Shop Made Tools

[BobWarfield]

Aha!

I knew I was right. Mill tables ARE for storing tools. You can even get cool acrylic covers for the purpose.

Gary, another fantastic idea with the flexible nut drivers. I wonder if they would be made even handier if the cable was coated? It would make it harder for the cable to unravel at some loss of flexibility, but I bet not much.

I'm thinking you could tool dip them after the fact if you weren't using coated to start.

Best,

BW

[rklopp]

I don't understand the Firehouse forge furnace setup. Can you explain? I see a breadbox part - is that an oven? Then what is the part with the V-shaped troughs sticking up in the air?

[gary hart]

I don't understand the Firehouse forge furnace setup. Can you explain? I see a breadbox part - is that an oven? Then what is the part with the V-shaped troughs sticking up in the air?

The door to the furnace has the Firehouse name on it. The door pivots open from the lower right hand corner and is held in place by the adjustable counter weight seen off to the lower right. There is a spring-loaded cam type arrangement on the hinge so door moves outward a little for clearance when opening. The notch in lower left of door is so long stock can be in furnace and not have to have door open very much.

In the back where the exhaust comes out there are V-shaped troughs for holding long work that you want to heat in the middle of the work.

There is no fan to supply air to the burners. The air comes in the two flat stainless tubes coming out the back of the furnace. The stainless tubes pass through the exhaust which heats the incoming air. There are twin burners and each has its own venturi which the gas (propane) pulls the air in for combustion.

Quote from my 1991 plans:
"This work was performed at Sandia National Laboratories and supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC04-476DP00789."

"The furnace is very quiet, since no blowers are used and the venturi is located in the center of a long tube. To control the furnace atmosphere and to help reduce heat loss, a close fitting swing-away door has been incorporated, and the entire furnace is insulated with lightweight high performance ceramic insulation. The resulting furnace easily achieves forge welding temperatures, has an oxygen depleted atmosphere and proven to be very effective and capable for small machine and hand forging operations"

[im#2]

Gary- Motor?

what is the motor you are tweeking with the flex tools. I see a mag and external valve tappets?

[gary hart]

1/6th scale 1911 Simplex T-head engine

[gary hart]

Looked and didn't have a pictures of this engine except bunch of parts had worked on. The engine is not quite done, having much problems with float in the carb. Fuel leakage has leached the oil out of the wood base. Went out took a picture tonight.

Sir John in post #104 of this thread showed his
"most accurate home conversions of a regular tool to make it more handy"

Ever since been trying to make a power conversion of a regular tool. After much frustration, think I will have to give up.

[JCHannum]

Thanks for the photo Gary. Very very nice job.

The fuel leakage might be prototypically correct. I recall part of the instructions for starting an airplane engine of the times included pushing the aircraft out of the resulting fire.

[gary hart]

Jim, thanks for the kind words. Will remember that gas leakage spot is authentic.


Some cheap machinery skates made from junk 203 bearings from electric motor rebuild shop. A short hunk of 3” channel iron. Couple of axles to fit bearings. Notch and fill notch with tack weld to hold axles in. Height is 1-7/8”

Has tapped hole in middle. If lathe headstock end has bolt down holes this can be used for bolting to lathe in the two corners.



This one has 3 rows of bearings and a scrap throw out bearing from a car clutch between skate and flat bar. Has a steering arm for pointing in direction you want to go. This one can go at the tailstock end of a lathe. Three skates work better then 4 as they are always in contact with the cement. Total height is 3-1/4"



Mickey Mouse foot shut off switch for table saw.

[medwards]

I showed my shop made tubing bender a few pages back. But, what good is a tubing bender without a tubing notcher. I just finished my lathe notcher parts. Works great, especially with the power feed.

[alsinaj]

Tubing notcher

Medwards,

Why is the tubing angled toward the headstock in the last photo?

[jc250r31]

To cut whatever angle you want. Other places sell nothers that are similar to that but you use an electric drill and holesaw with a fixture. I like this way much better plus it would seem it probably holds the pipe better. Then you always have the auto feed like he says.

[medwards]

jc250r31 is right, I'm doing an angled notch in that picture. I had a picture of the notch completed from the setup in the second picture, but there is a 4 pic rule here and that was the one that had to go. The third picture is a new setup. I use the angle graduations on the cross-slide/compound to set my angle. The other plus to this setup is that I could use roughing endmills in place of the holesaws if I want. Although an 1 3/4" roughing mill is big $$$. Equivalent purpose built notchers typically sell for $4k and they don't have power feed. I have roughly 1/4 of that in my setup including the cost of the lathe.

[snowman]

To cut whatever angle you want. Other places sell nothers that are similar to that but you use an electric drill and holesaw with a fixture. I like this way much better plus it would seem it probably holds the pipe better. Then you always have the auto feed like he says.

I built one like that a while ago. People thought I was an idiot when I said we should use the lathe to notch tubing (FSAE). Slick and smooth, and doesn't tear up as many holesaws as the aformentioned drill press version.

[alsinaj]

tubing notcher

Very cool! I take it the V-jaw is movable, it sits astride the fixed jaw, and is simply pushed from behind by the clamp screw? What prevents it from riding up when tightened? How do you get and clamp the rotary motion?

[snowman]

Very cool! I take it the V-jaw is movable, it sits astride the fixed jaw, and is simply pushed from behind by the clamp screw? What prevents it from riding up when tightened? How do you get and clamp the rotary motion?

I assumed it was the other way around, that the V-Jaw was fixed, so the flat jaw can ride up as much or as little as it likes and the pipe will still be firmly planted.

I make this assumption based upon the SHCS on the lateral edges of the V block.