2021 POTD Thread Archive

[tq60]

Installed our roof mounted weather station over the weekend.

The irrigation system takes data from this and adjusts water volume to meet actual use.

Needed to be non-penetrating, no holes and stable in the wind.

Also needed antenna for stereo and WiFi access point so we could use old smart phone to control system.

Almost all scrap, needed to buy some leveling feet rot $11.00...

Started as an old Nextel rack shipping weight, 1inch plate steel 7 x 17, 45 pounds.

Found some down tilt brackets from other old cell tower parts and an aluminum round from an old Sinclair VHF antenna.

Some bed frame rails complete the unit.

At 50 pounds across a 17 x 36 foot print it is very stable.

It sits on the roof, a strap goes under the vented roof cap to hook the roof joist and the conduits go under to the junction box then to console.

Got lucky as we placed the cap from opposite end and this end had a 24 inch long easy to open up length of material.

It is 24 feet above ground to base and station is about 2 feet above the roof so no shade to effect the ET readings.

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[pontiac428]

After the fire last year and the disarray of moving in to the new shop, I haven't got many chips in the pan this year. Today's project is a close fit driver/press drift set for Suzuki valve guides. It only took four heads to convince me to do it right. The installer is set for drive to depth. The material is 416, I think... fished from the scrap bucket.

 

[Richcan22]

Well at work day shift needed a block of 304 stainless but wasn’t the size available. So they started to build the block so I finished on night shift. With grinder. Lol

 

[Richcan22]

Well at work day shift needed a block of 304 stainless but wasn’t the size available. So they started to build the block so I finished on night shift. With grinder. Lol

 

[tq60]

Sprinkler valve repair

We have many valves that operate on only 11 psi.

With the minimum pressure combined with not the best rubber the valves will not close.

Some are servicable meaning the seat can easily be flipped over but these not so much.

10 bucks gets a 2 pack but they are 2 different types so only one for now.

We can stretch out and flip the seat but some have rings on the back.

What to do...

Made a self guided scraper, place in the lathe and hold the valve assembly against it and shave the seat until flat.


The brown ring is not really needed, snaps off.

A cutoff disk in dremmel makes "teeth", a screwdriver bumps them up to cut.

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[silverhawk]

No pics, but this was the entire reason I got into machine work. My niece wanted to learn how to change the thermostat on her car. She torqued the housing bolts to much, and snapped the bolt off in the block. We couldn't find a shoulder bolt to match, so I cut a shoulder, and also a drilling guide on the lathe. We drilled it out, and I made her double check the torque and finished it off. She was excited.

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[Just for fun]

Sprinkler valve repair

We have many valves that operate on only 11 psi.

With the minimum pressure combined with not the best rubber the valves will not close.

Some are servicable meaning the seat can easily be flipped over but these not so much.

10 bucks gets a 2 pack but they are 2 different types so only one for now.

We can stretch out and flip the seat but some have rings on the back.

What to do...

Made a self guided scraper, place in the lathe and hold the valve assembly against it and shave the seat until flat.


The brown ring is not really needed, snaps off.

A cutoff disk in dremmel makes "teeth", a screwdriver bumps them up to cut.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Looks like that should work, how did it work?

 

[Doug Gray]

Weld Fixture Shims

The end product is super simple, but getting a 9/16" dia. hole in .020 brass has a high pucker factor for me. The scariest bit is when the mill breaks through and a "cap" of brass starts spinning in the hole. They turned out well in the end , but 20 minutes later I still have a little pucker.

 

[FOMOGO]

Not to worry, soon you will be fearless. Just want to avoid finger-less. Cheers, Mike

They turned out well in the end , but 20 minutes later I still have a little pucker.

 

[talvare]

When machining very thin stock I have found that sandwiching and clamping the stock between two sacrificial pieces (usually MDF) works very well. I've never experienced any issues using this method. Just food for thought.

Ted