Brian Reay wrote in news:558999594430351400.971108no.sp-
:

They tend to be fine for thin steal (eg car panels if you are fitting an
antenna)

Good point. I don't drive or own any large boatanchors so I'm not used to
thinking of non-portable or unsupported surfaces. It may even be easier to
improvise with a slightly wrong hole punch (or aim small and file
outwards) and some large washers than to attempt the way I usually do things.

For small round holes of unspecified size I have never beaten an M3 pilot
hole followed by a tapered reamer, deburring the result with a Stanley blade.
That is VERY cheap, I started out that way and it was a couple of years
before I needed anything better.

On 8/20/2014 10:40 PM, Michael Black wrote:
On Wed, 20 Aug 2014, John Davis wrote:

On 8/20/2014 1:45 PM, Wymsey wrote:
On Wed, 20 Aug 2014 16:26:12 +0100, Chronos wrote:

The Dremel doesn't
help - it just makes making a mess faster ;-)

But does look nice on the bench :-)



In one of the Smoke and Solder segments of Ham Nation, George Thomas
made a jig for his Dremel so it works as a cross between a table saw
and a radial saw. Allows him to cut nice straight Mitered cuts in PC
board. Alas have no clue as to which episode it was http://twit.tv/hn

Are you talking about using a cut-off wheel? I think the real problem
with those is that the wheel is too small, so unless you are cutting off
edges, the rest of the Dremel/rotary tool gets in the way.

I think some of the newer models allow for a closer use.

I thought of getting a Dremel tool for about 20 years, they looked so
neat, but I couldn't justify the cost. I had no concrete need for it.

Then suddenly I did buy one (a Sear's one, which I think was a rebadged
Dremel) when it was on sale, and once I had it, I found a use for it.
Those cut-off wheels are great, go through the jar of bolts to find the
right diameter, and if it's too long, just cut off the extra, nice and
quick.

Michael


Yes he was using a cut off wheel.. In my case I had a job where I was
using a Skill hand grinder (Their answer to the Dremel) and it had a
problem.. So I got my own Dremel, a very low end of the line model which
lasted me like 20+ years before It started to smoke (Well it was old
enough) and I had to replace it,, I now use a Crafstman, Suspect it is
made by Dremel, a bit higher up the model chain.. Last used it a couple
hours ago.

I also have a ROBI somewhere here in the RV.

The trick to proper drilling is to use a drill press and the proper
material holder, (They make one for Dremel) that way you position the
drill bit when it is NOT turning, then the jig holds it in position.

Alas... I do not have the drill press

I DO have the router adapter

--
Home, is where I park it.

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This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active.
http://www.avast.com

Brian Reay wrote in news:1732547063430430770.633650no.sp-
:

Well, as you probably know, real precision holes (eg in watches) are pilot
drilled and reamed, rather
than drilled to size.

The Stanley blade is not, however, part of the procedure. ;-)

Indeed. There are reamers, and there are reamers. Mine is NOT a precision
instrument, but you knwo what they say: Don't fear the Reamer. Awl or
nothing, says I.

Brian Reay wrote in news:1732547063430430770.633650no.sp-
:

They were all ones I had restored, rather than simply
bought working. It is surprise that, even for quite old movements, you can
still locate new, old stock, parts.

There was a time, very brief, when I was fifteen or so, and had been given a
few old watches and clocks after I'd shown an ability to get small mechanisms
moving after years of reluctance, but I never took it far, I usually ended up
just taking them apart and admiring the extreme balance and precision of the
tiny cogs and escapements, and also the precision and brilliance of the ruby
bearings. If I'd know that parts could be had to replace and fix them I might
have got deeper in and my technical history might have been very different
from what it is.

On Fri, 22 Aug 2014, Brian Reay wrote:

Lostgallifreyan wrote:
Brian Reay wrote in news:558999594430351400.971108no.sp-
:

They tend to be fine for thin steal (eg car panels if you are fitting an
antenna)

Good point. I don't drive or own any large boatanchors so I'm not used to
thinking of non-portable or unsupported surfaces. It may even be easier to
improvise with a slightly wrong hole punch (or aim small and file
outwards) and some large washers than to attempt the way I usually do things.

For small round holes of unspecified size I have never beaten an M3 pilot
hole followed by a tapered reamer, deburring the result with a Stanley blade.
That is VERY cheap, I started out that way and it was a couple of years
before I needed anything better.

Well, as you probably know, real precision holes (eg in watches) are pilot
drilled and reamed, rather
than drilled to size.

The Stanley blade is not, however, part of the procedure. ;-) A fine
broach would be used I would think.

I've repaired a number of pocket watches and clocks but always by hunting
down new parts if needed, or getting them
made. Sadly, my dexterity isn't up to it these days, although it has been
improving recently- much to my surprise- plus I've learned to use my left
hand more. I may rebuild my modest collection of pocket watches, stolen
some years back. They were all ones I had restored, rather than simply
bought working. It is surprise that, even for quite old movements, you can
still locate new, old stock, parts. I recall a trek to a dusting shop in
Notting Hill for a part for a 1920s gold hunter. The shop owner looked at
the details and the broken part, thought for about 2 mins, turn to an array
of 100s of little draws, and produced one. The price? £1. The watch was
worth many times that. I return to the shop many times, it was always the
same. He always had a queue of others with similar wants. He fail once, a
balance staff for an 1883 cylinder escapement. I had that made, £5, inc.
fitting to the balance. He did have a suitable main spring and crystal
glass.

I expect both watches ended up being sold for scrap gold and silver when
the toe rags fenced them. The culprits were caught but the items were not
recovered.

Have you read this book "Longitude", I can't remember the author? (It's
rom about a decade ago.) It's a small book, more like an long essay, about
why a chronometer was needed for travel, and the prize and ultimate
entries to create a working chronometer that could be portable.

Things I'd never thought of. And surely the basis for common watches that
came later. All my life I've had watches, starting with mechanical, and
even those tended to keep pretty good time, likely fallout from that
chronometer work. And of course in recent years, I have a watch that
syncs up from the time signal, so it is very much close to "absolute"
time, for the purposes of everyday timekeeping.

Or a GPS, bought at a garage sale for five dollars, a tiny little thing
but amazing technology that couldn't be built in that small a package (let
alone imagined) forty years ago.

Michael

"Brian Reay" wrote in message
...
Yes, your chum's comment is Bovine excrement.
Have you had a lover's tiff?

With your habitual daily output of nasty childish remarks, it is
hardly surprising that you have to go off at a complete tangent
on clocks and watches to get anybody to talk to you.

But how long will it be before you fall out big time with your
new found friends and send for them to be arrested for daring
to disagree with you on the Internet, as you have done so often
to others in these NG?