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  1. M

    OT Good cheap tool review

    Working on a repair job from hell yesterday and needed an 18mm line wrench type crowfoot socket to remove a fitting. Searched all the usual suspect websites, HF, O'reilly, Advance, AutoZone, NAPA, and Sears. Either nothing available or can be ordered and delivered in 2-3 days. Figured I'd go...
  2. M

    OT One more reason why Wal Mart SUCKS

    I've got a boat with an outboard motor that I haven't used or even started in a few years. Thought it would be safer to use a portable gas tank and new fuel line / primer bulb to start it rather than taking a chance on the built in tank which likely needs to be cleaned out before use. So I've...
  3. M

    Add variable intensity to existing chuck control

    My 12 x 48 Gallmeyer grinder's chuck control was updated in the 90's with a new Electromatic unit. It only has on-residual-off positions on the control panel. I haven't actually checked any numbers, but the control looks near identical to the one on my Blanchard which was also installed in the...
  4. M

    O/T LED Floodlights

    I've got several outdoor floodlights around the house and one of the bulbs croaked a few days ago. Stopped in Home Depot today for something else and figured I'd pick up a replacement bulb. The old 150 watt incandescents are long gone. Had tried one of the CFL floods a couple years ago and...
  5. M

    Coating to prevent fretting corrosion

    Working with a customer to develop a sleeve that adapts a spindle/hub assembly for the use of larger diameter tapered roller bearings. The larger bearings are just a means to an end, and the actual purpose is proprietary to the customer at this time. Sleeve is made from pre-HT 4140 and...
  6. M

    OT Electric trailer brake operation

    My trailer pulling experience is about 80% with air brakes and the remainder with small trailers and no brakes, so I'm about halfway in the dark on the electric brakes on my RV trailer. I've got a Tekonsha brake controller, hooked up and adjusted per the directions. Works great going forward...
  7. M

    OT Wood glue recommendation

    My house has some T1-11 siding in a couple areas. Being close to 40 yrs old, the surface ply has delaminated in a few places. I experimented last summer with using contact cement as used for gluing laminate to wood. Coated both surfaces, let it dry, and used a roller to mash the two together...
  8. M

    Would a HBM work for making this part?

    I've made a few prototype pieces of the pictured part for a customer. Did them in a cnc mill using a fairly coarse stepover distance on the final pass with an inserted ballnose cutter, and then smoothed out the ridges with a flap disc on a handheld grinder. Meets the customer's requirements...
  9. M

    Health insurance discussion continued

    Re-opening the previously closed discussion on healthcare costs and health insurance for anyone who cares continue the topic. IMO, this is the biggest challenge facing both individuals and businesses in the US today. Even large corporations who self insure, and therefore avoid a large portion...
  10. M

    OT Farm tractor question

    A company started an organic vegetable farming operation here a couple years ago. They store and maintain their equipment at a former trucking company garage/yard about a mile from my house. I've noticed all their tractors have really tall but narrow single tires that are the same size on all...
  11. M

    Price range of profitable parts as a multiple of material costs in your shop

    Curious to know, on production parts of average complexity and made from common steel or aluminum alloys on 2 axis lathes and/or 3 axis mills, where you find the selling price ends up as compared to the cost of the material. Obviously, no one who plans to stay in business very long is quoting...
  12. M

    OT: Educate me on weight distributing hitches

    I ran across a good deal on a used 30 ft tag along travel trailer and bought it mostly because my wife wanted one. According to the mfgr's data, the trailer weighs 5700#. I plan to pull it with a F-350 crew cab dually. Reading online, I get a lot of sales pitch for WD hitches, but not much of...
  13. M

    Why don't 1" fine thread fasteners follow UNF standards?

    Made a part yesterday that had an integral 1" stud for mounting it to another piece of a machine. Didn't have a 1" fine nut laying around, so I looked in Machinery Handbook, got the numbers, cut a 1"-12, checked it with wires, and finished the remainder of the part. Had to run an errand, and...
  14. M

    OT Moss and other junk growing on roof

    About 10 ft of the roof at one end of my house is shaded by oak and hickory trees. Roof is just architectural shingles... nothing fancy. I've got some moss growing on it in a few places, and a fairly widespread growth of some sort of gray-ish colored flat growing something-or-other that grows...
  15. M

    Drilling 4140 at Rc 54 hardness

    The title about covers it. Hole is slightly over 1" dia, not close tolerance, but it goes thru 4" of this material. Anyone have any experience with an inserted drill that'll handle that sort of hardness? Horizontal with 1000 psi TSC available. All suggestions appreciated, but annealling the...
  16. M

    Vertical bandsaw question

    I've had a 36" DoAll Zephyr bandsaw that's in good working condition, for a long time. The Zephyrs are primarily for friction sawing, and I'd imagine the popularity of laser and plasma cutters, plus the dangers inherent in friction sawing, has made that mode of cutting pretty much obsolete...
  17. M

    Turning long bar stock

    Hoping to get a few ideas and suggestions thrown out on this work. Material is 1.125 CF hex stock, 1045 steel. Overall length about 42". Need to turn about 28" of this to 1.090" for subsequent thread rolling. 800 to 1000 pcs per week. Job is currently being run on a pair of Landis hollow...
  18. M

    Anyone got a Kalamazoo H-9 or AH-9 bandsaw?

    If so, I need someone to open the blade cover and tell me if the flange on the edge of both bandwheels is the same width. I've chased a problem for ages with mine breaking blades. Wheels were way out of line when I bought it, so I realigned the idler with the drive wheel by putting a...
  19. M

    Problem with live tooled lathe and 18T control

    A friend just called to see if I had any ideas. They were running a part that's been running a while, problem free. Drilling a 1/4" hole in mild steel when the machine e-stopped. It shows an axis overload. Live tool holder spins normally by hand. Powered the control down then tried to clear...
  20. M

    Pie jaws and chatter?

    I made a prototype part last week that started as a 6" long piece of 6" dia 1045 round. It got a 4"-8UN thread 3 1/2" deep, blind and with a thread relief at the bottom and a snap ring groove at the top. Had a hell of a problem with chatter in both the threading and the grooving ops. I'd...
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