2016 POTD Thread Archive

[Firestopper]

I wish I had your view around here. How hot has the temp been there lately. My garage is so hot I do not stay in there for very long or I start sweating on the machines. Not good for them Although it might cause me to loos a bit of the excess weight.

Sunday was 116º and yesterday 112º, the rest of the week will be above 105º. Believe it or not, the dry heat is tolerable to a point, the problem is everything you touch is hot!
The hell hounds get an early walk as triple digits hit by 0800. Winter days are the best time to spend outdoors.

Firestopper, when I lived out there some 30 yrs ago we would go up redington pass and end up in cheva falls , quite a ride and nice swimming hole for that area, dought you can do that anymore

Redington Pass is still open to the public and motor vehicles, but dry until the monsoons hit. Cheva falls still claims 1-4 lives per year as young inebriated males(usually) cliff jump/dive.
I live southeast of Tucson some 20 minutes and 1K' higher than the airport, so I stay 2-3º cooler than whats reported.
I take good care of Swampzilla, (12K cfm) I open her up every three weeks and flush the water and check the float, belts etc. In return, I get at least 30º pull down 95% of the time.

I will say this, if you haven't experienced a monsoon storm in AZ, your missing a beautiful act of nature. Complete with light show, hella loud sound system and wonderful smells.
The temps drop instantly some 25-30º and its like dawn once the storm passes as the critters come out from hiding from the heat. Sadly, this too claims many lives as arroyos and washes roil with flash floods and fools that have no respect for the forces of nature attempt to drive through it. Body recovery is more common than rescue as it happens swiftly.
The heat is the payment for whats coming next......

You guys stay cool.

 

[zmotorsports]

I have been wanting to fabricate some actual argon backer boxes for quite a few years now. I am tired of using aluminum foil wrapped around items with the purge hose stuck in through a poked hole. I don't think much about it until I need them and then I go on a rant that I never have enough time to get things done that I want to, always things I have to. Well, that is changing.

Back when I was fabricating a lot of ATV sand drag chassis I would like to back purge the tabs and brackets onto the 4130 chromoly chassis because they would get that similar sugary look like stainless steel does and if you wanted to weld the back side as well you were welding through it. I would merely wrap some aluminum foil around the back side of the bracket or tab and poke a small hole in it to place my purge hose. Well I am going to get out of the dark ages and fabricate some nice backer boxes.

Here is what I started with. Some square tubing, perforated stainless steel sheet, copper tubing/fittings and some silicon 1/4" hose.


Square tubing setup in mill vise to cut back areas where the perforated stainless steel will go as well as a hole for the copper tubing to protrude through.






Getting close to be completed. I was able to get the copper sweat together and the holes drilled. I also soldered the copper to the metal housing and merely pinched the ends closed to trap the argon. I made three different size of backer boxes and one 2"x3.5" box to lie small parts on for welding. Each will have a small 1/4" hose barb for the silicon hose to connect.


This one has the holes coming out each side and will have steel wool placed inside to act as a diffuser to evenly disperse the argon.


This one is actually a corner style with the perforated stainless steel bent at 90-degrees to form the corner.


Then lastly two different sizes of a plain backer box. One measures 2" long and the other 6" in length.


Those should give me a nice variety of sizes/configurations for most everything I weld and will be readily available for quick welding jobs. I will post up some final pictures when I get them completed.

Mike.

 

[intjonmiller]

Mike, I wasn't even familiar with that technique. Looks like a well-considered solution that will serve you well. Thanks for sharing!

Paco, my oven is a dry heat. That doesn't mean I'm going to stick my head in there.

 

[Firestopper]

Nice work on the purging tools Mike, those will come in handy for sure.

I hear ya Jon, hot is hot and it feels like a blast furnace when the wind blows.

 

[intjonmiller]

I remember the first time (that I was old enough to remember) driving as a family to Disneyland. We stopped in Vegas for the night. We got out of the car at like 11 pm (at Circus Circus) and it was exactly like that. The most surreal moment that brought that memory back was the first time I opened the doors to a walk-in powder coating oven (400° F) after building it and firing it up. In June.

That shop had a mezzanine level for painting and shipping. It really sucked to be those guys when we ran the furnace. Not so bad in the winter, I suppose, but even with 5" of rock wool insulation around the entire thing, at 750,000 BTUs it felt...like Arizona.

 

[ogberi]

Working on an odd job for work. We have several pressure sealing machines, and one ate up a pulley and shaft. New part is on order, but I'm taking a try at fixing the old one. The roller has a race for a needle bearing, so I had to undercut a shoulder to get purchase on the race. The part is sitting in the deep fre, and this evening I'll try some heat on it to get the race off. Once that's done, I can prep & weld the shaft portion to build it back up, then turn it down to size and mill the keyway.
The pulley needs bored out, a sleeve pressed and loctited in, and a keyway cut. I will need to drill and tap for the setscrews as well. Some pics of the buggered up shaft:

 

[Firestopper]

Finished up Mark's Arbor press stand. I decided to add a handle, receiver, and cut a shelf from some 16 gauge sheet. I also decided to build a single outrigger that fits into the receiver for added stability and can be stored vertically when not in use to reduce the overall footprint.

A piece of 5/8" CR round bar was used for a handle with 2.5" legs to keep the business end open and clear. The iron worker was used to break the solid stock.

The break table I built has holes for the alignment pins to square up the stock to the break. The pins can also be set at 45º to the break as well. These make it quick and simple for multiple pieces during production. The back of the break has a back gauge that also comes in handy for repeated multiple bends.

The finished handle.

The shelf was cut using a HF power shear rated at 14 gauge. I purchased these when we started the building construction (shop) as all skins required cutting for door openings.
At $45 they preformed flawlessly during the building construction and I have used them a lot in the shop for quick simple cuts in a variety of sheet material. I have cut .120 aluminum with zero distortion, that said I give this tool a A+ for the money spent. If anyone is undecided in purchasing a power shear for thin gauge sheet, this ones for you.

The receiver was drilled and capture nuts welded for securing the outrigger leg.

The receiver used has .120 wall for rigidness, It also serve as a center support for the shelf. Two 5/8" capture nuts where welded to bottom of base plate for securing the press body. No need for a backer wrench.

The outrigger in use allowed me to hang off the front of the unit without tipping. The round foot on the outrigger is 1/8" above floor allowing the unit to be rolled around but prevents tipping if one cranks on the lever.

This shows the outrigger in the stowed vertical position (front or back). No tools required with the 3/8" round welded to the bolts.

I'm 100% confident this will not tip on the user when pressing to its maximum.
Thanks for looking, as always, any comment, questions, concerns are welcomed.

Paco

 

[Billh50]

Today I had a couple things I did. I made a longer ramp for my bike lift as the original was too short. My softail would hang up on the end because the rear tire was not off the ground enough. I also did some trouble shooting of the wife's plow harness as it was not working. Found a wire loose and also a missing ground. All set now.

My next project will be to go through an old Onan 7500 watt gas / gasoline generator. It looks like all it needs is an oil change and cleaning. It was running when taken out of service and kept in a garage mounted on a trailer. Gonna sell it once I get it all set. That way I can buy more tooling or something. Of course the wife brought it home so I will have to give her some of the money too.

 

[extropic]

Bill,
Please elucidate your intended meaning of "the wife's plow harness". The mind reels.

 

[HMF]

New tap talk addon was installed this morning.