Threading copper rod

[mcostello]

Sort like loosing a tool, buying another, then finding the original?

[johnfreese]

The 1932 American Machinist's handbook calls for mineral lard oil diluted 5:1 with kerosene for cutting copper. I have no clue what mineral lard oil is.

As for milk coolant: your lathe sure would stink later. Bacon grease not so bad.

[stevec]

Thanks Harold.
Steve

[chief]

Just wanted to update everyone on the copper turning. Things went fine, we used carbide tooling with fairly light cuts, about 25 thou for the OD turning and about 15 for the threading.

Just for grins, I made the first turning pass about 20 thou with no cutting fluid and about half way into a 2" pass, the copper started to tear a little bit. I then used Mobile 404 cutting oil, since I had that on hand, and it did the job. No more tearing and the threading went well with no issues.

Thanks everyone for helping out.
Terry

[liveaboard]

I have a distant neighbor, a somewhat nutty German fellow, who makes things like that. Hydrogen generators.
A lot of people here use solar electricity, and in summer there's a lot of excess capacity for those not grid connected. He wants to turn that into Hydrogen to use mainly as cooking fuel. He just vents the oxygen.
When I asked him some technical questions about the gas separation, he couldn't understand what I was talking about.
Could be language, but his English is pretty good.
So far nothing has exploded, but I'm still waiting.
Other "alternative" leaning European immigrants I met are using hydrogen generators in their vehicles. These use the alternator to power electrolysis, and allow the oxygen to mix with the hydrogen, feeding the explosive mix into the engine air intake.
They believe the system magically makes their fuel consumption drop. When I try to explain the laws of thermodynamics, they just say laws are for wimps.

[Harold_V]

They believe the system magically makes their fuel consumption drop. When I try to explain the laws of thermodynamics, they just say laws are for wimps.

Likely the same individuals who think there's a "free lunch".
Nothing is free. One can not extract more energy than one consumes---as you suggested. In fact, taking in to account friction, resistance and other forces that consume energy, one extracts less. If one could extract more, there wouldn't be an energy problem.

Interestingly, laws (of physics) are not made by man, but observed by man. Big difference! That's the way it is---and if one thinks that the laws can be ignored, such an individual is ripe for plucking.

Harold

[tornitore45]

So these geniuses are using gasoline to run an IC engine that may have a 30% thermal efficiency to run an alternator that has a 90% efficiency to create H at 99% efficiency so 90% of that Hydrogen can be burned in an IC engine that has a 30% efficiency, while lugging around a tank of water and getting Oxygen in an environment with lots of spark prone electrical contact and oil.

[John Hasler]

So these geniuses are using gasoline to run an IC engine that may have a 30% thermal efficiency to run an alternator that has a 90% efficiency to create H at 99% efficiency so 90% of that Hydrogen can be burned in an IC engine that has a 30% efficiency, while lugging around a tank of water and getting Oxygen in an environment with lots of spark prone electrical contact and oil.

The most efficient electrolytic hydrogen generators in the world strain to reach 70% using proton exchange membranes and operating on an industrial scale. These guys are probably running way below 50% even with good catalysts and optimum electrolytes.

[liveaboard]

Your numbers are really very optimistic. The alternators are around 65%, the hydrogen cell 70% [if memory serves]. There is heat.
They're using diesels but there are still ignition sources in there.

[John Hasler]

Your numbers are really very optimistic. The alternators are around 65%, the hydrogen cell 70% [if memory serves]. There is heat.
They're using diesels but there are still ignition sources in there.

I was referring to the hydrogen cell *alone*. It is very unlikely that their homebrew cells are equaling the performance of the ones used in high-tech industrial hydrogen electrolysis plants, which strain to reach 70%. Their overall efficiency is probably well below 10%.

[Russ Hanscom]

mineral lard oil
[′min·rəl ′lärd ‚ȯil]
(materials)
A mixture of refined mineral oil with lard oil, having a fatty content of 25-30, and a flash point about 300°F (149°C).

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

and,

Lard oil is oil that is pressed out cold lard - per the Merk Index