Today I acquired...........

[Tigman]

A few parts for my Tapmatic rebuild

View attachment 488902
Two annoying things, apart from the cost
The first item I didn't need (£22.50)
The spring that I ordered was the wrong one
I now need to persuade Tapmatic to swap the spring and give me a refund (no doubt a part-refund) on the washer,
and in addition pay postage both ways...

Seadog I've just acquired a Tapmatic 70 x , have you a manual for it , be much obliged for a peak at it , need to order a few bits , colletts and a small bearing and a spring , need to know stuff to ask for !

Thanks

 

[8ob]

Today I acquired a new hand held label printer that can print on heat shrink and some cobalt drill sets.

Bob

 

[6ply]

International deny all knowledge of Interlac 845.
The 80-78 may refer to it be flame resistant finishing coat.
Unless it is the paint Reg Varney nicked from the bus depot, I'd just try it.
Is it still liquid or a green door stop?

I haven't opened it yet. Snowed under with a miriad of other jobs today.

 

[badabec]

Today I acquired a new hand held label printer that can print on heat shrink and some cobalt drill sets.

Bob

View attachment 491777

Don't let any children near the printer. They'll label everything in sight, kettle, toaster, you if you stand still.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Don't let any children near the printer. They'll label everything in sight, kettle, toaster, you if you stand still.

Cat, hamster ants(did not go well)

 

[Kram]

Nobody bothered to tidy up the remnants of the Bat boxes that had been knocked out of the trees.

There are severe penalties for disturbing bats and their habbitat. Very big fines, I suggest you contact the forresty commision/enviroment agency - sorry cant remember who of the top of my head...

Do you know the name of the rail devegetation contractor in your area?

 

[Seadog]

Seadog I've just acquired a Tapmatic 70 x , have you a manual for it , be much obliged for a peak at it , need to order a few bits , colletts and a small bearing and a spring , need to know stuff to ask for !

Thanks

I'll send you the info that I have.

 

[Tigman]

Cheers Seadog that helps no end ,I can see what I need ! Much appreciated

Did you get yours working ok ?

 

[Seadog]

Yes, all back together, but not tested since I only have MT2 on my bench drill and can't get the arbor out to replace it.

 

[Tigman]

Yes, all back together, but not tested since I only have MT2 on my bench drill and can't get the arbor out to replace it.

I've got to get the mt2 out of mine and fit R8 arbour for use on the bridgeport or I can get mt2 to R8 adaptor , not made my mind up yet !

 

[m_c]

Well, they've slashed away ALL the greenery, Trees and shrubs along about 40 miles of railtrack, saying it was for 'safety'. The arrived at 2am with a rail carriage fitted with a grabber and cut down all the trees. Chainsaws all night long. I discovered they had also entered our garden, cut down our fence, removed several stands of Ash and Maple and the F'd off with it. Strangely, one of the workers then offered to sell me some logs (presumably my own Ash?). Nobody bothered to tidy up the remnants of the Bat boxes that had been knocked out of the trees.

Over the following months they arrived whilst I was abroad and cut an access path from my driveway, through our partly forested garden to the embankment so they could roll fencing mesh in. Not happy!!! They errected the fence through part of my garden despite me emailing a confirmation that they could stay the Foxtrot out. They declined to come back to remove it since the correct line, according to their OWN maps, showed I owned the bank right up to 1 metre from the line and they weren't permitted to work closer than 3m from the track without closing the line down. "Well close it, then!!" Nothing was done.

Sooooo, 6 months later I finally get 5 tons of wet wood dropped on my front lawn in big rings. Killed my grass. Grrrrr. Next morning I find them in my back garden again, having cut through my recently reinforced Rail Monkey Proofed fence. The even tore off the "No entry without written approval" signs. Sooooo, I tell them to go home (in fewer words) and a big boss comes out to explain that if it wasn't completed by the end of the month his company wouldn't get paid for the entire job. Sooooo, after protracted negotiation he agreed to pay for and install a new Rail Monkey Proof and caravan Dweller Proof security fence along the whole end of the site.

I'll get some photos later once the workers have left. Pretty fence but clearly they've never used a spirit level before. One comes from Sheffield so I can just about understand him but the other sounds like TinBasherDan so I only get every 3rd or 4th word

My brother does this kind of work for a contractor, and deveg overnight is standard practise.
In Scotland, you should have received notice of overnight work before it started if your house is IIRC within 50 metres of the line, but that responsibility is with the contractor, and the rules might differ for Wales.

Deveg is one of these cyclical things with NR. They go from wanting it done every few years, so it's pretty much just a quick pass with a flail, to ignoring until the line is lined with trees, at which point it becomes a far bigger job involving chainsaws, grabs and chippers. And it is done for various safety reasons. Main ones being to maximise line of sight on the line, and minimise fallen trees from storms. It also makes worker access on a live line safer, as it gives them more flexibility on places of safety.

The fencing sounds like they've got the local cowboys in.
I'd suggest finding the contact details for your local Network Rail office, and finding out who's the contact for the job.
If your local Network Rail is anything like Scotland, then they don't like valid complaints, and somebody will be kicked out the office to go and look at the job.
I say valid, because going by some of the things my brother has had to do, NR are generally pretty amicable and willing to negotiate, but be unreasonable with them, and they'll follow any rules to the letter.

 

[Olderisbetter]

Collecting on Sunday

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

Picked up the D-Bit Grinder and Roland CNC Router/Engraver this morning before work.

I am too knackered to bother getting them out of the truck right now, work this week has been intense.

I will need to find a parallel cable, and order a spare docking station for my Z-Book (the dock has a parallel port, the laptop does not) before I can play with the engraver anyway.



Also this turned up in the post:

The book Facebook has been trying to get banned (and has in the US, so much for free speech).

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

Picked up the D-Bit Grinder and Roland CNC Router/Engraver this morning before work.

I am too knackered to bother getting them out of the truck right now, work this week has been intense.

I will need to find a parallel cable, and order a spare docking station for my Z-Book (the dock has a parallel port, the laptop does not) before I can play with the engraver anyway.



Also this turned up in the post:

View attachment 491898

The book Facebook has been trying to get banned (and has in the US, so much for free speech).

The Roland is rather compact and bijou... Bet it's bloody loud though!

And the D-Bit grinder matches my Pantograph...

If I wasn't planning to get a cheap Chinese work-head to have additional options it would probably make sense to take the grinder off it's pedestal and mount it to the keyed mounting point on the Pantograph.

 

[m_c]

View attachment 491900
The Roland is rather compact and bijou... Bet it's bloody loud though!

I have one of those, and it's not that loud.
I built a new control box for mine using a DDCS controller, as I couldn't be bothered trying to get the required software working. IIRC the newest OS it'll run on is Win95 or 98, and I don't think I have any computers left with a native parallel port. Laptop parallel ports aren't always guaranteed to work, as they're often only 3.3V, whereas a desktop parallel port is usually 5V, which depending on the controller, can cause problems.
I'm not sure how well it would work with a USB parallel port, as it's not being used to directly control the machine, so that might be another option to try.

I managed to source the correct connector, and suitable cable so I didn't have to butcher the original controller, so it's still sat on the shelf.

The other issue is the cutters aren't available anymore, and they're specific to that era of Roland machines.
I had to get a couple batches custom made.

And I've just found my thread with the details - https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/updating-a-roland-pnc-2100-desktop-engraver.132824/

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

And I've just found my thread with the details - https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/updating-a-roland-pnc-2100-desktop-engraver.132824/

I saw that when I was googling the machine before agreeing to have it.

I have zero desire to convert it unless I absolutely have to...

But seeing that you had done so successfully was a mental checkbox of "oh it will be savable whatever then".

IIRC the newest OS it'll run on is Win95 or 98,

Whilst doing my "should I take on this liability" research" I found on the Roland website that they released an update to the software as part of their withdrawal of support.

They claim this update is windows 10 compatible, this remains to be seen, but it would definitely be helpful.

Laptop parallel ports aren't always guaranteed to work, as they're often only 3.3V, whereas a desktop parallel port is usually 5V, which depending on the controller, can cause problems.

I would think the docking station ones should operate as per the desktop spec.

Reverse compatibility with old, expensive machines is the only reason for HP still providing the option for it's mobile workstation line 15 years after the parallel port became obselete for any normal user.

The other issue is the cutters aren't available anymore, and they're specific to that era of Roland machines.
I had to get a couple batches custom made.

This is not so much of an issue, given I bought it with a grinder specifically designed for making that type of cutter.

I can buy TC or HSS rod, rough out the cutting end on the surface grinder then add the relief and point on the D-Bit grinder pretty easily.

I think I have some 3-flute 1.5mm end-mills on a extra long ⅛" shank that would be long enough to fit too.

 

[bricol]

There was a whole cupboard full of similar paint + associated stuff but I'm pretty clueless about paints. I'll give this a go. Any idea regarding suitable thinners? I can't find info online.

Not for that I'm afraid.

I keep dumping gun wash and xylene into my machine enamel stuff - it still keeps sticking, still keeps pretty much the same colour 20 odd years plus since it was chucked from the paint container at my old place of work when we closed down.

I would ask the expert from dinner the other night, except he's back in England from where we were in Ohio, and I'm now in Bourbonnais, Illinois.

 

[6ply]

They claim this update is windows 10 compatible, this remains to be seen, but it would definitely be helpful.

I used to have a Roland engraver at home and despite repeated efforts could not get the software working on windows 10. We still have a different Roland engraver/mill at work and that one remains (mostly unused) connected to a machine with a standalone copy of windows xp. I have used it to create a few PCBs.

 

[Carl Wilson]

Well, they've slashed away ALL the greenery, Trees and shrubs along about 40 miles of railtrack, saying it was for 'safety'. The arrived at 2am with a rail carriage fitted with a grabber and cut down all the trees. Chainsaws all night long. I discovered they had also entered our garden, cut down our fence, removed several stands of Ash and Maple and the F'd off with it. Strangely, one of the workers then offered to sell me some logs (presumably my own Ash?). Nobody bothered to tidy up the remnants of the Bat boxes that had been knocked out of the trees.

Over the following months they arrived whilst I was abroad and cut an access path from my driveway, through our partly forested garden to the embankment so they could roll fencing mesh in. Not happy!!! They errected the fence through part of my garden despite me emailing a confirmation that they could stay the Foxtrot out. They declined to come back to remove it since the correct line, according to their OWN maps, showed I owned the bank right up to 1 metre from the line and they weren't permitted to work closer than 3m from the track without closing the line down. "Well close it, then!!" Nothing was done.

Sooooo, 6 months later I finally get 5 tons of wet wood dropped on my front lawn in big rings. Killed my grass. Grrrrr. Next morning I find them in my back garden again, having cut through my recently reinforced Rail Monkey Proofed fence. The even tore off the "No entry without written approval" signs. Sooooo, I tell them to go home (in fewer words) and a big boss comes out to explain that if it wasn't completed by the end of the month his company wouldn't get paid for the entire job. Sooooo, after protracted negotiation he agreed to pay for and install a new Rail Monkey Proof and caravan Dweller Proof security fence along the whole end of the site.

I'll get some photos later once the workers have left. Pretty fence but clearly they've never used a spirit level before. One comes from Sheffield so I can just about understand him but the other sounds like TinBasherDan so I only get every 3rd or 4th word.

**Language**ers.

 

[6ply]

I'll make some new jaws. I think it's been repainted?