Bench grinder.

If you own a lathe sooner or later you'll need a bench grinder, not only for sharpening existing tools but also for grinding up new ones. Living in a small terraced cottage with no suitable outbuildings to store and use such a tool posed a problem, temporarily solved by the lend of a small Wickes brand grinder from a woodturner friend (thanks Stuart). This was mounted on a plank (actually a shelf) so that it could be clamped onto a Workmate, which worked rather well as it could be used in the garden. So when the time came to return the borrowed grinder I had an idea of the size of machine that I wanted and had solved the problem of using it without getting grinding dust in the house. Of course using a power tool in the garden means that I can only use it on dry days.

A trip to Machine Mart in Sheffield saw the purchase of a 6" wheel Clarke CBG6RZ. I could have bought a less powerfull machine as my lathe only uses 6mm square cutting tools, but at some stage I might need to grind something larger;

The first job was to bolt it to a piece of 18mm plywood so that it could be clamped onto my Workmate;

Then the tool rest and gaurds were bolted in place. The eyeshield gaurd bracket is held in place with a screw and a washer;

I wasn't impressed with the supplied M5 washers, so for added security I've replaced them with penny washers;

I'll be swapping that crosshead screw with a cap head before long as well.

Here it is ready for use;

I've already got a few jobs lined up for it.

Paul.

Even more accessories for the Unimat SL.

The Unimat SL was designed to turn wood as well as metal with the addition of a few extra parts. A proper swivelling toolrest could be fitted, which meant stripping down the machine and removing the bed bars so that the saddle could be replaced with the hand tool rest. Much simpler though is part 1201, a simple hand tool rest which just bolts onto the saddle in place of the turning tool holder;

Here it is fitted to my machine;

The wood is just a short piece of dowelling that I've been playing with. A gouge tool can be seen resting on the bed bars, this is a Unimat 1 'Cool Tool' (their description, not mine...) item and is as cheap as it looks. But size wise it suits the machine and it does the job although it did benefit from being resharpened on an oilstone. A lot of folk would make up such tools from old files etc., but I don't have any to spare.

Whilst the tool rest is a genuine Emco item the next accessory is an aftermarket part. This is a drilling depth gauge, this just clamps around the quill lever and is marked in 1mm increments;

This came via Ebay from Mundford Machine Tooling, and will prove usefull for drilling a series of holes to the same depth.

Paul.

A ride on the Poppy Line.

What to do when holidaying in North Norfolk and the rest of the family are having afternoon tea? (Tea and cake is fine, but afternoon tea sounds rather too formal for my liking.) Simple, find a steam railway and go for a ride. This year it was the turn of the North Norfolk Railway (last year I rode on the Wells & Walsingham), so last Thursday I hopped in the Landy, drove to Holt, and caught the 14.45 to Sheringham. £12 got me an all day rover ticket, plus an extra £2 to take Big Dog and Small Dog with me.

I rode behind 76084, a smart lined black 4MT, one of three steamers on duty today. I did see the Y14 as well in passing, which looked rather splendid in pre-grouping livery.
The service was well attended, hardly suprising as its the school holidays, but there was still plenty of room in the coach, just as well as Big Dog likes to spread himself out in the gangway (thankfully he's not that big, in fact quite small for a Springer, and most folk seem to like him).

First stop was Kelling Heath, a request stop for a holiday park, and then on to Weybourne. Here can be found the main sheds, a busy place with plenty to see. As we went past I was seated, so I decided to make sure that I stood by the door on the way back with camera poised poking out the window (I tend to alternate between sitting and leaning out of windows). Black Prince stood in the open recieving attention, a 31 sat idling and someone was busy steam cleaning a large important looking casting.

Heading towards Sheringham there are grand views of the sea, and of the off-shore wind farms. The line passes a golf course before entering the town. Looking at the folk playing I wondered how many balls ended up in the four-foot. I disembarked (I refuse to use the term 'de-train') so that I could watch the 4MT run round and photograph the vintage train sitting in the yard, which included a Wisbech & Upwell coach. Getting back on the train proved troublesome, Big Dog somehow managed to mis-judge the step and fell down the gap between coach and the platform. I had to drag him out by his collar (at least until I could get my other hand under his belly), luckily he was unscathed and quickly recovered from the shock, probably helped by the others passengers making a fuss of him. He's quite stoic really...

Heading back to Holt I failed to photograph the yard at Weybourne as a young girl stood at the door where I wanted to stand, but she seemed to be enjoying the ride which can only be a good thing. Some railway enthusiasts would probably have been rather peeved, but we should remember that having a bit of knowledge about railways doesn't make us any more important than anyone else on the train.
Back in Holt I shut both dogs in Back'o'Landy (windows open and water bowl full) so I could mooch about unencumbered with the camera for a while before heading back to the cottage.
Anyway, enough waffle, here are some pics. First up a couple of those 'leaning out the window' shots;

Lineside hut;

Sheringham;

Vintage stock;

4MT;

Back to Holt, running round;

The last two services of the day were run by DMU, seen here pulling in to Holt;

Its a 'mix&match' two car;

Finally a couple of wagons. First an interesting tool van;

And finally, a full size Wonderfull Wagon;

A good day out. Apart from the ticket all I bought was tea and a sandwhich and a couple of old Railroad Model Craftsman magazines (more about them later perhaps).

Paul.