POTD- PROJECT OF THE DAY: What Did You Make In Your Shop Today?

[savarin]

Set up the aquaponic tanks the other day after moving them from the old house.
Todays job was plumbing them in. They are set up with the fish tank high enough to give a slope down to the green tank in the foreground.

Then the sump tanks under what will be the grow beds are also set on a slope but this time leading down the the end sump next to the fish tank where the water is pumped up the fish tank. One pump then gravity feed through all the tanks.
The blue beds and the large green one will be filled with scoria, a volcanic rock that is very rough giving an enormous surface area for the de-nitrifying bacteria to cling to. The water from the fish tank is slowly fed into them then when they are full they automatically drain into the sump drawing oxygen down into the gravel preventing it from turning anaerobic. Those bacteria convert the nitrites from the fish poop into nitrates that the plants use.
However, whats all this got to do with a machining forum?
The first job was machining out a groove for the gaskets to sit tight in






These are for the 2" pipes that pass through the tank walls.
The next job required a 2" hole plug, I used 2x2.5" aluminium disks because I was too lazy to fibre glass in up and wait for it to dry plus it also meant buying a load of resin and hardener for such a tiny repair.
As the hole is in the side of a 30" cylindrical tub (the solids settling filter hidden behind the fish tank) they required bending to shape so I used a large dia chunk of stainless and 2 bits of rod in the vice, gentle squeezing to conform to the shape required.

These will have to be bolted together squeezing a gasket from each side.
A good excuse to make another tool.
I drilled a short length of 6mm stainless rod 5mm

then used a large centre drill to cut the inside edge to a sharp lip

to be used as a punch to cut the holes in the gasket

then bolted together squeezing the wall of the filter and hopefully remaining water tight.

I know there is a good chance water will seep along the thread but theres no pressure and if it does it will soon clog and stop.
Hopefully finalise all the plumbing tomorow then the tedious job washing all the gravel.
I cant wait to get it in full production.

 

[twhite]

Starting to rehab a Kurt 6” vise.

This vise was locked up solid at work and wis was in junk storage. We have 5 good Kurt 6” vises at work for 3 machines. We used to have 6 CNC milling centers and a manual mill. Downsizing reduced it to 2 CNC and 1 manual.

Anyhow we are 5S IMG more at work and they wanted me to do something with this vise. I asked if I could have it. Yes as long as it is not at work. So after some friendly persuasion. I was able to free the nut from the screw. I will order the rebuild kit and start the cleanup at home I bits.

Super stoked as I have an old Rutland 6” I use at home. This will be a great upgrade.

Cutting oil is my blood.

 

[rwm]

That thing needs to spend some time in an electrolytic bath!!!!

 

[pontiac428]

Looks to me like Fall is the season of vise restoration.

This one I got as a freebie, a friend clearing out his father's garage type of deal. It is the "Mogul 8-inch" from L-W Chuck. It's the heaviest vise in their heavy line. This 150 lb hunk of metal came to me covered in grime. I wasn't sure if I was just given a boat anchor. I finally got around to introducing it to my friend, Mr. Stoddard Solvent. They got along well, and I could see that, despite some bonehead drill holes in the non-critical part of the bearing shaft, the vise is in very good shape. It actually feels nice! Scary part is, with the soft jaws, it swallows two 1-2-3 blocks completely. Big ol' frickin' vise!

Kieth Rucker posted a catalog that is probably from 1954. The vise was 180 dollars. Again that was 1954. Yeah, sounds like a lot, so I plugged it into the ol' inflation calculator. $180 in 1954 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $1,981.81 today. Cough!

I suppose I'll clean it up and paint it nice. After I saw that it's Mr. Pete's preferred mill vise (in a more wee size), I was sure it was meant to be.

 

[rwm]

I bought a Starrett scribe a while back. The tip is so soft that any scribing of mild steel immediately dulls it. What is up with that?
I finally got around to making a carbide tip out of an old broken drill.



To shape this I chucked the stock in the lathe and rotated it while I shaped it with a cheap diamond wheel in my hand held angle grinder. It takes about a minute and the tip is very nice. One key here is to hold the grinder in such a way that the grinding marks go as longitudinal as possible (not circumferential marks) The same way you sharpen punches. This allows the scribe to track better.

 

[wachuko]

I bought a Starrett scribe a while back. The tip is so soft that any scribing of mild steel immediately dulls it. What is up with that?
I finally got around to making a carbide tip out of an old broken drill.

View attachment 422271

To shape this I chucked the stock in the lathe and rotated it while I shaped it with a cheap diamond wheel in my hand held angle grinder. It takes about a minute and the tip is very nice. One key here is to hold the grinder in such a way that the grinding marks go as longitudinal as possible (not circumferential marks) The same way you sharpen punches. This allows the scribe to track better.

What a great idea.

 

[dkemppai]

...This allows the scribe to track better.

Nice.

FYI, For some things a scribe with a small rounded tip works really well. For transferring engraving patters to be hand engraved, etc.
Sharpen similar to what you describe, and then polish the tip to a very small smooth ball shape allows the scribe to lightly 'burnish' the line without cutting into the metal. (Use diamond paste or slurry on something like leather or wood, etc.) Handy if you want a light line without marking the material significantly. It is also very nice for freehand marking, it 'glides' over the surface better. I have a few with different tip profiles.

 

[Shotgun]

Being brittle, won't that sharp tip snap right off?

 

[rwm]

Being brittle, won't that sharp tip snap right off?

No idea! I will let you know. I tried to mimic the angle I have seen on other carbide scribes. Here:


Here is the Starrett carbide version. VERY sharp angle.

 

[BGHansen]

No idea! I will let you know. I tried to mimic the angle I have seen on other carbide scribes. Here:


Here is the Starrett carbide version. VERY sharp angle.

Mine are all carbide too, and I'm yet to break the tip off from one. Of course, I'm not using it to stab cockroaches on cement floor! Plus, I use enough pressure to lightly scribe (through Dykem). I'm not engraving with them. Nice fix!

Bruce