphalt and looking like new with the first cut.
Manhole covers are anybody's guess, hard to find them made from USA, if they do they often have the city name cast into the face.
Ductile Iron pipe does make great piston rings for antique engines, those great old tapered (in plan view) 1/4" wide rings!
A version of "Meehanite" was patented in 1931, so maybe? (I would be pleased if it was that!)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ductile_iron

I'm finishing some rough castings for 9" id steady rest for my old lathe here at home and that stuff will be repurposed once again.