Quarantine Projects!

Finally nailed down a design for end mill storage that I like, and got them printed up. Each row has a recess on the bottom that fits into a half round in the top of the row above forming the staggered steps.

These look nice. Are you willing to share the files?

Nice work on the grinder rest too.
 
Built a grinder rest for my long suffering often abused (survived 15 years on a bench in a carport in S. Florida) Delta 6". Not fancy, but functional and sturdy enough for my needs.

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Finally nailed down a design for end mill storage that I like, and got them printed up. Each row has a recess on the bottom that fits into a half round in the top of the row above forming the staggered steps.

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Also printed up a couple of peg board holders for hex drivers

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Still have one more design to print. Next up, running shop air to the lathe, but that involves getting up in the attic, and it's already getting hot here... ;-(
All great projects Tio Loco. I particularly like the tool rest. But I'm spoiled by my Baldor copy tool grinder with the guides. I don't seem to have the ability to repeat freehand angles like I used to when younger. So I keep trying to find a quick easy way to come up with something for my 8" bench grinder.

Add to this my brother gave me this table off a Shopsmith tablesaw. It's wide enough to span the whole grinder, has a pretty nice built in tilt with 90deg stop and is actually cast iron. But it presents as many problems as it solves trying to adapt it. #1 being it needs to be half as deep. Then if I cut it down I'd have to redo the mounts for the tilt and most annoying of all the slots for the gauge are some proprietary width. Good thing it was free. Close but no cigar.
 

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@Weldo thanks, but compared to Harold Hall's designs, it's downright crude.

@C-Bag I'm still noodling the idea of a shallow channel across the rest that would accept guides, but I still don't know what I don't know.

@jwmelvin I'm glad to share, that's what this is all about. End mill cutter storage trays
 
@JohnG awesome work on the saws! Man, I hand sharpened 3 saws in my life, it's a tedious process for sure, but a freshly sharpened saw cuts so nicely! I did two similar to this one:

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I sharpened one as a rip saw and the other as a cross cut saw. The other one was a big ol back saw from a miter box like this one:

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My dad (carpenter) used to use an old miter box like this way back in the 70s. Now that the saw is good and sharp I use it every now and then in the workshop. It's surprisingly quick cutting and accurate.

Hand sharpening of saws is such a brilliant art. The little bit I practiced gave me a cool feeling of connection with tradesmen of times past. Neat stuff. I got most of my info from one of Roy Underhill's books
 
Made a tip for my dial indicator this morning. This is the smallest thread I've ever cut! Research says that most indicators have a 4-48 thread. I couldn't even confirm this as my thread pitch gauge only goes up to 40! Or is it down to 40... Oh well, a little blind faith never hurts I guess.

Here's the blank, turned down from 1/4" steel to about 0.111".

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Threading tool had to be smallened quite a bit. I tried to keep the 60 degree point as close as I dare to the left side. The threads are so small that I probably could have gone even closer to the left.

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I elected to not make a thread run out groove because I thought it would make the part even more fragile than it already is.

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After just a few passes at a very slow speed...

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Tiny threads!

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Originally I had planned to turn down the other end to a long narrow shaft, maybe 0.125 by 1.000", then heat/bend it into a dog leg shape so that the indicator would hit the carriage more squarely. Then I thought, I have some old Noga deburring tool blades. They're already a dog leg shape and hardened to boot. So I did this, bored a 0.125" hole in the opposite end...

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And slid in a deburring tool blade

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The finished part!

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The dog leg allows the indicator to hit the carriage a little more squarely.

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In this pic it looks like there's a slight misalignment between the indicator shaft and my part. Could the end of the indicator shaft not be square? This is a cheap Harbor Freight indicator.

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Another view. Still looks to be very slightly not straight.

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As far as keeping the deburring blade in the tip, I was considering just using a drop or two of Loctite. Alternatively I think I can drill/tap a cross hole for a 6-32 set screw. Any thoughts on that?
 
Quarantine project No: 2 To make me a tool cart form my wrenches and other mechanics tools. And being quarantine i have to make it from what i have. So i dig around my garage and come up with those pieces of steel, shopping cart wheels, boards and 4 steel drawer slides. First i assembled the draws without the fronts, that give me the dimensions for the frame work. I cut and welded the tubing to make the bottom frame, i used 45 degree cuts to avoid any open holes, then i welded the wheels to it and then welded the up rights. At this point the tire shop called i had to go and pick up my wheels for the 607 so i'll continue tomorrow.
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You are one busy man, do you actually have a proper job or do you just make and fix stuff, perhaps that is your job. I admire your enthusiasm, just watching all that you do tires me out.
 
You are one busy man, do you actually have a proper job or do you just make and fix stuff, perhaps that is your job. I admire your enthusiasm, just watching all that you do tires me out.

Bob, i have one full time job and one part time job plus i take on jobs on the side, i'm averaging 1,5 hours a sleep during the week and 3 hours during the weekend, but its been like that for years now, i had to change jobs and take time to recover about a year ago when i injured my back, but thankfully i'm back to full work days no pain.
 
Lucky you have no pain from injured back. mine still gives me a hard time after 35 years, but I get by. I'm well and truly retired, so mostly I can take it easy when I need to.

I don't know how you survive on 1 to 3 hours sleep. I used to have only 4-5 hrs when I worked on the ships, but after 4 mths when I went home on leave I was exhausted and slept for 3 to 4 days. Nowadays I usually have 6 to 7 hours, and sometimes a nap in the afternoon.
 
Lucky you have no pain from injured back. mine still gives me a hard time after 35 years, but I get by. I'm well and truly retired, so mostly I can take it easy when I need to.

I'll give you a clue, how i manage with so little sleep. I'm 30, my full time job is more of a desk job which preserves my energy for the rest of my day, i do a lot of driving and i drive french cars with soft and comfortable ride. If i can do a job sitting down i'm grabbing a chair and working as comfortably as i can. Not that i don't have no pain from my injured back but they are so small and so far in between i don't mind them.
 
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