my workshop/equip

[Higgins420]

Hi,I don’t know if this will be of any interest to anyone but I am going to keep an up to date thread of my equip/mods/ups/down/failures and all. I would like to have it documented and you never know it might help someone out in the future.

Equip so far:
Sip topmig 195
Oxford rt110
R tech p30c
Zyto lathe

Oxford
i got this welder dated and it was made in 1976, and i got a manual from pickhill (didn’t think it'd be much of a manual but I like having original info on it and it was only £1.)
I’ve just gotten 25L of transformer oil and am going to change the oil tomorrow so I don’t have to worry about water contamination for the next 20/30 years
i was going to give it all a good clean up before refilling, any suggestions of solvents ok to cleanup the coils? WD40? would something like carb cleaner be OK with the copper? it does a great job of cleaning stuff up.




R tech P30C
I was planning on setting up an oxy/fuel rig for cutting but after pricing it all up i've decided plasma is by far the more economical option.
I did want oxy/fuel for brazing as well but ill hopfully be getting a basic DC TIG set up in the next couple of months so can have a go at TIG brazing.
I've just treated myself to an r tech P30C, they've got a great customer service department.
The first unit I received had the dial face was slightly off center so he sent me a set of consumables and a replacement machine in a day and a half, very happy





i will update more tomorrow but for now i have sleep.
cheers,
higgins

 

[cumbriasteve]

The thread is certainly of interest and very welcome, apart from it's always nice to know who has what and it often reveals facts that helps others decide which way to go with their own purchases and set ups.

 

[winchman]

Have you checked the existing oil?
I assume you can see water contamination? when we opened mine it was like new

 

[WorkshopChris]

Was going to say the same unless its had some serious abuse or underwater in a flood it will look like new inside. You may need something to lift it out with.

 

[Wendelspanswick]

My Pickhill Bantam is filthy on the outside but the inside is spotless:

If it ain't broke don't fix it!

 

[norlander]

My Pickhill Bantam is filthy on the outside but the inside is spotless:

If it ain't broke don't fix it!

Thats wotya call solid injuneering. Excellent picture. I had an Oxford Bantam years back. Wish I still had it.

 

[Kent]

Surprised you thought plasma was more economical. Of course you can only cut within a set range with a small plasma and you can't heat stuff

Great as they are for thin stuff

Cheapest way to go oxy/ fuel is 13 kg propane and a large oxy bottle - this way you only rent the oxy bottle
Super heating nozzle number 3
Propane cutting nozzles
One cutting torch
Regs n pipes

Unless your ofw no reason for accetelyle

 

[HughF]

Unrelated, can you weld with oxy/propane?

Negatory...

 

[500e]

Old transformer oil is not a nice stuff carcinogenic, no need to clean transformer, if you are determined just hang it up & let it drain, lift it squarely out of container do not tip (engine hoist is helpful it is heavy!) clean case & look for rust prime & paint out side they have been known to rust through.

 

[Kent]

@Higgins420 - zyto details and pics?


Unrelated, can you weld with oxy/propane?

No but I read claims from the states that you can. Problem is good stuff circulates on the internet but so does myth

 

[arther dailey]

do not use any cleaner/solvent on windings unless you have a fan oven to dry it out for 12 hours.Arther

 

[Higgins420]

I have taken a peak inside and it didn't look healthy, and i've heard that most problems occur when they've been moved and it all gets stired up, i have done quite a bit of welding with it already and i'm sure it would of been ok but my luck in the past has taught me to always prepare for the worst, its not a drastic amount of money and i know i will never have to think about it now, i'm seeing it as a bit of an investment
i was dead set on oxy propane, but i managed to get the plasma on 0% interest finance from R TECH so it was much cheaper initially than getting hoses/bottles etc... and i get my gas through BOC so bottle rent on top of that, for my situation i think plasma's the better option.
I wont have to buy consumables for a while now for this and will mainly be cutting up to 5/6mm sheet, rarely going up to 8mm (which from what i've read/seen these will handle 8mm ok) and i pay about £10 a month so about the same as bottle rent.
also my workshop is basically a converted stable on the end of working stables so would like to avoid having fuel gas cylinders around, i would like to put together a small oxy/fuel rig at some point for heating/brazing.
my bikes having a service and will be off the road for the next couple of daays so im struggling to get to my workshop but i might get a chance later today, will take some pics of the oil change
cheers,
higgins

 

[Higgins420]

ah also....
The Zyto we had lying around in a very sorry state for years and i took it apon my self a few months back to give it a clean up, i had it running on the the motor that came with it (1/3HP AC motor :/) and got it going ok but was never enough power.
also the head stock bearings/journals are shot, and the spindle is scored.
i'm going to have the spindle ground down to 25.0 mm and have some bronze bearings machined to fit, and get a pair of toothed pulleys to go between the spindle/counter shaft, i just have to get my hands on another treadmill (possibly free but cant pick one up on a bike haha) or a speed controller.
i got an old treadmill a while ago, got the motor out, had it all running and my curiosity managed to fry the control board so i'm stuck with a 2HP motor with no speed control
i'm not going to spend to much on it but i think with a bit of work it could be fairly capable.
these are the only pics ive got on my laptop i will get some more

 

[Higgins420]

ye i've done some asking about and i know someone who will do the grinding/machining for about 30 squids, the plain bearings will be £18 posted and to be honest i'd rather wait and spend a weekend getting it all set up and what not, i'm not in desperate need of it at the moment.
and i measured the free play in the head bearings with a dial indicator on it and there is over a mil freeplay !!
and the lowest point on the spindle (bottom of lowest groove is 25.21mm, so taking it down to bang on 25mm should take the scoring out.
if anyone is fairly local to me and would be up for collecting a tread mill in exchange for anything that would be amazing (long shot i know but its worth a try haha
im keeping my eye out for them as you can pick them up for £20/30 sometimes free and they are usually 2HP/3 motors, would like to get two or three and have one motor for my pillar drill and one for my band saw
you will notice as this thread progresses that i do like pimping things up and trying to squeeze as much use as i can out of them.

 

[Higgins420]

i did manage to get it cutting fairly nicly even with the AC motor, it was my great uncles who had it for years, found it hard to find much about them other than this page....
http://www.lathes.co.uk/zyto/

 

[Swift&Bold]

After my experience with cleaning up the inside of a semi-working welder my advice is, "Leave well alone unless it stops working". Clean up the outside by all means but leave it at that.
The old and much used adage of "If it works it's not broken, if it's not broken don't try to fix it", is some of the best advice you can get.

 

[Higgins420]

yeah i think the shadows add extra depth to them haha.... this is same journal, slightly different angle



and i'm not trying to fix the oxford i'm just maintaining it, i know there is pretty much nothing to go wrong other than water contamination/running low on oil and the oil levels fine and there are no leaks, i figure a well maintained oxford should outlive me
i'm looking forward to getting the lathe running at some point, i just cant justify spending money on it at the moment, really having to prioritize.

 

[the snooper]

How about brazing?

I know b.. all about flame 'welding' as the most I've done was managing a really neat cut with a welding tip - after that I've only used gas rigs for heating and cutting...

yeah you can braze with it

 

[Higgins420]

finally got a chance to have a go with the plasma cutter (pics below) i am very happy with it, took a bit of getting used to but think i'm getting the hang of it i think it was travel speed i was going wrong with, cutting too fast would send the dross back up into the cut and basically fuse it where i had just cut haha.
but i've gotten to grips with it a bit more.... i started with the amps way up (31A) and backed it down, the first few as you can see have quite a lot of discoloration, quite happy by the end it seems to be a bit more like it(22A). these were all 6mm mild steel plate running about 55/60 psi
i didn't have much time as i'm confined to the realms of public transport until next week and had to get the bus but snapped a few pics....




these next ones i'm really quite happy with, considerably less discoloring it felt like i was traveling at a nice speed and could see the metal melting away nicely, the washer worked great as a template as when i rested the edge of the ceramic on it it held the tip about 1mm off the metal.




i also changed the oil in the oxford yesterday afternoon, it wasn't too bad in there but there was a nice layer of sludge on the bottom and some noticeable emulsion, the transformers/wiring didn't look too bad, but the big copper strap that goes to the earth terminal has gone a whitey kind of colour just where it meets the terminal.
i'm being told i cannot upload any more photos at the mo, and i'm too tired to be arguing with a computer so ill post some tomorrow once i have risen from my slumber

 

[WorkshopChris]

but the big copper strap that goes to the earth terminal has gone a whitey kind of colour just where it meets the terminal.

That may be solder you are seeing, the ends are tinned with solder so as not to deform when tightened to the terminal.