Milling Rite

[Dave Bonzo]

I have used a diamond abrasive bit meant to be used for boring ceramics to save my butt before. It wasn't too expensive, but I can't recall where I ordered it. Slow going in a hand drill, but I didn't scrap my valuable part.

If I'd thought about it for ten seconds, I would have gone to the top of the saddle, drilled through it from that side, and knocked the pin out from the back. Probably not enough material left in the pin to do that, now; I'd punch through it and just have an extra, pointless hole in the part.

 

[Red96]

Might not be ideal, and quite possibly a stupid suggestion, but just throwing it out there. In the autobody field, these 6mm bits are used to drill out spot welds in Boron inner-structure reinforcements, which are hard as hell (in the 1500-1900 MPa tensile strength range).

These must be turned SLOW (like max 150 rpm slow) and use lube to keep temps down. The tip profile might be an issue in an existing hole as they are intended for drilling out a flat spot weld and produce a hole with a flat-ish bottom, so consider that. And they are certainly not cheap. They were the bomb up until good belt grinders and 3M Cubitron(R) belts came around which now are the go-to.

Auto Body-Chimpos love to fry these spendy little critters in a split-second by putting them into pneumatic drills turning a bizillion rpms. Because the shop provides them, they couldn't care less. I swear, body shops are like puppy mills for Chimpos....

https://www.amazon.com/Boron-Steel-Tungsten-Carbide-Drill/dp/B00EPLCDMI

 

[Dave Bonzo]

Body-shop rant incoming:

I have to get some paint done on my old Toyota, and I'm genuinely scared of trying to find a place that's capable, affordable and honest. I'm concerned that it's the old "pick two" construction scenario that I used to warn people about in my architectural days: "You can have it done cheap, done fast, and done right: pick two.". I had two body shops referred to me by a well-known Toyota specialist shop in the area: one quoted me $11,000, and the other quoted me just shy of $20,000...and all I need to have a few rock chips fixed, and have the paint redone on the hood, the top, and maybe the rockers. I was expecting somewhere between $2K and $3K even given really solid work, but literally eight times that number kind of shocked me. Needless to say, I'm still looking for a body shop; before we moved I took it to six shops and not a single one even called me back... and the only two out here have decided to try to retire on my project. So if anyone in the Lacey/Olympia area knows of a shop that'll be less than ten grand for some work on an older Toyota, please let me know.

Rant concluded: we now return you to our regularly-scheduled dechimping, already in progress.

 

[Red96]

A very long and spirited thread could go on and on about what you describe, and I don't argue your points at all. With the high cost of parts, materials, vehicle complexity, technician shortages, and a host of other influences that affect many skilled labor industries lately, the truth is a production shop just isn't currently interested in that type of work. They've been busting at the seams with collision work for years and pressured to get it through by the insurance industry to keep the pipeline open that feeds their operations.
The industry is just now starting to see the beginnings of a slowdown, likely from consumer nervousness regarding the economy/politics, which the industry hasn't felt for several years now. Give it a few months and try again. Stick with independent shops, avoid the big chains. Maybe some will be hungry by then. Around tax-time and start of school is your best bet - that's when the industry has traditionally had slower periods (prior to the boom of the past 5-6 years).

As to the 'Pick Two' mantra, I personally think that's a true and honest reality in any skilled labor endeavor. Everyone would like things to be fast cheap and of high quality - but for all three to occur that means somebody in the supply chain is likely taking it in the a**. That's just my opinion and viewpoint - you got it fast and cheap, but no promises for quality.

I do hope you are able to find a shop you are comfortable with to address your needs on the Toyota Dave.

 

[Dave Bonzo]

A very long and spirited thread could go on and on about what you describe, and I don't argue your points at all...

All solid points on your part, and good info as well. I just wish people hadn't said "Sure, we'll do it! Bring it over and we'll give you an estimate" and then literally ghosted me. I told them what it was, what it needed, etc, and yeah...radio silence as soon as they saw it wasn't insurance work, which I told them about from the beginning.

Hopefully I'll find someone soon; I need to salvage what paint I have while I still have it. Today's Good News, however, is that the local machine shop should have the second pin sorted within a couple of days. Their opinion is that someone likely chimped at said pin before I tried to drill it; there's some surface deformation around the area that looks like it's keeping it in place. They also agreed that while it shouldn't be a terribly easy steel to drill, it shouldn't have been as patently impossible as it was. So, the plan is to counterbore the top surface just a touch, in order to remove the peining/deformation, and then either extract the pin remains or just bore it cleanly out. Worst-case scenario is that I align the nut with the remaining pin and two screws, and then we simply enlarge the holes for larger dowel pins. Either way, it's hopefully sorted.

 

[Dave Bonzo]

Today's Other Good News is that the gears are ordered and shipped. No delivery date yet, but right now I'll take any small victory that I can get.

Meanwhile... I need to do some thinking on the handwheels; specifically, I have one that needs replacing because it, too, has been ape-smashed. I knew it was a bit bent, but the more I've looked at it the more I realize that someone's idea of "lock" and "release" were the exact same application of BFH, albeit in opposite directions. So I'm not sure if I should just grab a couple of replacements - which actually exist on eBay right now, believe it or not - or just find a less-expensive replacement. I also need to figure out how best to clean up and protect the bezels; they're cast steel, so I could do a number of things...but I'm not sure that I want to just leave them completely bare once they're less-grimy. I have a few waxes that I could probably use. Anybody got any other ideas?

 

[Ischgl99]

I guess it comes down to the cost difference, I like the look and feel of the original handles, but if they were significantly more expensive than alternatives, I would probably go with the cheaper option. I often regret being a tightwad, so I would probably end up buying the original handles anyway.

My dials have a satin surface to them, I’m not sure if they are plated, or if they sandblasted them. I haven’t done anything to them, but I keep my basement to 50% humidity, so nothing rusts anyway.

 

[Dave Bonzo]

I guess it comes down to the cost difference, I like the look and feel of the original handles, but if they were significantly more expensive than alternatives, I would probably go with the cheaper option. I often regret being a tightwad, so I would probably end up buying the original handles anyway.

Over a hundred for two salvaged ones. Not in bad shape, but not perfect...but be still better than what I have.

My dials have a satin surface to them, I’m not sure if they are plated, or if they sandblasted them. I haven’t done anything to them, but I keep my basement to 50% humidity, so nothing rusts anyway.

Coastal Washington, man... it's not East Coast humidity, but it's a thing nonetheless.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Coastal Washington, man... it's not East Coast humidity, but it's a thing nonetheless.

Boeshield.

 

[Ischgl99]

You probably won’t get anything of any quality for less than that, so those are probably the best option. My machine is missing one, and I couldn’t find one to replace it, so I ended up making one.