Alan

Long time since I posted.      Norm, yes. Although since i said that, my chances of actually making them is diminishing. The wrist joints are a real issue now and holding up my progress on many things.
Prioritising this project has now brought it to nearly finished stage. Last week, it took 2 days to mask off the rear wheel sides and strakes (treads) to etch prime/paint the faces of the rims-
 

 
Need to dull off the front rims next
 

 

 
With this back together on wheels, I finished making the alternative drawbar for the Water Cart so it can be 'hitched up'.
Trial fit to check levels-
 

 
 Hoses and plumbing to do on this next.
 
Regards
  
 

Thought I'd just add an update, as it has been a while and only recently able to progress with this one.
It does not really fit in this forum section as a project. So just to say that I've got it nearly all back together.
When it is properly running, I'll add it to the 'Other Garden Machines' section 

Went to see a friend. While there I took a few photo's of his 1954 Eitcher. Starts and is road legal. Runs beautifully and sweet.
 




 
 Nice long stroke air cooled diesel. Fan behind the air filter, driven off the centre pulley in front.


 
 While there, Dunc bought this very good condition trailer.


 
 

Thanks for the birthday wishes. The cake was far too small for all the candles and I can’t imagine Joseph waiting on me lol

Happy Birthday Young Man.   Have a good one.

Today was the first Cumbria Classic for two years. Held at Dalemain House, near Penrith Cumbria. UK.
 
   Eldest grandson, his wife and great grandson are over from Cyprus for a couple of weeks. Liam persuaded me to go, as I'd not been for a number of years. So the four off us had an afternoon there.
   There were 419 entries plus club displays totalling a further 206 entries. There was cars, motorcycles, 4x4s, vans, military plus campers and caravans along with trade stands etc.
  To much to photograph, but below is a selection.
 

 

 

 

 
Land Rover based Tomcat. 3.9 V8.
 

 

 
Morris 1000 Traveler. I had a 1966 model that I dropped a 1500 Wolseley engine in.

 

 
Morris 1000 convertible. SWMBOs ream car. And she can keep on dreaming.

 

 

 

 
This would do me if I could afford the fuel. Just the steering wheel is on the wrong side.

 
I haven't seen one of these for years.

 
Austin Champ with Rolls Royce engine as standard. Will go backwards as fast as it will go forwards.

 

 

 
This Standard Vanguard pickup is the only one I have ever seen. Me want!

 
Ford Anglia. Had one with a Cortina GT 1600 stage 2 tuned engine. Shocked quite a few at the traffic light GP.

 

 
Another I once owned. Triumph Vitesse with 1600 straight 6.

 

 
 That's all folks.  

Decided yesterday to clear the pond out a bit, as with this hot weather it  has dried up. It's not been done for a while and the reeds etc were starting to encroach further in from the sides.
 
  Monday morning saw seven loads taken away for disposal by that stalwart duo, Sears and Saxon. Called a halt at lunch time as the sun had come round and it got a tad warm.
 
 

 
 This morning three more loads before lunch and that will do.
 

 
Left some at one end to kind of hide my wood yard. Those below are were a willow is. Left for the wild life.

 
 Last load. I wouldn't have thought when I started there was going to be ten loads.

 
 Now to find a shady spot to relax in.
 
 
 
 

Called in to see a friend of mine who's into vintage cars on Friday. As usual, after not seeing him for a while, another vehicle had been acquired. 1925 Renault pickup. He took me out for a little ride. LH drive and iffy brakes made traveling the lanes quite interesting.  
 
  This is not my photo but it is the same vehicle.
 

 

It's doing grand, Alan. Credit to your rebuild. Trailer work is it's main use. Starts up no problem and runs sweet.

The field opposite my humble abode, owned by one of those digester companies, has not been used for a couple of years. A farmer is renting it to graze sheep in. But first it needs fencing, ploughing and re-seeding. Also down one side trees and bushes needed cutting back. That was done a couple of days ago with a machine. 
   I've got permission to salvage any wood, But I have to be quick about it. So into the field this morning about 10. Got three loads before lunch and one after and it nearly killed me. Didn't help with everything being piled up. Bit of a fight getting to the good stuff. What's that saying? Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid day sun. 72F. I should know better at my age.
  Four loads like the one below.
 

 
The box on the back of the Sears is just the right size for chainsaw etc.
 

 
The wood did fight back a bit.

 
  Still more to collect.

Today Heathersgill Vitage Club held a charity tractor run, in memory of the founder and club chairman, who died a year ago. We were expecting thirty or so tractors. We actually had seventy. The weather stay fine and the sun came out just in time for the run. Run over country lanes, some very narrow, it covered 30 miles.
  I was marshalling at a junction near the end and managed to get a few photo's.
 
  The start at Longtown Auction Mart. Cumbria UK. It wasn't confined to just vintage tractors as you can see.

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

The field opposite has not been used for a couple of years. There is a drainage ditch running through it and two years ago the banks were cleared of tree's and bushes. Those were just pushed to one side and left. I got a few loads of firewood out of it last year.
  Last night a contractor I know, was cutting back the undergrowth round the edges, ready for fencers to come. The farmer who is going to rent it is going to reseed it and graze sheep in it.  This uncovered some more timber I could not get at. This morning before it got too hot, I went in with chainsaw, Sears and trailer. Half an hour and I had a full load.

 
Maybe some more later as the fencers clear more undergrowth.

With the green side up, fold lines and the 4 screw holes were marked out..
 

 
 
A bit like this..
 

 
 
The two short folds were easy as they were straight folds.. My (now dismantled) metal folder couldn't handle the thickness of the steel, so the control panel cover (just realized, I've not actually told you that's what I was making, so I hope you'd guessed right?) was clamped to the lathe pulleys tilt thingy/ex Wheel Horse chassis using a length of solid square bar... Can a bar be square?
 

 
 
A bit of hitting stick action....
 

 
 
Soon had the edges bent around..
 

 
 
Bending the curved parts was not quite so violent for the steel, but it did take longer.... It also involved a "Bending stick"... One of these in fact..
 

 
 
Take this part slowly and don't try to bend too much down at once or the steel will kink..
Slot the "Bending stick" on and push down slowly.. This is the first bend..
 

 
 
Third (I think) bend..
 

 
 
And the almost finished bend..er bend
 

 
 
From this point on wards, I forgot to take any pic's of making the cover.. For some reason I took a pic of the heavy rain through the window instead
 

 
 
The finished control panel cover...  Mounting it to the lathe bench will come later..
 

 
 
Oh, here's part 2 of the vids.
 
 

How how does my new toy perform?   Not bad at all
 

 
 
It still needed a bit of hitting..
 

 
 
And wiggling!
 

 
 
Back to the back and time to sort out this hinge problem..
 

 
 
A quick bit of marking out.
 

 
 
Small drill..
 

 
 
A bigger drill...
 

 
 
Don't you just hate it when this happens?
 

 
 
So I finished it by hand with a step drill... very handy things
 

 
 
A bit of trimming and a couple more holes and with it bolted on the hinge repair was done...  Now I know this is steel on steel, but as I don't have to change "speeds by belt" that often there will be very little ware..
 

 
 
Whilst I was down that way, I bolted the "belt tension arm" back in place.
 

 
 
The "beltey tiltey bit was fitted on.. Sorry about the naff pic.
 

 
 
And this little collar stops it from moving side to side.
 

 
 
Loads more to come, so tune back at some point for more..

Now may be a good point to drop in Vid No 1
 
 

Hi all, it's about time I put this lathe re-power thread up. I first mentioned it a long time ago in this This Thread .
For some reason I did not take any photo's of the build, so all the pic's you see have been grabbed for video footage, which means sometimes the pic's are not as sharp as they could be... sorry..
 
Before I moved out of my old workshop, i stripped down the treadmill leaving only the parts I needed...
 
The motor and all the wiring/circuit boards..
 

 
 
And the control panel..
 

 
 
A closer look at the motor. 1.25 HP, but 180 volts DC which means I have to use the electrical gubbings that powered it in the treadmill..
 

 
 
So the question is... How do I get power from this little ribbed pulley...
 

 
 
To this big pulley on the lathe
 

 
 
First lets make a mock motor with direction of travel, as it's much lighter than trying to hold the real thing in place..
 

 
 
The easiest place to mount it would be on the wall above the lathe, but making something to tension a drive belt could be awkward!
 

 
 
Also mounting the "speed change pulleys" would be fun as it would have to sit somewhere in the catch tray.. Somewhere about here..
 

 
 
Despite the amount of space it would take up behind the lathe, I decided to go with the mounting system I made for the lathe years ago.
Here's a view from the back when the lathe and I were still at the nursery workshop..
 
Thankfully I can make it a bit less "hangin out da back" or else I'd have to cut a hole through the wall in my new Workshack!
 

 
 
It used to pivot on the back of the bench on this steel rod.
 

 
 
The trouble was I'd cut one of the hinge brackets off to make the lathe bench easier to move to my new Workshack!
 

 
 
Never mind. let's lighten it a bit and cut off an unneeded bit in the saw..
 

 
 
One broken blade later...
 

 
 
But after some more of this..
 

 
 
It finally came off.
 

 
 
Leaving this odd small bit of box sticking out..
 

 
 
Sooo, out a new tool came
 

 

Good to see you back Ian.  Now we need to see more of your crazy builds.
 

.........If anything.........That was the issue I was asked to sort out recently. A heavy bronze carb fitted to a small water cooled 1/2hp engine from 1923 and had been adapted to fit onto an early 1930s Lawnmower!!.-
 

 
I actually found a Manual and parts list for the engine, but of course not one single available spare part. Failed to find anyone else online familiar with, or who had a similar ''N' type engine made by Stuart Turner.
Several bits missing according to the parts list diagram and one item had fortunately been acquired from ebay...the all important Float Bowl (screw on) Lid.
So I had to make and find the bits etc, so as it had not run for god knows how long, it was dismantled-
 
 
 
Certainly overdue for a clean and repair. The small clip under the spring (bottom middle of above pic) should be fixed by solder to the float. It holds the needle at correct height.........duly fixed.
Established that the large hollow brass nut (top left above) which acts as a sediment bowl should have a screened filter and a spring within. items (on left of next image) 4044/4045-
 

 
The bits had to fit within these parts-
 

 
So after a search for materials, a bit of lathe time and some soldering, I had the 'makins' of the necessaries-
 
 
 
The 'Stove Pipe' top hat filter body was silver soldered together, so that I could soft solder the mesh to the bottom and sides. But not before it was subjected to some careful milling to put some 1/4"wide slots into the side wall.
Appears to be some distortion in the image below which makes the filter body look crooked, but assure it is not.
 -

 
I was lucky to find in my stock, a suitable spring to apply pressure to the filter and keep it all in contact with it's seat. That filter/sediment body nut is 1 inch A/F.
So all done and ready to bolt on. Now super clean inside and favoured the patina to polish on a motor of this age-
 

 
Oh and yes, I have the task of getting this thing running/working, along with another pile of broken rusty bits......I may be some time!.
Regards 
 
 

Grab a lump of ally..
 

 
 
Bung it in the lathe and face the end off.
 

 
 
A bit of a trim down the side.
 

 
 
More metal removed, the black pen stuff was to help me get the right shape.. Or near enough..
 

 
 
Almost there now..
 

 

 
 
Parted off.
 

 
 
Then finished off... HHmmmm.. Shiny
 


To fit the knob thingy I had to drill yet another hole..
 

 
 
Tap a thread in it.
 

 
 
Ta Daaa... Almost..    Not sure about the thread showing..
 

 
 
A bit of ally tube soon had the looks sorted..
 

 
 
And finally fit the finished tool holder to the lathe..
 

 
 
I hope you all have enjoyed this little build, it was quite fun to make
 
Of course..... This build comes with a video
 
 
 

So, having created an odd shaped lump of metal with a hole through it, a few more holes were needed... Marking the holes out..
 

 
 
Drilled..
 

 
 
The with the aid of one of these..
 

 
 
I was able to fill the holes with bolts
 

 
 
Me likey even more
 

 
 
Next on the hit list was to make a handle so the holder could be clamped down tight.. Having a nut to fit the big bolt was handy, but a nut alone wasn't enough..
 
So in the lathe went a random "useful" bit of steel which was turned down and bored out..
 

 
 
To fit the nut most of the way in but still give plenty of gap to weld the nut on.
 

 
 
A bit of weldy sparkly action..
 

 
 
Back in the lathe to turn the welds down.
 

 
 
Chop the end off..
 

 
 
The cut a taper on the cut off end.
 

 

Thanks Richard, it's good to be posting again, it's been far too long...
Nigel mentioned yesterday that it's been a bit quiet on here, something about that strange place that's Farcebook!
 
I should of built this tool holder a long time ago, it's such a handy thing
 
So where was I?  Oh yes.. about here.
 
With both top and bottom bit's drilled and countersunk....
 

 
 
It was time to cut some threads in the middle section..
 

 
 
Top bolted down..
 

 
 
As was the base.. Before the bolts were welded in, I countersunk the holes a bit wider so I could get a good weld all around the bolt heads.
 

 
 
A quick check to see how the cutting tools looked... Quite happy with that.
 

 
 
A nice sturdy bolt was cut down and welded to a small square of steel, it will come in handy for clamping the holder to the carriage. 
In this pic you can also see the "block" has had the bolts welded up and turned flush on the lathe.
 

 
 
The bolt with the big square head fit's like so.. The original "1 tool" tool holder won't be in use for much longer..
 

 
 
A quick test fit, me likey
 

 

 
 
The big question was...........
 
Had I got my measurements right and did the tip of a cutting tool end up in the right place????
 
Yep, that will do nicely
 

Now for a errr... Interesting challenge..  How to cut a smallish square from that big slab!
 
The best and quietest way I could think of was a bit "iffy", but it worked..
 

 

 
 
That looks very close!!
 

 
 
But it clears, just..
 

 
 
Lot's of cutting and turning later, all three parts are the right size.
 

 
 
A quick look at my plans... Or should that be rough scribble?
 

 
 
And it was time to fix all three parts together... A single bolt kept it all in check..
 

 
 
So I could mark out and start drilling holes to put some bolts through. Here's the top drilled out..
 

 
 
And the base...
 

 
 
A bit of countersinking was needed..
 

 
 
So the bolt heads would sit flush.
 

 
 
More to follow later including a rather well edited if rather long video... Tune back for more later..

Hi all, sorry for the lack of posts from me in...ooooo... quite a while!
Life changed a great deal when Covid appeared and my Wife started working from home....   Spare time is something that is very very hard to come by!
 
That's not to say I have not been busy in my little Workshack, it's finding Workshack time and the time to post anything anywhere that's been the problem....
 
Sooooo.. With my new Workshack finally (well, almost as they are never finished) and the lathe re-power done (I will update the Re-power thread), it was time to make something that my Southbend lathe has needed in a long time.. Yep a new tool holder that can hold more than one cutting tool at a time
 
The said lathe in question..
 

 
 
To make the TH I needed three different size lumps of steel.. Here's the base part being cut to size.
 

 
 
The middle part will be cut from this odd lump of steel that was coated in clear rubber, then bolted to a Volvo bulkhead!  No idea what it did in the Volvo!
 

 
 
The third and top bit will have to be cut from this rather big slab!
 

 
 
While the middle part was being cut roughly to size..
 

 
 
It was filmed on an old phone that was rubber banded to a tripod!    My faithful video camera had snuffed it you see.. 
 

 

 
 
The middle part being turned to size..
 

 
 
As my hands are not working that well these days the Power Crossfeed thingy I build has come in very handy and saved lots of hand ache..
 

 
 
The middle part done..
 

 
 
And plonked on the base.
 

 
 
 

Hello Gents,
                      Thanks for viewing and your comments. A little more progress to date. The front end is more or less sorted ready for the chimney to go on and is now sitting on it's front wheels.
The cylinder in the original model design had a bland side face just shaped and usually painted black. I, as may be seen in a previous post,  just had to make things more difficult for the sake of detail.
I made up a cover plate and secured it with screws as per the full size engines. This has been painted the same dark blue as other parts and (I think) helps to finish the area off. 
I have just replaced the last temporary screw on the cylinder part for a stud/nut, but you will see a countersunk screw in the top Guide Bar in this pic which I had taken earlier.
The tiny (7mm dia) steel handwheel on the Blower Valve was drilled and finish filed by hand/eye, but looks ok I think.-
 

 
The steering chain drum finshed and now fitted is also modified from the model design to reflect full size layout. The chain (brass) is what used to be supplied to clockmakers for the winding system on long cases.
I plan too make my own at a later stage in steel with brazed links-
 

 
Lastly for now, I finished making the square headed blanking plugs and stop pins in bronze for the water pump and now fitted in it's partially hidden place down behind the rear wheel.
Original model design was for it to fit on the side of the boiler, which looks way out of scale, and over the years, other modellers have experienced priming issues when in steam with boiler mounted pumps.
I think it is because of the heat, but I fortunately redesigned this back in 1987 to locate in a cool area similar to full size layout-
 
 
 
Sorry about the last image quality, I deleted the wrong one . You may notice a red dot adjacent to gear tooth on both the 2nd and 3rd motion shaft gear wheels.
I have a slight resistance in rotation where these two coincide, so i think i must have a tiny burr on them, so i will pull these off and run them with some p600/oil & 'T' cut grinding paste to bed them in.
The running clearances were set using cigarette papers (about 0.0015"), so it doesn't take much to obstruct free movement. Hopefully more soon.
Regards.
 
 

My old MG2 from  feb 1936 is about to go to a new home in Gloucestershire. Rebuilt from a pile of scrap in 2016 to as near ex factory as I could get it, it is now time for it to go to a new home, not without a fight though it has not been run for three years so a good day was spent stripping the car. magneto, de- compressor . Surprised myself that I managed to crank start it without immediate cardiac issues!.  Last time it was shown I covered it in a mix of WD40 and oil which over the years has collected dust so that it now has a patina that looks it's 86 years. I managed to get it to run and had a good charge around the garden for old time sake. Sad to see it go but too many projects left to deal with. As far as I know 137 is the oldest known MG2 crawler being number 36 of the line, it has the Sturmey Archer 600cc side valve engine fitted with the chain crank starter mechanism, open exhaust and flat top engine cowling fitted with a cycle brake lever to operate the decompressor.