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Home Base => Introductions => Topic started by: rocketdogbert on October 29, 2016, 09:31:48 AM

Title: Hello from Essex....
Post by: rocketdogbert on October 29, 2016, 09:31:48 AM
Good afternoon fellow modders and builders

I'm John and I like playing with stuff :-).

Seriously, I'm fairly handy doing and building things, and always looking for new things to do.

Currently I have it in my head to buy myself some sort of lathe/milling machine and build some pocket knives, just something for a hobbyist, so any advice will be welcome.

John
Title: Re: Hello from Essex....
Post by: awemawson on October 29, 2016, 11:31:40 AM
Hi John,

Welcome aboard  :thumbup:

 - let us know a bit about your projects and aspirations in the workshop - we like pictures by the way
Title: Re: Hello from Essex....
Post by: rocketdogbert on October 29, 2016, 12:00:41 PM
Thanks for the hello, and of course plenty of updates, that's the plan.

I'm looking for a mill at the moment, bench top something or other.

I'll be milling/drilling stainless and probably some carbon steel, aluminium and titanium, so any advice greatly appreciated.

I'm a big watch fan, bushcraft and pocket knife, and pretty much anything else that fits nicely in the hand :)
Title: Re: Hello from Essex....
Post by: Pete W. on October 29, 2016, 12:07:02 PM
Hi there, John,

Welcome to Mad Modders.

I lived in Essex for several years and started to get my workshop together there.  I bought a lot of the accessories for my Myford lathe from G.A.Dunball in Brentwood Road, Romford, and a lot of tools from W.L.Cooke of Chadwell Heath.  I also used to buy a lot of raw material from Harry Jeffries' scrap yard in Mawney Road, Romford.

I know Dunballs ceased trading before I left Essex and the scrap yard changed hands in the early 1990s.  How many sources of tools and materials are there in Essex nowadays? 
Title: Re: Hello from Essex....
Post by: rocketdogbert on October 29, 2016, 12:18:30 PM
Hi there, John,

Welcome to Mad Modders.

I lived in Essex for several years and started to get my workshop together there.  I bought a lot of the accessories for my Myford lathe from G.A.Dunball in Brentwood Road, Romford, and a lot of tools from W.L.Cooke of Chadwell Heath.  I also used to buy a lot of raw material from Harry Jeffries' scrap yard in Mawney Road, Romford.

I know Dunballs ceased trading before I left Essex and the scrap yard changed hands in the early 1990s.  How many sources of tools and materials are there in Essex nowadays?

Thanks for the welcome Pete. I'm near Southend, quite a lot of people here supplying all sorts of materials and tools, I'll check out your recommendations though, thanks

John
Title: Re: Hello from Essex....
Post by: AdeV on October 29, 2016, 03:54:26 PM
Welcome to the madhouse John  :wave: Always a bunch of good projects to watch here, looking forward to seeing yours too (projects that is  :palm:)  :dremel:

I spent a few years near "Sahfend", Benfleet to be exact, with a short sojourn on what I can only describe as Canvey Island... Didn't do any workshopping down there, that was before my "midlife crisis" which has been going on for nearly 10 years now & shows no signs of slowing up!
Title: Re: Hello from Essex....
Post by: rocketdogbert on October 29, 2016, 04:21:47 PM
Welcome to the madhouse John  :wave: Always a bunch of good projects to watch here, looking forward to seeing yours too (projects that is  :palm:)  :dremel:

I spent a few years near "Sahfend", Benfleet to be exact, with a short sojourn on what I can only describe as Canvey Island... Didn't do any workshopping down there, that was before my "midlife crisis" which has been going on for nearly 10 years now & shows no signs of slowing up!

What a lovely bunch of people. I grew up on Canvey :)
Title: Re: Hello from Essex....
Post by: krv3000 on October 29, 2016, 04:38:48 PM
Welcome aboard
Title: Re: Hello from Essex....
Post by: awemawson on October 29, 2016, 04:45:17 PM
Well I've spent many days (and also sadly nights) at the Mobil Coryton refinery at Stanford-Le-Hope. They had a twin suite of Ferranti Argus 500 real time computers controlling all the process loops in the plant. I once worked out that to re-load the system (which was via paper tape) I'd fed in and rolled up 14 miles of paper tape.  :bugeye: Source code was in Fortran and it had to be read in and compiled as they hadn't kept a binary back up  :bang:
Title: Re: Hello from Essex....
Post by: Will_D on October 29, 2016, 09:01:19 PM
Mention of Myford dealers on the "high street" reminds me:

 I bought a lot of my bits and pices from the tool merchants on the "Piccadilly Approch" to Manchester's Piccadilly railway station.

I know someone here will fill in the name for me!

The sight of a super 7 in the window was Oh so tempting!

Wife manage to buy my Christmas prezzies  (e.g. ML7 graduated hand wheel for example)  without even going into the store.  :thumbup:
Title: Re: Hello from Essex....
Post by: philf on October 30, 2016, 04:34:33 AM
Mention of Myford dealers on the "high street" reminds me:

 I bought a lot of my bits and pices from the tool merchants on the "Piccadilly Approch" to Manchester's Piccadilly railway station.

I know someone here will fill in the name for me!

The sight of a super 7 in the window was Oh so tempting!


Will,

It was Joseph Gleave and Son.

When I was at college in Manchester in the late 60's/ early 70s a Myford ML10 was £150 in there - but I couldn't afford it.

They're still in Manchester http://www.gleave.co.uk/ (http://www.gleave.co.uk/).

Phil.
Title: Re: Hello from Essex....
Post by: Pete. on October 30, 2016, 08:43:19 AM
Welcome John,

Show us some examples of stuff you've done - everyone likes pictures!

Pete.
Title: Re: Hello from Essex....
Post by: howsitwork? on October 31, 2016, 04:48:18 PM
Welcome to the forum.  I think you may struggle to get knife blanks commercially currently in UK. I used to see them in wood turning catalogues such as craft supplies but with changes in laws etc they've all gone!

Making your own is certainly an interesting possibility.

good luck ian