Old Guys Simplex moto-peddle bike

indian22 said:
No such thing as hi-jack on this thread Pete. Friends sharing bits of life is a part of what I hope this forum promotes.

I'm thankful for the great news regarding your wife.

As to e-mail notification of thread activity. In the past it's been spotty for some of the threads I participate in, but recently it's been quite good. I've never understood the fluctuations just waited them out.

Natural gas prices are of concern $4. gas went to $4,000. over the last ten days. One Texas resident received a gas bill (residential) of over $13,000. on his monthly bill. This also effects electric billing as gas is the primary fuel for electric generation during this crisis (wind generators froze up) so we are looking to require a government bailout to pay for the price gouging. My gas bill was $69. last month. If I get a bill in the thousands it won't get paid. I'm adamant about not getting screwed by fuel providers. I'd say most retired folks couldn't pay even a one time $500. gas bill and also eat and pay for meds. Forget rent and other bills.

I've been blessed and am debt free. I own my home and believe in paying my bills on time every time, but this gouging isn't right...for anyone!


Rick C.
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Yes the only way to live, I have been after lake place sale, now to get ride of excess baggage I collected..........Curt
 
Sad but true pricing Pete. Not in every state Texas is the worst pricing, Oklahoma and La.among the worst also. Those who opted for our version of the plan you described are locked in at the fixed price, the rest of us are screwed unless the legislature gets involved...then we may all be screwed or at best twisted. The spot market for natural gas is what our rates are based on by current law and delivery charges are added and they can't be increased without state approval. Spot market is traded as a commodity future.

Sucks to be us right now. There I've vented twice today so I'm good for a few months. Lol

Rick C.
 
Interesting read Tom. Cheers for the link.
Calling for an investigation into what happened? Save their money. You just know they're gonna say the fault was due to a 'one in a hundred year' weather glitch.
Meanwhile, in Feb here in the UK we're forecast to have high temps akin to Summer for the next few days. Screwy weather - good or bad - is fast becoming the norm here, and everywhere else. In just the last decade the UK has seen snow, heatwaves and, particularly torrential rain and flooding, bring misery to many on a far more regular basis than ever before. These last ten years. I've lost count of the times the UK weather statistics have said 'Hottest...' 'Coldest...' 'Wettest... since records began'.
 
Thanks Tom the link you provided is as good an explanation as I've read. Here in Oklahoma we are regulated differently, but still subject to supply and demand pricing of fuel, but our corporation commission has the power to spread any increased fuel costs out for the consumer over many months of billing, rather than on one invoice. My next bill will be higher of course because I used more gas during the recent cold, but not the heavy hit that some Texans are facing. Fuel cost basics will be higher for me in the coming months however to cover the 10 day extraordinary fuel costs incurred. It might take years to balance the books over market gouging by the gas speculators.

Rick C.
 
In our previous home which was quite rural, and used LPG for heat. LPG is market priced commodity. We learned to buy estimated futures at lowest annual price. Big lump sum and always bet on extreme cold weather. We never shorted and saved bigly.
Electric was a whole different thing. Being so rural, we paid more to support infrastructure that served very few.
Tom
 
We also ran LPG many years ago living on the ranch Tom. No pipelines or electric power lines in those days. We also had overhead tanks for gasoline &. diesel. Tank trucks serviced all three. Plus we stored barrels of white gas and had both coal and wood stored up for the pot belly stove and large baking oven. LPG range was for daily cooking the big oven only used for large gatherings. Refrigerator was also LPG powered.

Canned goods in the storm cellar and walk in pantry. Family of six didn't worry about having to shop a week at a time. We could hold out for many weeks if required. Flour, sugar, coffee & salt all bulk. Well water was hand pumped. Good days those.

65 degrees yesterday afternoon and yes I got out and rode light wind felt great to exercise on the red bike; it pedals good for a single speed, but the added resistance without assistance is a nice workout for old legs that needed using after the storm. I went a full week without riding any and I'd say that's the longest I've gone without a ride of some duration, long or brief, in more than fifteen years.

Rick C.
 
It was 50F here yesterday and above all sunny. Managed to get some old muscles moving as well but they aren't happy about it today. First Spring flowers are up and the daffodils are getting closer.

They say that the sun will be out more in the next couple of weeks. The Wet Coast can only hope.

Steve.
 
Steve weather has improved here as well and riding, working outside during the afternoons has been very pleasant. I'd not discount a late March storm with snow that's quite common here and with snow is generally a positive event for agriculture.

You guys might recall me mentioning buying a lathe some time back & then it was appropriated for another's use. I've ordered another & should have it in a week or so. I've put off some projects that require a small lathe to do properly and though I've access to other peoples lathes it's a scheduling problem for others and of course myself. One small job might take several trips to complete & I don't like being a bother.

I'm somewhat space limited, so a small lathe was my target. Turning heavy large /long pieces wasn't a requirement either.

It's a Chinese (stocked in U.S.) 7"x14", variable speed...3/4 horse. Quick change post & metal gears. 3 jaw to start with and two sets of jaws. JT-3 head, Chuck through hole 3/4". JT-2 tail with dead, live center, plus 3/4" chuck. Carbide index set and knurling tool boring bars etc. For those who've not bought a lathe or mill: They are needful things!! Expect to spend as much for tooling etc. as you do on the lathe itself, if you use it a lot, during the first year of operation. I added a steady rest as well and feature I'll add a collet holder as well as a follow rest and four jaw chuck and face plate when jobs dictate their use.

I'm familiar with these minis & readily accept their accumulative limitations. Size is an obvious weakness as is high accuracy. I have access to large machines if absolute is required. These lathes are quite good on, brass, aluminum and soft steel. but turning heavy bits of steel will put significant wear on the machine...rapidly. Heavy cuts is not a good idea either. The negatives go on and on, yet the biggest limitation is the operators expectations. Working within parameters of machine & operators skills is the key.

Since I sold my machine shop I've had fun building bikes with basic hand tools. Much can be done with little, but it's time and labor intensive and as I age less and less gets done. Using more machine tools will help keep me in the game for awhile longer.

Rick C.
 
I've got HSS inserts and some carbide as well. Carbide inserts I just toss. The lathe comes with some carbides but I prefer inserts in tool holders with a quick change tool post. The lathe is handled by dozens of vendors on Ebay and Amazon typical difference is gears, DRO speed readout and price/delivery. I get some of the additional stuff from "Little machine shop" and Grizzly Tool. All of it probably comes from the same Chinese manufacturers. I've helped several guys set up these machines in the past and they all are comparable in features and drawbacks. Little machine shop the best lathe in that they actually set them up with nice necessary upgrades, but add quite a lot for the convenience. I can just do it myself.

Really wish I'd kept my little Logan 24" but that's just hindsight. I could have found a spot in the garage for it.

Rick C.
 
lathe.jpg
 
Turret tool post is what I do too. Table top or legs? Mounted across some steel cabinets like Lyon's.
X & Z analog. Nothing to go wrong. Digital RPM indicator.
Nice rig Rick, keep your finkers out of the three jaw.(^)
Is the chip shield adjustable? Most likely heat formed polycarb junk. I'm sure you can whip a steel one.
Three jaw chucks are chip slingers
Tom
 
Virtually same as my little EMCO Unimat Rick, which all the China-made copies are based on. Got mine 22 years ago after seeing it listed as the only 'lineage' ad in an old issue of Model Railways magazine. Retired Architect owner listed it as 'used once' to help build a radio-controlled FW190 model airplane. Asking price was 100 quid. Absolute bargain that I thought would have long since been snapped up. Mentioned the ad to Jen and forgot all about it. A week later a large box arrived in the mail and Jen told me to open it. Jen had called the seller and it was still for sale. Jen said it was a surprise present and he'd kindly agreed to ship the lathe on the understanding she could return it if it wasn't what I wanted.
Unimat came with every available extra - most of which were either still boxed or wrapped in waxed paper. Vertical milling attachment with extra motor. 3 & 4 jaw chucks. Screw cutting attachment. Auto feed g/box. Live centre, Steadies and all tooling. Obviously had seen little or no use. Jen did real good snapping-up this little gem. Used it on an almost daily basis when making all of the thousands of master patterns needed for my range of model train kits. Perfect for turning-up or milling the odd motorized bicycle component when needed.
Still have my Unimat. Used it far more than I ever did with my Myford ML7 which I sold a year prior to the house move.
 
Tom from Rubicon said:
Turret tool post is what I do too. Table top or legs? Mounted across some steel cabinets like Lyon's.
X & Z analog. Nothing to go wrong. Digital RPM indicator.
Nice rig Rick, keep your finkers out of the three jaw.(^)
Is the chip shield adjustable? Most likely heat formed polycarb junk. I'm sure you can whip a steel one.
Three jaw chucks are chip slingers
Tom
Click to expand...
Tom I've a metal stand on wheels that I'll repurpose for the lathe. I had a 14" Atlas or many years, sweet machine built in the early post war years and marketed by Sears, that I mounted on a heavy wheel stand with all the small tooling etc. housed in the base. When loaded it was quite stable and the lathe stayed level. Really a handy rig in a big shop, saved a lot of steps turning one off parts.

Hear you on the three jaw. A couple of the mini's I've set up had metal splash, the chip shield's on all were just a little better than nothing though and yes polycarbonate. I've spotted a 4 jaw that I covet, costs more than half what the lathe cost, but on the right project would pay for itself & that is the beauty of machine tools they save both time and money while turning out quality parts.

If the operator stays well within the machines designed capabilities the mini lathe and mill will provide many years of use. Of course daily maintenance is a part of the life expectancy equation too.

Rick C.
 
PeteMcP said:
Virtually same as my little EMCO Unimat Rick, which all the China-made copies are based on. Got mine 22 years ago after seeing it listed as the only 'lineage' ad in an old issue of Model Railways magazine. Retired Architect owner listed it as 'used once' to help build a radio-controlled FW190 model airplane. Asking price was 100 quid. Absolute bargain that I thought would have long since been snapped up. Mentioned the ad to Jen and forgot all about it. A week later a large box arrived in the mail and Jen told me to open it. Jen had called the seller and it was still for sale. Jen said it was a surprise present and he'd kindly agreed to ship the lathe on the understanding she could return it if it wasn't what I wanted.
Unimat came with every available extra - most of which were either still boxed or wrapped in waxed paper. Vertical milling attachment with extra motor. 3 & 4 jaw chucks. Screw cutting attachment. Auto feed g/box. Live centre, Steadies and all tooling. Obviously had seen little or no use. Jen did real good snapping-up this little gem. Used it on an almost daily basis when making all of the thousands of master patterns needed for my range of model train kits. Perfect for turning-up or milling the odd motorized bicycle component when needed.
Still have my Unimat. Used it far more than I ever did with my Myford ML7 which I sold a year prior to the house move.
Click to expand...

Cool story Pete. Your wife had a firm understanding of her husband & put legs under that knowledge. The Logan mentioned in the previous post was used and extremely well optioned. Old yet well maintained & accurate. It was belt driven from a rear mounted motor which was upgraded to 2hp.

I always coveted a Unimat jewelers lathe, yet each time I found one I held off. I really didn't need one I suspect, but I'd think modelers would find them quite useful. 4" between centers, pretty tiny. The larger ones like you have can do some real work equipped as it is and how about that price! If I like what I've purchased I can easily see spending another $600. to a $1,000. on useful stuff. I already have setup and measuring tools so that saves a lot up front as well. As I posted earlier lathes "are needful things" which can be used to upgrade themselves with some turning.

I do have bike parts in mind for this purchase.

Rick C.
 
UPS notified me of Monday delivery for the lathe, pretty quick if that occurs.

I'm trying to pull everything together before delivery, but with quick delivery service I need the machine stand ready to mount the machine before all else. Still trying to fit 5 lbs. in a two pound , sack. The answer lies in moving a lot of parts into storage at least until I can build a storage unit here. My basement is also a storage solution but I'm really not feeling it as a permanent solution.

I've several more shop tools that require space as well, so it's not just about the mini-lathe. I've determined not to build a large shop, but just utilize the space I have for the time I've remaining. Although this might seem to be me complaining; It's not at all. I'm actually looking forward to the process and this is just me thinking ....online.

Rick C.
 
Thanks Tom for jogging my old mind.

The stairway is quite narrow and really steep, but the real access problem is the entrance to the basement being located in a very narrow hallway that's less than 30" wide so items longer than this must be vertically positioned prior to entering the hallway to access the door to the basement. Once I've managed to get an item into the basement I'd rather cut it in quarters to remove it rather than enlist others to aid in the extraction process. The design was actually a splendid floor level space saver, but really limited access. So perhaps I need to rethink the wok flow of, how I build things: speed isn't a factor as I'm not making a living doing these projects....unless I custom build a shop my attitude to working on projects can change, as I don't need a perfect space for hobby work

If I used the basement only for machining parts and some storage I could fit &assemble in the garage and weld/grind etc.
outside under the car port for the majority of the dirty work.

You guys up North get a lot of hobby use from your basement and I regret not really utilizing this nice 20'x24' space for more than storage. I have good power and gas heating in place already. If I were a modeler this is where I have would set up for certain, but bikes are not a good fit. It makes for a great climate for a shop; cool in the Summer and warm in the Winter. Dry air is a given in arid climates.

The basement should be better utilized than it currently is and that makes more sense than building an additional building for storage of items I don't use often and which are small enough to negotiate the stair well constrictions. I can move the lathe and a small mill down the stairs, no problem there. The stuff I want to store is going down there for sure. I may still erect a storage shed for yard tools however.

It's a great time to start with moving my excess bike stuff to the basement and go from there.

Rick C.
 
indian22 said:
Thanks Tom for jogging my old mind.

The stairway is quite narrow and really steep, but the real access problem is the entrance to the basement being located in a very narrow hallway that's less than 30" wide so items longer than this must be vertically positioned prior to entering the hallway to access the door to the basement. Once I've managed to get an item into the basement I'd rather cut it in quarters to remove it rather than enlist others to aid in the extraction process. The design was actually a splendid floor level space saver, but really limited access. So perhaps I need to rethink the wok flow of, how I build things: speed isn't a factor as I'm not making a living doing these projects....unless I custom build a shop my attitude to working on projects can change, as I don't need a perfect space for hobby work

If I used the basement only for machining parts and some storage I could fit &assemble in the garage and weld/grind etc.
outside under the car port for the majority of the dirty work.

You guys up North get a lot of hobby use from your basement and I regret not really utilizing this nice 20'x24' space for more than storage. I have good power and gas heating in place already. If I were a modeler this is where I have would set up for certain, but bikes are not a good fit. It makes for a great climate for a shop; cool in the Summer and warm in the Winter. Dry air is a given in arid climates.

The basement should be better utilized than it currently is and that makes more sense than building an additional building for storage of items I don't use often and which are small enough to negotiate the stair well constrictions. I can move the lathe and a small mill down the stairs, no problem there. The stuff I want to store is going down there for sure. I may still erect a storage shed for yard tools however.

It's a great time to start with moving my excess bike stuff to the basement and go from there.

Rick C.
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How about building a new stair entrance to the basement, just a thought, maybe not feasible. Glad to see you are getting a lathe, great time killer plus the satisfaction of not having to waist all that time looking for what is not out there.............Curt
 
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