Saving a Craftsman 6" 101.07301

Just ordered a full set of bushings. Had the parts lady check for the missing one and it came up this time. I'm glad I asked again. I've got two sets of spindle bushings, a set of back gear bushings, and a set of step pulley bushings on the way. I know there's a lot of material in the back gear bushings, but them little jokers are pricey compared to the rest. It is worth it to put all new bushes, though.

I just need to order a new tailstock side leg, then figure out work and tool holding. All my parts should be here in a couple weeks.
 
I have nothing to offer but the most sincere best wishes. It's a really nice small lathe. It's great to see someone interested in restoring it. I look forward to seeing the progress and results. I'm sure it will be fantastic when you are finished with it. It looks like a really fun project.

I've been dreaming of restoring a vintage lathe myself. But I currently have too many other pokers in the fire. :grin:
 
I have too many projects as well. But with many of them, access to a lathe in the shop would help. Currently my buddy and I are building 2 race cars, overhauling his car trailer, tuning my motorcycle, and then there's our rocketry hobby as well... Having a lathe will definitely help with that. Heck, one of the first things I'll make will be a new tip for one of our rockets.
 
I understand. I'm currently replacing the clutch in my pick-up. And for me that's probably going to take several weeks. That's because I only work on it when I can find the time. It's all jacked up and today I removed the gear shift lever. One little bit at a time. Maybe tomorrow I'll take off the drive shaft. :grin:

Today I'm, also doing yard work and repairing tools. Like I just finished repairing a flat tire on the wheelbarrow.

I'm also trying to get at my motorcycle to rebuild it. It's buried under junk where it spent the winter. It's a 1982 Yamaha Virgo. My first goal with it is to just try to get it running again. The carbs will most likely need to be rebuilt, or at least taken apart and cleaned.

I'm restoring a 1947 and a 1954 Chevy.

I'm building several robots. And thinking about adding an outdoor garden railroad to my endless list of "Too many hobbies" :grin:

The rocketry hobby sounds fantastic. Especially with today's technologies. You can easily install a camera in it and get some great photos. Or do countless other scientific experiments. When I was younger I had dreams of putting a golf-ball sized satellite into orbit using a homemade rocket. Silly me. :grin:

I love what they are doing now with having the booster rockets come back down and land to be reused. That is so awesome.

Now that you have me talking about rockery, another idea I used to have was to build a large model jet plane to take my rocket up to a high altitude piggy-back style and then have the rocket launch from that high altitude. Again, my dream being to put something into orbit as an amateur rocket-man. From what I understand these ideas are simply out of the question because you can't carry enough fuel to do it. By the time you add enough fuel to accomplish the task you need a rocket the size of a tall building just to launch the fuel tank. Apparently that's the major problem.

But yeah, a rocketry hobby is way cool. :cool:

I'd love to see photos of your rocket projects.
 
Launch trailer:

Launch Pad Trailer (Now complete)

This is going to be a very slow moving thread. Especially since it's so damn hot out. Assembled HF trailer, being painted OD Green: When you're large, it's easy to lift up to paint the underside: A nearly 60 feet tall antenna tower, after we fought it for HOURS: After cutting...
www.rocketryforum.com www.rocketryforum.com
 
That is so cool.

I used to build Estes rockets when I was a kid. The biggest one I ever launched was about a foot long. I did have the one with the little camera inside that would take a snapshot when the parachute opened.

This brings back lots of memories!

I remember having to choose the correct engine so that it would have enough delay between it's final thrust burn and when it would pop the nosecone off to deploy the parachute. If there was no delay the camera would just take a picture straight up into the sky and that wouldn't be very interesting. But with enough delay the rocket would turn around and start heading back to earth with the nose pointed down. Then the parachute would deploy so you could get an shot of the launch pad from a high altitude.

I even had my own darkroom. That was back in the days of film. I had to develop the little piece of film myself. It was pretty cool.

The biggest rocket I ever built was about 3 feet tall, but I never flew that one. It was my own design and I would have had to by like three of the biggest engines Estes made at the time. I was a kid and didn't have the money. Plus I lived in Pennsylvania and it was hard to find a place to launch. I remember wishing that I lived in Arizona so I could launch bigger rockets. It's cool that this hobby is still alive and well.

There was another company I used to by rockets and engines from too, I think they were named Centuri Rocket Company? Are they still around?

I actually like the Centuri rockets better than the Estes. They had bigger rockets and bigger engines too, if I recall correctly.,

Question for you,....

How large of a rocket are you allowed to launch before you need to get a special permit?

Also are there fuel restrictions?

The Estes and Centuri engines I used to use were a dry burning fuel that was ignited with a glowing red coil.

But yeah, I used to do this on a very small scale a long time ago in a far off land. :grin:

You've got BIG rockets. How high do they go? And what about the FAA? Do you need to notify anyone when you launch? What if you hit a jumbo jet? :grin:

That wouldn't be too cool.
 
I just now watched your videos in post #79 of the Rocketry Forum. Super Cool!!!

With today's technology you actually get to send up video camera. Lucky dog! :grin:
 
I was reading the National Association of Rocketry safety rules, and I see that rule #7 states the following:

7. Size. My model rocket will not weigh more than 1,500 grams (53 ounces) at liftoff and will not contain more than 125 grams (4.4 ounces) of propellant or 320 N-sec (71.9 pound-seconds) of total impulse.

So I guess that's the max you can build without moving up to special permits or whatever?

I guess that's about 3.3 lbs. Was your rocket under 3.3 lbs?
 
Well, I think I derailed my own thread!

I still launch small Estes rockets. Smallest uses an "A" motor. Largest motor I've used is a "L" motor. Each letter is twice as powerful as the last. Centuri is no longer around, but several companies clone the more popular Centuri rockets.

As you found, the largest rocket you're allowed to fly completely unregulated is 3.3 pounds including propellant. Above that, you're required to get a FAA waiver to shut down airspace accordingly. That is the main reason Arizona and Nevada are so popular with rocketry hobbyists. Any motor with 125 grams of propellant or 320 Ns thrust requires a NAR or TRA certification. There are 3 certification levels for both associations, which allow you to use progressively larger motors. As far as rocket weight, once you have the FAA waiver, the only upper limit to weight is what can be lofted by the motors you're allowed to get.

There are generally two types of "normal" rocket motors. Compressed black powder motors that most of us remember from our childhoods. They make those in impulses up to "F" nowadays. The black powder "E" was new when I got into rockets when I was little. The second type is ammonium perchlorate compressed propellant or APCP. This is actual solid rocket fuel. The same stuff they put in military missiles and solid rocket boosters. As a mater of fact, the main company that produces APCP hobby motors is a subsidiary of a military rocket company.

Again, the FAA is involved with any launch that involves rockets more than 3.3 pounds. They issue a Notice To Airmen, which effectively shuts down your airspace up to the agreed upon launch ceiling. Small planes can choose to ignore this. That is the reason prior to every launch one is supposed to check the sky for aircraft in the launch airspace.

The rocket with the onboard GoPro was 55 pounds. I currently have a Level 2 NAR cert. This allows me to purchase up to and including "L" motors. Usually rocketry clubs will get together and fill out the requisite paperwork. Once the airspace is shut down, anyone who is attending the launch is covered by the waiver.

For everyone who has made it this far, I got several parts in today!
Untitled by bigangryscot, on Flickr
 
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