2021 POTD Thread Archive

Not really much of a project, but today I converted the HF 20 ton press to the air actuated jack. It was much easier than I was expecting...the old jack was held in place by a couple of maybe 8mm cap screws, so it came right out. The new base was of course different, so I match drilled two new through holes ( no interference with anything on the new part, fortunately) and it fit right in place. The ram screw bolt was a bit smaller than the old jack locating ring, so I made a thick delrin washer to position the new ram in place.

Note that this mod is a good step, but not quite as cool as expected. The air pump is pretty noisy, uses a lot of air, and is slower than I thought it would be. Yes, faster than by hand, but only by say 50%...and MUCH easier.

Overall, maybe I’d give it 7 out of 10, or so.
 
Some of the old timers said the expensive old American made stamps were more uniform and therefore easier to line up but none in that discussion was the guy who did that kind of work for a living. What did you find out about flipping the S? Did it end up lining up? Some were discussing grinding the offending letters to get them to line up but I don’t remember anybody coming up with as nice of a solution for lining them up and holding them as your jig.

Thanks, Tony! The S is maybe .010" closer to being lined up if I flip it over but that's still quite a bit off. So I'm thinking it's just the way QC works on cheapie sets like this one. There are probably other stamps that are off one way or the other and I'll just have to accept that.
 
Lately i've been very busy but i wanted to start and finish this project quick. Started with an old 80L water heater, removed it from its cover then cut it little above half line there was lots of rust and sand inside. Then i set my height, i set it so i can use it sitting down and standing on larger parts like cylinder heads and engine blocks. To set the height i used couple of rims, level it and cut and welded legs to it. Also i gave it quick wash and wire brashing on the outside.
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Water heaters are a bad design, inefficient, sediment traps, they rust out in a few years but hey they generate a lot of business for me so I like them. Not enough to have in my house though.
 
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