Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Welcome......To Odd Acres

[Finallygotit]

Hi Steve and welcome back. It was a nice diversion and something I could call "done" in a small amount of time.

Chin up, check! Mood improved, check!

 

[sawduststeve]

Hi Dan

It's often the simplest of things that can lift the mood, that's what the wife says, I think I may be the simple thing.

Thanks for the welcome back, how did you know we'd been away ?. We only went to France for our holibobs, were you the guy standing behind me in the queue for the croissants.

Regards
Steve.

 

[Finallygotit]

Well, things have been kinda slow out here at Odd Acres. Work has been very busy and I have been traveling A LOT.

A little while back my dad gave me a Foredom flex shaft polisher/grinder. Poor thing... It needed a lot of help. So time to tear it down.



It was pretty nasty inside. I guess about 50 years worth of use will do that to some machinery.



One of the brush holders was broken and the strain relief for the power cord was gone. I tried in vain to get a new brush holder from the manufacturer but they said it was no longer made. (Funny, the tech service gal on the phone said that the unit I have is REALLY old. Yep, I know that) So since I now have a lathe, I bought some high temp plastic which is perfect for this application and started making a new brush holder.



So here is the new holder next to its older unbroken brother.



Once I had the ID and OD turned to size, I had to broach out the ID to make it square to fit the brass brush holder. That was fun.



I also had to take care of the commutator as it was a bit foo-barred. I mounted in on the lathe and cleaned it up. With a little hand work it was good to go. (sorry, forgot to take after pics)



After that, I took to cleaning up all of the parts of the housing and base and repainted it.







And here it is all fully assembled. This thing is handy to have around.



Thanks for stopping by!

 

[Finallygotit]

Oh, I was also getting really tired of digging around for my clamps so I decided to make a clamp rack. I just quickly whipped this one together.

I'm at a point now where I'm just hanging things up and putting things somewhat in place. I have been trying to figure out the best layout but that has meant that not much progress has been made so now things are going in places. If it's not convenient, I will move it at that time but I'm tired of hunting and digging for tools and supplies.

It's looking less and less like a mess and more like my shop.

Cheers!

 

[Terrick down Under]

Hey, hope you don’t mind if I copy that idea!

 

[Finallygotit]

Hey, hope you don’t mind if I copy that idea!

I would be honored if you did.

 

[sawduststeve]

Evening Dan

You sure do a fantastic refurb on your tools
Maybe something to do when every day is a saturday there certainly isn't many repair shops left these days.
Can never have to many clamps, a place for every thing and every thing in it's place, is always the way to go.
Have a good week

Steve

 

[1/2 Cup]

Dan, you have done a top job on the flexdrive repair..

Your clamp looks the goods as well.

Regards

 

[Finallygotit]

So look what was waiting for me when I got home...

It's a rebuild kit for this....

And this little package finally showed up today from being back ordered. A boring head for the mill. I have a project to replace the static bearings in the lathe with ball and needle bearings.

Projects, projects, projects..........

 

[Finallygotit]

Evening Dan

You sure do a fantastic refurb on your tools
Maybe something to do when every day is a saturday there certainly isn't many repair shops left these days.
Can never have to many clamps, a place for every thing and every thing in it's place, is always the way to go.
Have a good week

Steve

Hi Steve! Thank you for the kind words and welcome back. Ya know, I was thinking the same thing. Once I have gotten to the point that every day is Saturday, I might start a small business refurbishing old tools. I really do enjoy it, always have. Then again, why wait?

Dan, you have done a top job on the flexdrive repair..

Your clamp looks the goods as well.

Regards

Hi Steve! Thank you very much!

Thank you all for stopping by. It is greatly appreciated.

 

[rmack898]

So look what was waiting for me when I got home...

I want to watch you do this.
I have been putting off doing the same thing but it will be a piece of cake after you show us how its done.

 

[Finallygotit]

I want to watch you do this.
I have been putting off doing the same thing but it will be a piece of cake after you show us how its done.

Ha, I was putting off purchasing the rebuild kit due to a little anxiety but I think I can do this now. I need to do this now. In trying to fly cut or machine a surface flat using the bottom of the end mill or the fly cutter, I can tell that there is some play in the quill in the Z axis. And the variable speed drive is starting to sound like a coffee grinder at low speeds.

We'll git 'er done!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

[Finallygotit]

I want to watch you do this.
I have been putting off doing the same thing but it will be a piece of cake after you show us how its done.

So now that I have a little more time I can answer this a bit better.

I purchased my replacement parts from H & W Machine Repair & Rebuilding. (Great folks BTW) Once on that site, they have a bunch of instructional videos on how to repair a milling machine. Reviewing those video's took the anxiety out of my rebuild. If you look on the top of that web page, they have a link to their YouTube channel for additional videos. (FYI, the videos are definitely low budget productions but provide great information none the less)

Hope this helps.

 

[rmack898]

Dan,
I'm Still waiting to see how you make out before I jump in, we're all counting on you.

 

[Finallygotit]

 

[sawduststeve]

Is it done yet ?
Mac and I will just hang around until it is , getting in your way.
Don't go getting it dirty though, it looks well polished.

Steve

 

[Finallygotit]

Is it done yet ?
Mac and I will just hang around until it is , getting in your way.
Don't go getting it dirty though, it looks well polished.

Steve

Hi Steve,

Hahahahaha.......... Nope, not yet!

One of my plans for the rebuild is to hit the aluminum cover with copious amounts of aluminum polish and a buffer. I want that sucker to shine.

 

[Finallygotit]

This time around the mini-split caught my eye. I have one, not sure of the capacity, in a loft above my workshop. It seems to cool just fine, but apparently because it is almost at the top of a peak, the heating leaves a lot to be desired. I believe you mentioned that you have moved yours from another area (and I don't think you've had a winter with it in your workshop). How was the heating before, and, of course, I'd be interested to know how it heats this coming winter.

Keep on keeping on.

Helloooooo....mwbailey are you out there??

Just wanted to give you an update on the mini split.

I went out to the shop tonight to work and it was about 62° F (16.5°C) out there. While I would normally call that very comfortable and not bother, I decided to try out the new mini split in heat mode. I'm very happy to report that the mini split is awesome in heat mode. I had the shop up to 70° in 15 minutes. From there it just went into an idle mode and maintained temp. Sooooooo quiet.

More to come and thanks for stopping by!

 

[bj383ss]

Someday...I will have my mini split. I do have an awesome heater for the garage tho. I bet it is nice to know anytime you want to work out there you can make the temp comfortable.

Bret

 

[tweidman]

That rebuild looks like a big project, Good Luck.

 

[Vieux]

Lathe allows you to do many useful things.

 

[Finallygotit]

Lathe allows you to do many useful things.

It most certainly does Vieux. Quite honestly I'm surprised how much I use the lathe over the mill.

 

[Finallygotit]

So as I mentioned earlier, I was out in the shop last night tinkering. I just received a new lathe chuck for the mini lathe. The old 3 jaw chuck is just plain shot. So I purchased a new chuck and upgraded in size from 4" to 5". It also comes with 2 sets of jaws for chucking on inner and outer diameters.

The new chuck is a bit beefier I think.......



One of the things I have to do is machine the adapter plate to fit the chuck. Manufacturers leave fitting stock on these adapter plates so that, once machined, they will run true on your specific machine.

Here is the adapter plate after facing the mounting surface and turning the pilot diameter down to fit the chuck. Only 0.0008" clearance there between the chuck and the adapter plate diameters. I also turned down the OD to make it true and pretty.



Next up to to put this in the mill to drill and counter-bore for three socket head cap screws.

More to come!

 

[slodat]

I have two 2 ton Pioneer branded mini-splits in my shop. The one with the outdoor unit on the north wall has already stopped heating for the year. It just doesn't get any sunshine. The west facing wall unit is still keeping that side of the shop nice and warm with ~30F outside temps. They are great. The lower cost units like I have excel at air conditioning and do a great job of keeping the edge off as the seasons change. Once the weather turns cold, I use them as fans to circulate air. Highly recommend the mini-split units! If these ever give up the ghost, I'll upgrade to a name brand unit that cools down to negative outside temps.

 

[Finallygotit]

For some reason I thought I had pics of the new mini split in this thread, guess not. Surprised you guys didn't call me out with.....




So, here is the new mini split.....

 

[bj383ss]

Nice Chuck and Beauty shot of the Mini Split.

Bret

 

[Finallygotit]

Time to finish the install of the new lathe chuck.

Clamped the adapter plate to table and indicated it in..........

Dill and counterbore some holes.........

Countersink a few bores and mount to chuck.........

Wah-lah!! New chuck in its new home........

That new one is a little bigger than the old one....

One bad thing I found out while drilling the holes is that the DRO on the mill has a dead spot on the X axis. I dialed off the distance to the last hole and it definitely wasn't were it was supposed to be. I set up the dials and compared to the DRO and in the one spot it was out over 0.053".......sigh..... Will have to check if there are any more dead spots. I really don't feel like shelling out $1,800 for a new DRO.

Cheers!

 

[Finallygotit]

Nice Chuck and Beauty shot of the Mini Split.

Bret

Thanks Bret!

 

[Hugemoose]

Dan,

I just spent the last two days (during downtime at work) reading through your house/shop build. Fantastic job, and that Cobra.....absolutely beautiful. My uncle lives in NM and also built a cobra kit car. Just a refreshed 302 in there, but like you said, plenty of fun for a 2200lb car!

My wife and I recently bought our first home and jumped right in to lots of remodeling. Now, almost a year later, I finally have time to turn my attention to our detached two car garage and have been pouring through every post I can for inspiration. I really enjoyed reading through your thread, and am very impressed with your work and machining skills. Keep up the great work!

PS: We also had a minisplit installed in our nearly 100 year old house and we love it! Absolutely fantastic system and super low cost to run.

-David

 

[Finallygotit]

Hello David! Thank you very much for those very kind words, I'm humbled.

Congratulations on the new home!!

I have found no where else on the internet that even comes close to the ingenuity, camaraderie and just plain great talent and nice people than here on GJ. If you need anything, just ask the folks around here, you'll get your answer. So peruse away and take notes to find more inspiration. Be careful though, we like to spend other peoples money.

 

[Finallygotit]

You know, I just had a thought after reading some of Vieux's (Very Small Garage In Russia) posts lately.

While I can't come close to his level of photography, I thought I would share some of the things we get to see here in the Sonoran desert.

To that end, here's a pic of a potted cactus that bloomed recently. The blooms around here are very vibrant in color. This bloom is almost as big as the cactus it sprouted from.



Cheers

 

[Brian R]

I was just in Prescott, AZ visiting my son and on the way to the airport I told my wife how much I loved the scenery. She thought it was bleak but I'm showing her this picture.

The desert is beautiful.

 

[C_F]

I was just in Prescott, AZ visiting my son and on the way to the airport I told my wife how much I loved the scenery. She thought it was bleak but I'm showing her this picture.

The desert is beautiful.

IMO, much of Prescott Valley is kinda bleak, but old Prescott looks great! About 12 years ago, I had had the opportunity to buy a nice house in old Prescott...the only problem was that I couldn't find work in the area. It was a great idea while it lasted.

 

[sawduststeve]

That's pretty bright, do you have many? Do they flower annually or ten yearly
We still have some roses in flower, ( Rev. J. Pemberton blooms) but the weather has turned now, just into double figures, and they won't last much longer.

Steve.

 

[Finallygotit]

That's pretty bright, do you have many? Do they flower annually or ten yearly

Steve.

Hi Steve, most of the cacti around here bloom annually. This one that's in the pot blooms twice a year. Most of the blooming occurs in the spring. It's quite impressive to see some of these cacti producing some absolutely gorgeous blooms. Next time I see some, I will take a few pictures. Could be a while though......

Thanks for stopping by!

 

[Finallygotit]

A very happy Thanksgiving to all from everyone here at Odd Acres!!

 

[Finallygotit]

Well, things have been a little slow around here but progress is being made.

I re-plumbed my air line coming from the compressor to move the regulator/filter/drier off the outlet pipe and onto the wall where it belonged to begin with. I think I was so happy to just have a working compressor that I just left the set-up as it was from the previous owner.

Anyway..... before


And after


I'm still not quite happy with it but I like it better than all of that weight hanging off some 3/8" pipe.

Now I needed a reminder board for the shop and I was about to purchase a new white board when my lovely wife suggested I go with a black board and keep it old school. (Get it?) Great idea. Since I had most of the materials except for the black board paint, I set about making it.

Cut up a piece of plywood, hit it with two coats of Kilz then two coats of black board paint.



Then I cut up and milled some 1" x 2" for a frame, threw a couple of coats of clear on it and attached it to the board. All that was left was to mount it and bingo, all done.



Oh and of course I have to start making the list......


More to come!

 

[Finallygotit]

Since we finally got the drainage issues resolve with the county, we are finally able to start working on the front yard. The process was to fix the flood damage to the area where the water flow cut ravines and filled it up elsewhere. Then I contracted with a guy to purchase and spread over thirty ton of crushed rock. My lovely wife is finally getting her dry river bed as well. This area will actually flow water when it rains and keep it away from the house.

This is the start of the river bed which will be filled with smooth river rock instead of rip rap.


Then we have two piles of plum colored rock for the area between the driveway and the front wall.

That pile of white rock on the upper right will be spread around as the whole driveway will be covered in crushed white rock.

This is looking back at the end of the river bed with yet another pile of rock in the center of the pic. That's the smooth river rock that's going to line the river bed.



More white rock for the guest parking area.



More to come!

 

[jbmatth]

Wow that is a lot of rock! At some point I need to add gravel to our driveway as well, most of it has sunk into the ground to never be seen again.
JB

 

[Finallygotit]

Here's a quick picture of some of the finished product. It was getting late and was raining all day. This was from the front door looking to the street.