2017 POTD Thread Archive

That takes the meaning of portable generator to a new level!

Last week I set up a second tool block on my Ames Cross feed. Here's a shot of it in use. I'd turned the bright diameter, also drilled a through hole.using the tools on the turret. this shot shows the cut off tool (top) and two chamfer tools (bottom). I have to start the cut off before I can chamfer but it sure beats using a file.

There used to be an old Woodburning stove chimney right here. It's gone now. Started on the roof, than pulled down the inside part. Plywood patch on the roof, tar papered. Will do some framing inside, cleanup some wires that got damaged with sawzall. While it would be nice to have a Woodburning stove this winter, the chimney took up 2'×2' in the middle of the shop. Now I just need to haul out all the very heavy fire block...
It's raining, so that will probably wait till tomorrow

Made multiple parts to print and then had to modify each one to work . We shoe horned a MottorStitch stapler into one of our Goss Colorliner press folders .We should have it wrapped up and operating tomorrow . I will then take a break . Been a very busy week .

Paco reminded me that I am a bit behind on my annual equipment preventive maintenance this year. I usually perform my annual equipment maintenance between Christmas and New Year's each year but everything has been under blankets since November of last year until two months ago.

I have been been addressing most of the equipment as I have been moving them into the new shop with the last of them being my welders. I ran to my local welding supply today and refilled my tanks so while they were off the welders I figured it was a great time to PM them.

Removed covers, blew them out, checked them over, reassembled, wiped them down and put a coat of wax on them. My Miller MM251 looks pretty good for being a ten plus year old machine that sees quite a bit of use.



My Miller Dynasty 300DX is nearly twelve years old and still looks and performs flawlessly.


Next up was to start my wall hanging metal rack that I have been wanting to get started on. Cut the metal on my Baileigh BS210 miter head bandsaw.


Holes drilled and ready to start welding hopefully in the next night or two.


Mike


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Nice looking True Blue equipment Mike. I really like the wireless remote foot control, I been considering one for a long time, but just don't use that machine much. I bet the next time I do, I'll be cursing the cables.
On the steel stock rack, do you stock 20' sections? I personally stock a few tons of stock and a nice selection of sheet material since I live in the suburbs 20 minutes from town.
The rack I came up with rides on six swivel castors although it won't move when loaded due to the stabilizing legs for the sheet storage portion. Unloaded, the legs ride 1/4" off the floor. In all reality, Its still mobil with 1,500# but not much more. I would unload the sheets prior to moving.
Keep us posted on the rack.

Thanks Paco.

I now only live about 3-miles (less than 5-minutes) from two of my major metal supply houses and never really have stocked what I call "a lot" of metal, although my son may disagree and thinks we stock too much. I generally keep enough on hand for some general repairs but any projects I take on I will purchase needed supplies upon commencing that project. I also keep small sections for machining on hand and a fairly decent variety of those. I don't stock full sticks much but on rare occasions if I can buy them right I will. Generally it is about transporting and even whey I buy full sticks, my metal supplier will cut them in half at no extra cost but any more cuts than that they charge me a cut fee. So I generally have full sticks cut in half which are easier for me to transport and handle. My plan for a metal storage system is to mount it on the wall in my RV storage bay starting about 40 inches off of the floor. This will allow me to store my larger mobile tools such as tubing bender, 10-ton floor jack, transmission jack, pressure washer etc. against the wall yet under the metal storage. I am constructing multiple uprights that will securely mount to the wall with sections congruent to where I can store 10' or shorter lengths side by side or full sticks across several of the supports. The lowest of the support sections is where I will store my 2' to 6' sections and anything less than that will reside in my drawers that I purchased and be in the shop itself. I hope all of that makes sense.

Mike

I finished up the video on making my camera cheese plate, not its time to do the R&D for my next project.

POTD was repairing a hand wheel on my “new to me” Bridgeport CNC mill. The previous owner had installed hand wheels with folding cranks, but broke off the one on the X-axis. After running a few routines on the Anilam Crusader II in rapid feed (100 inches per minute), the rapidly spinning (over 8 turns per second!) stock crank got me a little worried! Get anywhere near that thing while spinning and it will definitely leave a mark!

I had the hand wheel and made a replacement handle. The handle is aluminum with an OD of 1 1/8”. Wish I had some 1 1/8” or even 1 ½” aluminum, but only had 1” and 2” on hand. So, went with the 2” and made a lot of chips. Used a contour gauge to get the profile of the existing Y-axle handle and did some rough diameter and length measurements.

The handle has a pressed in bushing with an axle inside of that which freely rotates. The axle is in turn pressed into an axle in a detail pressed into the hand wheel.

Started the handle by drilling/reaming the bushing/axle hole, then flipped it and turned down to 1.125”. Then very carefully used a parting tool to plunge close to diameter at a few measured points on the handle. I think the rule of thumb is don’t exceed about 1 ½ or 2 diameters of material outside of the chuck without a tail stock center. I had 3 ½” sticking out with just 1” in the chuck.

Then turned the profile by eye spot checking with the contour gauge. Lots of flat file and Pippin file work after that, followed by sanding with 220 grit. Parted off the handle and cleaned up the parted end on a bench sander.

Made the handle axle from a ¼” bolt. Turned the head down so it freely fit in the bored handle hole. Then made the press-in bushing from a CRS round. Drilled the center hole for the ¼” bolt axle and turned the OD for a loose flip fit into the handle. Knurled the outside of the bushing for an interference fit into the handle.

Set the bushing over the ¼” bolt/axle and knurled the bolt where it would be pressed into the hand wheel axle, then parted.

The hand wheel axle had remnants of the broken off handle which were Dremel tooled and milled away so the axle could slip out of the bracket. Then pressed out the left-over broken off handle axle.

Used a wooden block with a 1 1/8” hole for a handle holder and pressed the axle/bushing into the handle on my shop press. Slipped a bushing and washers over the axle for pressing so the force was on the bushing and not the axle.

Then hammer-tapped the hand wheel axle/bracket onto the handle handle. Loctited the aluminum bracket into the hand wheel and replaced the stock crank handle on the mill. Lots safer now!

Bruce

I had picked up a little sand blasting cabinet from a coworker a while ago and finally decided to see if it works today. The air connection on the cabinet didn't match up with my air hose quick connect, so naturally, instead of spending $2 and 20 minutes going to the hardware store, I spent an hour and $0 to make my own.



New fitting on the left, old on the right. It basically just needed to be a bit longer. Hex end is tapped for 1/4" NPT.


The cabinet works decent. My compressor is definitely the weak point being a small (~10 gallon) tire inflator. For odd (small) jobs it should be fine until I can afford a better setup.
A before and after example: