Thread: Your latest project

Here is my latest build.
Took about 5 hours + 2 hours for polishing / finishing after paint was dry. Made from 54kg/m rr-track. Lenght 450mm

FB_IMG_1607692188858.jpg

Video about making: https://youtu.be/ZxR-sRFAzYw

Originally Posted by Tuomas Soikkeli

Here is my latest build.
Took about 5 hours + 2 hours for polishing / finishing after paint was dry. Made from 54kg/m rr-track. Lenght 450mm

FB_IMG_1607692188858.jpg

Video about making: https://youtu.be/ZxR-sRFAzYw

Very Pretty !

Originally Posted by BaronJ

Very Pretty !

Thanks!

Found a tap holder in the drawer which is missing one handle, thought I would spend a lazy hour or so turning up a new one:
IMG_1088.jpg

What I did	What it looked like
Found some 8mm rod, grabbed in the Hercus, knurled the end. The only knurling tool I could find is very fine. Nothing like the coarse original.	IMG_1089.jpg
Round off the end a little.	IMG_1090.jpg
Machine the inboard diameter. This is to fit into the casting	IMG_1091.jpg
Transfer rod to the Hafco AL336, because it has the parting tool, and has enough gears to actually cut threads!	IMG_1092.jpg
OK. Now for the thread. About 6mm diameter, but thread gauges won't fit inside. Nothing a grinder won't fix	IMG_1094.jpg IMG_1095.jpg
Seems to be 1.0mm pitch, but is left handed! My only threading tool is an 11IR: an inside cutter. I usually cut threads away from the chuck. This will be tricky. Grab rusty old rod, and practice	IMG_1096.jpg
After much usage of fwd/rev/brake, got my confidence up, and a workable thread. Now for the real thing. Start with the thing I hate, a groove to cut up to. I'm lazy, create that with the threading point	IMG_1097.jpg
After many start/stop/rev/cross-feed-fiddles, a thread that the little block fits onto! First mistake: I wanted to make sure the whole thread was good, so I faced the end off, to let me screw the block all the way on...	IMG_1098.jpg IMG_1099.jpg
...which meant once it poked into the casting, only half the thread was being used ...but after further machining – pushing the inboard diameter back – it all locks together.	IMG_1100.jpg

And, after wasting nearly 2 hours repairing a $5 diecast tap handle, what did I learn?

1. Even if it is as simple as this, a diagram might have helped.
2. A lathe with a working brake makes tedious little thread cutting possible.
3. I gotta find some more threading tools

At least you got one of the time consuming rountuit jobs done that we all have banked up, want to do some of mine, lol.

I have a few small broken jobs where I won't throw away, but I will probably never do like you have done unless I really need it, though I have all the time in the world for.

At least it's given you practice with left hand threads etc.
We all live and learn, no matter how small a project is.

I made 3 recessed boxes today for myself out of 75x50 RHS which ended up 70x112mm inside with a 25mmx3mm thick flange around each one.

By the time I cut everything out of a sheet with the grinder and bandsaw for the 75x50RHS, millied the flanges square inside and out, it took around 4 hours after straitening, welding, grinding and flap disking with rounding the corners etc.
In my head I thought a couple of hours max, lol. All this work for 3 limit switches in the ceiling.

I seem to always underestimate a jobs time, at at my age you would think I'd learn. It's bitten me a few times with quoting on paying jobs, my loss but there gain.

Originally Posted by Dave J

At least you got one of the time consuming rountuit jobs done that we all have banked up, want to do some of mine, lol.

I have a few small broken jobs where I won't throw away, but I will probably never do like you have done unless I really need it, though I have all the time in the world for.

At least it's given you practice with left hand threads etc.
We all live and learn, no matter how small a project is.

I made 3 recessed boxes today for myself out of 75x50 RHS which ended up 70x112mm inside with a 25mmx3mm thick flange around each one.

By the time I cut everything out of a sheet with the grinder and bandsaw for the 75x50RHS, millied the flanges square inside and out, it took around 4 hours after straitening, welding, grinding and flap disking with rounding the corners etc.
In my head I thought a couple of hours max, lol. All this work for 3 limit switches in the ceiling.

I seem to always underestimate a jobs time, at at my age you would think I'd learn. It's bitten me a few times with quoting on paying jobs, my loss but there gain.

Hi Dave, Guys,

Don't you find that as you get older you tend to take more care over the work that you do !

I'm currently digging the grouting out from between the bathroom tiles, a job that should only take a day. Currently I'm into day three and finished, now to start and re-grout them.

Originally Posted by BaronJ

Hi Dave, Guys,

Don't you find that as you get older you tend to take more care over the work that you do !

I'm currently digging the grouting out from between the bathroom tiles, a job that should only take a day. Currently I'm into day three and finished, now to start and re-grout them.

Yeah, I even squared up the RHS ends on the mill just so I knew they where perfectly square so everything went to plan.
Then milling out the center of the flanges after the cutting disc for the same reason.

My wife thinks I'm crazy sometimes as I'll pick out a flaw in something I've made and need to fix it.
She will say who's going to see it in the shed, my reply me and it will drive me nuts everytime I look at it. Lol

Originally Posted by Dave J

My wife thinks I'm crazy sometimes as I'll pick out a flaw in something I've made and need to fix it.

I've been known to be like that at times. The old man had a saying "I'll give you $1 for everyone that notices", I try and remember that at those times I might be getting just a little to pedantic.

Originally Posted by Stustoys

I've been known to be like that at times. The old man had a saying "I'll give you $1 for everyone that notices", I try and remember that at those times I might be getting just a little to pedantic.

That is a good one to remember

Sigh I've been getting old for a long time.

Finally got around to making the anti-backlash gears I needed for a project, now I just have to find or make a pair of extension springs to connect the twoGearA.jpg

I made some London pattern handles for my files. I think they are really designed to go on chisels but they work great on files too. Very comfortable. I made them to the design shown, which I found on the web.

I started with a length of octagonal European beech 30mm across the flats. Roughed out three handles on the lathe using various tool shapes. All tools were mounted on the QCTP. No free-hand turning. It was very slow. An experienced woodturner with a wood lathe would have made these in a tenth of the time. Parted them off. Fitted SS ferrules. Drilled stepped holes to roughly match the tang of each chisel. Sanded them, then two coats of tung oil/poly/turps mix. Heated the tang to dull red and pushed the handle on. Removed the handle as soon as it hit full depth to prevent excessive burning of the wood. The tang on the square file went back on tight with just a light tap. The rectangular tangs on the other two files weren't as solid, so I epoxied them on.

Hi Chris,

I like those handles ! Particularly the mass production technique.

My latest addition to the machine light flock.
I had one of those desk magnifying lens with circular fluro light, arm assembly's that came out of a skip at work some time ago. It was missing the lens and the light fitting. I got it with the intention of making a machine light out of it.

So yesterday I decided to get into it. Dave J put me onto some cheap square LED work lights (very similar to these) on Ebay early last year and I bought four of them at the time.
I have one mounted above my lathe as a flood light. Very happy with it.


So, anyway, yesterday I removed the old light/lens housing from the arm and the bracket for the light virtually bolted straight on. However the led light didn't weigh enough so the arm wouldn't stay down. So I used a spring balance to measure how much extra weight I needed. Came out at around 600g.
Then I started looking at what I had to use as a weight. As it happened the two old bearings from the front pulley of my mill weighed in at around 600g. So I made a bracket t hold them onto the light head. Worked out really well. Just cable tied them to the bracket.

worklight 001.jpg worklight 002.jpg

Also knocked up a rough bracket to enable the light arm to be clamped to the mill table.

worklight 003.jpg

Throws a lot of light- It might turn out to be a bit big for the machine though. Will wait till I use it for real.

worklight 005.jpg

Peter

Springs fitted, not exactly the springs I was after but they'll do until I find something better. maybe someone here has a lead I can follow?
backlash gears.jpg