Shop Made Tools

[ftownroe]

Workshop Aids 2

One more since I understand that the limit is 4 pics per message:

I built this stand to support a mirror so I could see the backside of projects when I have to cut on the back (blind) side. Love those computer hard drive magnets.

[Chris S.]

Here are some of the things that I have made to make my work in the shop easier:

This set of screw jacks are from plans in Model Engineer Workshop. I added the locking ring to keep the height set.

Unacceptable! You make these nice screw jacks and then stick them in a crummy plywood rack. My God man, we have Rosewood growing in yards and Mahogany on every street! Next time I'm down your way I'll drop off some real wood.

Oh... Very nice work!

Chris

[ftownroe]

Screw Jack Mounting Block

Chris,
Yeh, this was the best of the thick stock that I had on hand. I know that after Hurricane Andrew there was some beautiful stuff to be had and I made a clock from a stump of Cedar that a friend gave me. I tossed it out when I moved and I have not run across any good looking stuff since then.

[jhe.1973]

Shop built dry blast cabinet

Hi Everyone,

This is the blaster I finally got around to making after scrounging everything for it for a few years.

I got a deal on some steel sheets ‘cuz they were sheared undersize in both directions for a customer. They priced them low just to get rid of it. It should last forever ‘cuz it’s .116 inch thick.

Yep it’s heavy, but it was cheap! Just like me! Except I’m really not heavy.

During construction:





Finished, w/water filter in line w/shop vacuum.



I don’t have a big enough brake, so I drew out all the shapes in a CAD program to get the dimensions needed for accurate lay out. I cut the pieces w/a sawzall and used a 7 inch disk grinder to finish them to the scribe lines. The welding/fitting was a breeze, just a bit clumsy to handle

The working area is 4 feet wide, 3 feet deep & 29 inches high. The entire unit is 63 ½ inches tall w/o the casters.

Besides the clamshell design for loading larger stuff, I wanted the light to come from just above my head so I wouldn’t have shadows in my line of sight. Years ago I had a commercial blaster & with the light mounted in the top there were always details that were hard to see.

The blast gun & siphon tube were yard sale items that were never used. I think they are HF, but I don’t know for sure.

[sasquatch]

Impressive job, thanks for posting this!!

[hammerfest]

A most valuable "tool"

Gentlemen--I consider this one of the most valuable "tools" i have ever built. It allows me to single handedly move over a ton of equipment (lathe and mill) that otherwise I may not have acquired or may have been more complicated and expensive to move. This has a fixed width of 24" and the length is adjustable for machine bases. The casters are rated at 1100 lbs each. Hope this provides some ideas if you have access to a welder. Cheers!

[Bgmnn1]

Hammerfest,

Nice work!

What is the purpose of the bolts on the vertical leg of the angle iron?

Are they to stabilize the load during transport?

Mike

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

Hammerfest,

Nice work!

What is the purpose of the bolts on the vertical leg of the angle iron?

Are they to stabilize the load during transport?

Mike

I would guess the bolts are to stabilize and eliminate rolling while loading and unloading.

[the4thseal]

ok, i may be an idiot but how does this work? i am assuming the machine is not on the wheels and actually rests off the wheels when the machine is in use and only on the wheels when moving. Am i having a fit over nothing?

[Chris S.]

The horizontal frame (square tubes) appears to be adjustable by loosening those bolts, or are you referring to the levelers?

chris

[the4thseal]

maybe i am missing the purpose of these. i would have thought it would be a problem to have the machine tool operated on wheels. so my assumption was that it would be off the wheels during operation. am i wrong.

O, i think this well built
by the way.

[J. Randall]

maybe i am missing the purpose of these. i would have thought it would be a problem to have the machine tool operated on wheels. so my assumption was that it would be off the wheels during operation. am i wrong.

O, i think this well built
by the way.

My take was that they were for moving machines, never saw anything about them being permanent.
James

[hammerfest]

Gents thanks for the comments. The purpose of the leveling screws is two fold:

1) as was pointed out, it makes the load secure and doesn't allow it to roll around. The brakes on most casters are useless when its over a ton weight.

2) the prime purpose of the screws is to allow you to slip the carriage under the piece of equipment to move it, then to remove it when it's in place. The way this works is fairly straight forward. To get it under, use a crow bar to jack it up enough to slip a shim under the base of the machine thick enough to allow the carriage to go under it. The jack down the screws allowing the machine to rise in order to remove the shim. Then lower to allow the wheels to carry the load. The removal of the carriage is the reverse of above.

This allows me to be a one-man moving show. It's a lot simpler than it sounds and only takes moments. Hope this helps. Le the know if there are questions. Cheers.

[Boostinjdm]

Mt3 center drill holder and Mt3 bull nose live center.

[Boostinjdm]

The MT3 was a freebie from a friend. I was going to make a smaller center drill holder, but it was too damn hard to drill. Plan B.... I cut a spot in the center of the taper so I could grab it in the chuck. Then cut it down to fit the bearings. The bearings are some cheap deep groove bearings I had lying around #6203. Couple bux each for three of them. The stock for the bull nose was just a big chunk of mystery metal I had been saving. I bored the big chunk for the bearings then pressed it all together. Drilled and tapped the nose and threaded in a long bolt. I stuck the assembly in the tailstock and drove it with a socket in the 3 jaw. That way the taper was cut while spinning on it's own bearings. Guaranteed concentric, no??? After that, I chucked the whole thing up in the 3 jaw and cut the bolt and tip off. The finish in the pic is as machined. No emery or scotch bright was used. I really like my new TPG tooling....