Hemingway Kits2012 - The International Year of the Craftsman?!
Having searched widely, it seems that 2012 is to be known variously as the Chinese year of the Dragon, the UN year of the Co-operative, the Australian year of the Farmer and of course the year of the London Olympics and that Mayan prophecy. None of these quite has the ring we were looking for so we have decided to launch our own - there doesn't seem to be a law against it!
In the depths of our Western recession, it seems fitting to honour those gifted souls who, like Midas, add value to everything they touch. The following giants of the "modern" industrial era were exceptional craftsmen - each with a well equipped home workshop:
Frank Hornby, Charles Parsons, Jehangir Tata, James Dyson, Henry Royce, Carl Zeiss, Henry Ford, James Kraft, Thomas Edison, James Nasmyth, Soichiro Honda, Samson Fox, Benjamin Hick, Walt Disney, John Harrison....
There is no doubt that the ideas and skills developed by one man in his workshop have added 'zillions' to the world's economies. Hemingway wish you happy tinkering in 2012!
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See you at Ally Pally?London Model Engineering Exhibition 2012
The Great Hall - Alexandra Palace
20-22 January, 2012 (Friday - Sunday)
See you "down the smoke"? A fabulous venue and a world-class event. If you buy tickets now, you'll get a better price and avoid those very long queues at the booths. Click here for more information.
Pre-orders
Buying at exhibitions is good way to save on shipping costs. We will have plenty of stock for London but, if you want to make sure that we bring what you need, please place an order online and type "I will collect at Ally Pally" in the Special Shipping Instructions box and choose "Print your Order to send Separatley" from the payments drop down list. You can then pay with cash or a card at the exhibition when we meet.
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Micrometer Saddle Handwheel - Myford 7 SeriesAxial movement of the saddle on Myford's lathes is difficult to judge. Using the feedscrew handwheel has it own special frustrations: it's a long way from the work, one turn gives 125 thou. and there's no way to 'zero' it. As if this weren't trouble enough, one must engage the feedscrew and disengage the tumbler-reverse before it can be used....
Graham Meek thought long and hard about this problem and came up with a great solution. The rack and pinion drive on the lathe's apron produces 0.860" of travel for each turn of the handwheel. This permanent fixture, sandwiched between the pinion gear and the existing saddle handwheel, changes the travel to 1.000" per revolution and includes a large 'zeroable' dial, marked with 100 x 0.010" graduations. Armed with this wonderfully convenient item, axial measurements to an accuracy of 0.003" or better are child's play. Fantastically useful for locating external and internal (blind) features on a job!
Unusually for Hemingway, this item arrives fully complete and ready to fit to your ML7 or Super 7 lathe using the fitting notes and fixing provided. The workmanship is in everyway comparable to Myford's and we are quite certain you will congratulate yourself making this investment! Click the image to learn more.
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Sensitive Tailstock Drilling AttachmentThis is a very useful device for the small workshop - relieving the stress we all face when drilling small holes at high speed! The attachment consists of a hollow Morse Taper shank supporting a ground ram with a small capacity chuck. The chuck supplied with this kit is a German Röhm unit with a nominal capacity of Ø5/32" - a very well made item, ideal for small diameter drills and taps.
A lever handle operates the ram through a linkage giving just over 1" of travel and offers lots of feel with miniature drills - something that is absent using the standard tailstock barrel. This attachment should reduce the occurrence of drill breakages as one can better monitor the drill's progress and quickly back the drill out to clear swarf. Tapping (up to 2BA/M5) is also a delight since the chuck will self-feed once the tap engages with the job. Click the image to learn more?
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Precision Filing Rest Filing rests may strike you as old fashioned - from the era when none but the wealthy had milling machines? However, a good deal of the milling required in the small workshop consists of shaping hexagons, squares, and simple forms of cams on cylindrical work, and for this purpose, there is much to be said for a filing rest, which can be rigged in the lathe in as little time as it takes to change a tool and requires no more in the way of additional equipment than a couple of ordinary files. It has the same advantage as an overhead-driven milling fixture or even a Quick-Step Mill in enabling work to be operated on in situ without removing it from the lathe chuck or between centres.
Hexagons and squares can be quickly and accurately "milled" on boiler fitting and fasteners before parting off. The filing rest can also be used for the production of D-bits and single lip milling cutters, which are sometimes a little difficult to measure up properly if they happen to be tapered or otherwise varied in diameter. Also, in concert with a Headstock Dividing Attachment, tangential cams for model engines will become a more peaceful pursuit! Click the image to learn more.
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B. Hick & Son - Oscillating EngineWe're very pleased to introduce our second "external combustion" engine. B Hick & Son of Boulton (Hick, Hargreaves & Co from 1868), launched this compact 2nhp oscillating steam engine just in time for the Great Exhibition of 1851. Produced in the 100's for the British textile and manufacturing industries, these engines revolutionised productivity rates. So much so that they were often "sold" in exchange for a slice of the customers' increased profits!
Our model is a faithful "foot to an inch" replica designed in 1957 by Geoffrey King from company records. |
Saddle Chip Tray - Myford LathesHow much fun is it to clean down your Myford after a cast iron "session"? Handfulls of gritty swarf sprayed along the bed, sneaking under the saddle felt and cascading down onto the feedscrew and rack....
Fear not - WE HAVE WHAT YOU NEED!
If you have a post-war Myford (7's, 10's, 254's) then you can benefit from this beautifully designed Saddle Chip Tray. The single alloy casting fits to the saddle, ahead of the cross slide using the existing travelling steady tapping. Fitted and removed in seconds (and without tooling) it will save you many hours each year on clean-ups and will protect your bed and saddle surfaces from abrasive debris.
The Saddle Chip Tray will happily pass under a Ø5" chuck and takes up only a minimum amount of axial length. The kit includes material for the forward felt wiper, a captive screw and a cross drilled sump plug to drain away coolant. Buy one NOW and loose your inhibitions with Tool Post Grinding and iron casting sessions!
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