Workshop Practice Series – serie

The techniques of depositing a thin metallic layer on an object for decoration, corrosion protection, electrical conductivity, wear resistance and so on have been known for many years but have been developed and improved to a remarkable extent in the second half of this century. This book sets out to discuss the principles and practice of those forms of plating most suited to the amateur and small workshop, using relatively simple and inexpensive equipment to produce results virtually undetectable from work carried out by major plating concerns. Jack Poyner, a professional involved in all forms of plating for many years, is also a keen model engineer able to recognise the dividing line between what his average fellow enthusiast would consider practical and worthwhile and what is really better left to experts in the field. The result is a really useful and practical book, which will be of value to both amateur and light industrial users in many diverse fields.

Gears in one form or another are a part of most mechanisms, but they are by no means as simple as they may appear. This book explains simply, clearly and comprehensively the underlying theory involved and, in its second part, how to cut gears on a lathe or milling machine. Explanations and reasons for all conventional types of gears are clearly set out in this book together with useful tables and machinery techniques to form an invaluable reference work for anyone dealing with machinery. It covers all the questions raised by enthusiasts who have watched the author demonstrating gear-cutting techniques at exhibitions throughout Britain, where his advice on engineering matters has been constantly sought.

Despite the growing numbers of milling machines in amateur workshops, a majority of model engineers still rely on a lathe and a drilling machine as the basic equipment. The lathe, 'the king of machine tools', can be adapted for almost any function, but next to turning its most valuable use is for milling operations, either using the lathe itself to drive the cutters or by extending its scope by the addition of a separate milling attachment. One of the most popular titles in model engineering books for almost sixty years was Milling in the Lathe, which first appeared in the 1920s and continued in updated and revised editions until 1983. This book replaces it, covering all the basic information it contained and adding to it from recent experiences and developments. The author, Tubal Cain, needs no introduction to Model Engineer readers as a highly experienced engineer and skilled craftsman with an ability to write on engineering subjects in a clear, simple and thorough style.

Joining metals by one form or another of soft or hard soldering, or brazing with various alloys, are run-of-the-mill jobs in model and light engineering workshops - so much so that little thought is given as to whether there might be a quicker, more efficient or less expensive means of achieving the required end. In Soldering and Brazing respected engineering writer Tubal Cain examines in detail the processes, equipment and materials, and explains what is happening in the joints as they are made with practical examples, test pieces, tabulated data etc. This is a thorough, comprehensive and, above all, useful book.

The centre-lathe is by far the most versatile machine tool in the workshop, but as soon as you depart from plain turning between centres, the question arises 'how to hold the work'. This book explains the methods and techniques required. A fundamental requirement of lathe operation, for accuracy and safety, is the ability to hold any workpiece securely and, preferably, repeatedly on the machine. While few problems arise with straightforward work on a properly aligned lathe, the variety of jobs undertaken by small workshops and model engineers is bound to give rise to occasions when how to hold work requires consideration. When great accuracy is essential, working methods and lathe set-up are vital for an acceptable result. In this book Tubal Cain discusses in his inimitable, practical style all aspects of the subject with the whys and hows, including basic lathe alignment.

Over many years in a workshop, the knowledge and ability to perform a wide number of relatively minor jobs becomes second nature to a skilled engineer, but the amateur, no matter how great his natural talent, rarely has the opportunity to experience the same wide range of tasks. This book, by the experienced engineer Ian Bradley, contains useful advice and instruction for beginners on workshop practices including arbors and mandrels, belt jointing and splicing, shaft collars, finishing metal surfaces, G-clamps, surface gauges, cutting holes, special nuts, hand turning tools, the wobbler, case-hardening, and machining square material. This book was suggested to the author by his many readers and correspondents as a supplementary volume to his classic textbook The Amateur's Workshop.

If fear of the unknown is all that is preventing you from embarking on the satisfying hobby of model engineering, then this is the book that will banish your concerns. Author Harold Hall has established his reputation as a mentor to tyro model engineers through the pages of Model Engineer magazine and Model Engineers' Workshop, of which he was the editor for a number of years. This book assumes no previous experience and using the medium of twelve lathe turning projects will lead prospective model engineers through all of the basic techniques needed to tackle ambitious projects. All of the projects are extensively illustrated and full working drawings accompany the text. Once followed through, the reader will have amassed a wealth of practical skills and a range of useful workshop tools and equipment.

Sharpening workshop tools is probably the most diverse of all workshop activities and the one that is least understood by the majority of workshop owners. This is not unreasonable in view of the wide range of equipment suggested for the task, ranging from the complex, typically an industrial tool and cutter grinder, through to the humble off hand grinder. This book illustrates how most sharpening tasks can be carried out using an off hand grinder and a few simply made accessories, whilst doing this to a standard comparable to that achieved using much more sophisticated equipment. A lack of understanding of the processes almost certainly results in the workshop owner attempting tasks with far from perfect cutting tools that can diminish the satisfaction of a job well done. With the information in this book this situation can be avoided and working with blunt tooling should be a thing of the past.

In this valuable book Tubal Cain takes the reader beyond the superficial or the simply practical with explanations of the composition of steel, its additives, and the effects of different temperatures on its constituents. With a grasp of what changes are actually taking place in the metal the care needed in following the practical processes described becomes understandable and will lead to better and more consistent results. Flame, salt bath and furnace heating are detailed, with information on accurate measurement or recognition of temperature levels. For the average small workshop operative or model engineer the discourses on tool material, hardening and tempering will be of most use, and in this connection this book replaced the author's earlier Hardening and Tempering Engineers' Tools, providing a broader-based, more detailed and up to date examination of the subject.

One of the most useful functions of a modern lathe is its ability to cut any form of external or internal thread of any thread form, pitch or diameter within the overall capacity of the machine. Detailed information of a practical nature is, however, not easy to find - a situation that this book does much to rectify. The author was a very experienced engineer with the capability of converting factual analyses into easily understood forms. His own expertise and the standards to which he worked are evident in his writing, and in addition he is also quite at home with both imperial and metric measures having considerable experience in the conversions required when working in partially metricated areas. This book is not only an invaluable treatise on lathe screwcutting but is also a useful demonstration of working in both imperial and metric standards.

Although much of model engineering work is a matter of making one part to fit another and thus may obviate the need for the sophisticated means of measuring often called for in production engineering, the accuracy of a finished job begins with the exactness of the initial making out and continues with the accuracy of measurements made during the progress of the work. How to use measuring equipment and how to mark out work - not always the simple matter it might at first seem - are essential skills for any engineer and the purpose of this book is to show how they may be acquired and employed.

The increasing appearance of vertical milling machines in model engineers' and other small workshops has brought the versatility of this type of machine to the notice of a large and growing group of potential users, but until the first edition of this book was published in 1977 there was little available guidance for the average amateur or small user. This third revised edition includes descriptions of many of the very wide range of operations possible with photographed examples, plus information on machines, accessories, cutters, chucks, requirements and methods of work-holding.

The art of welding wrought iron has been practiced by village smiths in their forge fires for centuries. Gas and electric arc welding are however comparatively recent developments. This introductory book explains the process as it has been developed and used in industry, and its applications to model engineering. Welding, by oxy-acetylene or electric arc, is a skill in increasing demand and one for which the basics can be learned without great difficulty. In this book, the author sets out the basic techniques and the art for oxy-acetylene welding, brazing, flame-cutting and electric arc welding with mild steel, cast iron, stainless steel, copper, brass and aluminium etc in sheet plate or cast form.

The saw is one of the most basic tools and tends to be taken very much for granted. Many hours and much effort can be saved, and more accurate work produced, if the user has the knowledge of how his saw works and how to keep it in good condition. In this book Ian Bradley provides detailed guidance on the use and maintenance of all types of saw, both hand and mechanical, from the humble junior hacksaw to circular and bandsaws, in the comprehensive and succinct manner that has made him such a respected writer on workshop matters.

A considerable amount of engineering work takes place on the bench, using hand tools and techniques which are second nature to those who earn their living in an engineering environment; they probably learned at a technical college, as an apprentice, or possibly by the example of older and more experienced workmates. The amateur or hobbyist engineer may not have enjoyed such advantages and, for example, may break a lot of hacksaw blades because he has not been shown how to use the saw or what sort of blades he should be using. This book sets out to cover all the normal bench processes in a simple but informative manner which should help all who have come to enjoy working with metals but whose education did not include a grounding in the basics of engineering benchwork.

Few mechanics are entirely devoid of springs of one sort or another, but satisfactory operation rests on details such as spring strength and degree of movement. Yet information on calculating and making springs is not easily available. This book explains the property of each type of spring, plus essential materials and methods. Engineers, professional or amateur, often find designing springs difficult due to the number of variables and the complexity of the formulae. The book also introduces the designer to charts and nomograms, which greatly simplify the process. Tubal Cain draws on several decades of experience in the actual processes and covers the design and manufacture of compression and extension coil springs, simple and compound leaf springs, torsion springs and torsion bars, springs relying on bending actions and a useful graphical method of designing valve springs for IC engines.

In recent years there has been a great increase in the variety, sophistication and effectiveness of adhesives, sealants and threadlocking types. This book is intended to provide practical help and guidance in deciding what adhesive out of the ever-expanding modern range should be used for particular tasks. The book explains in simple terms the features of adhesive classification together with joint design data and assembly techniques for a wide variety of materials. Aimed mainly at the model engineer, but also at the home mechanic and woodworker, it covers pattern, base and case making from wood, applications in tool and equipment, as well as individual requirements including structural joints and sealing against water, steam or oil. Illustrated throughout, Adhesives and Sealants will be of interest and of value to all workshop owners and model engineers.

Some years ago the author, Jim Forrest, a professional engineer and model engineer of many years' experience, needed a purpose-built and relatively inexpensive workshop for his hobby. After discussing this need with Peter Jennings, a professional architect familiar with system build construction, a three-metre wide design was developed which proved to be very easy to build and easily the match for far more expensive types of building. This book was written as a complete work on the construction methods used. It not only contains the details required to build the floor assembly, walls and roof, but also covers all of the peripheral areas including layout, planning regulations, tools, materials, fitting out, security and insurance. The design is easily adaptable and most variants are covered including several floor types, lean-to construction etc., and illustrative drawings are used extensively to show precisely how the building is detailed.

The author's earlier book Electric Motors (Workshop Practice Series No. 16) described the basic principles of operation and methods of application of the wide range of motor types likely to be encountered in small scale engineering. This book provides additional information about popular workshop applications for motors. Detailed advice is given on how to identify and make good use of discarded and surplus motors from both domestic and industrial sources and also how to operate three phase motors from single phase supplies. Examples are given of actual workshop applications and conversions, and on battery supplies for the use of motors in mobile projects.

At one time, most towns of any size had somewhere a small foundry that would undertake small casting jobs, often more out of interest and good neighbourliness than for commercial gain. Regrettably, those days are no more and the model engineer in many areas must either adapt commercially available castings or send away to a specialist foundry that will undertake small jobs, often at some expense and with some delay. The alternative is to make your own patterns and castings, which is in fact much easier than you may think. The Backyard Foundry covers basic principles, materials and techniques, pattern making, moulding boxes, cores and core-boxes, electric, gas and coke furnaces, and includes step-by-step procedures with examples of locomotive cylinders and wheels. Sources of specialised materials and even the design of an outdoor furnace suitable for small-scale commercial work are given. Each stage and subject is covered in detail so that even the inexperienced can undertake casting with confidence. Although the book is written primarily for the model engineer, anyone wishing to make mouldings or castings will profit from its pages.

If you do not own a milling machine (and even if you do) what you can achieve in your workshop is greatly enhanced if you own a spindle or two for use with your lathe. Spindles come in many shapes and sizes, ranging from 19mm (0.75 in) to 57 mm (2.25 in) in diameter, depending on the uses envisaged for them. This book describes the design, construction and use of a variety of spindles that will be of interest to the amateur engineer. Milling, grinding and drilling spindles are covered along with a unique light gear-cutting frame for clockmakers. The emphasis is on spindles that are easy to make and have as few parts as possible; all but one for example use sealed ball bearings (the exception uses tapered collar bearings and thus needs to have seals installed to protect the bearings.) The basic spindle described uses the same spindle nose as the Myford Super 7 lathe; this allows all chucks, plates, collets and closers designed for the lathe to be used with this spindle. It can also be modified for other lathe nose standards.

However well equipped the workshop may be there seems to be an incessant need to make up special gadgets of one sort or another. These may range from mutilating a clothes peg to act as a 'third hand' up to major modifications to an existing machine tool. The making of such devices can be fun (indeed, some may appear to do nothing else!) but nevertheless the time taken up in 'devising the device' can often delay the completion of an important project. Shared experience is a most potent tool in reducing such delays, and can, moreover, often provide solutions to problems hitherto believed to be intractable. Tubal Cain has enjoyed more than sixty years' experience in designing and building engines and machines (in both full size and model dimensions) and over this time has made many ancillary devices. In this book he shares 52 of them with you. A number of these had been published in magazines from time to time and some were assembled in volume form about thirty years ago. The opportunity was later taken not only to reprint that book but to revise some of the entries to take advantage of user experience, to add new material and to introduce it into the popular Workshop Practice Series.

This book is regarded as the perfect introduction to casting common hot metals in moulds, providing all the information needed by amateur foundrymen. Since 1954, when Foundrywork for the Amateur was first published, the advance of technology and engineering has been enormous and there have been many revisions along the way. However, conditions in the 21st century are so far removed from the state of affairs in the 1950s that, although the basic principle of the foundry remains the same, the language and the presentation of the book was due to be uplifted. This present edition therefore represents a complete rewrite to conform to the era and, in particular, to the availability of material which at one time was taken for granted. Not only has the text been updated, but the illustrations have been completely redrawn and, on the basis of the advances made in the amateur foundry since the early days, the photographs have also been renewed and increased in number. This new edition also reflects the author's growing interest in the model steam locomotive.

This book describes the many varied materials used by model engineers in their workshops such as iron and steel, non-ferrous metals including aluminium, brass and copper, hard and soft woods and a number of engineering and other plastics. It also contains details about abrasives, adhesives, bearing materials, ceramics and refractory materials, coatings, electroplating solutions, fuels, gases, lubricants, pickles, polishing materials, sealants and solders. It provides an easy reference for those seeking the right material for the task or an item specified on plan. Packed full of useful information, the book is aimed at those who build model locomotives, traction, boat and stationary steam engines, oil, diesel, glow and petrol engines, gas turbines, artillery pieces, farming appliances, carriages and other road vehicles as well as those who make clocks and workshop tools. It is also directed at those working with full-size machinery, such as vintage cars, motor and pedal cycles, traction engines and railway locomotives.

Stan Bray introduces the fascinating world of horology to the complete beginner. This book explains the terminology of the clockmaker and provides general details of clock construction including layout of wheels and escarpments, a number of the latter being described. Making of wheels, pinions, escarpments, plates, pendulums, weights, cases, hands and faces is described. The necessary tools and equipment are described with details of how to make specialized items and choice of most suitable materials for their construction.

Through the pages of Model Engineers' Workshop magazine, author Harold Hall, has established a reputation for introducing the tyro model engineer to a wide range of machine tool operations. In this book he introduces the milling machine. This book assumes no previous experience of using the milling machine and through the medium of four minor and four major projects will lead prospective users of the milling machine through all of the techniques involved. Whilst the detailed descriptions in the book are aimed primarily at those wishing to extend their knowledge of milling, the projects will be of use to the experienced operator wishing to add to their workshop equipment. All of the projects are extensively illustrated and include full workshop drawings. Once followed through, the reader will have amassed a wealth of practical skills and added a number of useful items to his range of workshop equipment.

Photo etching in the form of electronic equipment printed circuit boards will be familiar to all modellers. Less familiar is the application by model engineers of those same techniques to precision production of metal parts for all aspects of model making ranging from finely detailed grill work and artillery details to locomotive and traction engine emblems and nameplates. Authors Brian King and Azien Watkin have developed photo etching techniques to a high degree of sophistication to enable Brian to build his Gold Medal winning marine models. The design of items and the production of the high-quality graphics necessary are fully covered, as are both home and industry routes to producing the finished items in a variety of metals.

Faced with the prospect of machining a gear or gears for a project, many model engineers will be discouraged and will turn elsewhere for their next model. This need not be so, for the principles underlying gear cutting and many other aspects of engineering where an accurate division of circles is required are explained in depth in this book. Radial work on a metalworking lathe, such as the cutting of gearwheels or the drilling of holes on a set radius, calls for a method of precisely spacing the cuts. This skill is known as Dividing. The principles underlying this aspect of engineering are explained in depth in this book. It covers the subject of Dividing, dealing with the many methods that can be adopted: from simple applications without specialised equipment to the use of a semi-universal dividing head and a rotary table. The mathematical aspects of dividing are also covered but at a level that will be understood easily by a model engineer. Dividing equipment is relatively expensive, so two fully-detailed designs are included for dividing heads: a basic unit and the equivalent of a commercial semi-universal head.

This book deals with principles and characteristics of the wide range of motor types likely to be useful in small engineering workshop applications. It also covers matters such as speed control, electric braking, generators, installation and safety aspects - everything, in fact, of practical value to the small workshop user. In the years since the publication of the first edition, the book has become a well-established reference source for users to dip into when more information is needed on how motors behave both in standard usage and also in less common applications. In this time a lot has happened in the field of motor design. This second edition now contains updated information covering both these later developments in motor types and their control systems. A major section is devoted to the characteristics and installation of Variable Frequency Drive units (VFDs). It also covers the operating differences between North American and European power systems.