|
Random Number posted:Would y'all be interested in seeing a solar panel deployment and pointing device for cubesats in this thread? It's in the spirit of the thread, but not the letter (there's not much metal). 
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2016 00:40
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 23, 2024 11:54 |
|
|
Neat old video from the 50s about forging aerospace parts. Courtesy of Hackaday
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2016 09:29
|
|
|
Leperflesh posted:They're generally designed to compress by flattening the arch, which is the opposite way you'd probably think of arranging them for a ballista. But generally I bet you could still fabricobble up something suitably lethal and stupid regardless. I made one back in the late 90s. Trigger design is something that's pretty complicated to get right. I used one leaf from a '44 willys jeep, and the widowmaker jack from same. Welding and some 1/8" aircraft cable finished out the job. It fires an arrow an inconceivably long distance (over 300yd). As tight as I could crank it (and still work the trigger), it'd only fling a 30" piece of 3/8 rebar about 25'. A better trigger would certainly help. I assume the thing is still sitting somewhere; I should try to find it and get some pictures.
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2016 13:38
|
|
|
Speaking of catapults, after reading Tracey Rihll's fascinating The Catapult: A History , I found myself scouring the internet for more information; particularity other opinions on the in-swinger/out-swinger debate, and the prevalence of manuballistae in the Roman military. I came across this guy:  Nick Watts, a machinist from Washington, who builds historically accurate ballistae. His work definitely includes enough metalworking to be relevant to the thread. He approaches the endeavor from an experimental archaeological standpoint, and has logged his progress in a (painfully web 1.0, but well written) blog here http://wattsunique.com/blog Incidentally, the pictured machine can shoot a 48" group at 300 yards, and has a maximum range of 800 yards.
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2016 19:23
|
|
|
Random Number posted:Would y'all be interested in seeing a solar panel deployment and pointing device for cubesats in this thread? It's in the spirit of the thread, but not the letter (there's not much metal). There is a catch-all post your projects megathread if you want more coverage.
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2016 23:36
|
|
|
I'd be happy to see it posted here, but put it wherever you like.
|
|
#
?
Mar 27, 2016 02:46
|
|
|
A while back I asked about getting a 2nd hand MIG welder. The seller seems to have gone quiet and it might fall through. In the meantime I've been thinking about my needs. Realistically it's pretty rare for me to do long runs, and if I do it's on thicker stuff I can use the arc welder on. The main project I was going to get the welder for has transitioned from aluminum to 316 stainless - which means I'd need yet another gas for MIG. I'm now wondering - should I get a TIG instead? If pure argon will cover mild steel, stainless & aluminum, it's a big advantage. Something like this is a bit of a stretch for the budget but seems pretty universal. Aside from not being Lincoln is there something horrifically wrong with that welder?
|
|
#
?
Mar 28, 2016 08:00
|
|
|
This weekend I fixed my buddy's mower deck so I can get it off my plate. As you can see, I had to weld in a piece of 1/2" plate to hold the bolt that the roller spins on. The "wing" to the left of that had a bunch of cracks and holes in the corner that I welded shut, using the "STIG" method. (6011 electrode in the the stinger with one hand, and bare TIG wire in the other.) I learned that method back in my days of welding coal cars. The TIG wire helps you keep the puddle cooler so it doesn't burn a hole and deposit more metal faster. Certainly not sanctioned by the AWS but it works on coal cars and farm equipment. The right wing was so bad I had to cut it out, weld in some 1/8" plate, and then weld the lip portion of the wing back in. All the welding was done with 3/32" 6011.  iForge was nice enough to drop off a Weber grill for shop use this past weekend. Gave it a work out tonight.  I was delayed getting to the shop today, so not a whole lot of mill time. I played around with the power feed boxes. The one on the left works in both directions and has speed control. The one on the right only works in one direction and it also has working speed control. By work, I mean the motor turned on and the gear spun. The gear on the bottom on the left one is a bit chewed up. I seem to be missing the covers for both of them. The one the right has a broken toggle switch located on the bottom near the exposed gear, I had to flip it on with a screw. The little push button switches on the tops which you can't see need new rubber boots over them. (I have no idea yet what they do) Both of the power feeds have some type of electromagnet assembly hanging off a cord. As you can see one of them seems intact while the other one has fallen apart and missing a piece. These are the Lagun model 140 speed controls, which I have the manual on. I'll be studying it and the parts diagrams as it looks like I'll be disassembling these. I'm assuming one is for the X and one is for the Y as opposed to both being for the X.  LibertyCat posted:A while back I asked about getting a 2nd hand MIG welder. The seller seems to have gone quiet and it might fall through. There's nothing wrong with having multiple shielding gasses assuming you have the room. Even with TIG, you can run an Argon/Co2 mix when welding steel if you want more penetration. That said if you have Argon and Argon/Co2 mix, you can do pretty much anything you need in a home shop with both TIG or MIG. I have both in my shop. By "arc welder" in your post I'm assuming you already have a stick welder. The TIG is most certainly handy for home shop use, it's versatile and is good at welding small things but does require a lot or practice to be good at it, and is a slow process. (I still have lots or practice ahead of me before I call myself any good at TIG) That said, if you want to do any sheet metal work for cars or other stuff, you will be missing a MIG machine. I tend to prefer stick for structural stuff. The bottom line is eventually, if you are like me, you are going to have all 3 processes available. The question is which order to buy them in? Listing out your potential future projects in the order you might want to do them in would help you to decide.
|
|
#
?
Mar 29, 2016 02:53
|
|
|
AbsentMindedWelder posted:The little push button switches on the tops which you can't see need new rubber boots over them. (I have no idea yet what they do) On our Grizzly mill, the button is a fast travel button. It just sets the feed to full speed without having to reset the dial to whatever you were cutting at when you're done.
|
|
#
?
Mar 29, 2016 03:35
|
|
|
AbsentMindedWelder posted:using the "STIG" method. (6011 electrode in the the stinger with one hand, and bare TIG wire in the other.) I learned that method back in my days of welding coal cars. The TIG wire helps you keep the puddle cooler so it doesn't burn a hole and deposit more metal faster. Certainly not sanctioned by the AWS but it works on coal cars and farm equipment.  One of my friends did something he called "TIGMIG" to make his 120V MIG welder do enough to finish off his jeep project. It involved 3 footlong pieces of MIG wire held parallel and fed in with one hand while MIGing with the other hand. 
|
|
#
?
Mar 29, 2016 15:34
|
|
|
Any tips or tricks for hot n cold-forming titanium? I've got some CP2 0.140" round rod coming in and I'm kind of faintly hoping I'll be able to get away with simpler forming operations- hammering n what i'd call 'gentle swaging'- cold, but I'm really not holding my breath given how tough this 14-gauge CP2 wire I've got is.
Ambrose Burnside fucked around with this message at 03:55 on Mar 30, 2016 |
|
#
?
Mar 29, 2016 16:40
|
|
|
Ambrose Burnside posted:Any tips or tricks for hot n cold-forming titanium? I've got some CP2 0.140" round rod coming in and I'm kind of faintly hoping I'll be able to get away with simpler forming operations- mostly swaging- cold, but I'm really not holding my breath given how tough this 14-gauge CP2 wire I've got is. At least it's not Gr5... 
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2016 00:05
|
|
|
Making a shovel: A Youtube Journey North America: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_xxi2TSdTQ Rating:  Russia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fkYCPjlWOY Rating: India: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrChMGkwFSA Rating:
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2016 04:00
|
|
|
Russia: Here's something you don't generally think about daily that we make a billion of.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2016 06:22
|
|
|
Looking to find a good source of 14 gauge (and other gauges later probably) carbon steel wire for chainmail projects. What are some good internet suppliers I should look at? Also going to check around at some of the local metal distributors when I can get a chance, but there is not generally a great selection of materials in this area.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2016 17:44
|
|
|
Captain Blaargh posted:Looking to find a good source of 14 gauge (and other gauges later probably) carbon steel wire for chainmail projects. What are some good internet suppliers I should look at? Also going to check around at some of the local metal distributors when I can get a chance, but there is not generally a great selection of materials in this area. Have you checked The Ring Lord? From what I understand that's the go-to place for all chainmail needs.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2016 17:48
|
|
|
I have looked at them, but they were out of the appropriate wire when I checked. That and I like to see how many options are out there.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2016 18:12
|
|
|
Search for "Piano" or "Music" wire. That's what industry calls it.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2016 21:21
|
|
|
I am interested in trying my hand at hobby welding. A few little projects such as making my dad a new work bench that doesn't suck and a chiminea out of a propane tank for my patio. Little stuff like that. What would be a good, reasonably priced welder that can handle a reasonably large variety of things (in case I like it and try bigger and crazier stuff)?
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2016 03:56
|
|
|
If you've never welded before, I strongly recommend taking a couple night courses. They're not terribly expensive, they let you work with really expensive machines, and if the school's worth half a poo poo you can work on your own projects as practice/course work. Plus that will let you try a couple different processes so you can find out what you like or what you're good at. Other than that, it really depends on budget. It's hard to beat a good arc welder with a high duty cycle percentage for pure versatility. There are hundreds of discount Chinese factories that sell perfectly acceptable arc machines for 3-600 bucks with a pile of accessories. Dead simple machines with proven technology. If you go mig, get a decent one, cheaping out will just cause you headaches later with lovely wire feed parts and other finicky bullshit. Lincoln has good home units for 700ish Canadian, expect to add a few hundred more for a gas bottle and a cart -despite the tiny size, mig machines need a lot of logistical support while arcs just need an extension cord.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2016 04:10
|
|
|
spent. like. 6 hours today drilling 1" holes through 3.5" cumulative inches of steel plate w a hole saw. still not done. kill me
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2016 04:54
|
|
|
Slung Blade posted:Other than that, it really depends on budget. It's hard to beat a good arc welder with a high duty cycle percentage for pure versatility. There are hundreds of discount Chinese factories that sell perfectly acceptable arc machines for 3-600 bucks with a pile of accessories. Dead simple machines with proven technology. But ew, I'd look for something used and quality make. Hobart, Lincoln, whatever you got over there. DC rectifier of course.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2016 06:09
|
|
|
ductonius posted:Making a shovel: A Youtube Journey That russian factory's stacking game is on point.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2016 08:49
|
|
|
Ambrose Burnside posted:spent. like. 6 hours today drilling 1" holes through 3.5" cumulative inches of steel plate w a hole saw. still not done. kill me Time to get a plasma cutter? Or befriend a waterjet tech.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2016 12:11
|
|
|
Slung Blade posted:If you've never welded before, I strongly recommend taking a couple night courses. They're not terribly expensive, they let you work with really expensive machines, and if the school's worth half a poo poo you can work on your own projects as practice/course work. I have looked at length for a night class or weekend program at local colleges and trade schools but to no avail. They all want to just enroll me in 2-year certification programs. If anyone knows of a place in/around central Jersey or over the border in pa, that would be very helpful. Edit: just found an intro course at the tech school near me. Too bad it's near $800. Crazyeyes fucked around with this message at 14:10 on Apr 1, 2016 |
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2016 13:02
|
|
|
Crazyeyes posted:I have looked at length for a night class or weekend program at local colleges and trade schools but to no avail. They all want to just enroll me in 2-year certification programs. Try art schools too. They usually have welding courses for sculpters. Can you guys write off education costs on your taxes at all?
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2016 15:57
|
|
|
Slung Blade posted:Try art schools too. They usually have welding courses for sculpters. No art schools offering one-off classes either around me. I don't believe I could write off what is effectively hobby classes, but I am honestly unsure.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2016 16:48
|
|
|
ReelBigLizard posted:Time to get a plasma cutter? yeah i strongly regret not at least getting some price quotes from local waterjet guys, but doggone it i can do this for $35 in hole saws and some time* on the mill drill at my internship, why not *did not anticipate "some time" being like two full work days or wahtever
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2016 17:33
|
|
|
Just watched this weeks Forged in Fire, That Burt guy is amazingly efficient, they really had to stretch to amp up the drama for him when he really never had anything to worry about.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2016 18:48
|
|
|
Ambrose Burnside posted:yeah i strongly regret not at least getting some price quotes from local waterjet guys, but doggone it i can do this for $35 in hole saws and some time* on the mill drill at my internship, why not Boring bar with a carbide tip wouldn't work?
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2016 18:51
|
|
|
Slung Blade posted:Boring bar with a carbide tip wouldn't work? It would, but the shop owner doesn't have a boring head for his machine and it's prolly too huge a task for a 1/4" shank mini boring head on my still-unassembled wee Taig mill
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2016 19:28
|
|
|
Ah, fair enough.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2016 21:21
|
|
|
echomadman posted:Just watched this weeks Forged in Fire, That Burt guy is amazingly efficient, they really had to stretch to amp up the drama for him when he really never had anything to worry about. This weeks episode was pretty good all around. Burt's final product was gorgeous; I wish there was a little more time spent on "glamour shots" of the final pieces. I've noticed something about the way they quench. It looks like they don't do any tempering at all, and are holding the knives in the oil for around 8 seconds (there was one episode where this was discussed in detail) Are they trying to harden just the cutting edge and leave enough heat for the rest to be soft? Everything I've read about smithing says that you quench FULLY, then temper, except for very specific situations. Temperchat!
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2016 23:11
|
|
|
Crazyeyes posted:I am interested in trying my hand at hobby welding. A few little projects such as making my dad a new work bench that doesn't suck and a chiminea out of a propane tank for my patio. Little stuff like that. What would be a good, reasonably priced welder that can handle a reasonably large variety of things (in case I like it and try bigger and crazier stuff)? You should have no problems finding something like a Lincoln Idealarc or Miller Dialarc in NJ. Put a wanted ad up on craiglist. In lieu of any school, get yourself 200-300 lbs of electrodes, watch Jody's welding tips and tricks videos, and practice practice practice. If you want some in person pointers, you can visit my shop in Elkton MD some time.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2016 23:21
|
|
|
Almost snatched a Lincoln 225 I found for sale in Philly for $100. Guy sold it 5 minutes before I called 
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2016 23:30
|
|
|
Don't buy a 225... Tapped transformers suck, they are either too cold or too hot. You want something that can "infinitely" vary the welding current.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2016 23:43
|
|
|
Pagan posted:This weeks episode was pretty good all around. Burt's final product was gorgeous; I wish there was a little more time spent on "glamour shots" of the final pieces. They're doing a fairly common quenching + tempering technique. You heat to the appropriate temperature, quench, but pull out of the oil or water while the metal is still retaining a lot of heat. The heat will be highest in the thickest core parts of the metal, since the surfaces cooled faster than the energy takes to propagate through the metal. So what you pull out is cool on the surface but still very hot in the center. The central heat then propagates outwards, and if it's hot enough, it tempers as it goes. Hold the metal out in the air for just the right amount of time, and then back into the quench bucket. Bam, you have a tempered blade! The problem with this technique is that you are adding variables. You can stick your blade into the oil for five seconds (or whatever), but how long exactly did you need, to get just the right core temp? When you pull it out, you can try to look at the surface colors to judge the temper, but A) you haven't had a chance to polish after you had it in the forge, so there may be a thin layer of scale obscuring your vision, B) the carbonized oil from your quench bath is also obscuring the surface, and C) the heat is coming from inside... it may or may not spread in the way you wanted, and it's impossible to tell exactly how hot the center of the metal is, so you just can't know exactly what the ratio of ductility to hardness you've got in the core. The more careful and controlled technique of differential hardening and tempering gives you much more assurance that your blade is exactly the range of tempers from edge to back/heel/core/tang that you wanted. The drawback though is that it's a lot slower. If you waited until you only have 90 seconds left before time is up, you can pull off a ghetto quench+temper in time. If you want to do it "properly," you're going to need more like 20 minutes. The other advantage of the quick technique is that if you pull the blade out while it's still hot, the oil bursts into flame, so it's really cool looking and the camera crew can get a slo-mo shot of flames going everywhere. Badass! Plus you look like a total badass bladesmith doing it! A real master with many years of experience making a blade shape he's familiar with using a steel he's familiar with can probably consistently get excellent results using the quick technique. If I were a contestant on Forged in Fire, though? Given they're usually working with random steel, making shapes that are semi-experimental, using a whole slew of equipment I was unfamiliar with? No effing way. I've seen too many contestants eliminated because their blade didn't harden, or because it twisted when they quenched and they had zero time to fix it, or because it outright cracked during quenching. I'd rather have a simpler-looking blade that I had time to heat treat properly, sharpen properly, test, and re-treat if necessary.
|
|
#
?
Apr 2, 2016 00:28
|
|
|
Are the judges on the show good at their stuff? I looked up Doug marcaida, bit haven't checked out the others work. Doug marcaida seems like a bit of a Weiner, and the master bladesmith guy seems really smug a lot of the time.
|
|
#
?
Apr 2, 2016 01:08
|
|
|
The wooden table now has the parts for mill table and all the various hardware for everything sitting in a tub. To the left are a few oil system pieces, various brackets I have no idea what they are for yet, and a few odds and ends. The blue tub has some parts I stripped off the surface grinder before I scrapped it, but it looks like it might have some hardware that belongs to the mill hanging out there too, we'll see. As you can see the bearing keeper is broken in two pieces. On the workbench I have all the parts for the saddle. (Minus the hardware and lock)  Cleaned off this rolling thingy and placed the coolant pump, oiler, vise, drawbar, and DRO stuff. I'm conflicted on whether this mill does or does not have a powerfeed for both the X and Y axis. Obviously there are two power units, but sorting through the parts I'm having a hard time seeing how it would mount on the Y axis. I dug up the email from 2011 the seller sent me and it alludes to having power on both X and Y. I found his phone number so I left him a voicemail. 
|
|
#
?
Apr 2, 2016 01:12
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 23, 2024 11:54 |
|
|
AbsentMindedWelder posted:Don't buy a 225... Tapped transformers suck, they are either too cold or too hot. You want something that can "infinitely" vary the welding current. Well it was that or the 125 HD Lincoln cause dropping 600+ ain't happening. People seemed to like the 225 more, though...
|
|
#
?
Apr 2, 2016 02:06
|
|