What did you do today?

[Dan Dubeau]

The Eureka tool is ready.
The ratchets were hardened with nitrogen hardening powder surfaces.

Looks great Bruno. Back when I first read Ivan Laws book I wanted to make a Eureka tool as well, but have never got around to it. I did get as far as modeling it in cad, and making a few changes (fasteners, stock size etc), but it's been a least a decade since I've touched it.

[RB211]

My phone is 6 years old, and needs a (3rd) battery, so I am considering an upgrade.

This is my first new laptop/computer in 10 years, although I do now have a total of 4 laptops, three of which I can see (one is in the shop). The older MBP will replace my wife's 11 year-old MBA (bought used on eBay, and will be donated or passed to grandson) and I'll probably swap the newer MBA (also used on eBay) in the shop for my 1st MBA in the office (bought new 12+ years ago) so I have access to the PDF editing software that won't run on the M1 MBA.

I didn't used to retire old computers: at one point in the late '90's I had a Mac Portable (weighed around 12 lbs. and had a lead-acid battery), 2 PowerBooks, PowerBook G3, several Mac II's (different models/vintages, all but one off eBay at excellent prices) and a PowerMac G5, plus a PC laptop. Got rid of all of the old Mac's when I got the first MacBook Air, and donated a series of PC laptops as I upgraded them (thanks, Microsoft!), finally giving the last one to my daughter when I retired and didn't need to be 100% Microsoft compatible (I'm happy with being 95%).

I still have a 2013 MacBook Pro. It'll be my last one. Apple is an asshole company that charges way too much for simple upgrades and makes it difficult or impossible to upgrade yourself. Mine has a 256GB SSD, and 8 GB RAM, and was pushing 3,000$ WITHOUT the Nvidia GPU.

My current laptop has 1.5 TB, a 2070 Super Nvidia GPU, and 32GB RAM for 2,000$ from last year. The Equivalent Apple product would be over 5,000 I'm sure.

[eKretz]

Installing my DRO on the lathe finally. Got the cross slide done, working on the longitudinal scale next.

[Cleve C. Dixon]

My phone is 6 years old, and needs a (3rd) battery, so I am considering an upgrade.

This is my first new laptop/computer in 10 years, although I do now have a total of 4 laptops, three of which I can see (one is in the shop). The older MBP will replace my wife's 11 year-old MBA (bought used on eBay, and will be donated or passed to grandson) and I'll probably swap the newer MBA (also used on eBay) in the shop for my 1st MBA in the office (bought new 12+ years ago) so I have access to the PDF editing software that won't run on the M1 MBA.

I didn't used to retire old computers: at one point in the late '90's I had a Mac Portable (weighed around 12 lbs. and had a lead-acid battery), 2 PowerBooks, PowerBook G3, several Mac II's (different models/vintages, all but one off eBay at excellent prices) and a PowerMac G5, plus a PC laptop. Got rid of all of the old Mac's when I got the first MacBook Air, and donated a series of PC laptops as I upgraded them (thanks, Microsoft!), finally giving the last one to my daughter when I retired and didn't need to be 100% Microsoft compatible (I'm happy with being 95%).

That makes me feel better🙂 I really shouldn't be so down on my laptop. It's a Toshiba running Windows10 and the only real problem we've ever had with it (aside from being a tad slow nowadays) is that the battery life is about 10 seconds. We keep it plugged in at the kitchen table all the time so even that's not that much of a burden.

[wierdscience]

I needed a 1.500" x 14" spade drill holder for a job at work. None to be had on the shelf anywhere with a reasonable lead time. So I got a section of 1-1/2" 4140-B7 round bar and made my own. First operation was to mill .0625" deep flats on four sides(this will be used in the lathe tool post and not the tailstock). Then I turned the end to match the drill insert angle, followed by a .3125 wide x .0625 deep slot to hold the insert. Next came a 1/4" dowel pin in the center for location and finally relieving the cutting faces and tapping two M5 holes for the retention screws. I used a 3" x .125" slotting saw to cut the groove in three passes. It ended up within .0001" of center and a snug fit.

The insert is a 2-3/8" Tin coated HSS insert, first job will be through drilling some pieces of 16" long 6" OD MDS filled Nylon.

[J Tiers]

Is that insert OK with the unsupported OD? In nylon I expect it is, just wondering how far you can push it.

[wierdscience]

Is that insert OK with the unsupported OD? In nylon I expect it is, just wondering how far you can push it.

Should work, the factory holder is 1-3/4" , but the insert range is from 1.850 to 2.570 on the same holder.

[CLARKMAG]

I gilded a turd, as Don Foreman coined it. I found a pretty-rusted honest-to-God Coes Monkey wrench at the dump. The rust was easily & quickly removed in muriatic acid, but the wooded grips were busted. I used a piece of cherry that's been hanging around 60 years or so. The fit-up leaves something to be desired, but it is after all, a turd.

I was sent the family wrench. I bent it straight and made a handle.
Our ancestor who wrecked it, died in 1965. He was 82 and build a barn that year.

[BCRider]

Sweet jobs on the drill arbor and wrenches both.

[Tundra Twin Track]

Two more fixture plates:


The one on the left is 3" x 4" with 1/4-20 holes and was cut from a 4" x 16" plate I got on eBay (same plate as the 4" x 4" plate for the lathe). This one is 3" wide so it fits in my 3" milling vise without changing the jaw setup. The one on the right is 4" x 5" with 10-32 holes & T-Slots, cut from a 7" x 13" Sherline plate (which also "donated" 7" x 8" & 2-1/4" x 5" fixtures plates). All I did to the smaller plate was square & cleanup the saw-cut edges; on the larger plate, I also created rabbets so that I could clamp it in the 3" vise:


Yes, the rabbets aren't equal, but I didn't want to get too close to the T-Slot:


If look closely, you'll see that I relieved the rabbeted corners with a 3/8" x 60° cutter. And yes, I got a little carried away on my deburring wheel.

Nice Work on fixture plates,I got some Hold Downs in Auction Stuff works great for small items Aluminum Scrap for through drilling.

[Dan Dubeau]

Thanks for posting that again tundra. I'm designing a small little fixture plate right now, and your little hold downs look like a pretty good lunch project over the next week or so. CNC lathe to cut the lh/rh screw, and I already have some Lh taps for the hold down.

[Tundra Twin Track]

Thanks for posting that again tundra. I'm designing a small little fixture plate right now, and your little hold downs look like a pretty good lunch project over the next week or so. CNC lathe to cut the lh/rh screw, and I already have some Lh taps for the hold down.

You will have to show finished holdowns!

[ChazzC]

Tundra Twin Track

Just to be clear, Sherline and the guy on eBay did the hard work – all I did was saw to size, square up on the mill and added the rabbets on the larger one. Oh, I added the spark of invention.


Thanks,


Charlie

[Dan Dubeau]

You will have to show finished holdowns!

Don't hold your breath lol. I'd have to finish the rotary broach project that's been sitting on my desk for about 8 years first lol

[Cenedd]

I've been pushing about one of those hand-held mills for dead tree carcass. There's a definite absence of handwheels and what can only be called approximations of accuracy. Good job this is the underside of the piece! Getting to grips with it but had to stop as I'm not literally sandwiched between two video conferences: my wife in the dining room, my son in the office (remote teaching) and me making a hideous noise in the garden between them

Also been trying to tidy up the workshop; move stuff about to less awkward places, chuck stuff out, store stuff better. Turns out there's a FLOOR in my workshop! The floor is about the only clear (well, it was) space to put things down so it becomes my work space. The routing is to make a pull-out worktop so that I can pull out some extra space between the lathe and the mill and put things down while I'm working without then tripping over them. Or at least that's the plan!

Also kissed goodbye to some of your #6-32 threads by running an M4 roll tap through them. Just wasn't prepared to pay £20 to ship a handful of UNC #6-32 x 1-3/8" screws over the pond!