2016 POTD Thread Archive

Did I ever tell you about the time I went to Home Depot for a replacement cord for my table saw? I wanted 12 feet of 12-2, stranded, rubber jacket. They had a 16 foot remnant of 10-3, stranded, rubber jacket hanging on the hook at the bulk dispenser. That would work. So the old guy who was working (and who has always been the most helpful there) wrote it up as a shorter length of lighter gauge wire. Cost me like $6. Score!

Well, I stopped there on my way home today thinking maybe, just maybe, I can score a deal like that again. And they had a 10-3 length hanging there AGAIN. Incredible. And the same guy was working. So I ask him how much and he looks at me puzzled. He says, "that's not 10 gauge, that's 8", and he started to write it up. I politely correct him and showed him where it said "AWG 10-3" on the side. He says they don't sell 10-3 by the foot. Scrolls through the machine to verify that's still true. The length didn't even match what was on the shelf.

So he gave it to me. 20 feet. I needed 12-15. He even walked me out the door to make sure no one gave me crap about it.

I really like that guy. :)
 
I got one of these on Amazon — distributed by Coleman. 8/3 x 25'. It is a very handy thing to have. It'll reach anywhere in my shop and pretty far out the door to the driveway.
  • 8-Gauge cord, extremely heavy duty which delivers 40A at 250 volts (10,000 watts)
  • Stw jacket for heavy-duty performance
  • Lighted receptacle end indicates when power is on
  • Molded ends offer safety and convenience on the jobsite
  • Bring portability to welding machines and create sconvenience

8:3 welding x cord.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Cable-Welder-Extension-25-Foot/dp/B002IZ99G6?ie=UTF8&keywords=220 welding extension cord&qid=1464410932&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1
 
In addition to my new welder extension cord, I also fixed the electric lawnmower issue. Alert readers will recall that the bridge rectifier burned up a couple weeks ago. I noticed that it didn't have a decent heat sink, but there is plenty of room for one. So I mounted a thick piece of aluminum angle between the rectifier and the mounting plate, with thermal compound on both contact surfaces. I also mounted a small heat sink from a mini amplifier that went bad on the other leg of the aluminum angle, again with thermal compound. The crazy thing was that the angle was already cut to this size which fit between the braces at the top of the motor, and the heat sink fit perfectly around the angle. The only "fabrication" I had to do was to drill a hole in each face of the angle. Easiest mod I think I've ever done.

2d1928636007fbdef66eadba7ad5ee58.jpg

When I plugged it in the mower fired right up. Hopefully the heat sink improve the life of the rectifier, but I ordered a 4-pack just in case. It was $3 more than a single one. Not bad. :)
 
knocked up a brass bolt/connector to clamp together an aerial for a mate who is a ham radio buff VK4OB..
The hardest part was the two polyethylene bits, they pull out the chuck at the slightest excuse.
the centre part goes over the shaft encapsulating the end with the flange, then that sits inside another component (sorry, forgot to take a pic)
The left hand part is the nut, 6mm thread at one end to bolt all the parts together and 1/4" 20 at the other for the whip to screw into.
brass-bolt.jpg
Heres everything all together.
aerial.jpg
This will sit on a pole on his house roof.
 
All you need to go with that top is a 3 /16 " square , yard long leather boot lace and a stick 2 foot long to make a whip then you'll have the most dangerous whip & top in town .

As kids in the 1950/60's , any kid whose dad worked in metals with a lathe was a friend for life , if they'd get their dad to make a few metal tops instead of the more normal wooden ones that had a hobnail boot stud knocked into the bottom for the bearing point.

At my last junior school all whip & tops were banned for we'd learnt how to whip the wooden / metal top and send it flying through the air at head height for 25 yards or more .
 
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