Thread: Mill Power Feed Clutch

Hi Dean,

Yes I know what happens with money…. if it hangs around too long it usually gets spent on other things!

Simon

Some time ago Keith Rucker on youtube rebuild the clutch in his K&T mill that might give you some clues.
Michael

Originally Posted by Mike4

Some time ago Keith Rucker on youtube rebuild the clutch in his K&T mill that might give you some clues.
Michael

I have watched those videos.

I have not posted in this thread for a quite a while, although I thought about it today when I linked to it in your other thread Michael. Two reasons for this. The 12 months is not up yet. I haven't made anything new yet. I have the design completed and the printouts are in the shed waiting. I have worked out that at this stage the magnetic clutch from a car A/C will fit as required and act to engage/disengage the power feed. This is subject to change tho.

I was not planning to post untill I actually started making stuff. Next job is the lathe ER40 collet chuck, and maybe some of the notebook support arm pieces as I have just recently bought a length of tubing for this.

I have been working on external lining of a 5m length of wall. Taking off weatherboards and putting blueboard on. On a 60 year old house this has been a nightmare. Nothing is standard. I also have to space out 9mm or so as the cement floor sticks out a bit and this needs to be covered. Just for something different, tonight we realised that the noise we had both been hearing in the kitchen is actually something in the wood range flue. I thought it was birds sitting on top earlier. That turned out to be a huge amount of fun. The air got quite blue. Maybe a couple of hours trying everything I could think of, well almost. I did put aside the idea of a few 223 rem rounds up its ar5e. After partially demolishing the flue we finally coaxed hauled a large brush tailed possum out of the (new) bottom of the flue into a heavy hessian sack and dumped it out on the back lawn. Last seen going up a tree unharmed. An unclimatic end actually. I was shaking the flue up and down quite violently and it just sat in the extending double bend section.

How it managed to squeeze thru the top hat and also why, has me baffled.

Dean

Did you wrap some bird wire around the top, so it can't get back in???

Originally Posted by Oldneweng

After partially demolishing the flue we finally coaxed hauled a large brush tailed possum out of the (new) bottom of the flue into a heavy hessian sack and dumped it out on the back lawn. Last seen going up a tree unharmed.

I would have shot it. Not like there's any shortage of the destructive little pests.

PDW

Originally Posted by PDW

I would have shot it. Not like there's any shortage of the destructive little pests.

PDW

Ha ha. You are dead right about that. I was however concerned about the safety of myself, my partner and the darn flue. I still have to go up and reassemble it from the top with someone pushing up from the bottom. Too hot today.

Dean

I forgot to mention one little side benefit. The flue is nice and clean now.

Dean

Originally Posted by Oldneweng

I have the design completed and the printouts are in the shed waiting. I have worked out that at this stage the magnetic clutch from a car A/C will fit as required and act to engage/disengage the power feed. This is subject to change tho.

Dean

Hi Dean,

Just a quick comment about the car A/C magnetic clutch. I've had a play with one that I salvaged from an old photocopier that I was given. I found that by reducing the supply voltage it would start to slip. It turned out to be quite repeatable. Hanging different weights on an arm and varying the voltage allowed reasonable control over the point that it slipped. The thought also occurred to me that by wiring it in series with limit switches it would break the drive train the instant power went off.

I've actually been quite lazy since I've not progressed any further with making any modifications to my original design having found that the variable voltage PSU works very very well.

Originally Posted by BaronJ

Hi Dean,

Just a quick comment about the car A/C magnetic clutch. I've had a play with one that I salvaged from an old photocopier that I was given. I found that by reducing the supply voltage it would start to slip. It turned out to be quite repeatable. Hanging different weights on an arm and varying the voltage allowed reasonable control over the point that it slipped. The thought also occurred to me that by wiring it in series with limit switches it would break the drive train the instant power went off.

I've actually been quite lazy since I've not progressed any further with making any modifications to my original design having found that the variable voltage PSU works very very well.

Thanks for your suggestions Baron. I was only going to use the mag clutch for feed engage/disengage and have a seperate safety release clutch. Maybe I can combine both operations? Maybe I should play. I also had not thought of connecting the limit switches via this clutch. I was going to connect them to the motor drive circuit. Switching off the clutch should be instant.

Dean

Originally Posted by KBs PensNmore

Did you wrap some bird wire around the top, so it can't get back in???

I have not been up there yet. Too hot. It should not have been able to get in anyway. There is only a narrow gap, 50mm maybe for access. What would induce a full grown possum to squeeze thru a gap like that in a dirty black fitting into a dirty black, dark pipe. Got me beat. I will check when I do fix it. I don't want to add any more restriction if I don't have to. It just invites blockages. There are 3 straps holding the cone above the top edge of the pipe. It is possible one strap has come adrift (spot welds from memory) and it has managed to lift the cone a bit. I hate working with Stainless stuff up there. The chimney is high enough to need a short ladder sitting on the roof so it it does not feel like the most secure position when trying to drill etc.

Maybe next year I might tie the possum to a length of conduit and use it to clean the flue.

Dean

Maybe next year I might tie the possum to a length of conduit and use it to clean the flue.

Maybe a good use for possums But you would have to catch them first...

Originally Posted by BaronJ

Maybe a good use for possums But you would have to catch them first...

No one mentioned it had to be alive????