Shop Made Tools

[BMW Rider]

OK, I'm clueless--what did the unmodified pump come out of?

Looks like its a hot water heating pump.

[jugs]

OK, I'm clueless--what did the unmodified pump come out of?

There were 2 clues -

Nb - most c/h pumps have 3 speeds

Grabbed an old heating pump

It's a standard central heating circulation pump.

[rklopp]

I wonder how long the motor bearings will last. It looks like a Grundfos seal-less pump, which has ceramic journal bearings that rely on the pumped water for lube. It appears the motor is getting no lube. As I recall, the instructions for these things require the motor housing to be vented via a little screw in order to fill it with water before startup.

[metalflyage]

Jig Plate

I made a jig plate when I was in collage that I copied from an optics table. I use it to setup projects as I build. Makes a great third hand. It is made from 6061-T6 12"x24" with 253 tapped 1/4-20 holes.

[hammerfest]

Plasma Guide--look Mom no clamps Req'd!!!!

I have needed these for years, and for years I have cobbed together whatever steel I had around around the shop to do two things:

1) Provide a straight edge for plasma cutting that was fast to set up

2) Provide the proper offset above the tip to avoid blow back and have the consumables last longer. Please note the Miller Spectrum torch I have is not really a drag type and it should be spaced about 0.062 off the cutting surface.

I also wanted to use these without the use of clamps to get in the way. The solution was those wonderful Neodymium magnets. I think the photos are self explanatory if there are any questions please let me know. The magnets are a press fit approx. 0.750 dia. so an end mill works great. The hole is bored a few thou deeper than the holder. I have made various lengths up to about 52" to cut sheets in half.

I hope this might give you gents a few ideas for other applications.

[Chris S.]

[QUOTE=metalflyage]I made a jig plate when I was in collage that I copied from an optics table. I use it to setup projects as I build. Makes a great third hand. It is made from 6061-T6 12"x24" with 253 tapped 1/4-20 holes.

Very nice and useful too!

[Chris S.]

[QUOTE=hammerfest]

http://s359.photobucket.com/albums/oo32/200mphBusa/?action=view&current=100_3989.jpg

What is this tool?

Chris

[jugs]

[quote=Chris S.]

http://s359.photobucket.com/albums/o...t=100_3989.jpg

What is this tool?

Chris

Plasma cutter on a straight edge

[ArkTinkerer]

Sorry for not knowing, most systems down here in the south are air based. We have blowers, not pumps. Water might be used for radiant floor systems but those are rather rare. We don't have boilers or oil or coal systems. All natural gas, propane, or electric.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ArkTinkerer
OK, I'm clueless--what did the unmodified pump come out of?

There were 2 clues -

Quote:

Nb - most c/h pumps have 3 speeds

Quote:

Grabbed an old heating pump

It's a standard central heating circulation pump.
__________________
John

[integerspin]

I have to admit, I never gave the ceramic bearings any thought.
I beat the ceramic spindle out of the armature, I replaced it with a steel spindle about 12" long and fitted 3 ballraces. Okay a bush would have been best at the bottom, but I had the 3 bearings and the only bronze I had is spoken for. Anyway it runs all day without any problem, and is a vast improvement on the Holley fuel pumps I usually use, no more paddling around in coolant;-)

I know pretty much nothing about central heating, this lived on the wall at the side of the boiler and I guess it pumped the hot water around the house. It should have 3 speeds and the slowest[1400rpm] is something like 60W.

[tsmartin_98]

Large Bore Lathe Pt. 2

Carrying on in the large bore theme I started last year with my chuck extension. This one came about because of a job at work. We have machines that have bars made of 1 1/2" SCH 40 stainless steel pipe with hubs welded in the ends. These bars are about 6' long and the ends are bored for a 5/8" bronze bushing. The holes are blind so there is no way to get a worn bushing out except to chisel it out. Don't even think about using a hand held drill to try and drill it out. Talk about a wrist buster and damaged bore.

Our lathe only has a 1 5/8" bore. I contemplated figuring out how I could mount these bars on the carriage to bore the worn bushings out but with 9 of these bars to do and the setup time each end would require I didn't have the time so we send them out to the OEM for repair.

This did plant the seed in my mind however and after running several scenarios over I came up with what you see. I used the 8" self centering 4 jaw chuck I used on last years project. It has a 2 1/2" bore. I then bought an 8" angle plate and mounted it to the lathe carriage in such a manner that it is locked down solid. The steady rest was already modified for roller bearings so it was a simple matter of machining a new anti rotation groove at 90 degrees to the existing ones so the bearings would run laterally.

Considering that I used off the shelf Chinese parts it turned out very well. I only have about .002 " runout and an equal amount of off center laterally over an appox 2" depth.

The test piece is 2" SCH 40 pipe about 6' long. I know the pic looking down the bore looks quite a bit off center but it really isn't. The camera flash makes it look that way.

[tsmartin_98]

Large Bore Lathe 2

More pics.

[daveo]

Quick and dirty drill center/punch

I made this from a broken end mill. I ground a VERY sharp point on it. So it is capable of punching mild steel. I just chuck it up, put it where it needs to go and stab it into the part. Chuck your drill up and your centered and the bit will not wonder off.....

This is a set of soft jaws I made, not much has to be exact.

This isnt as elaborate as most of your tools, but handy!

[Chris S.]

[QUOTE=jugs]

Plasma cutter on a straight edge

Sorry for sounding like an idiot but I've never used or even seen one until now. Until now I've envisioned something like a large XRAY-esc machine.

Thanks and nice work!
Chris

[Chris S.]

Move over McGuiver there's a new guy in town

Carrying on in the large bore theme I started last year with my chuck extension.

I remember your extended chuck from last year very well. It was a work around marvel and so is this. You are certainly an expedient machinist and I really enjoy your stuff!

Merry Christmas.
Chris