What a week!...It started off with the v belt breaking on my pedestal drill so I had to set the job up on my milling machine to complete it...Not too much of a drama. Then while blasting some small parts the air compressor went on the blink...A maximum air pressure of 50 psi was all it would do even if I left it pumping all day..It should cut out at 100 psi...
Unfortunately, due to its size and the fact I am limited for space it lives under my workbench...An initial check failed to identify the problem so I had to remove the vice from the bench and unbolt the bench from the wall and floor so that I could move it to get the compressor out!....After stripping the compressor pump it became clear a failed gasket in the valve chamber was the problem...Three days of emails going backwards and forwards between me and the manufacturer determined gasket sets were no longer available for this (24 year old) model...Hey ho...I ordered some copper sheet to make a replacement for the original fibre gasket which I managed to get on a next day delivery...Unfortunately, I now didn't have a bench or vice to work on...
Having made a card template of the quite intricate gasket my next job will be to mark it out on the copper and then drill any holes required on the milling machine before bolting the vice to the machine so that I can use it as a bench!....That's going to be a nice quiet job as my workshop CD player also decided this would be a good time to go 'tits up' as well....:laughing:
I can't really complain though, the drill is 20 years old and I've had the compressor for 24 years, with the only previous problem being a failed pressure switch...(14cfm, 3 horsepower, 120 litre receiver)....It's a Clarke 'Industrial' machine which I bought new from Machine Mart, so I'd say it's done pretty well as it's run for 100s if not 1000s of hours in that time...Ian
