Wind Power

Larry Jaques observed:

(...)

Many! Mr. Hydraulic Cart is almost all HF or HF - lookalike stuff.

Don't get cranky on me. I was making small joke.

:)

--Winston

They don't say how many seeds you get, or what type of payment they accept. I've never had a credit card, and don't want one. I've made it to 56 without selling my soul to the banks for their plastic.

has 50 for $2.66 delived, but they only take Paypal or credit cards.

(...)

Its in the fine print..

: "Seed pricing: Our average price is $3 for a pack of 30-40 seeds." They do have a $15.00 minimum though. That's a lot of seeds.

"Credit Card, Paypal or Personal Check" (In the 'Shopping Cart')

Good on ya. I have too many of the buggers.

--Winston

You don't need a credit card to use PayPal.

Hope This Helps! Rich

I talked to my dad in Ohio today. He is going to look around and see if he can still find them, up there where we raised them in the family garden.

Michael A. Terrell wrote: (...)

Also cherries and beefsteaks? Yum!

--Winston

I can find them cheaper than I can grow them, but they don't have the right flavor for my chili. :(

There are at least 30 produce dealers at the closest flea market that grow acres of them and bring them in, fresh picked. :)

Yeahbut homegrown have three times as much flavour! Gerry :-)} London, Canada

And half the durometer!

--Winston

That depends on the dealer. Some are small local farmers selling their excess, picked that day, or the day before. Others buy a truckload at the local produce warehouse that was picked green. It helps to know them personally. :)

Hey Ed,

Maybe you know guys already know about this, but just in case, it is an interesting little article from CTE news. Goes against what I personally have understood, which was that if you used your own good "QC" right at the manufacturing site in China, you got good product. Guess I'm wrong again.

Take care.

Brian Lawson, Bothwell, Ontario.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

28-Jul-09 3:00 AM AWST

600 Group drops China sourcing

Machine tool manufacturer 600 Group has pulled back from outsourcing production to China because of the poor levels of quality and consequent warranty claims.

Quality problems have led 600 Group to drop its stategy of sourcing from China Releasing details of its recent significant restructuring and new product supply arrangements CEO David Norman said: ?At the time of my appointment in August, it was clear that both the cost infrastructure of the Group and the machine tools? supply chain were in need of urgent attention. Considerable action has subsequently been taken and continues to be required to effect transformational change within the Group?s operations, whilst concurrently taking additional defensive actions in light of depressed market conditions.?

He added that the company has also moved to a simpler business model which supports its commitment to manufacturing and supplying high quality customer focused products.

Previously a significant feature of the Group?s strategy was the outsourcing of a large part of production and supply from China. Regrettably, says the company, the levels of quality originally envisaged were not achieved and, despite a major effort by the engineering and quality teams, the result was an unacceptable level of warranty claims. Mr Normal says that under these circumstances the supply chain was re-engineered and new outsourcing arrangements were put in place, resulting in a return to historic levels of product quality.

The company is also making significant investments in the manufacture of workholding equipment and machine components at is machine shop in Heckmondwike, which is now one of the largest of its kind in the UK. This focus on the development of the Group?s UK manufacturing base is likely to continue.

The Group is moving to a simpler business model eliminating duplication and ensuring more consistency for customers. Product sourcing is now under the control of a single product management team, working on behalf of the entire Group. Sales and marketing effort will now be directed towards 600 Group brands, including Colchester-Harrison, Electrox, Pratt Burnerd and Gamet Bearings. The Group will continue to sell a limited number of other products complementary to these core ranges.

Mr Norman concluded: ?Major restructuring and significant cost reductions have been necessary to ensure that 600 Group is in the right shape to weather the current market and has a strong platform from which to grow the business.

?We will increasingly be going to market as a group rather than a collection of companies. Central product management will control the Group?s marketing strategy to achieve maximum leverage of Group brands. The associated sales volume benefits will drive our outsourcing arrangements in addition to strengthening our manufacturing base in our three UK locations, Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, Colchester, Essex and Letchworth, Hertfordshire.

?There is still a great deal of work to do but I believe that the Group will soon be in a position to take advantage of any recovery as well as opportunities which may arise from the global downturn.?

Interesting. I hear anecdotal things about this from people I still talk to in manufacturing, but I haven't seen any numbers on it since I was writing about trade with China. It would be worth checking it out.

-- Ed Huntress

I have a friend who has hobby products made to his design in China. His comment is that he pays about 3c extra on a $5 cost to have a full quality check, such that he offers a full one year, no questions asked, exchange warranty on all his products. As a personal example, one of his units died due to a dead short failure in a down line component not of his manufacture, he immediately replaced it even though I did not expect it, I showed it to him so that the next version (V3) can be made more idiot proof. V1 was DC input, he had a few returns from people who could not differentiate between positive & negative or that a 12V does not really like 24V. V2 operates on AC or DC, 9V to (I think) 36V. The next upgrade will be even better.

He says that Chinese manufacturers will build to whatever quality level you specify. Specify low quality you get rubbish, specify higher quality levels then you get what you pay for. He often requires modifications to test samples to get the top quality he requires.

Alan

171 copies available through ABE Books.

HI Guys

I thought this was kind of interesting! I knew that each ship had a machine shop but never had seen one. I guess the machines are there to stay once the ship is built!

Kelly T

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Hey guys,

I got an email (above) from Kelly T. of the Estevan Model Engineering, and there is some neat stuff. Not sure the Bridgeport and read-outs would have been "original equipment", but all-in-all a lot of good stuff. What can YOU identify?

I think I can ID most of it, but the 10th pix on the website shows a decent sized CLARK pedestal grinder (not CLARKE as Google insists!).

It has no wheels installed which makes it a bit tougher, but I can't figure out what the "apparatus" on the left side of it is. Anybody got a clue?

It looks like there should be a longish belt that would drive from the spindle to what appears to be a blower (dust collector??) at the base, but how come on one side only?

What's with the "bowl shape" where the work would take place? Does it pivot to make radius grinds maybe? Help me out here!!

Brian Lawson, Bothwell, Ontario.

ps.....and what is that "plate" hanging on the wall behind it?

On Sat, 29 Aug 2009 11:28:55 -0400, the infamous Brian Lawson scrawled the following:

Is this lathe to turn repaired prop shafts? Bigass muthuh!

36" throw?

Man, would ya look at the size of that roll of TP on the lathe here:

;)

-- No matter how cynical you are, it is impossible to keep up. --Lily Tomlin

Interesting indeed. Next time you get a chance to tour a WWII submarine, look for the lathe. Most seem to be on the starboard wall, just ahead of the aft hatch

9" SB seems to be comm> HI Guys

My 10L SB was built for the Navy in 1945. It has a special, heavy-duty base that doesn't appear in the 1945 SB catalog, but otherwise it's the same. My understanding is that the spindles on machines built for the War Board were superfinished, but I've never tried to compare mine with standard ones.

-- Ed Huntress

Bacteria oxide? Would that be B.O.?