What Did You Buy Today?

Received a couple of small cast iron flywheels from Martin Model. Going to try to make a gyroscope for my grandson. Have no idea how I will make it happen, but have watched Clickspring's video on it. So have the basic idea. Clickspring makes it look incredibly easy - he is very artistic. Have a CAD model, but it's kind of crude. Was kind of fun figuring out how to fuse some of the bodies together to make the wheel. Had no idea how to model the curved spokes, so just modeled the straight spoke wheel. Hopefully I can make the actual gyro a little nicer than what is shown.

PXL_20221108_203258597.jpg
firstpassgyro.jpg
Ordered some thick wall 6061 tubing for the ring, and have some 1/4" diameter brass for the bearings. Maybe later - if I can get it to work ok, I'll order some bearing bronze rod (544?). It's only a cone bearing, so we aren't talking about anything fancy.
 
pontiac428 said:
Bronze? No. Double roller full-component ceramic is what a real man's gyroscope runs on.

And finally I have an answer to what a used starter is good for... starting a gyro!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the upsell :cool:

This is for a 3 or 4 year old, not for missile guidance. Although if provoked, I suppose the 1/2 lb flywheel could hurt.
 
Another Twofer:

Had a coupon and Williams-Sonoma had a bunch of stuff on clearance plus 20% off, so I picked up a Fish Spatula for the grill $5.26, including tax, free shipping:

Spatula.png





What's the second part? Well, W-S has now surpassed MSC (which previously replaced Amazon) for using an oversized box with no packing material:

WS Box.JPG

The spatula is 21" x 4" x 2-1/2", the box is 28" x 22" x 11". Remarkably, the delicate spatula arrived unscathed, and even the box wasn't even scuffed by UPS. Even though W-S charges flat rates for shipping (unless you have a W-S credit card, then it's free), I'd hate to think what the dimensional weight would have been for this shipment. But wait, I have a UPS Account, so I can check pricing:

  • 28" x 22" x 11": UPS Ground $60; UPS 3-Day (how it was shipped) $131
  • 24" x 6" x 4" (assumed smallest carton size): UPS Ground $15; UPS 3-Day $37
  • W-S Quoted Shipping $5.95 – it's no wonder "average" customers are paying through the nose for shipping! Yes, W-S, like many big "mail order" shippers have a UPS trailer (or several) staged at their dock, so all UPS has to do is haul it away to a nearby depot, but 10x – 22x the price?

Sorry, rant complete.
 
pontiac428 said:
Bronze? No. Double roller full-component ceramic is what a real man's gyroscope runs on.

And finally I have an answer to what a used starter is good for... starting a gyro!
Click to expand...
Don't forget the axial loads
 
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