My Misc Quickie Projects

[darkzero]

I recently got a gen2 HF 5 drawer cart to replace my old gen1 cart. Well I decided to keep the gen1 cart. A common mod for the gen1 cart is to replace the gas struts with simple $10 hinges off a Snap-On cart. This allows the lid to open to 90° & my gen1 cart struts were going bad. One of the changes they made to the gen2 cart is that the lid opens to 90°. Aside from better access to the top compartment this takes unnecessary load off the struts when the lid is open on the gen2. Another great thing about the simple hinges is that they won't wear out like my original struts did.

The mounting hole size is smaller on the Snap-On cart & in a slightly different location on the lid. So the top of hinge needs to be drilled out to fit the HF cart & needs a spacer. Bottom hole on the hinge does not matter cause you need to drill a new hole on the HF cart. The Snap-On cart uses clevis & cotter pins to attach the hinges, this allows you to quickly disconnect them so you can flip the lid all the way down to the back of the cart.

I decided to use the same mounting method. The SO hinges came with all the hardware but of course I couldn't use the included clevis pins. I had no idea clevis pins were so expensive in small quantities. I also couldn't find the sizes I needed. Don't know why I even bothered searching for them. I ended up making my own clevis pins out of 304 & spacers out of delrin.




They weren't hard to make but the 2 smaller pins were a bit challenging to hold to machine the radiused heads cause they were so short & had clearance issues. Luckily I was just barely able to get it done with what I had but much to close for comfort. I swear things looked much closer in person than they do in these pics!



Another common mod is to modify the drawer locks. When you close the lid it pushes down 2 bars that latches on the back of the drawers. I wanted to be able to open the drawers without having to open the lid. Most people just cut the top of the bars off with a multi tool or something & call it a day. Of course I like to do things the hard way.

I drilled out the rivets holding the covers for the latching bars. Cut them on the bandsaw, deburred, painted, then reinstalled & riveted the covers back on. I cut them so they sit just below the covers. I then stuck the cut off pieces back into the caps for the bars that way if I do ever want to lock the drawers I can just simply put the caps back on. I did this to both carts.

I know, nothing really exciting to see here but I'm very happy with these mods & wanted to share. Thanks for looking!

 

[mikey]

Nice job, Will!

 

[darkzero]

Nice job, Will!

Thank you Mike!

 

[darkzero]

Finally made new compound nuts & spares. When I got my lathe I converted it from using studs & nuts to nuts in the cross slide & socket head cap screws. I used the heads from grade 8 bolts at the time. Nothing wrong with them, just wanted to make new ones. Made them out of 4140PH. I put this off for years cause I didn't feel like taking off the backslpash & DRO scale. Have to slide my cross slide completely off to get access to them. But it gave me the opportunity to do some cleaning back there while it was apart.



WIP:

 

[Capt45]

That's a great idea! I can actually think of an enhancement that's slightly more practical. A minor downside to the plywood is that it 'moves' pretty easily if you bump it. Not a big deal, but I had thought about putting a wooden or metal lathing strip on the underside that would ride in the T-slot. It would be a relatively simple matter to drill two or three through-holes and connect the lathing strip on the underside to a metal strip or tab on the top. Accomplishes two objectives: stability and anchor for a mag base.

Thanks for the idea.

Regards,
Terry

OR Terry, just cut a dado (or two) of the appropriate size and glue the lathing strip(s) to the plywood.

 

[tjb]

OR Terry, just cut a dado (or two) of the appropriate size and glue the lathing strip(s) to the plywood.

That's a good idea, too. I actually had some scrap 1/4" cast acrylic that I glued together to make 1/2" pieces, ripped them to width and cut them to length, and screwed them to the plywood. It was actually quite easy and used up some scrap that would have otherwise ended up in the trash. I did this a couple of months ago but haven't taken any pictures yet. Never think about it while I'm down in the shop. I'll try to remember.

Regards,
Terry

 

[darkzero]

Another long overdue project scratched off the list. I'm really excited about this one. Made some new tables for my bandsaw using 1/8" plate. A mini table that can stay on when using horizontally but still able to cut stuff vertically. It was sketchy using the stock guard sometimes. And a new large table. Hated the big hole near the blade & was always scared small pieces could fall through into the rollers. The stock stamped table was so flimsy even with the support arm. Don't think I'll need it with this new table but I can just add the hole for it later if needed.

Been a while since I've used CAD! I haven't decided whether to cold blue them, paint them black, or just leave em as is. I think I'll leave em bare for now or maybe hit em with some scotchbrite. What do you guys think?




Some WIP pics:

(Cardboard Aided Design )


Thanks for looking!

EDIT: As talked about later in post 42, I did end up making a new larger plate (5/2021) with the slot on the backside & thicker plate (3/16"). I should of made it this way to begin with. I also gave the smaller plate a short bath in Evaporust, all the stains disappeared.

 

[Stonebriar]

Nice job. I like the bare look.

 

[brino]

Great upgrade Will!

-brino

 

[darkzero]

Thanks fellas!