My Garage Machine Shop

[Tamper84]

A_Pmech, I might have passed over it, but what kind of lathes do you have? And what's the size of them?

Thanks,
Chris

[A_Pmech]

Originally Posted by nkachur

Nice work.

Thank you.

Originally Posted by red92s

Man, making your own plug gauges . . . impressive, and probably saved a couple hundred bucks.

I'm certainly not doubting the outcome, but how to you insure that the GO/NOGO plugs "are what you think they are"? I think normally that is done with a controlled set of "master" ring gauges.

Hi Red,

I measure pitch diameter over wires or with a thread micrometer. While it takes a steady hand and careful manipulation, either method is generally accurate to about +- .0005" PD, although better results can be achieved with care. That's close enough to hit the middle of the tolerance range for a class 2 thread.

Originally Posted by Mister Honey

A_Pmech probably uses the three wire method to measure the minimum and maximum pitch diameters, no?

Mike

Correct!

Originally Posted by Tamper 84

A_Pmech, I might have passed over it, but what kind of lathes do you have? And what's the size of them?

Thanks,
Chris

Hi Chris,

At the moment I only have one, a 14" 1970 American Pacemaker. One of the last built. Eventually, I want to augment it with a Monarch EE and a larger Pacemaker, something around 36" swing.

[Tamper84]

Originally Posted by A_Pmech

Hi Chris,

At the moment I only have one, a 14" 1970 American Pacemaker. One of the last built. Eventually, I want to augment it with a Monarch EE and a larger Pacemaker, something around 36" swing.

that pacemaker is a dream of mine to own!! Would you mind posting a picture of it?? Pretty please

Thanks,
Chris

[A_Pmech]

Originally Posted by Tamper84

that pacemaker is a dream of mine to own!! Would you mind posting a picture of it?? Pretty please

Thanks,
Chris

Hi Chris,

It's a nice machine, I'm always impressed with it's level of accuracy.

Here are a few photos for you:

[Tamper84]

Thank you!!! That thing is awesome! I would love to have one like that!!!!

Thanks,
Chris

[Jim Johnstone]

Is that a Heckert Horizontal in the background?

[A_Pmech]

Originally Posted by Tamper84

Thank you!!! That thing is awesome! I would love to have one like that!!!!

Thanks,
Chris

You're welcome. They're out there, you just have to keep your eyes peeled.

Originally Posted by Jim Johnstone

Is that a Heckert Horizontal in the background?

A universal Heckert horizontal actually!

Better yet, they had a Kearney & Trecker 420 TwinFeed vertical. Want!

[Jim Johnstone]

Originally Posted by A_Pmech

A universal Heckert horizontal actually!

Better yet, they had a Kearney & Trecker 420 TwinFeed vertical. Want!

Nice, we have a couple of heckert universal mills in our blocking area at work, both vertical and horizontals. We also have a nice little Varnamo vertical and an OLD tired, worn out Kempsmith mastermill horizontal that is soooooo sloppy we can't block with it anymore. I can grab the table and get the ends to move about 3/8" if I give it a good shake lol.

[A_Pmech]

Originally Posted by Jim Johnstone

I can grab the table and get the ends to move about 3/8" if I give it a good shake lol.

Not good!

[A_Pmech]

I've been in an organizing mood lately and this project is part of organizing the shop. I have numerous Aloris CA toolholders stuffed in work bench drawers and I have plans to purchase and make many more. Each one weighs about 10 lbs with a tool installed in it, which means the work bench drawers aren't too happy with me. So, I came up with a solution. I call this the "Aloris Tree". It will hold 56 toolholders when complete and is configurable for any size holder from AXA to DA:







It's almost ready for paint and final assembly.

[Ivan DeSlayer]

[fergus]

Hey A_PMech... I got a dumb noob-type question. What did you use to lay out all the angles in a consistent manner on your tool holder...holder?

[A_Pmech]

Originally Posted by fergus

Hey A_PMech... I got a dumb noob-type question. What did you use to lay out all the angles in a consistent manner on your tool holder...holder?

Hi Fergus,

I used an adjustable angle plate and welded every "branch" in the same manner so they would all distort in the same direction. As expected, I ran into some distortion of the column when I welded all the branches on the tree:



Nothing a little heat can't fix though.



For anyone who eants to learn about heat straightening, the best book on the subject is "Heat-Straightening Repairs of Damaged Steel Bridges, A Technical Guide and Manual of Practice" Published by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. Report No. FHWA-IF-99-004, October 1998

[quick60]

From the top pic of the plumb bob to the next pic it moved about ten inches. You did that much with just heat from your torch? Thats awsome!!

If it was that far out why didnt you straighten as you went?

[A_Pmech]

Originally Posted by quick60

From the top pic of the plumb bob to the next pic it moved about ten inches. You did that much with just heat from your torch? Thats awsome!!

If it was that far out why didnt you straighten as you went?

It curved in two axes about an inch over 6'. I expected that because of the way I welded the branches onto the tree. By welding all the branches on one side of the tree at a time I induced tension in the two sides of the weldment.

The "better" way would have been to weld a branch, then rotate it 180 degrees and weld a branch, then rotate it 90 degrees and weld a branch, then rotate it 180 degrees and weld a branch. That would have eliminated most of the "pull" in the column but would require a welding positioner to flip the column each time while everything was still hot. I have the parts for a nice one, but haven't built yet.

[mgoug]

Wow! That's awesome. More pics please =)

[A_Pmech]

There's a saying that goes something like "If you wait until you're fully prepared to do something, you'll never do it because you'll never be fully prepared." That saying certainly applies in this case. Last week I decided to begin the project that's been on my grating on my mind for years: The Paulding Racer.

What is the Paulding Racer? Well, I asked myself that several years ago. The questions I asked were "What if I could do anything within the laws of physics without the hindrance of racing class rules and state vehicle safety rules?" and "If I could, what would it be?"

The two-stroke road racer has seen very little development since the mid 1980's due mostly to homologation rules and state emissions laws changing the bikes fielded on the track. Yet, there are a few things left untried and modern computer technology has made those things possible. My vision is an advancement of the two-stroke road racing motorcycle, perhaps bringing it back to the podium if anybody dares race against it.

It's a project of immense proportions and unknown development brick walls. My favorite kind!

To learn more, feel free to check out my recently started blog:

http://pauldingracer.wordpress.com

[fergus]

Awesome idea man. I feel as though I'm watching the beginning of something grand. Like a modern day Britten. Don't feel uncomfortable with that comparison...if you want to do something badly enough, you will. You definitely have the odds stacked in your favor as far as your abilities and capabilities run. And you've got quite a shop to work out of. I'm glad to see you put it all to great use.

Oh...I love the sound and smell of two strokes. I often look up RD 500s , TZs, etc on Youtube just to hear em run. So I'm slightly biased. I've just subscribed to your blog.

[machine_punk]

Great to see a new post from you! I assume you used something besides OA to actually weld that tool holder holder. It's still cool to see others using OA, even for heat straightening. That is actually why I picked OA as my first welding process in The Aerodrome Studio...it is so versatile: brazing, welding, heating, bending, cutting (with the right torch). With the small torches I am using, it will take nearly-forever to go through the larger gas bottles I have.

I was actually AO welding for practice on 'coupons' of scrap steel today. I've been using a Victor 100 torch for now, but I will start moving toward thinner material with my Meco Midget torch, until I get to welding aluminum sheet metal, which is my eventual goal. I think I've become pretty consistent in technique, now I just need to play with different tips and thicknesses of steel.

Anyway, cool design for a tool holder holder. It is always great to see what you are working on in your shop. Looking forward to seeing it with tool holders on it.

Kev.

[Zeke]

As a kart racer of nearly 40 years, I have a liking for 2-stroke motors, especially water cooled. Subscribed.

BTW, what can't you do in that shop?