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Not sure aboutyour particular Bosch, but many power tools now have an auto disconnect device when brushes wear to their lower limit. Look to see that the brushes are still firmly in contact with...

The last couple of dipsticks I have made for oil or small fuel tanks have used a bright steel rod and I have given them a quick "oil blue" job so that the fluid shows quite well and the finish is...

Hello Grahame,
I have found that many of the cheap mild steel zinc plated hex bolts ( builders bolts) in the big hardware stores are for some reason still Whitworth. They have...

Have moved my earlier industrial class Chinese lathe a few times now, and have used a forklift each time. It has a very heavy cast iron base with coolant and lube systems built in, and would weigh in...

Was given one of these several years ago, complete except fot the pawl. Thanks for excellent photo's, I should be able to make a better one than my first attempt. My drill is near identical but has...

You will need one drill for brass and another for steel unless you plan to re-grind each time. Best to trim the cutting edges back to a neutral or slightly negative rake for brass to prevent it from...

Hi again Dean,
Good to know you are all safe there, and yes that extra sheave will give you an extra margin and make it a lot more controllable, regards,
Combustor.

Hi Oldneweng,
you say you have a winch there, but I hope it is a hoist. They are not necessarily interchangeable. A winch will have some rudimentary braking in the lowering (pay...

Hi there RC,
That big rattlegun sounds like an interesting idea. Even my 1" brute will move damn near anythig I put it to. Big advantage is that you don"t have to lock bolts or shafts...

Hello Phil and readers,
Thanks for so carefully demonstrating you superb skills once again. I ask myself how our heritage sites will survive when the people of Phil's...

Multigrade engine oils (and modern single grades for that matter) as mentioned above, are made to suspend particles and also water until the oil reaches a temperature where the suspended water is...

Anyone notice the item front and centre in pic 5? Could be one of the old portable radial engine compressors, now as rare as rockinhorse poo. (Has letters CBX 5 on it) Can't see enough of it to be...

Many here seem to have a succession or dispersal problem, and the more I consider my situation the sooner I need to take some action. Sold my earthmoving equipment off when I retired round 5 years...

Several quick questions. Does the table rotate around its centre? Is the column mount on the foot casting in the same plane as the main flat surface? If so, it should be possible for someone with...

NLGI 2 is a class of grease available readily from must lube manufacturers. Shell just happen to call theirs Alvania 1 or 2.

Combustor.

After cutting the stems off short, take some glyphosate (Roundup) concentrate and water 1 part to 1, and paint it on the fresh cut stems. Then cover cut stems with several layers of black plastic...

Hi Brenton,
Can't tell from the pic, but does your square table rotate on an arm, or is it fixed? If rotating, you can just drill the vise flange to align with your centre slot and use...

Hi again Bob,
Sounds like you have the right tool for the job now. Regards,

Combustor.

Should be able to remove the top endcover and rotate the fan to see that pump and motor are free. Exposure may have allowed moisture into the top end bearing, or even the windings, so expect the top...

Beware those air powered grease guns. Greatest device for overfilling bearings, blowing out seals and putting grease where it does not belong.
Fitted air powered volume guns to our cable excavators...

After the speculation, I can tell you as several others have done, that your Lotze saw is exactly as sold originally. Bought one new round 40 years ago and that is exactly how it arrived. The belt...

Hi Seanz,
Use the grease sparingly. Think of the wheel bearings in your car. They are filled to less than half capacity, assembled and preloaded then run for the equivalent of 1000...

Forum still running at acceptable speed, no real problem here in the depths of the Kimberley. Don't suppose the East coast has lost some fiber optic links in recent floods? That's the usual reason...

I read most posts each evening on a recent Win 8.1 machine using Firefox, and do not have a problem. Speed seems comparable to most other sites I visit. Could not say the same for my tired old Win XP...

Hi there BobL,
Great old machine you have restored there. Must have quite a long history. Trying to recall when the Atkins WA name was last seen. Could have been mid or...

My AEG die grinder of 20 years ago came with only a 1/4" collet and I could never get the cheap 6mm stuff to lock in tight enough. The dealer did however succeed in ordering a 6mm collet at quite a...

With or without lockrings, I find the biggest contributor to poor contact is the fact that most 3 phase plugs in good condition have a very firm friction fit between pins and receptacles. This...

Am not aware of a "standard" for shop machines but several lathes and mills I use seem to have the controls set so that rotation and feed direction follow the movement of the control lever....

Agree that Mitutoyo are great if you can find them at the right price. My 150mm/6" verniers after 30 years are still my first choice for quick measurements, and a used telescope gauge set still gives...

Agree with CBA that you could have winding failures occurring and high currents are causing the brush failures. Also worth checking that the brushes slide freely in their guides, as they can arc a...

Grease comes in two parts, a lubricant and a filler. The lube is a light or medium high spec oil, and the filler will be some kind of soap and/or lithium compound. For a high speed bearing you need...

Most of these bushes arrive dry. Will only be an oiled one if it comes in a sealed plastic wrap that looks visibly oily. The auto recon shops keep a selection of the common ones sitting in a tray of...

Not an electronics expert, but I think the system for controlling speed and torque on these motors is called Pulse Width Modulation, and you will find it controlling your battery drill and other DC...

Now way OT, but mention of Buck and Ryan rang a bell. My grandfather, (died early 1960"s aged 90 odd) left me a tenon saw with the hand stamped letters "BUCK TOTTENHAM CT RD" on its back. It was...

My welding experience was limited to steel, but with assistance from an experienced friend we set up and welded together a pair of substantial pontoons for a project. Cutting discs for ally are...

Hello Marc,
Do you have a MIG welder or access to one? If so, aluminium is no harder to mig weld than steel in the thicker sizes. Aluminium construction may not be any more expensive...

Always assumed that the straight radial blades on motor fans allowed them to be run in either direction at similar efficiency.
Some fans now seem to have the radial blades spaced in an irregular...

No reason not to have good sets of Whitworth and BS spanners if you are still working on old Aus or British stuff. Most of the old tradesmen who used this are passing on and crates of it are...

Hello oz94,
As CBA Melbourne points out, the machines do exist, but they are never going to be light weight and durable in the one package. I have one such machine with a 39mm...

Needed something simple to tram the vertical head on my Cincinnati No 2 horizontal mill. Local engineering shop had a pile of discarded ball races around 250mm or larger, ex mining gear. Was told to...

Do not despise the Garden Hose, but make sure it is the right one! Not a great expense to get a garden tap installed with a 19mm copper service to it instead of the usual 12mm pipe. Then buy a length...

Had occasion to remove the broken stub of an arbor from a blind hole in a chuck recently. Popped the chuck in the lathe 3 jaw and centre drilled it. Found to only be case hardened on a thin outer...

Certainly not related to either of the two W&B valve refacers that I currently have.
Combustor.

Have amassed a collection of these pulleys and centres when they were going cheap or for scrap. As usual, I rarely have the size I need, but it is easy to mount an undersize centre in a pulley,...

Can only agree with Michael G about the wonderful restorations done by British museum volunteers round their country. Just on a year ago we were fortunate to spend 3 weeks on a special interest tour...

Built my table from 10mm plate, but the subframe was on 50 X 100mm steel channel on edge. This was placed about 100mm in from the edges and allows clamps and visegrips to be easily used to fasten...

Have seen indicators, possibly home made, with a straight cut gear with its axis mounted at an angle to match the angle of leadscrew teeth. The mounting pivot will need to be at a complementary...

Should have been a link to www.hofmannengineering.com My mistake,
Combustor.

Agreed we are losing/have lost much of our heavy engineering capacity, but follow the money trail to see where it is now. Big mining and offshore oil/gas work is a huge customer for those with real...

Many of the saws of this era used the V belt on a flat pulley as a safety device in case of a jam or overload, allowing the belt to slip before the motor stalled. Worked quite well. The belt would...