What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!

[armandine2]

Makita die grinder DGD800 with 6mm collet.

collected today - I anticipated that I would need a 1/4-inch collet, which proved correct.

... and the one I got of course wasn't suitable.

On the bright side we make Makita's in the UK. - pity you didn't put a 1/4-inch collet in guys.

[ed to add a photo]

Robbing Peter to pay Paul - sorry Amazon

now have the 1/4-inch collet, and my Prime account will remain closed for sometime.

[armandine2]

now , where did I put that die grinder?

[thm_w]

Looks like a dremel on steroids, no speed adjustment though?

[Ed.Kloonk]

now , where did I put that die grinder?

Finding misplaced items. Isn't that what wives are kept around for?

[beanflying]

Looks like a dremel on steroids, no speed adjustment though?

One thing Die Grinders with good Tungsten burrs are not subtle so more power and speed is what it is about Plenty of lower speed and power more controlled options are out there for things like Roloc pads, buffs and grinding if needed.

Other than that I brought two lumps of Swiss Cheesed Steel 2-4-6 Blocks in my 95%+ metric shop  Over 8kg for the pair so good door stops if nothing else  Yes you can buy this sort of thing in metric but for 'reasons' they are much more rare on Evilbay or AliX and come with a hefty price premium 

[gamalot]

Father's Day gift from myself. 

[Ed.Kloonk]

Father's Day gift from myself. 

Happy Father's day.

[MarkF]

Ah.  Not what you were expecting?

   

[dl6lr]

Copper tape + Kapton tape + stiffener sounds like a solution to me; I will try it. Alternatively, you can try 0.8mm copper clad; it would be interesting to know the thickness of the original 

0.2mm overall thickness.
With regards to homebrew one: Including all the stuff like 4mm pass-through connectors, these are cheap.
I already took great use of it measuring stand by currents of some gear. It is very convenient to slide it under the spring contact of a button cell.

[tautech]

Ah.  Not what you were expecting?

   

Gotta train set Mark ?

[tautech]

For my old Oki C5200, a black toner drum and from the US too as no one down under has them at any sort of reasonable price. 

Darn thing had locked up all but solid inside and after some surgery found the rubber drive belt inside had broken and jammed up the gears.....that's what happens when you ignore the display warning to replace the toner drum ! 
Made an awful rattle with the nylon drum drive gears skipping and chattering away ........

Need to use the networked family inkjet until the new drum arrives. 

[MarkF]

Ah.  Not what you were expecting?

   

Gotta train set Mark ?

I have two ovals (one inside the other) that I've been using as a test track forever.  I'm building a computer interface with wireless hand controllers.  Started the design long before DCC was available to improve the slow speed startup of HO locomotives.  The design has PIC microcontrollers that output PWM for startup and slow speed and then switch to pure DC for higher speeds to reduce motor heating.

My original computer interface was on an Apple ][ Plus.  It just couldn't cut it (5Hz 8 step PWM).   

Now building a new layout:  I have the benchwork done and cork roadbed laid.  Just starting to lay the track.

[PlainName]

Looks nice. But... if the trains are going round clockwise it's possible to loop around and go anti-clockwise. But once doing that they can't then revert to clockwise. I think.

[pcprogrammer]

Think you have a point there.

Edit: Removed what I thought to be the solution, but it needs some crossover from the right hand loop back into the other loop, or a turn table some where.

Nice hobby though. Here in Brive a thrift store owner also has trains as a hobby. Fairly big ones, but don't know the scale. Nice to look at for sure.

[Black Phoenix]

That was the impression I had too. Although kudos. I have enough respect for people who can go into this high level of model making.

I'm happy with my beginner level at Gunpla model kits...

[tautech]

Ah.  Not what you were expecting?

   

Gotta train set Mark ?

I have two ovals (one inside the other) that I've been using as a test track forever.

Cool. 
Not that I'm into them but what some do these days is very impressive. US member xrunner has a nice layout and maybe you 2 should hook up.
Old thread where he's working on lights:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/my-model-railroad-with-electronics/

[Ed.Kloonk]

I hear the train a-comin'. It's rollin' 'round the bend..

[MarkF]

Cool. 
Not that I'm into them but what some do these days is very impressive. US member xrunner has a nice layout and maybe you 2 should hook up.
Old thread where he's working on lights:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/my-model-railroad-with-electronics/

Thanks.  I don't know how I've missed that topic.   

Looks nice. But... if the trains are going round clockwise it's possible to loop around and go anti-clockwise. But once doing that they can't then revert to clockwise. I think.

You might have just found a flaw in my plans...
I've modified this plan so many times it makes my head swim!  I'm need to give this some thought.  Thanks.

[MarkF]

The only way I can see to reverse a counter-clockwise direction is to pull-in, back-up and pull-out through the wye.
Is that acceptable?  I don't know at this point.  I'm resisting changing the plan again.
Currently, I have 5 locomotives that I can run short trains on different blocks of the layout. 
So short trains run forward and backward might not be an issue.

[PlainName]

You could join DD to EE, forming a circle. That would give you an additional loop but also allow change of direction without stopping.

[pcprogrammer]

Aaah you beat me to it. But it depends a bit on the minimum radius the track can handle.

[MarkF]

The minimum radius for HO is 18 inches.
The lower right (from turn-out AA to DD) is a 18" radius minimum.
The overall dimensions of the layout is 10ft by 7ft.
The squares on the first layout drawing are 6 inches.

You just can't make those turns:


Anyway, this is getting far off topic.

[tautech]

Had some spare PayPal funds to spend on some chainsaw parts to rebuild one of our Husky 288's with a new barrel and piston kit plus a piston kit for the tired 254 and other bits and bobs for Husky's that I'm getting low on.

Also stocked right up on packs of 10 carbide inserts for my Harrison 12 lathe, 11mm boring bar TPMR110304 inserts, 16 + 22mm general turning inserts and a new parting tool .......not sure if it will be any good but it wasn't that expensive.
MGEHR2525 with 10 carbide inserts.

Oh and a SDS2354X HD scope on special order for a customer just in time to get it into our next stock shipment. 

And another arriving tomorrow according to FedEx tracking is a dozen self sensing probes plus a few differential and current probes for stock.
Been a bit busy here.............

[Oldtestgear]

Here in the UK we have a saying:

You wait ages for a bus & then three turn up together.

It seems the same applies to the Datron 4910 voltage reference. I bought one last in July with a few Fluke 732A references for a fairly sensible price but mainly because the Datron is so very rare & I really wanted one.  This week I was at the same dealer looking for more toys to buy & found another two Datrons hiding at the back of a very dark store. Much more money changed hands & now I am the proud owner of three of these references.

Neither are fully working, not exactly a surprise, but are fixable. One does work in that it powers up & produces 10V outputs but has a broken reset switch plus dead batteries. The other also has a broken reset switch, dead batteries, and at least one faulty power rail. The first one I bought is now working on mains awaiting new batteries that I am planning to persuade to fit in the next few days. All seem to be early models as the main PCB has a lot of modifications where the tracks were laid out incorrectly. Once my original buy is complete I will post pictures of what was done.

It is still possible to find interesting & rare kit but it is becoming more difficult as time passes and much more expensive.  Guess I was just very lucky this time.

Phil

[Jay_Diddy_B]

Snip ..

Also stocked right up on packs of 10 carbide inserts for my Harrison 12 lathe, 11mm boring bar TPMR110304 inserts, 16 + 22mm general turning inserts and a new parting tool .......not sure if it will be any good but it wasn't that expensive.
MGEHR2525 with 10 carbide inserts.

Snip ..

Following a tip from Quinn Dunki aka 'Blondihacks' on YouTube I have been try some inserts designed for Aluminum. These have a higher rake angle and are sharper than normal inserts. For hobby use they seem to work well on my small 8x14 lathe. They are probably more fragile.

I have bought and tested:

DCGT070204-AK H01
CCGT32.51-AK H01

I have ordered

TCGT16T304-AK H01
MGGN200-G H01

I should have these in about 8-10 days.

It is the  'G' in the code, 3rd letter, that is important.



Regards,
Jay_Diddy_B