Stuff you have made today

[Wallace]

When I make tooling like this I use the rollers from roller bearings, you can actually buy them from simply bearings loose and I always have a selection of sizes in stock.

Great idea, I keep ball a selection of used ball bearings but not rollers. Availability was my main problem coupled with time constraints as I made this at home overnight. The best I had were my own new Dormer HSS 5mm drill bits that would be hard enough to act as decent pins hence I used softer shanks from old bi-metaI bits. I really was not expecting the joints to be that tight and thought the pin holes being so close to the centre bore would be more of a problem as they broke through being 5mm rather than 3/16". The hole centres are 0.900" and the bore 0.700" dia, the 3/16" pin bore gives a very thin wall at 0.1875" and next to nothing at 5mm (0.1968") hence I broke through on my POS mill. I had to open the joint pin holes to 5mm, again due to availability of 3/16" drill bits and pins.

 

[Windy Miller]

I have finally finished the canon
All the components laid out before final assembly.
View attachment 268494
Then all done, with mug for scale.
View attachment 268495
That's it, on to the next project........

I really like that. And the mug is great too!

 

[northwest]

Great idea, I keep ball a selection of used ball bearings but not rollers. Availability was my main problem coupled with time constraints as I made this at home overnight. The best I had were my own new Dormer HSS 5mm drill bits that would be hard enough to act as decent pins hence I used softer shanks from old bi-metaI bits. I really was not expecting the joints to be that tight and thought the pin holes being so close to the centre bore would be more of a problem as they broke through being 5mm rather than 3/16". The hole centres are 0.900" and the bore 0.700" dia, the 3/16" pin bore gives a very thin wall at 0.1875" and next to nothing at 5mm (0.1968") hence I broke through on my POS mill. I had to open the joint pin holes to 5mm, again due to availability of 3/16" drill bits and pins.

You see, this is where it all falls over with me:

So, someone walks in and they have a valve stuck down the bottom of a high pressure tube. It has two holes in it that require a tool with two prongs be inserted then loosened off.

Now, experience tells me that to get it out it needs to be unscrewed. Again, experience and skill gives me the ability to measure the diameter of the pins I am going to need and their distance apart. I have a selection of roller bearing pins in a box that I have slowly assembled over years, probably costing 30 to 50 quid the contents of the box. I get a piece of EN8 (or more likely 24T) out of the rack, turn it down, stick it in the mill, drill two holes for the pin and either set it up in the 4way block so I can have a pip for a socket extension or weld a bar and T handle on there.

So how do you charge for that?

I used to have a big selection of tooling that I made, but then I found I was making it again because a couple of years would go by before a similar or the same job appeared and I had forgotten I had made tooling so I had a big selection that I couldn't remember exactly what it was for. But it filled a drawer. It's not easy this self employed lark.

 

[Wallace]

You see, this is where it all falls over with me:

So how do you charge for that?

I fall into this on a regular basis and point the fault squarely at my Father's 'mend and make do' wartime mentality and from the days where tools were expensive and less abundant. I have collected quite a few tools from people asking me to do jobs for them, they buy the tools and I keep them as payment or part payment, this has been ongoing since school.

I have quite a few homemade tools and some my Father made, I actually looked for one of his I saw recently that might be for the same job before starting this one.

I did this tool more as an excuse to get operating time on my new DRO with the rotary table rather than profit or Brownie points at work. I have better machining facilities at home, safer too!

 

[VeryFEDUP]

Whilst waiting for some layout fluid to dry so that I can make something to better spread the load on my very cheap milling table. It is cold in the garage so I was able to tie:

Just trying to get my eye back in before I try a few other patterns.

 

[My Old Landy]

Not a lot done today, just a key way broach, and a gear blank in Delrin and a mandrel ready to put the teeth on the gear. The spanner is for scale and as shown in the second picture, I ground it by hand and it worked ok-ish!

 

[Lewis_RX8]

A bottle opener for a friends birthday.

Slowly getting better at using the milling machine and very satisfying making this project on it although not too complex I'm definitely learning more

 

[zx9]

I like the idea of using the resin for stabilising cracks in wood you would otherwise burn, also stops the cracks getting full of crud, but river tables are a bit of a fad that will pass, a bit like Artex This was a bit of fun and the kids enjoyed helping.

And that is worth far more than the cost of the parts.

 

[optima21]

early last year I saw this on ebay, a educational toy for demonstrating how solar power works.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272425806540

and thought it might be a bit of fun to have it radio controlled using a "tank" speed controller, so each paddle is operated seperately.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143652897932

and using a single cell lipo battery and receiver for my other models I ended up with this

now thats a much better toy to play with, who'd have thought you could do doughnuts or even drift it like a car......think I should have done this much earlier only problem is now that I have another project to do in the next few years which will be to convert this to radio control and have it spinning on its centre axis.
as I bought one of these to build last summer.

one day I'll have to grow up and stop playing with toys.

 

[Fraserb]

early last year I saw this on ebay, a educational toy for demonstrating how solar power works.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272425806540

and thought it might be a bit of fun to have it radio controlled using a "tank" speed controller, so each paddle is operated seperately.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143652897932

and using a single cell lipo battery and receiver for my other models I ended up with this

View attachment 268678

now thats a much better toy to play with, who'd have thought you could do doughnuts or even drift it like a car......think I should have done this much earlier only problem is now that I have another project to do in the next few years which will be to convert this to radio control and have it spinning on its centre axis.
as I bought one of these to build last summer.

one day I'll have to grow up and stop playing with toys.

Why would you want to stop playing with toys?

Only thing that changes as we get older is the toys get bigger and more expensive

 

[James1979]

Not so much made , but finished off and assembled!

A member on here very kindly saw my post about intending to convert an air file to battery and turned up the two parts required. They arrived Yesterday and I finished them off and put it all together today. It was greatly appreciated, not easy being without a lathe when you’re used to one!!

 

[Ashley Burton]

@James1979 Is it working well?

 

[Ruffian]

Today we made a nasty looking engine block nice and pretty. 25year old engine now with a fresh lease of life.

 

[James1979]

@James1979 Is it working well?

Spot on. There was a concern that he couldn’t knurl the pulley. There’s nothing to worry about there. When it was on air I could almost stop it on my hand with gloves on. This just rips metal off.

it’s not as fast as the air but that’s the cut off tool. I’m going to see if I can remedy that. No hose to get in the way and no waiting for the compressor even though mines a 3hp 150l it struggles on a stint.

along with my lathe I miss my hydrovane!

 

[redlig]

early last year I saw this on ebay, a educational toy for demonstrating how solar power works.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272425806540

and thought it might be a bit of fun to have it radio controlled using a "tank" speed controller, so each paddle is operated seperately.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143652897932

and using a single cell lipo battery and receiver for my other models I ended up with this

View attachment 268678

now thats a much better toy to play with, who'd have thought you could do doughnuts or even drift it like a car......think I should have done this much earlier only problem is now that I have another project to do in the next few years which will be to convert this to radio control and have it spinning on its centre axis.
as I bought one of these to build last summer.

one day I'll have to grow up and stop playing with toys.

WHY ???

 

[MattF]

one day I'll have to grow up and stop playing with toys.

Why?

 

[Maker]

Not so much made , but finished off and assembled!

A member on here very kindly saw my post about intending to convert an air file to battery and turned up the two parts required. They arrived Yesterday and I finished them off and put it all together today. It was greatly appreciated, not easy being without a lathe when you’re used to one!!

I really like that, what was the donor tool?

 

[James1979]

I really like that, what was the donor tool?

It was a M12 3” cut off tool. Having bought it and had it for a while I really couldn’t see the use for it to be honest! Mates boy Sooth has one - he installs hygienic plastic on walls and they use them to rip sheets but outside that I really can’t work out what it does that a grinder doesn’t.

Anyhow. I stole the idea from a guy on YT but he’s a yank and it’s for the murican tool. I listed the pros and cons in a want thread. If there’s a bit of interest I’ll put it all in it’s own thread to get it all together and not clog this one.

 

[MattF]

but outside that I really can’t work out what it does that a grinder doesn’t.

It doesn't. They're basically just lighter & more compact than an angle grinder. I find the cutoff tool a lot easier to use than the grinder, for general work.

 

[Stueeee]

Trying impose a little bit of order on the usual workshop chaos... All my car wiring cable has lived in a big plastic crate, impossible to see what's there without turning all the reels out. So I decided to make a simple cable tidy/rack which could sit on the floor where I'm working. Otherwise the rack can be stored/used hanging on the wall next to a workbench in one of garages here: