Vintage Gentleman’s Cruiser

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

Just 440mm?? Paul – you and I both must avoid going anywhere near deep water……………..

DM

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

It does seem a bit of a tight fit!

I'll do a mock up and see how it feels

Bob

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

I wonder if there is an XXXL size for the more portly gentleman?

They would have special signs along the promenade like they have at funfairs 'you can't go near the sea if you can't fit through this hole'

If I fell in deep water I'd be more worried about Japanese whaling ships.

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Even though I am a fat lump…….I can walk through an 18" gap, quite easily

Bob

[Ralph PinchParticipant @ralphpinch41762]

Its always the same, cant get suits or trousers off the peg, now your telling me because I get my clothes from Jacamo I'll drown if the cruise ship springs a leak………..it's not a kind world to the BMI challenged.

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

Bob,

On page 27 of the RNLi booklet (**LINK**) that I mentioned, the measurements for a small-to-medium size bouy are given as 18–24 inches, while on page 31 it says that a large one would be 25–32 inches.

In other words, it seems that an 18 inch lifebouy would be the smallest standard size available, while the more well-developed gentleman might feel more at home (or at least at ease) in a 30 or 32 inch one …

/Mattias

Edited By Banjoman on 04/06/2015 18:24:45

Edited By Banjoman on 04/06/2015 18:25:00

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Thank you, Banjo

We learn something new, every day……..I`ll make a few of each size…….As a conversation piece!

It`s strange that there are no life belts to be seen on the ship`s photo`s

Bob

[CookieOldParticipant @cookieold]

Hi Bob,Cant wait to see her at Haydock , Has Paul And Dave i am screwed with them sizes.

Best Regards Dave

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Ralph or anybody with a Chester lathe

I am turning the lifebelts on the lathe

I need to fit the outside gripping jaws………I have done this a few times in the past but the jaws are not marked 1…2…3 and causes hours of utter time wasting……By trial and error

The jaws are supposed to be stamped on the inside the guide slot, but mine only show part numbers

Any advice on this please?

Bob

[Keith LongParticipant @keithlong89920]

Bob look at the back of the chuck jaws where the teeth that engage the chuck scroll will be visible. Jaw 1 will have the inside tooth nearest the contact face of the jaw, no 2 will be a bit higher and no 3 will be the highest of all.

I find the easiset way to get the teeth into the chuck is to look into a jaw slot, and turn the scroll until you just see the outermost part of the scroll thread come into view. Turn the scroll back slightly so that the jaw that you've identified above as "1" enters and then engage it with the scroll. Move on to the next slot clockwise looking at the front of the chuck and do the same as before but insert jaw 2. Then move on to the final slot and insert jaw 3. Then try tightening the chuck up and see if the jaws meet centrally. If not adjust as required, you should have the jaws in the right order but may have either missed the pick up on the scroll or picked up too soon. If the chuck feels tight opening or closing it's probably that the jaws are not in the originally designated slots, in which case, you need to move all the jaws round by one or two slots keeping them in the correct order. Some centre punch marks on non critical part of the chuck body and jaws identifies the slot and jaw will save a lot of time in the future.

Edited By Keith Long on 08/06/2015 18:32:15

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Thank you Keith

I will try that……Thanks a lot for your quick responce

Bob

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hello Keith

I`m almost ashamed of myself!

I tried doing it your way……Then my way…….Then any way!……..It just wouldn`t finish up in the correct manner

It could be a multi start scroll of something daft?

Got round the problem though!

I measured the scroll pitch……Which was 6mm……..Divided by three gave me the packing thickness of 2mm per jaw!

So I packed out the jaws!

Good enough for four wooden life belts?

A tip worth remembering?

An Engineers solution to a total mystery!

Bob

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

About turn on the packing idea, Keith

I tried setting the jaws again and it worked out OK

Many thanks

Bob

[Keith LongParticipant @keithlong89920]

Pleased it worked out for you. It can be tricky.

Keith.

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hello Keith and others

The confusion continues!

It seems the handbook is incorrect, regarding jaw numbers

The solution is to follow Keith`s advice and just study the serrations and start of chuck spiral and load the jaws in succession

Bob

[Ralph PinchParticipant @ralphpinch41762]

Hi Bob, sorry have not been on for a couple of days, my jaws have not been out yet so I don't know if they are correctly marked, normaly on the shop lathe I do as Keith, but that can be hit or miss as well, glad to see you have got them fitted correctly.

Ralph.

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Thank you, Ralph

Got a card from Chester machines this morning……It's their Open Week on the 22nd June-26th

Small world?

How's the build coming along?

Bob

Edited By Bob Abell on 09/06/2015 14:55:07

[Ralph PinchParticipant @ralphpinch41762]

Hi Bob, sorry I could not be of more help, just finished my working days so back to Siadwell,

Got the same letter from Chester Machines, will go and have a look what's going, might get a 4 jaw or a back plate.

Siadwell is coming along slowly, planking is very time consuming, having to steam every plank and bend in the jig, this last batch of planks are very brittle and snap very easy.

The inflatable raft looks great, some very nice detail work,

Ralph.

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Work in progress

Making the lifebelts is a slow business……..Due to the time it takes for the paint to dry!

Bob

[Ralph PinchParticipant @ralphpinch41762]

Looks good, when I made the same for Sprite I masked off for the red quarters, its a waste of time, any bleed and it stands out like a sore thumb, your better off freehand.

when I finished turning them I showed them to the wife, "their nice love but why did you not use wooden curtain rail hoops" I checked some that we had and they were near identical size………talk about thinking out of the box!

[Andy CParticipant @andyc56856]

Hi Bob

On my trip to Portsmouth, we stayed in a Premier Inn and there was a small Marina not far away, with restaurants and shops etc. and a nice little surprise too.

 

She looks very familiar. She is actually part of the Dunkirt Little Ships group of boats. A real cracker.

Andy

Edited By Andy C on 14/06/2015 22:02:15

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hello Andy

An amazing similarity?…..Thank you

Someone has already suggested a nice brass polished Dunkirk plaque, but I feared it may cause some offence, not having been actually involved with the Evacuation

Also I mentioned it early on, in the thread, last year

Bob

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hello Andy again

The Email post mentions curtain rings as life belts, but the Thread post doesn't……How strange ?

The life belts I've used as a guide have a flattened oval cross section, but our curtain rings are circular

Didn't fancy the rivet counters getting involved!……lol

Bob

[Andy CParticipant @andyc56856]

Hi Bob

The reason it mentions curtain rings is because I deleted it after not reading the previous post first, but diving straight in. So then read Ralph mentioned them and deleted it with the edit button. no point in saying it twice.

When looking up the details on Aquabelle, the Dunkirk Little ships have an amazing website with details of all the ships that took part.

Andy

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Thanks Andy

I`ve seen the Little Ships website……Thanks

They must have been extremely brave men at the time……….I wonder how the wives and loved ones went on?

They didn`t stand much chance of getting home either

Bob

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