Stuff you have made today

[Blue Chips]

^ It'll be interesting to see the results you get. I bought a kit from Gateros some years ago and have mixed results, but I think that's down to how well I can clean the items before they go in. I'm a bit short of space to have it set up at the moment, so mine was set up and taken down as needed. I wish I'd found space over summer as I have a few things that need to be done and for some reason I don't like leaving it set up in the cold weather as I'm not sure what the effect on the chemicals would be. As they're stored in the same shed that they'd be used in, arguably they're getting down to the same temperature, maybe a little higher when stored in sealed containers in closed cupboards.

Having clean, bare metal is definitely a prerequisite for getting consistent plating results, as is a clean solution, free of contaminants. From what I've been reading, most plating and plating-related solutions should keep quite well if kept tightly covered, and some solutions can be easily rejuvenated/replenished, rather than replaced. I'm just getting started with doing my own plating, so still more to learn.

 

[Bki26]

A piece of 3/8" to ~8mm as though why not give it a go with my diy fly cutter (aka lathe boring bar clamped in a crude piece) and save £15 on ebay and not fussed about finish as have other side for mounting surface...

Now paid double what the right size piece would have cost me

 

[m_c]

A piece of 3/8" to ~8mm as though why not give it a go with my diy fly cutter (aka lathe boring bar clamped in a crude piece) and save £15 on ebay and not fussed about finish as have other side for mounting surface...
View attachment 468588
View attachment 468589

Now paid double what the right size piece would have cost me
View attachment 468590View attachment 468591

That looks like a very 'optimistic' depth of cut and feed rate for a flycutter on something X1 sized!

Flycutters are handy, but looking at that pic, more spindle speed, less depth of cut, and lower feedrate.
I wouldn't worry about any theoretical spindle speed when flycutting on aluminium. Just run the spindle as fast as possible (usually the lack of balance will be the limiting factor on small mills), err on the side of caution for depth of cut/feedrate, and give it the occasional squirt of WD40/<insert light maintenance spray/release oil of choice> to stop swarf sticking to the cutter (plus a blast of air, if available, to keep the surface clear will also help with the finish).

 

[Bki26]

That looks like a very 'optimistic' depth of cut and feed rate for a flycutter on something X1 sized!

Flycutters are handy, but looking at that pic, more spindle speed, less depth of cut, and lower feedrate.
I wouldn't worry about any theoretical spindle speed when flycutting on aluminium. Just run the spindle as fast as possible (usually the lack of balance will be the limiting factor on small mills), err on the side of caution for depth of cut/feedrate, and give it the occasional squirt of WD40/<insert light maintenance spray/release oil of choice> to stop swarf sticking to the cutter (plus a blast of air, if available, to keep the surface clear will also help with the finish).

Yea I could have done a much better job but I had no motivation to spend hours slowly going back and forth especially without power feed lol so just set it to a deep cut and very slowly went across it.

It's only for a prototype 3d printed powered rope ascender I'm working on so the other face is flat enough to be the reference side I just need it closer to 8mm for bolts/bearings to go through and not be too short.

It's not even a proper fly cutter just a carbide insert boring bar clamped in an off-axis hole on a shaft I turned to fit in a collet (surprisingly balanced when I get it in the right location) and roughly lined up.

 

[optima21]

a little steam engine on a pound coin for scale

from these bits

I'll update the build thread when I get round to it.

 

[MattF]

That is impressive.

 

[Dr.Al]

It's made of American black walnut with mitred (at the bottom) dovetails and the same simple hinge I've used on all the other ones. I've now made three with "TEA" carved into the top (all American black walnut), one with "KEEMUN" carved into the top (made of cherry) and one with "EARL GREY" carved into the top (ABW again). The Earl Grey one (of which I can't find any photos at the mo) was a present for my parents, the Keemun one is (predictably enough) for Keemun, which is what I mostly drink (weak and black). The bigger one of the existing "TEA" ones holds English breakfast tea, the smaller one has different things in depending on what we trying at the time (currently Darjeeling). The new one will also hold Keemun tea but is for me to take into work.

With that done, I had a fun little session using my little home-made block plane to make a load of shavings out of maple, walnut and cherry so that I could take an arty photo of it, which I'm going to get printed on a mug as it'll be a bit more interesting than the one I have at work at the mo:

 

[galooph]

Carving those letters must be nerve wracking, @Dr.Al, especially as you get near to the end!

 

[Dr.Al]

Carving those letters must be nerve wracking, @Dr.Al, especially as you get near to the end!

It's a lot easier when it says T"EA" rather than "EARL GREY"

 

[6ply]

Hinged motor mount for a mini lathe. It's getting a 3HP motor.

 

[ajlelectronics]

It's a lot easier when it says T"EA" rather than "EARL GREY"

Are you going to be taking commissions?

 

[Dr.Al]

Are you going to be taking commissions?

I can't imagine anyone would ever be willing to pay enough to make it worth it. Even if I only valued my time at minimum wage then (working purely with hand tools) the labour cost would be well over £100 which is a lot more than most people would spend on a tea caddy. I'll keep making whatever I want to make and it can remain as something I enjoy doing rather than something I do for money.

 

[m_c]

A lovely little arrangement.





And why are control cabinets never big enough?
I want to leave room to install another servo drive, which means there isn't much space left for routing wiring using trunking, and I've got no where left to easily mount a mini-ITX board, as I was trying to avoid having to have that external.
I think the VFD and sine filter will have to be moved into a separate cabinet :/

 

[cardiffrob]

Every year I make a Poppy or two to give to other people. The time taken gives me time to think and to remember. This year my hand is in a cast so i'm stitching fabric rather than Brass or Leather like previous years. These ones have taken about an hour each, mostly due to manipulation issues whilst trying to stitch the safety pin on

 

[cardiffrob]

Felt, with filler and the striations (?) made with black wool.

The finger splint I made from Polymorph thermo plastic bead since it lets the skin breathe and fits better than the NHS one.

 

[Kram]

Yesterday, a hole in my glove
Quick reactions saved my thumb but lesson learned. I shall reserve one handed cutting for the less powerful 2511, at full extension in the tree..
I had just sharpened and adjusted the rakers a bit on the low side, so it was a bit jumpy on ivy.

I shall also stop abusing the 020T as a ground saw, which was only because my cheapy McCullock cs380 is not worth fixing. I have just now bought a Lidl 53cc ground saw for this sort of abuse.

A lot if ivy was cut. Originally it was 1-2 meters above the fences. Chopped up small and it has so far fit in 4 green bins, likely 5 when the rest is done.

 

[jimbo84]

Some limb supports for an exotic tree.View attachment 468251

Interesting, do you know what species? If you are fitting please get more photos.

Something to consider for next time, if they are intended to be permenent, as the limbs grow the supports will choke the lower side of the limb before in several years, becoming encapsulated. Where it chokes it will squash out the cambium until it can callous around and over the plates.
For that reason I suggest the supports having a lower contact area. It may be better for the tree in long term to drill it and fit a 20mm stainless threaded bar or similar as it would be a much smaller wound.

Your posts reminded me of this tree local to me, we happened to be there at the weekend so I got some pics, the supports are very hefty at something like 14inches square (three in total) and they have some sort of padding on top, similar to carpet.

 

[Brad93]

Your posts reminded me of this tree local to me, we happened to be there at the weekend so I got some pics, the supports are very hefty at something like 14inches square (three in total) and they have some sort of padding on top, similar to carpet.

View attachment 469165

View attachment 469166

I've seen that, but can't remember where.

Maybe just something similar at a national trust place.

 

[DAPPH]

Yesterday, a hole in my glove
Quick reactions saved my thumb but lesson learned. I shall reserve one handed cutting for the less powerful 2511, at full extension in the tree..
I had just sharpened and adjusted the rakers a bit on the low side, so it was a bit jumpy on ivy.

I shall also stop abusing the 020T as a ground saw, which was only because my cheapy McCullock cs380 is not worth fixing. I have just now bought a Lidl 53cc ground saw for this sort of abuse.
View attachment 469018

A lot if ivy was cut. Originally it was 1-2 meters above the fences. Chopped up small and it has so far fit in 4 green bins, likely 5 when the rest is done.

View attachment 469130

Ivy and hedging in growing on fences is the bane of a gardeners life .

Back in 1981 my bro hired a 24 inch chainsaw and full safety gear , then went to cut his hedge with ivy & hawthorn to bits .
He started the saw, revved it high let it die then took it into the hedge , massive scream and he's got the chainsaw cutting through the peak of the safety hat and goggles ,m scooping at his skull on its way to his brain . . Someone years previously had put in a chain-link fence with heavy galv'd strainer wires , it made a lovely ladder for the chainsaw to run up as he was bent forward holding the saw .
In A&E the guys reckoned another 1MM deeper in to his skull & he'd have lost some grey matter and been seriously damaged for life.

 

[oldbikedavey]

Ivy and hedging in growing on fences is the bane of a gardeners life .

Back in 1981 my bro hired a 24 inch chainsaw and full safety gear , then went to cut his hedge with ivy & hawthorn to bits .
He started the saw, revved it high let it die then took it into the hedge , massive scream and he's got the chainsaw cutting through the peak of the safety hat and goggles ,m scooping at his skull on its way to his brain . . Someone years previously had put in a chain-link fence with heavy galv'd strainer wires , it made a lovely ladder for the chainsaw to run up as he was bent forward holding the saw .
In A&E the guys reckoned another 1MM deeper in to his skull & he'd have lost some grey matter and been seriously damaged for life.

Time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted.....