DoN. Nichols wrote:

[ ... ]

Or get Explorer 7 or 8 with tabs.

Exactly how would that help me?

1) I *can't* run Explorer of any version on my Sun Workstation,
which is what I use for browsing, newsreading, and for e-mail.
I won't allow a Windows system to touch the outside net from my
network. It is too easy to have one get a virus and then start
spewing out spam to the world, giving my network a bad name.

2) Tabs (which I do have in the Opera browser which I use by
choice) would only help if I were doing both the catalog
checking and the news editing on the browser at the same time.
I *don't* and *won't* use a browser as a newsreader -- I use a
*real* newsreader (better than any implementation in a browser)
and don't use Google for accessing news.

3) Scrolling around on the catalog page using a browser is not as
easy nor as quick as printing out the catalog page and scanning
it beside my keyboard. (Among other things, in the browser, I
have to scroll back up to find out what the column headings are,
and sometimes all the way to the top

Chacun a son gout...

[ ... ]

The 6495K222 is used with 6086K14 quick disconnect bushing
which is available with a 5/8" bore. But the bushing and pulley
combo is close to $100.

I didn't find the bushing itself, and could not see how well it
would work for this task. I *wish* that McMaster Carr would make
their catalogs more readily available.

The small pulley that should match it (L series) is 6495K23. This
one is steel, the bigger one is cast iron.

O.K. Cast Iron is fine for the task. It is the softer metals
like the aluminum hub, and the softer plastics like the acetal
(Delrin) body which are likely to be problems for your job.

I suspect it is all academic.

And I would not worry about boring out the larger pulley to fit.
You'll need means for measuring your bore to know when you are at
the right size -- which probably means making up a sample shaft
with a step
0.010" too small, one 0.005" too small, one the right size, and one
about 0.002" too large. Stop before the too large will fit in. And
be sure to remove the setscrews before you start boring. Hold it
by the hub in the 4-jaw, and take a lot of time tuning it to on
center before you start boring.

A telescopic gauge?

Do you have one which will go small enough? I forget whether
that or a split ball-end gauge is the better fit for that size. I've
got both -- plus some Tesa/B&S Tri-Mikes for more accurate bore
readings.

But accurate reading of either the split balls or the telescoping
gauges with a micrometer takes some experience to get accurte and
repeatable readings, which is why I suggested that you make a gauging
fixture which will be quick and easy to use, and especially to tell
you when to start sneaking up on the final dimension.

Well, it is a close run thing between using the telescopic gauge and a
micrometer and actually making something with the required accuracy. The
last two attempts at making something to a given dimension I overshot by
0.010" and 0.004" respectively. I suppose I am getting better...

The markings on that one were welded onto the stainless steel
surface, not etched into them. As the scale goes up, the production
means must change.

Please! I do not just copy other people's work!

A good stainless steel won't etch with the Ferric Chloride
anyway,

That it won't...

so you'll need some other way to attach the number markings to
something of that size designed for outdoor exposure. I was talking
about how it made sense to make it -- not how to copy someone else's
work. You could form the letters with weld markings, or rivet them in
place, or any of a number of other possibilities.

Done the rivet bit .


Well, not too often.
Also,
if you have a hammer suddenly there is an awful lot of nails about.

But when the workpiece is the size of Big Ben, nails don't do
much good, even if you have the best hammer in the world. :-)

Maybe I shall limit myself to 12". It has served me well thus far.

--
Michael Koblic
Campbell River, BC