andypugh

Looking at the way that all the paint has gone but it isn't very rusty, I think it looks like it has been sunning itself in Australia for several decades. Though that is entirely a guess.

Do you want a 3D printer? I will have one spare in a few months. It makes making oddsides really easy.

I have recently taken on the job of replacing some parts of the magneto coupling on the Imperial College fire engine. We think that the original parts were lost by Dennis, some time in the 1960s.... Anyway, there was originally a coupling with 7 teeth on one side and 8 (or maybe 6) on the other to allow for adjustment, a coarser version of the 19/20 Simms couplings with the rubber disc. The teeth appear to be 30 degrees included angle, and I was wondering how to cut them when I remembered a curious cutter in my dad's collection that we had never found a use for. And it turned out to be perfect for the job. So, if anyone with a White and Poppe engine is short a Hirth coupling or two (the steel part in the photo) drop me a message, I can make them. (I also made the Simms style part that it connects to, but those are relatively easily obtained)

Not _quite_ the right material or colour, but age-appropriate and available (and fairly cheap) https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/384431296554

Red vulcanised fibre sheet is readily available on eBay, but only in 1mm thickness for knife handle liners. There is thicker stuff in Australia, but not thick enough: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/303303501503 I wonder if a stack would bond to itself if heated in a press (ie, some bits of metal, G-clamps and a domestic oven)

Wikipedia says: "The wood of the rock elm is the hardest and heaviest of all elms, and where forest-grown remains comparatively free of knots and other defects. It is also very strong and takes a high polish, and consequently was once in great demand in America and Europe for a wide range of uses, notably boatbuilding, furniture, agricultural tools, and musical instruments."

Still available new for those with more money than sense. (You know, the sort of person who buys more than a dozen fire engines 🙂 https://www.workshopheaven.com/hand-tools/pliers-spanners-and-screwdrivers.html They have these hollow-ground ones too which seem like a good idea for old, tight screws: https://www.workshopheaven.com/narex-gunsmiths-screwdrivers-8869-set-of-3.html Lots of ways to buy nicer-than-necessary tools there.

The pinned-on collar on the idler gear looks unfamiliar. Did they drop that later (it seems rather pointless)

The time has come that I need to start thinking about converting my late father's workshop into a downstairs bathroom for my increasingly infirm mother. The workshop has a Colchester Master lathe from the 1940s, a Smart and Brown Model M. a Kearns S-type borer, a Churchill Universal Grinder and a nice little Elliot 10M shaper. I am prepared to move house to hold on to the Kearns, and the other tools then move down the spectrum to the Colchester Master which I am probably prepared to give away to anyone willing to take it away. It is fully functional on single phase, I tested it last weekend. It's a gap bed so can spin pretty big stuff, like brake drums and some flywheels. The main problem with it is tiny thimbles and coarse screws. I think that the cross slide has 20 marks and a 6tpi screw.. With a DRO it would be a much more useful machine. We have tended to use a dial indicator to measure the cuts I will probably _not_ include the 12" chuck with the lathe, that is probably worth something.

Maybe they found that the fuel valve was too close to the gearbox shaft? It is entirely possible that they bought-in all the parts and then found exactly the issue you found. I assume that there is a filler hole in the set box? Is there any sign that there was another that is filled in?

Indeed it does. Though there seem to be witness marks for an alternative fitment on the tank itself (possibly very recent, though)

There seems to be four possible arrangements. The filler can be offside or nearside, and the filler-cap-side strap can be inboard or outboard of the filler. I suspect that it belongs outboard.

According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_%26_Shuttleworth the "Shuttleworth Collection" is the same Shuttleworth. https://www.shuttleworth.org/explore/the-collection/

And another. 1919 on eBay (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203885725500 ) with a complete drivetrain and motor.

It seems that at the time there were bragging rights on how many horse it took to pull the load. For example it took 20 horses to deliver the anchors to the Titanic. (Which, was very much in the age of steam) 20-beast teams are interesting, there are two animals that have the job of steering, and they are second-from-last so that they can pull the steering shafts. But they do need to hop over the drag chain when steering is needed:

It looks like DLP (or possibly SLA) 3D printing to me. If it is, then it's based on a rather nice bit of 3D modelling, things like the canvas tilt are not easy to model.

This turns out to be easier than you might imagine. There is a lot to be learned from Engels Coach Shop: Measuring wheels and tyres is only part of this. 50 seconds after the linked start you will know how to measure and size tyre bands. Also in this video is an example of pressing tyres on to wheels with a layer of canvas to tighten it up, which I have heard of used in our context too.

I know you have your lathe, but another has turned (!) up in Facebook marketplace: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/473885824113943

Seeing what the weld is doing is rather important..... I actually have lenses inside my welding mask to compensate for long-sightendness. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274715230641

I was wondering about the splayed tops, but then read "flat projecting raves for top-loading" and all is explained. Though you have to look at a few dictionaries to find "rave: a vertical sidepiece on a wagon"

Yes, we know, one kilomile is a short hop in Australia.

How about trying with a tile-cutting grit blade in a jigsaw?

I am reminded of a quote I hear Steve Summers use on YouTube when warming nuts with oxy-acetylene: "It can't be seized if it's liquid..."

Another vote for this. It's a fairly standard way to remove inner races.

That's a good point. At the moment the effect of the bearing taper is to squeeze the inner race down on to the shaft as the wheel is pulled.