2014 POTD Thread Archive

[Marco Bernardini]

My vintage Helios caliper jumpped a tooth on the gear rack, putting my hand at 11:00 instead of straight up at 12.

It must be a Daylight Saving Caliper, then…

 

[Barnesrickw]

I haven't done much lately. My shop is downstairs, and my feet hurt.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[savarin]

Not in the same league as heaps of projects here but was a milestone for me.
Made 4 of these shafts and 4 spacers from some 12mm stainless rod, 10mm x 1.25 on one end and 8mm x 1 on the other.
They only went "Sssrreeeeeeeeeeerrrrk":lmao: when I parted them off and I'm rather pleased with the finish as turned (not polished)
They are part of the tilting suspension mechanism for the tricycle I'm building.
I didnt want to cut short lengths off the rod so supported the free end hanging out the back with a wire loop and parted them off as I finished them.




The spacer is so the spherical rod end has the maximum amount of freedom without binding on the nuts.

 

[Muzzer]

Check out the threading tools at http://www.mesatool.com/products/threading-tools/

They make a threading tool that can do inside, outside, upside down, and backwards with a single tool. The inserts are very reasonable too.

Boomer

Yes, there are agnostic or "partial profile" ones out there that usually cover a good range. I got some 60 degree internal and external inserts (they are different) that cover a range something like 0.5-1.5mm and 16-48TPI. They are not giveaway cheap but unless you want to buy a whole range of thread-specific sizes, it's not a bad result.

I liked the look of the Mesa system but I went for the Korloy "horizontal triangular" (my words) inserts myself. The way the Mesa bars can also cut internal threads as well as external is nice but the minimum internal bore is pretty big. One reason for going for the triangular inserts may be better availability, I'm guessing.

I haven't found an affordable internal boring bar for small thread sizes that uses inserts. It must be difficult to make the inserts that small and there probably isn't a big market for them. So if I'm not using a tap for cutting the threads I use an HSS tool. I probably won't use the internal threading inserts very often.

Muzzer

 

[schor]

I finally finished the plumb bob which spent most of the winter in my cold shop.

 

[brasssmanget]

That's too darn pretty to use! )

 

[savarin]

That is not a finished job, that is a beautiful work of art.:man:

 

[blacksmithden]

I've got a Coleman Ram-x Scanoe (canoe). It's one of those plastic jobs with a flat back that you can put a small outboard on. There's aluminum bracing inside to keep the bottom of it in shape. They screwed up when they made it, and the existing braces were too short. Actually, I think they left a couple pieces out, or the previous owner removed them. I'm not 100% sure. This allowed the bottom of the thing to curve upward, creating a pile of suction under it. Kind of like an airplane wing in reverse. It really creates a lot of drag on the thing going through the water. Anyway...today, on my day off, I got ambitious and decided to fix it. I had to make up some aluminum braces and brackets from scratch...on my day off. This is a lot of work !!!....on my day off. What was I thinking !??!??! LOL !!!

It's not done yet. I learned that 1" x 1/16" wall 6061 aluminum tubing doesn't like being bent, even with a proper hydraulic tube bender. It doesn't like being squished flat in a vise either. Everything just kept splitting. Anyway...like most home machinsts/fabricators...I changed the design half a dozen times as the project "progressed" (I use that word with much hesitation. LOL) You know. Design to work, build to fail, hammer to fit, paint to match.

Anyway...I'm about half way done now. I also want to put a 3rd seat in the middle, but I haven't even started on that yet. This is going to be a very long, and very tiring day off.

I'll post some pics when it's done.

 

[Jimmy]

I finally finished the plumb bob which spent most of the winter in my cold shop.

View attachment 73829View attachment 73830View attachment 73831View attachment 73832View attachment 73833View attachment 73834

Now it's time to throw it in the toolbox with the wrenches pliers and let it rattle around while going down a bumpy road.

 

[melsdad]

A friend is restoring a 100 year-old cider press and needed a part made he could not find. The original is cast iron. My version is 1018



sent from my hand held hickymajig