2014 POTD Thread Archive

Great idea! Because these are used with food (or drink), I think I would avoid using "mystery metal" just in case it might react with the acids in the wine or other spirits in any negative way. Some food grade stainless would be a safer choice.

Not trying to be a downer, but it would be horrible if anything happened to your family or friends.

Best wishes!

GG
 
Here is my project of the day for the last two weeks, My wife overheard my son talking to his brother about a bench grinder, So I got busy and rebuilt this 1969 Dayton 1/2 HP 7" 3450 . Stripped 3 coats of battle ship gray then wire wheeled to bare metal. Primed with DP40 and painted with Concept with a left over color I already had. I replaced the motor bearings, start Capacitor, start switch, power cord, and rubber mounting feet. I reassembled with all stainless fasteners. I removed the original tag for painting and will have a new one made at the sporting good store as the original aluminium tag was horribly beat up. I put the drive screws in the hole to keep dirt out of the winding to I get a tag made. I bought a 7" 60 grit silicon carbide wheel and dressed it, and does it run smooth. Made a Aluminium bracket today and cut a piece of lexan for a eye guard. The right side will be for wire wheel and polishing buff. Hope he is thrilled at Christmas.

I'm curious about having a new nomenclature plate made at the sporting goods store. I would never think to connect the two. Can you elucidate? Is the logic: sporting goods store = trophies = engraving? Ok, I get that but . . . can they do a photo realistic reproduction of the original or will the new one be more basic? Hey, have them add a line: "Merry Christmas Son, 2014, Dad".


Anyway, nice job tuning up the unit and making it a Christmas present, priceless.
 
Re: Easy holiday lathe project

imitation being the sincerest form of flattery and all that :)

View attachment 90446

I didn't have any round stock, so I had to hack down a bit of rectangular scrap. The girls helped with all of it, albeit not all of the time :D Sophie (8rs) did a lot of the turning/ grooving/ marking the holes and Evie (6yrs) helped with polishing the balls and painting them with nail varnish. It's our present to my wife and the kids had a lot of fun, especially with the "we had a great time doing nothing in the garage with Dad" teases. It's now in a large box under the Christmas tree!

Fingers crossed I'll have time to make a wine bottle sealer for our friends who are coming round for dinner on Christmas.

I really like this! So I have an idea of scale, about what size material did you use?
 
Great idea! Because these are used with food (or drink), I think I would avoid using "mystery metal" just in case it might react with the acids in the wine or other spirits in any negative way. Some food grade stainless would be a safer choice.

Not trying to be a downer, but it would be horrible if anything happened to your family or friends.

Best wishes!

GG

Thanks for the concern, but I think the likelihood of anything toxic leaching out is minimal given that is not going to be in direct contact with any liquid. I doubt there's any lead in there given what a pain it was to machine and there can't be much nickel given that I could machine it :) even stainless has potential issues with chromium leaching. I'll give them the full warning and let them decide D)
 
Re: Easy holiday lathe project

I really like this! So I have an idea of scale, about what size material did you use?

Thanks, although hackmaster should get the credit as it was his idea ;) it's about as long as my thumb and perhaps an inch and a quarter/ half wide - the holes are 1/16! It shouldn't take very long for anyone with a half decent lathe to make.
 
I was puttering around the shop today and realized I don't have the right indicator holders I need all the time, especially for the lathe So I started making some. The first one I am not posting a photo as they are for sale on flea bay for $25. they posted a bunch of pics and even gave the important dimensions , so I thought " I can make the in an hour for free". I don't know if it is legal to post the photo of the one I made or not, but it is really great and I like it.

The second one is in the photos below:

indicator holder.jpg It will have a dove tail in the end for the lever type dial indicator. I haven't cut the dove tail yet as I don't have a dove tail cutter and am going to file it by hand.

indicator holder 2.jpg I milled a clevis joint in two places for flexibility It has a 1/4-20 hole in one end for more mounting flexibility and will have the dove tail in the other end. It is made from 3/8" steel round stock



Took about an hour to make


Mark Frazier

indicator holder.jpg indicator holder 2.jpg
 
After an over indulgent Christmas I made it out to the shop this morning to put the new parts in the compound. Realized a set of spanners would be nice to tighten the lock nuts on the thrust bearings. Probably 10 or 15 minutes drawing and burning on the plasma table and we had these.

IMG_1566.jpg

Worked great and better the lathe is now back in good health. The new screw turns smooth as glass.

Greg

IMG_1566.jpg
 
With the memory of this part coming out of the three jaw and causing mayhem, I decided discretion was the better part of valour and mounted the four jaw so I could clamp them in this time around.
All went well of course, pretty sure the part was too warm from welding and shrunk enough to come loose.

IMG_1567.jpg

Greg

IMG_1567.jpg
 
So that's what those slots in the faces of chucks are for! Glad you got your lathe fixed up and back to new.
 
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