What did you do today?

[J Tiers]

Found the problem in my friend's junky little "ETQ" 1200W generator. Had about half voltage, and it turns out that the 14uF capacitor was reading about 7uF... so it "sorta" worked. Didn't have one in stock, so could not test it, but most likely that is the issue. It usually is.

[PStechPaul]

A couple days ago I disassembled the pickup truck crane that was mounted on a cart in the back of the house, under a pile of wet leaves and debris:


The bottle jack was badly rusted, but I sprayed it with PB Blaster and eventually got the mechanism freed up so the jack actually operates. But it seems the weld at the base has rusted through and it leaks hydraulic fluid:


I was unable to take it apart any further, but I think it's a lost cause anyway. A new 4 ton jack from HF is only $18.


I have another bottle jack that I found on a parking lot about 40 years ago. It's badly rusted, but I freed it up and it seems to work OK. Probably about 6-8 ton capacity. It might be worth cleaning up and painting:

[Tungsten dipper]

Lets see some after pics!

[CCWKen]

There's no welds at the bottom of those jacks but there is a seal or O-ring. The outer part is just a "can" to hold fluid. The actual hydraulic cylinder is inside the can. The large nut at the top holds the can on the jack. Those nuts are tough to get loose without some Abom79-leverage.

[Dave C]

Finally brought the beast home yesterday afternoon. My neighbor went with for moral support but as it turned out, I couldn't have done without his help. We left here at 1:15 PM for the 22 mile trip North which involved 7 miles of major construction on Hwy 49. We arrived at 2:30 PM. The PO picked the mill up with a forklift, and set it sideways on the end of the trailer. From there it was turned, and dragged to the center using come-a-longs, then secured 4 ways for the trip back home. By then it was 4:30 PM. Rush hour traffic all the way, got us home a little after 6 PM worn out and done. Now, to figure out how to get it off the trailer. I may have to reduce it to manageable pieces. Today it's raining, and the weather guy says it's going to last several days. Looks like it will be sitting covered up until dry weather returns.

[3 Phase Lightbulb]

Finally brought the beast home yesterday afternoon. My neighbor went with for moral support but as it turned out, I couldn't have done without his help. We left here at 1:15 PM for the 22 mile trip North which involved 7 miles of major construction on Hwy 49. We arrived at 2:30 PM. The PO picked the mill up with a forklift, and set it sideways on the end of the trailer. From there it was turned, and dragged to the center using come-a-longs, then secured 4 ways for the trip back home. By then it was 4:30 PM. Rush hour traffic all the way, got us home a little after 6 PM worn out and done. Now, to figure out how to get it off the trailer. I may have to reduce it to manageable pieces. Today it's raining, and the weather guy says it's going to last several days. Looks like it will be sitting covered up until dry weather returns.

Nice! If you stand back, the job starts to look really easy

[3 Phase Lightbulb]

Lunchtime.... Ohhhh yea.....

[Dave C]

Come on over and give me your hand

[Cenedd]

Got the weird size handle for my lathe carriage lock the other day. Took the opportunity to install it (in place of the inconvenient SHCS) while my mum was talking at me on the phone. Found it was fouled by the gib screws of the cross slide....and then the locking plate dropped into the apron Took the carriage off the top, leaving the apron in place - no idea how to get that free of the lead screw if I'm honest. Fairly simple to improve but I need the mill to make up some parts. Trouble is, there's stuff still loaded on a rotab on the mill. Tried to make some progress with that, screwed it up and moved the part. DTI out, nudging it with a hammer, swearing and I'm about back to where I started with that. Took it as a sign that it was beer o'clock!

[mattthemuppet]

quite often success is dictated by knowing when to stop doing something

I caved at 9.30 last night and had a rum and coke instead. Much more pleasurable than screwing something up!

[Cenedd]

quite often success is dictated by knowing when to stop doing something

Very true. Sometimes it's knowing when not to start in the first place..... although that usually requires swearing and hindsight! A rare day off tomorrow so the insanity-device is going to be diverted to voicemail and beers are going to be drunk in a variety of places Obviously, the motor for the belt grinder (that I'm now in less of a position to get on with) is going to turn up while I'm out Never mind, the "carbohydrate foam" can prop up the apron almost indefinitely

[vpt]

BEC's (bacon egg and cheese) on the flat top!

[3 Phase Lightbulb]

Dinner Time.... New England Roast Beef w/BBQ sauce and cheese... Ohhhhh yea...

[Tim The Grim]

Back in post 3080 I showed the raw clamps that I made to mount LED lights on my Sportster engine guards. Today I finally got to mount and wire them up.
I hate wobbly lighting. These things are rock solid on the bar.
They’re too bright to take a decent pic while they’re on. They only work off low beam and have an independent handlebar switch.

[PStechPaul]

I decided to clean up and paint the ugly 8 ton bottle jack I showed before. I had to chisel off the head of one clevis pin so I could get it loose and drive it out. The others are salvageable. I used a wire brush to clean up the rust and flaked paint, then used a foaming degreaser, and finally a coat of primer followed by red paint. The flash made it look sort of magenta, but its really just basic Walmart red:



I put the linkage back together so I could see how it works. Seems OK - here's a short video:

http://enginuitysystems.com/pix/tools/Bottle_Jack_5140.AVI

I also took the badly rusted rim off one of the tires, and removed the inner tube:


The tires are pretty rotten, but the inner tube is still good:


Finally, I got a 4-1/2" x 1/4" grinding wheel, which I will try to dress to cut a V-shaped groove to sharpen or make Phillips tools. I don't know if a diamond grinding wheel dressing tool will work, and it might not be smooth enough to do a good job, but it's worth a try. If it seems OK I might make a tool.