[modeleng] Where are you all?

Hello everyone.
Where are you all - on holiday - or beavering away in the workshop?    There 
have been very few messages this month.     Please send us some chat.

I have been slowly progressing with the construction of my little lathe - 
finished the leadscrew and the clasp-nut mechanism.   I am now rigging up a car 
wiper motor at the tailstock end of the lathe, to drive the leadscrew via a 
belt.    The idea is to be able to vary the speed of the leadscrew, whilst 
actually turning.     I am using a 12V DC battery charger as a power source,  
but found it difficult and expensive to locate a suitable robust speed control 
- eg a wire-bound rheostat.    I then attacked the problem in a different way, 
and interposed a mains lamp dimmer which I had in stock, between the mains 
power source and the battery charger.    This works a treat, and gives a smooth 
variable-speed drive.   Problem solved at no cost!

Next problem: the geared screw-cutting mechanism - a tight design on a lathe 
with a 2" centre height!

Cheers!  from Hubert in autumnal St Albans.
MODEL ENGINEERING DISCUSSION LIST.

To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, send a blank email to, 
modeleng-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

Other related posts: