Is There A Machine Making/Cobbling Forum Anywhere?

dhbarr said:

Assuming a well ventilated space, long heavy gloves, appropriate eye protection, etc....

You literally need some aluminum wire, a couple of buckets, some battery acid, some lead ( I use old fishing weights ), and some lye crystals.

Bucket 1: supersaturated room temperature lye solution
Bucket 2: water
Bucket 3: battery acid. Lead cathode goes on one side, part-that-is-also-the-anode goes in the middle
Bucket 4: water

Gunk gets cleaned in 1. If you leave the part in it will also remove an old anodized layer.

In 2 we just dip & rinse the lye off.

There's a bunch of math you can do for 3 if you want milspec Hard III anodize, but for basic protection and/or coloring just hook the ends up correctly and crank up your charger for 10-15 mins ( or longer, if you choose ).

4 is another rinse.

You can choose to dump it in a room-temp pot of dye and boil it for 10-15 mins.

That's it. El cheapo anodizo, presto!

( if you need 10thou tolerances, do the math or farm it out )

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That's pretty simple right there, but I won't have the space to start playing around with that until next spring most likely.
The gentleman that I got the three motors that I talked about in this thread has decided to move locally, rather than to South Carolina, and asked if he can temporarily store his lawn Tractor and a refrigerator in one of my sheds, and he brought some lumber to fix up the sheds with, and he has designed a house for someone once, so we're going to be friends and I can learn a whole bunch of things I'm desperately going to need to know for fixing my house next spring. I pretty happy about this. He and his wife do not have kids, so he can actually hang out sometimes and do tool stuff with and learn how to build stuff.
He got here yesterday right around the time I got home from the VA, so he helped me get the new tool in the house. It was strange to have a second set oh hands to help me with anything, since my Kid seems to think he lives at Nana's now.:eyeroll:
Anyhow I'm psyched about making a new friend who is intelligent and can help me occasionally when trying to acquire a new tool. The second set of eyes to actively look for stuff I would like to see is going to be a great asset.
Today, I found this at a "Hock Shop". I almost missed it, as it was tucked away all by itself directly opposite all of the crap tools. Thank goodness! I turned my back to the wall in disgust, at what modern Human society deems "Tools". I hung my head low, and there, not two feet in front of me, appeared this little Diamond in the rough:




It had a little flap wheel sandpaper drum chucked in it, which was so not right, indicating it had likely been inherited or maybe purchased at an Estate sale by someone who thought, "Hey, great, a Drill Press! I need one of those, and since I live in an urban apartment, It is great that it is so small!"
Then, the Urban living made them a addict to something and they hocked the thing that even the person who sold it to them did'nt understand it's true value or what it could do, were the proper hands laid upon it.
There was also a properly fitted wood disc mounted to the table with some form of a rubbery silicone, though I would not know this until the next stop, where I got out and took the time to inspect and analyze my recent find. I had to take my Mom shopping today, so it was nice to have a machine to work on while she got lost in the grocery store for two hours. i walked my Dog, but then it started to rain again, so I ran inside and grabbed a cheapo $4.99 adjustable wrench, and took the motor off and wrapped it in a jacket to keep it safe, then set it on the floor behind my seat, and then did likewise with the machine itself. This way, some of my Mom's groceries, unbeknownst to her, could be cleverly packed in around the two, that in the event of an accident, the machine did not damage itself or any occupants. I gave her quite a bit of money for putting up with my bratty teenager, so there would be plenty of meat to pack the item securely as I could with what I had. I did not expect to get another tool today, so I was slightly unprepared to do the transport properly, and for this I gain an experience point and an extra adjustable wrench.
Anyhow, I think I want to go inspect my new Tool now, and then try to find out who made it, starting by seing what might be in between the base of the machine and itself.

The Pulleys alone are worth every bit of the $25 I paid for it.


It's funny how it's paint is perhaps from a different time or environment, yet the same tint as the tool I bought yesterday.
Somehow, it's like the machines have added some sort of element of life to my life.
Interesting that it should take Machines to make me become human again.
There is magic in life again!

And the feed lever for the quill was set up wrong when I saw it too, forgot to mention that or even change it til' just now.
I wondered about the bolt coming out of the side of the spindle, and why it had two handles at an 180 angle, and realized that like other drills of it's type, the part is supposed to be set up as a single lever, as depth of bore will never be an issue.
A set screw will work better than this big bolt to retain the lever, but we'll get to that when we get that far.

The pillar the table sits on has a hole in the slab of steel beneath it to allow it to telescope out the other side, as it is obvious that the entirety of it gets mounted to a stand. The base has a locking lever to set the height of the table.

I guess it is time to go try to figure out who made it now.

TopRamen said:

I guess it is time to go try to figure out who made it now.

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Wow! I thought researching certain real rockets was hard!
Nobody on the tool forums I'm on has seen this press. Removing it from the cast iron base only confirmed my suspicion that the base of the casting had at one time been damaged. I will now need to cut and re-weld the frame properly, then grind it down, texture it and re-paint. Thank goodness I'm still occupied with the bandsaw and then the jointer, as I have not even found any welding equipment yet, let alone had any practice in years. It's on my radar, and I know I need it as a skill set, but it is a big investment, and also one of those things where you really will learn best with an actual instructor and not Youtube videos. So much safety requirement!
Sure, I could do the repair other ways, but this Item belongs in MY Museum, and though I will use these tools, when I can learn so much from them, I am going to do everything the same ways the museum folks do when they can. It's not King Tut's beard, but it is thankfully solid Iron, so with modern measuring tools and techniques, and someone who knows how to do precision welding, it can be made good as new.
I'm going to need to bring in a friend on this one for some of the work, as he is a professional Welder. The bad part about that is that he goes everywhere out of state to leave his mark, so is rarely home. He's skilled in machining and all that too, so he can put this true for me, and I'll hopefully learn from him how to do it myself next time.
I'm likely to come across a lot of these things in my collecting of vintage Tools.
A good thing about the damage, it also means the paint is definitely not original, so getting that out of the way can commence. After that I can degrease and disassemble quite easily. If I have to worry about lead paint removal, I hesitate to do it until I have somewhere to leave the contaminated chemicals and related debris, plus there are the general handling of item considerations, and it's a real concern for me since I plan to have very many of these items living right here in my living room. 10 minutes of running my bandsaw when I finally got it right cost me an entire day of clean-up, using a leaf blower, a shop-vac and a regular vacuuming. Then, it had to be repeated, as some of the dust decided the current was not good enough to go out the door.
Lesson learned, I need an outbuilding with a dust collector. So much of my tinkering is hindered by the fact that I have no place safe enough to conduct the things I need to conduct.
I'de better build myself a respectable shop before I buy any more tools, and that's a tough pill to swallow, but I usually get things figured out.

Uh oh! This found me today:



I'm wholly unfamiliar with the brand, oh, wait a minute! ATLAS Power King, not just Power King. Duh! and the picture of it online had the non-marked side, so I thought it might be a late 30's early 40's Delta judging by the style of the cast base. It was 5 minutes up the road from me, so for $30 and the opportunity to meet new people that might have more vintage stuff right up the road, it was an opportunity worth going slightly over budget for.
They were nice folks, and they are taking on the belongings of an ailing family member, so there will be more vintage tools to look at. They are even interested enough in my love of old tools that they would like a picture E-mailed when I get this one cleaned up. It seems to be in perfect working order, so I think that I will prioritize it, seeing as how there are only a couple days worth of work there. Perhaps they want that pic' to show the person who is in a bad way, so maybe it will make them happy to see it cleaned up. The tool only needs the rust removed and then paint.

TopRamen said:

I'de love be be in a place like this: [video=youtube;z59Kp8SbbfM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z59Kp8SbbfM[/video]

Northfield Woodworking Machinery.

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if I had the space and cash my shop would be stocked with northfield machinery. they even use old school machinery to make old school machinery!THAT is the way machinery is made to last 100 years- just like that jointer ya picked up.
ya know, in woodworking forums, when someone gets a great deal on a piece of machinery they usually get a good hearted "you suck." meaning good on ya for the great deal!
you suck. LOLOLOL

tomsteve said:

if I had the space and cash my shop would be stocked with northfield machinery. they even use old school machinery to make old school machinery!THAT is the way machinery is made to last 100 years- just like that jointer ya picked up.
ya know, in woodworking forums, when someone gets a great deal on a piece of machinery they usually get a good hearted "you suck." meaning good on ya for the great deal!
you suck. LOLOLOL

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I know right!

If I ever win the megabucks I'll be placing my order with Northfield without hesitation.

their #4 standard table saw-1680 lbs!!

heres a pretty wicked shop build on another forum:
https://forums.woodnet.net/showthread.php?tid=6805621

ive been following along and just drool

tomsteve said:

their #4 standard table saw-1680 lbs!!

heres a pretty wicked shop build on another forum:
https://forums.woodnet.net/showthread.php?tid=6805621

ive been following along and just drool

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I was not going to read the whole 34 pages of build thread, but what i saw on the last three....
Is it wrong to pray for selfish stuff like winning the lottery? Of course it is, but oh man, oh man! What is wrong with lusting for a space to WORK!!!
I'm very thankful ffor the little I have, but if only I had the means and resources, I could be of benefit to so many other folks.

I'm working on it. I WILL get there someday through my own ingenuity and things I learn.
I'm really learning these machines and they are what will get me where I need to be. I just have to be patient and do them up right, then they will be doing most of the work, with me at the controls.
Today I moved two Spruce tree saplings from the back yard where they were encroaching to the edge of the front yard where they make a nice fence. It was not much work save for the fact that about 6 inces down on the second hole I discovered a buried tire, so i was broken after doing the second tree.
I never even considered re-planting the saplings until I met my new friend, but he had done this at his house to keep the road dust from blowing onto his property, and told me how to do it, so I have this resource I did not recognize, and only needed to be told how to do the work.
A few more tips like that and I'll have a way to perhaps grow a workshop or three.
I imagine Polyurethane foam likes to stick to trees or bamboo as well as it sticks to everything but Teflon.
I have 13.5 acres of forest, and lots of spruce saplings, hundreds at the very least. They take 5 minutes at the most per tree to dig up and dig a new hole for. They are a weed, so I would not be hurting the population if I make a stand of them that is say 100ft. by by 80ft, then wait 4-5 years, and then artfully trim the branches, then spray the big square with one of the $1200 foam kits that gets delivered pre-heated and all that.
I'de have some incredibly solid and sound proof walls, and I could then just screen the roof, and spray foam that too. Supports for the roof could then be added on the inside in the form of steel lally columns and fiberglass leaf springs, as they are always free on craiglist.

I so need a giant warehouse style workshop.

That table saw was a nice interlude to my WT BN730, but it was a quick job, and I should finish tomorrow save for finding the missing parts and having decals made.
I added it to the Vintage Machinery Photo Index, as there were only 3 others there. The saw was great, but as a 1941 model, few were made and few survived. There were better things to be built from Arn then, and thank goodness, but just think of all the old timey stuff that got melted down for the War effort!

You can all thank forum member adrienwapkaplet for my addiction to old machines.
When I have enough of them, I can not only mass-produce rockets, but can make other machines from scratch.
I've only just begun to research how to build a Foundry for making castings, and have even written a song about the Wheel, which makes all machining possible. I'm not too great at Music, but I can do voices so I used to kill it at Karaoke, and I have rhythm, so this song I wrote about the quest for the Wheel and Steel will likely be something I share with the world someday. I share it with my dog while she rides around with me on my questings.
My friend Chris is going to help me with building an A-Frame house, so I can just leave my current house as my Machine Shop.
Someone must be smiling upon me, and all those flies and little things I captured and let outside rather than swat, for Karma's sake, must be working in my favor finally. OMG that is so much work!

lookin good!

TopRamen said:

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You can all thank forum member adrienwapkaplet for my addiction to old machines.
!

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HEY! You're welcome! Got a couple more motors (electric... not rocket) and stuff set aside for you Top!

adrienwapkaplet said:

HEY! You're welcome! Got a couple more motors (electric... not rocket) and stuff set aside for you Top!

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I anxiously await the chance to hang out with you, and you know I covet the stuff!
You've been the best by giving me the WT saw, and getting me into the old tools, so I will wait patiently for your convenience, as I know that you are so terribly busy with everything that you don't even have time for rockets right now, just like me.
I find life so much more rewarding ever since getting the chance to meet you and the saw.
I do hope we can eventually get around to flying some rockets!
I'm not just saying that, as I've got all these motors, and yeah I know they keep just fine, but maybe we should find a half hour or so some day to meet at the park and fly some throw away rockets.
i'll bet we'd both like to see what a D21 does in a 18mm Star Trooper. I got the Rocket motors, actually quite a few, and if I can share them I'm more than happy to! Hope to see you soon, and that all is well with you and your Family.

It's kinda' funny how a certain Tool sometimes makes you need other specific Tools.
The Jointer and Tablesaw were on my radar, but then the auxiliary table for the Band Saw actually requires both of them to be made, so now that I can do a plane on the Jointer, since it is a small auxiliary table, and a dado for the miter gauge rail can be grooved into the piece.
When it is complete, and has been measured precisely to ensure accuracy, it will be super saturated with epoxy, and a layer of fiberglass cloth with be applied to both sides of the piece, then peel-ply, and I will set it between two tombstones of granite which are flatter than I can measure with my tools, and they each weigh around 100 pounds or slightly more.

It's not as boring as it looks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA_NzkScAvw&feature=youtu.be

I forgot to share the completed saw here:




I also now can fathom smaller stuff like the 1957 vintage B&D Jigsaw I re-furbed last night.
Eat a $%^& Spell Check! I can fix and maintain the things that let you exist!

Spellcheck says no.

The Bandsaw got to see some use today. I had to clean up a knife I made for a friend a long time ago, and I had never made a sheath for it, so I set up and cut thermoset plastic, and the saw performed flawlessly as usual.
She still needs the cosmetics worked over, but she will do her job in a fashion to make modern saws weep, and is awesome in every way.

I did find out the maker of my "Gumby Press":

https://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/270/7198.pdf

These older Bronze Bearing motors would do just fine as Servos in Rockets.
I'm pretty certain that some Babbitt might be applicable to control axis as well.
Perhaps every bearing surface can be correct?

My new H.B. Smith 36" Bandsaw.




Happy New Year indeed!
To build a house easily by yourself, you first need a bandsaw of a C'thulhian/Lovecraftian aspect in caricature.

Step one complete.

Here's the upper guide bearing and wheels.
I placed the guide bearing next to a Walker Turner DP 110 Keyless chuck for size comparison.

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I got it yesterday, but just figured out how to get pics' to upload here, using the image Icon instead of the "Go Advanced" thing.


Oh, and this one was already restored, just never ran, as the previous owner had other large saws. and you can only run so many apparently, but I'm surprised a busy guy like him had time to look after these things so well in the first place. He is a Doctor, and curiously enough, the same Doctor that delivered my Son nearly 16 years ago, the same time when in his hobby life he was going around the country buying lots of really cool machines and sparing no expense to make them all they can be. A most refined and dedicated gentleman he is, and I am very honored to have this saw.
When I posted it on the old woodworking machines, most folks like it as much as I do, and it is the saw that I will use to make me great again, so wish me luck with her.
I had to construct an addition to the front of the house for it. I can't share pic's now orelse the way I built it would be spoiled, so once the cosmetic parts are done, then I can pass it off as conventional enough to not raise comments about overbuilding.
I'm going to use overbuilt things to do things from now on, as I can't effectively use things like manual handsaws ans hacksaws or screwdrivers for the most part due to arthritis and "tennis elbows", so I need these things to do stuff.
I love to do stuff, but simply don't have the machinery to do it properly, well, that used to be the case.

The next machine in the que for next month, a Gorton Pantograph. I suspect some very fine detail engravings to be made here eventually.
It scales things as it machines them, so you can downscale things, theoretically to infinity. There's a compnay producing CNC controllers for these, and replacement parts can be found. The one that waits for me is three hours away, but I have learned a lot from the local move of the saw that will be incorporated into the next big get, and my Son joined me for this one, and I was so happy about that, and when I apologized to him that it was taking so long to do the thing he said he was fine, and "What a beautiful saw." I hope he joins me for the next get, and maybe for some actual woodworking house building here when spring arrives.
Pantograph, another machine that spellcheck does not recognize.

TopRamen said:

Here's the upper guide bearing and wheels.
I placed the guide bearing next to a Walker Turner DP 110 Keyless chuck for size comparison.

View attachment 308410

View attachment 308411

View attachment 308412

View attachment 308413

I got it yesterday, but just figured out how to get pics' to upload here, using the image Icon instead of the "Go Advanced" thing.

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I think you would really like Hobby-machinist.com.


Steve Shannon

Steve Shannon said:

I think you would really like Hobby-machinist.com.


Steve Shannon

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Yes, I DO like it.
They even have lots of Vintage stuff cataloged, some of it is not even on the VM or OWWM sites, but that's because folks only read about machines they want or have. I read all the links and associated leads I can find. I'm so mentally hungry for knowledge about each of these machines, and how I can make them work for me, so I can put myself back to gainful employment.
All Summer I was having to bend down, get on my knees or twist and turn in inhumane ways, and it kicked my butt!
I came to realize that with one of these large bandsaws, I could make everything to exacting specifications, and build a house like a puzzle.
All I have to do is make a small scale house out of foamboard, then use a hot wire tool to cut away sections from it slowly, perhaps even with a CNC router, as I missed out on a great deal on one on CL.
Anyhow, after you have number and measured the pieces, you can just upscale them and print the templates to bond to whatever real lumber you are working with. I hope to save money on stuff like screws and brackets this way.

that things a beast!! id say overbuilding at least the floor was in order to support it!

tomsteve said:

this might fit the bill

https://www.homemadetools.net/

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+1 They send out lots of email though so be ready.

tomsteve said:

that things a beast!! id say overbuilding at least the floor was in order to support it!

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The floor is going to be of Granite, and near surface plate quality.
I am lucky to live where I do, with many "Factory Seconds" surface plate and Tomb Stones.
It will be the most perfect saw around here for sure.

The Tensioner Assembly will require a ladder and an assistant to remount in a safe and efficient fashion.

With all of this equipment I will learn to do woodworking well enough to build myself an appropriate rocket building workshop.
The big 36" bandsaw will make just about anything, and will let me resaw the stuff I can get for free that is not the right dimensions that need.
I could do a little bit of resaw on the Walker Turner, but not on stuff like 16' 8x8 beams and the like.
I'm hoping the weather gets back to warmer temps soon so I can finish the saw building and turn my attentions to getting it operational.
There was just no way that was going to even fit through the front door of my small house, let alone my flooring would likely not stand a chance of supporting it.