Built-it-myself tools/machines - show us what you've done

[akdiesel]

dladcock

Those look great. Nice layout. I like the air fittings also. I have seen those before but can't remember what brand, could you tell me the brand.
I have 3/4" stainless air through out my shop. Works great.

 

[woodgate]

I like the valve spring compressor. Did something similar to get long reach vise grips from the cheap HF ones.

Hey i like that!

 

[dladcock]

dladcock

Those look great. Nice layout. I like the air fittings also. I have seen those before but can't remember what brand, could you tell me the brand.
I have 3/4" stainless air through out my shop. Works great.

akdiesel,

I couldn't have told you the name before you asked, but here they are:
http://www.ryderfleetproducts.com/r...aign=product&gclid=COyLy7mx_7UCFQk4nAodshEA4g

I prefer them because they can be released with one hand and bleed line pressure safely.

dla

 

[ilovevocs]

Posted these somewhere else, probably a better fit here.

Made up ten of these for the shop air drops. Plan to polish and plumb with 1/2 SS tubing.

dla

Nice work their.

 

[Slednut]

Ok, this is very crude and not nearly as cool as what I've seen on this thread. This is what I built to scrape the popcorn ceiling texture off all the rooms in the house. I had painted the ceiling at least 5 times. This would leave a small amount of texture so when I was done scraping, all I had to do is paint. It has a 4 inch razor blade and the vacuum hooked up to it so very little material was on the floor when I finished.

BTW, No asbestos.

 

[akdiesel]

slednut
I have not delt with popcorn ceilings but have heard the frustrations about them.
Very clever.

 

[dladcock]

slednut
I have not delt with popcorn ceilings but have heard the frustrations about them.
Very clever.

Slednut, Do have other pictures of that thing? That is a very clever tool.

dla

 

[RedRob]

Many great tools in this thread , I too like to make my own rather than spend big bucks on stuff that only gets used once in awhile.

This is a tubeing bender of my own design that I use for bending my custom minibike frames

This is one of my bikes that the bender came in usefull for

 

[sbhockey]

Ok, this is very crude and not nearly as cool as what I've seen on this thread. This is what I built to scrape the popcorn ceiling texture off all the rooms in the house. I had painted the ceiling at least 5 times. This would leave a small amount of texture so when I was done scraping, all I had to do is paint. It has a 4 inch razor blade and the vacuum hooked up to it so very little material was on the floor when I finished.

BTW, No asbestos.

Very nice. Refine that just a bit and you could market and sell those.

 

[kbs2244]

I second the request for more detail on the popcorn removal tool.

You might even want to look into marketing it.
That fad was everywhere and the people that are now saddled with it now hate it.

 

[90MJext]

very nice

 

[Slednut]

Here's another photo and what the ceiling looks like. Thanks for the comments.

 

[BigGMC]

Built this cable unwinder to handle 1000' spool of 12-2 for wiring the garage. Unwinding in a controlled fashion keeps the cable from becoming full of curley-Q's. Wanted something a bit more "cool" than the broomstick through the center, supported by two chairs/blocks/midgits/whatever. Can't take credit for the idea, it's how large cable spools are unwound (being supported on wheels).


View media item 29559Those cheapy rubber tire/wheel assemblies were on sale at HF for 3.50ish ea, took the tires off as all I wanted was the rims/bearing hub. Those were the only parts bought, everything else was stuff laying around.
1/2" copper pipe was the perfect size for axles.

View media item 29560I added the PVC roller to help remove the curl from the wire, as you pull wire, it passes under the roller slightly bending wire in the opposite direction it was coiled. I pulled 100+ ft off the roll without it and worked great but got thinking that as I near the end of the spool, curl of the wire will be greater (spool diameter diminishes). The V shape nature of the rims keeps the spool tracking nicely and the hubs aren't fixed to the axle so they can slide around to allow for variences or different size spools.

Invested probably 1.5 hr start to finish and now wire pays out nice and straight!

 

[LG63]

This is one slick setup. Bonus points for making use of common hardware....it's cool to see what can be done even if you don't own a lathe and mill.

Built this cable unwinder to handle 1000' spool of 12-2 for wiring the garage. Unwinding in a controlled fashion keeps the cable from becoming full of curley-Q's. Wanted something a bit more "cool" than the broomstick through the center, supported by two chairs/blocks/midgits/whatever. Can't take credit for the idea, it's how large cable spools are unwound (being supported on wheels).


View media item 29559

 

[Fyrme]

Built from scrap steel

Built from scrap

 

[BigGMC]

Beefy vise stands - I like!

 

[metalmagpie]

Have built a lot of stuff, but this one turned out real nice. My buddy and I built this pair of knifemaker's belt grinders. 3 horsepower, variable speed, either contact wheel or platen attachments (small radius attachments coming), digital SFM/RPM readouts. Mine is the green one. - metalmagpie

 

[larry4406]

Metalmagpie - very nice. Please share more details or better yet, create a build thread.

 

[CNGsaves]

Ok, this is very crude and not nearly as cool as what I've seen on this thread. This is what I built to scrape the popcorn ceiling texture off all the rooms in the house. I had painted the ceiling at least 5 times. This would leave a small amount of texture so when I was done scraping, all I had to do is paint. It has a 4 inch razor blade and the vacuum hooked up to it so very little material was on the floor when I finished.

BTW, No asbestos.

Was just watching a Danny Lipford home improvement show, and they had similar setup but it had a frame to attach plastic bag to catch the junk as it was scraped off. Thus, their version was manual . . . had an exposed blade that "floated" above the catch frame.

Your setup would be even better if handle was hollow so that vacuum hose connected down where person was located - - - ie since most people don't have super long vacuum hose that went up to ceiling.

 

[03protege]

I had a customer with an iron fence and about a 12" difference in elevation from one side of the property to the other. Problem is the dogs could get out due to the gap under the fence on the low side of the property. Basically I extended all the .5" square bar pickets.





Unfortunately I cannot find a good pick of just the tool. The Locking C-clamp is welded onto the Jig. After I got the first tack weld on I removed the jig and welded all around the picket.

 

[Consaka]

Ok, this is very crude and not nearly as cool as what I've seen on this thread. This is what I built to scrape the popcorn ceiling texture off all the rooms in the house. I had painted the ceiling at least 5 times. This would leave a small amount of texture so when I was done scraping, all I had to do is paint. It has a 4 inch razor blade and the vacuum hooked up to it so very little material was on the floor when I finished.

BTW, No asbestos.

We have some of those ceilings. Hate them. Not sure what the point was but in the mid '70s they were the rage. If I ever scrape some im giving you a call!
My fav sheetrock guy suggests it is easier to just throw up some 1/4 inch sheetrock and do it over from scratch. Or he said you could spray it with water and scrape it off and then skim coat the whole thing. lol With his speed at throwing up sheetrock he could probably do my living room in less then a day.

 

[atch]

...My fav sheetrock guy suggests it is easier to just throw up some 1/4 inch sheetrock and do it over from scratch. Or he said you could spray it with water and scrape it off and then skim coat the whole thing. lol With his speed at throwing up sheetrock he could probably do my living room in less then a day.

sounds good at first blush. however, the thinner the sheetrock the more likely it will bow down between ceiling joists...

 

[LigouriRd]

Ok, this is very crude and not nearly as cool as what I've seen on this thread. This is what I built to scrape the popcorn ceiling texture off all the rooms in the house. I had painted the ceiling at least 5 times. This would leave a small amount of texture so when I was done scraping, all I had to do is paint. It has a 4 inch razor blade and the vacuum hooked up to it so very little material was on the floor when I finished.

BTW, No asbestos.

Which direction is the tool used, push (like a hand-plane) or pull (scrapper)? I just tried the wet-down technique to remove the textured ceiling from on of my rooms and boy was that a messy pain in the **** job.

 

[Kevin54]

Which direction is the tool used, push (like a hand-plane) or pull (scrapper)? I just tried the wet-down technique to remove the textured ceiling from on of my rooms and boy was that a messy pain in the **** job.

Take everything out of the room, put down plastic on the floor, take a garden sprayer and spray the ceiling down and use a wide scraper.

 

[atch]

Take everything out of the room, put down plastic on the floor, take a garden sprayer and spray the ceiling down and use a wide scraper.

been there; done that; this is the right answer.

that said, my daughter removed the popcorn ceilings in her house and didn't make a mess. she held a bag under where she was scraping and caught all of the waste. i wasn't there when she did it, so i can't comment further, but it worked for her.

 

[Finnrodder]

I made a ******* spoon from Ford ****** MK I's leaf spring:



******* spoon is a great weapon against the dings on the car body.

 

[Slednut]

Made this hose reel.

 

[fabjunkie]

Here's a small press brake I threw together with some scrap to use in the HF 20 ton press. Top section with a chunk of 3/8" plate and tube that I doubled up.

Beveled the plate.

Lower section.

Finished up and in the press.

5.25" wide 3/8" plate for spring plates for the 14FF. This was about max for it.

 

[akdiesel]

fabjunkie

Nice work. Different approach, but looks like it works great.

 

[grego]

I am planning to make one of these /\/\/\/\/\ and was wondering if it is better to have a sharp edge on the top pushing plate or a blunt edge or more possible, a rounded edge?
I have seen them done in all three ways and figured that the sharp edge may cause a cut in the metal and possibly start a stress crack in certain plates. But then on the flip side, I have heard that it makes a sharper angle instead of a more rounded gentle curve.
Can someone explain to me the correct way? What is the best kind of metal for the top plate? I figure using angle iron for the bottom portion, that is what 90% of the ones I have seen is using.
Thanks for the help.

 

[akdiesel]

grego
The thicker the metal the more radius you will need, especially on aluminum.

 

[Mr.N]

5.25" wide 3/8" plate for spring plates for the 14FF. This was about max for it.

Nice spacing of the holes

 

[Kevin54]

I am planning to make one of these /\/\/\/\/\ and was wondering if it is better to have a sharp edge on the top pushing plate or a blunt edge or more possible, a rounded edge?
I have seen them done in all three ways and figured that the sharp edge may cause a cut in the metal and possibly start a stress crack in certain plates. But then on the flip side, I have heard that it makes a sharper angle instead of a more rounded gentle curve.
Can someone explain to me the correct way? What is the best kind of metal for the top plate? I figure using angle iron for the bottom portion, that is what 90% of the ones I have seen is using.
Thanks for the help.

Put a radius on the edge for thick material. Sort of a rule of thumb when bending metal is the inside radius should be no less than the material is thick. So if you are going to be bending a 1/4" plate, put a 1/4" radius on your punch.

 

[laser3kw]

^^^^^^
what he said
a sharp point like that will coin the metal. You will be more likely to develop a stress crack in that area, depending on how the plate is used.
good job on "making it yourself"

 

[dadsEH]

There is times when its easier to hold small parts for finish grinding by hand.....yeah I know...buy pedestal grinder, but im a cheap *******

 

[TireTracks]

A 1" belt sander. I have less than $20 into it.

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I put a Platen on it after takeing these pictures. Contemplateing putting a 1/3hp motor on it, the 1/6 in the pic's boggs down a bit when takeing heavy cuts.

 

[JimVonBaden]

Basically free, and very useful.

Jim

 

[atch]

A 1" belt sander. I have less than $20 into it.

View media item 34093
View media item 34094
View media item 34095
I put a Platen on it after takeing these pictures. Contemplateing putting a 1/3hp motor on it, the 1/6 in the pic's boggs down a bit when takeing heavy cuts.

are there bushings/bearings in there or do the wooden wheels spin on a steel shaft/bolt?

 

[TireTracks]

are there bushings/bearings in there or do the wooden wheels spin on a steel shaft/bolt?

Ball bearings. The top wheel has them pressed into the wheel, and the lower wheel has the shaft running in them, the lower wheel is epoxied to the the knurled shaft.
You can see the rim of the bottom bearings on the first pic, pressed into the wooden frame.

 

[Hotroddder]

Some Gantrys I built to lift bodies off the frame and put on a rotisserie.

Work great and come apart for storing.