Where can I get some swingarm spacers made in the UK?

[Wenman]

Morning!

Can anyone recommend a good engineer shop that could lathe up some spacers for me?

Obviously within the UK, I’m located in Devon but I assume most places can deliever them!

Thanks

Alan

[Johnwebley]

  any competent engineering company,

  just provide a basic drawing and dimensions .


  http://www.hmsengineering.co.uk/

 this is who I use,and they are brilliant .

[matthewmosse]

Buy a lathe if you need much doing. They pay for themselfs very fast in my experience.

[K2-K6]

I trained in engineering,  but wish I'd learnt more about economics so I could afford to spend more on engineering 

Matthewmosse,  now you've got me looking at myford add listings  although a nice Hardinge would be good,  or a  Colchester 2000. See what you've done 

[matthewmosse]

Lathes are simple  to use, I taught myself after 5 minutes tuition at a work experience placement - saw the possibilities bought a brand new warco machine, which took a few years saving up to buy plus bought an old tuition book ' machine tool operation' I think it paid for itself inside of 5 years. Of course it's another way to spend yet more money, chucks cost £100 and various other tools become neccessarily as jobs crop up, but it's very very handy to have. I now have 3 excluding the dedicated woodwork machines - the latest ones a 1920's treadle lathe bought off Facebook for £100. Was seized solid and covered in 60 years of dust and rust when collected. It's now functional and rather appealing looking in its patinated old paint wiped over with an oily rag. Operates amazingly smoothly and has a  full set of thread cutting gears - amazingly the only dammaged gear was available new in a very similar pattern so was a simple job to modify the replacement to fit. Only  downside to the lathe being so old seems to be that chucks and other accessories may not be readily available with the right headstock thread - that lathe will be required to make an adapter for my 1914 lathe to carry alternative chucks as  the treadle lathe can cut stupidly coarse threads. Once that is done I'lll be able to skim and re line drum brakes without stripping the wheels down to a bare hub, in fact it will  with the right chuck be able to mount a cb550 wheel up with the tyre still fitted. I didn't do metalworking st school - that class was oversubscribed and I had the best language skills of the bunch who wanted to do wood and metalwork so I had to study German instead. I did a year of blacksmithing but lathes were not covered.

[matthewmosse]

My current collection, Oliver kfc31 pattern makers gap bed lathe, circa 1914 - does wood or light metalwork, massive machine. IXL 1920s treadl lathe with full thread cutting and wood turning attachments. Warco wmt300/2 lathe / mill / drill machine centre. I've since had some paid work on a local firm's myford 7. It's a very satisfying hobby in itself and need not be that expensive, the Oliver lathe was £80 delivered and as much again converting it to single phase as it was 3 phase 2 or 4 hp off a switch and a phase converter big enough to run that would have broke the bank. Putting on a single phase motor and jackshaft with step pullies gave more speeds and was cheap. Variable speed drives are cheaper now and on the wish list.

[Seamus]

I dont need a lathe, my brother in law and my brother, both have them. Quick visit and it all done for me.
Lazy mans option..

[Laverda Dave]

I bought a s/h Myford Series 7 about 10 years ago, one of the best tool purchases I've ever made. Although Myford are no longer in business you can still buy any parts you need from various suppliers. I managed to buy a milling attachment a couple of years ago. There's even a tutorial series on YouTube of how to strip them down and rebuild them!
I was lucky to have studied metalwork, woodwork, TD and motor engineering at my comprehensive school in Acton. I had the best and most inspirational teachers throughout my 5 years of secondary school. My TD teacher was ex-Rolls Royce and was involved in designing the Merlin engine (he always called us 'Chaps' at the start of a lesson) and my teacher for metalwork, woodwork and motor engineering designed the articulated seat rails for Concord. He also built a harpsichord from scratch in his lunch breaks!

[Moorey]

To say there are all theses lathes about there are not many volunteers to knock up a couple of spacers. He is obviously happy  to pay. 

[Wenman]

That’s what I was thinking moorey! Lol

[Moorey]

How quick do you need them?

[matthewmosse]

Lead time on any new projects in my workshops 6 weeks at the moment- I reacon he'll want spacers sooner than that  . Too many jobs, not enough time......

[Moorey]

Lead time on any new projects in my workshops 6 weeks at the moment- I reacon he'll want spacers sooner than that  . Too many jobs, not enough time......

I would hardly call a couple of spacers a project. Turning doesn't come any simpler. They are a shove it in, between proper jobs. Were I used to work it would have been just do these and they would more than likely have been FOC.

[taysidedragon]

It's very easy to volunteer other people, isn't it? 😊

[Moorey]

It's very easy to volunteer other people, isn't it? 😊

How little you know.  I have already volunteered myself.