What did you do today?

[Tundra Twin Track]

Wait a minute ... how fast does one thread, anyhow? Tens of RPM would be plenty fast & there's not going to be much whipping at that speed.

Most Ridgid threading machines run 12 to 50 rpm depending on model or dia of work peice,I ran my Lathe 30 rpm

[754]

No room behind spindle of lathe, , no room for long stick out, it's becoming a hassle..
Maybe you have reached the limits of your shop, either equipment wise , space or both..
At some point you have to outsource , or not do the work, or modify your shop..

[MattiJ]

Started summer holiday, 4 weeks off. Or 5 weeks if I can stretch some extra overtime days on the end of holiday.
Now surfing on web and planning for fishing trip or two to either northern Finland or Norway.

[Jim Stewart]

You're talking single-pointing, right? I meant with a die.

Heh. No, I wouldn't like to run a die at 225 rpm. I believe Jerry was talking about single-pointing...

-js

[Tom S]

Lucked out today. Went to clean up the wiring on my Ames, I had just clipped the wires when moving it so that I could separate the motor and still have a record what goes where. The wiring had been integrated with the stand, with a toggle to disable the lathe motor and a receptacle (I would guess for a light).Started checking things over today to see if any wiring needs replacing, (found a good bit of cracked insulation that needs replacing) and when I opened up a junction box this fell out:



Someone went through the trouble of recording the whole wiring setup, making my job much easier. It's written on the back of a union form from the Rochester Products Division of GM, perhaps a clue to the history of this machine?

The motor is a GE Utility Motor, 3/4hp. From the date code I think it's a 1950 model. Heavy thing, they sure don't make them like this any more. The leads for the start capacitor were short and cracked so I opened up the end bell to see what it would take to replace them. Should be pretty straight-forward from what I can see. The capacitor has done it's duty and reach the end of it's life, so I'll need to replace it. Unfortunately all the markings have faded, so I've got no idea of the capacitor values. Does anyone have experience with these motors who can help me out with that?

[J Tiers]

Heh. No, I wouldn't like to run a die at 225 rpm. I believe Jerry was talking about single-pointing...

-js

or, more specifically NOT single-pointing if I can help it.....

[Hopefuldave]

Separated the windings from the core laminations on a big oil-cooled welding transformer, replaced the low-voltage winding with a step-up isolating winding (on a 3D-printed coil former) to get my rotary converter a little bit safer - 415v no longer referenced to ground. As always, two lamination sheets left over, but otherwise went well - tomorrow it's power it up, and see whether I need the 5v and 10v windings as well as the "415" to get the desired no-load voltage.

Acquired what feels like contact dermatitis from the transformer oil...

Dave H. (the other one)

[Cenedd]

The capacitor has done it's duty and reach the end of it's life, so I'll need to replace it. Unfortunately all the markings have faded, so I've got no idea of the capacitor values. Does anyone have experience with these motors who can help me out with that?

Forgive me if I'm being stupid here but that looks like a protective cardboard tube over the metal canister of the capacitor. Have you tried removing it and looking at the metal canister for markings? Apologies if this is simply a 'before' picture.

[RB211]

My wife found our two kitties their forever home, adopted out of the sanctuary they were staying at. I am in Istanbul, Turkey right now. Fly back stateside tomorrow.

[Tom S]

Forgive me if I'm being stupid here but that looks like a protective cardboard tube over the metal canister of the capacitor. Have you tried removing it and looking at the metal canister for markings? Apologies if this is simply a 'before' picture.

Nope, didn't even think about that. I just saw a 70-year-old capacitor that looked to be falling apart and probably wasn't a good thing to be fooling around with. But now that you mention it there does appear to be a metal canister under there and perhaps the cardboard was just there for some vibration protection or something. I'll have to take a closer look today.

[Cenedd]

Been in process of trying to fit aluminium rectangular tube to each of the axes of my mill to act as guards for the cheap scales that will go inside. Cut down the mount for the head's gas-lift the other day and re-blued it. Drilled all the mounting holes in the tube, got it on the column...and found the depth-stop got in the way. Had fun cutting that down today as the entire head has to come off to get the depth stop off. A quick trim on one edge lets it clear the tube. A mm taken off the wedge on one side means it can now be put back on without taking the head off again. Re-blued the edges and called it a day - it's 30°C in the workshop with no ventilation to speak of.

Was quite please that it stood up to side milling with a roughing cutter at 0.5mm depth of cut and 20mm engagement. Yeah, I know it's a long way from Abom chips...but it's usable!

[Tom S]

You ended up being bang-on Cenedd. There was a metal cylinder capacitor underneath the cardboard, which has ratings on it. The top of the can has a small section that is starting to swell, so I'm going to replace the capacitor anyhow. For the cost of a starting capacitor it's cheap insurance to prevent a future issue.

Ran a megger test on the windings this morning as well. When my Opa (grandfather for you non-Dutch/German folk) passed away almost 4 years ago I kept a megger that I had found while cleaning out his warehouse. That warehouse was a mess packed full of mostly unsalvagable stuff that had not been touched in ~10 years. Not garbage per say, but things from various business ventures that had accumulated over the years and no one would want. It had become overwhelming for him, and at a certain point he became embarrassed by it and just shut the door and never went back in. Cleaning it up was not really a nice way to remember him, although between the brothers and nephews we made the best of it. Being able to actually use a tool salvaged out of that mess today was a nice feeling.

[Arcane]

Well, it finally happened. One of the large burners on my stove burned out. Darn thing didn't even last 38 years...

I was boiling up some smokies and when I went to check on them, the water wasn't boiling and when I lifted the pot up and disturbed the coil I got quite a surprising little arc show!

[Willy]

I hate when that happens, and to add insult to injury it never checks itself out when you`re not using it.

I`m in the process of replacing an AC unit that barely lasted 45 years before the magic smoke came out. Should have changed it out a few weeks ago but it was too hot out, then it rained and it was too cold and wet. Today or maybe tomorrow seem just about right.
I never knew the concept of procrastination until I retired....I think I`ve got it mastered now.

[CCWKen]

I never knew the concept of procrastination until I retired....I think I`ve got it mastered now.

Oh yeah, that's what planning is all about. Why do it today when you can plan for it tomorrow or next week. That's what plans are for--So you can procrastinate.