Stuff you have made today

[Dr.Al]

My old (home-made) tail-stock DRO was getting more and more temperamental:

It was made from a cheap digital caliper and the body was held in place with two 20 mm diameter neodymium magnets. It worked really well for several years, but the magnets seem to be slipping every now and again now and hence I'd lost a bit of faith in it. The display was also glitching every now and again (even with a fresh battery), so I had the impression that the calipers were on the way out.

I found a second-hand digital caliper (with a nice big clear display) for not a lot of money so I bought it and promptly attacked it with the angry grinder to remove the jaws and the tail end of the scale:

I also hacked out the corner of a bit of aluminium and magicked it into a little bracket:

I then winced a bit as I drilled and tapped an M6 hole in the top of the tailstock. With the bracket held in place with a countersunk screw and the calipers held in place with an M2.5 screw (into the hole that used to have a knurled locking screw in it), there should be no chance of the caliper body moving.

The new one is metric only, which also has the big advantage in my opinion that there should be no chance of it accidentally being switched into antediluvian units. I've lost count of the number of times I pressed the "in/mm" button on the old calipers, but there wasn't a single time when I deliberately pressed the button to switch into inches. Every time I pressed it was because it had accidentally (presumably either the button getting knocked or a software glitch) switched into inches and I wanted to put it back into the proper mode. Like my posh Mitutoyo metric-only ones, this one shouldn't suffer from that problem.

I've also shortened the rear of the caliper scale, which means I don't have to take the calipers off to get to the oil hole:

 

[Wildefalcon]

Today I made the rear calipers on my Alfa 159 more presentable.

From this

View attachment 409940

To this

View attachment 409941

I used Cerakote H series ceramic coating and new seals.

First time I've used a ceramic coating so a bit of a learning curve and it will be interesting to see how it lasts.

Is that a DIY process? I know nothing about it!

 

[Dcal]

Yes.
Easier to apply than paint, because it's thinner, but the prep is pretty onerous and it's bloody expensive, although a little goes a long way.
It's really good for fastenings and non precision machined parts as it's so thin

You do need the same PPE and an oven to cure some of the flavours.

Cerakote can explain the process far better than I can, but I will do thread on my DIY set up.

https://www.cerakote.com/resources/knowledge-base/106/h-series-application-guide

 

[Brad93]

Link

Great company essential supplies

 

[indy4x]

@Wildefalcon have a look at some of @. posts, he's done some really good work that's polished off with cerakote

 

[northwest]

I used Cerakote H series ceramic coating and new seals.

First time I've used a ceramic coating so a bit of a learning curve and it will be interesting to see how it lasts.

I would be interested to know what blast media you used?

 

[Dcal]

I would be interested to know what blast media you used?

They recommend aluminium oxide and that you only use it once, to stop contamination of the parts.

I use jblast supafine because it's what I have and it's cheap.
However, I do sieve a new bag to get the clean smaller particles size they recommend.
The bigger stuff (the biggest portion) left over is great for cutting heavy rust in the cabinet and is far less dusty but beaks down to a smaller size after first use anyway.

The sieve came from china via eBay.
The one I bought was the same as in the link below, but cheaper and with free postage, that listing is gone now.

New 10-200 Mesh 2-0.075mm Aperture Stainless Steel 20cm Lab Standard Test Sieve | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for New 10-200 Mesh 2-0.075mm Aperture Stainless Steel 20cm Lab Standard Test Sieve at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Dcal]

Quite forgiving to spray isnt it! After my first few goes I realised you could really get that wet look they want from the tutorials without risk of running. Cerakote on calipers is quite advantageous because of the low thickness especially on contact points for pads.
The H series on callipers my customers have found held up perfectly. I don't do many calipers, and quite a few customers want a glossy look which I can't give with cerakote, so opt for powder coating instead (which I'm not a fan of).
On the subject of Cerakote, I think MC5100 is a game changer for aluminium parts.

I've started using it, on your recommendation
Early days yet, but I like it a lot.

I used it on the steel on the steel hubs, as well as the alloy carriers.

I don't know if it will hold up on steel, but the steel parts come uncoated from the factory so it won't hurt.
As you say, great on something like this because it's so thin.

 

[Hitch]

Finished off this one this morning.

I can't take credit for the polishing, passed that off onto our polisher while I helped him.out with some less technical polishing on another job.

Got to be a bit mindful how you build little ones like that, easy to screw yourself over and make things really awkward.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Finished off this one this morning.

I can't take credit for the polishing, passed that off onto our polisher while I helped him.out with some less technical polishing on another job.

Got to be a bit mindful how you build little ones like that, easy to screw yourself over and make things really awkward.

View attachment 410111 View attachment 410112

What is it?

 

[Dr.Al]

It ain't much:

Just a bit of practice with silicon bronze TIG wire (968 I think the packet said). I've had a few sporadic practice sessions over the last few years, but that's the first time the process has clicked with me and it's felt like I'm brazing rather than either welding (melting the steel at the same time) or blobbing (just melting the brazing wire in blobs on top of the steel).

 

[Hitch]

What is it?

It's a small buffer tank, that will be part of a small cream pasteuriser

 

[brewdexta]

80 litres of Elland White Rat Clone in the fermenter. Columbus bittering hops, Amarillo and Cascade in the steep and hop rocket, malt is mainly Marris Otter Pale with a touch of extra pale crystal.

Looks like it's mashed out at around 1.046 OG, possibly a bit more, probably heading for around 4.7%

 

[leadpig]

oxy acetylene, sheet lead, fitted which is the main thing, but makeshift bench was at chest height so started to get cramps at the end

 

[Hood]

Made a couple of test pieces to see what feeds and power settings did to some stainless.

First on unpolished.

And then again on the other side which I had polished.

 

[Farside]

Made a containment box for a Loop on the Ground...

The Loop on Ground Antenna - the "LoG"

A prototype receiving antenna for HF

kk5jy.net

A bit pyssed off the SS wingnuts I ordered just disappeared somewhere into postal oblivion, but just pressed ahead.

 

[Duisky]

I actually completed this a couple of weeks ago but I’ve just got around to finding some time to post it.

You’ll all be fed up seeing the Landrover but hopefully this will be the last piece (although I did make towable lawnmower for it in between..)! This was initially going to be an winter project but who wants a boat then?

The ‘boat’ is about 5ft long, and has been made out of marine ply clothed in epoxy and mat. I had no plan as such, just working it out as I went along. I’ve attempted to make it functional (obviously very limited/controlled, tethered to a rope and in used in ideal conditions) and it will bear an adults weight, albeit in the garden pond not much bigger than it. There is inbuilt buoyancy fore and aft using closed cell foam, and to satisfy myself I’ve deliberately scuttled the boat in the pond to ensure that it will never sink.

It is powered by the cheapest little electric trolling motor I could find, which should punt it around ok in calm conditions; it does look a bit cumbersome and clunky, in many respects I just wish I had made it an inboard and the boat would look much cleaner. I may yet cut it down the motor shaft to help its proportions.

My nephews have had a very quick (10 mins?) shot on it in a sheltered harbour, tied to a rope, wearing a buoyancy aid, and me in the water with them, and although it did ‘sail’, it’s shallow draft resulted in it skittering around more than I’d have liked; I may make up a detachable keel fin at some point to help it tract better. That said, it’s unlikely to hit the water in earnest again; I just wanted to see if I could do it! It’s more an ornament than anything. There’s an idea rattling around in my head to make up a rocking assembly and mount it like the coin operated rides you find outside shops..

Most importantly, In terms of welding, the bunked trailer was fabricated from mild steel, and coated in cold galv. I’m not too keen on the mudguards, so, I think I’ll remake them. I think I’ve got my sizes amiss somewhere.

The windscreen was cut from a single piece of stainless, folded, shaped, and corners mig welded to form the frame. It was then polished up and mounted.

 

[Brad93]

Finished off this one this morning.

I can't take credit for the polishing, passed that off onto our polisher while I helped him.out with some less technical polishing on another job.

Got to be a bit mindful how you build little ones like that, easy to screw yourself over and make things really awkward.

View attachment 410111 View attachment 410112

i'm quite convinced you sir are a magician

 

[Dcal]

Today I made a hole in the rear bumper of my 159.

I used the very nice die grinder I recently acquired from @lotus_esprit_s1

It was required to install a reversing camera, which meant I needed an adjustable bracket

And a neoprene seal

It also meant taking the interior out to instal a new radio and a DAB aerial and a microphone and a steering wheel interface.
While I was in this deep I changed the handbreak cables as you need to strip almost all this out by to install them.

The "Blue and Me" system wasn't working well and I thought it easier to upgrade to newer technology.
As the radio was configured for a rear camera, I thought why not.

I now know why not.

 

[Duisky]

i'm quite convinced you sir are a magician

Thanks Brad, most people just think I’ve got a screw loose (or far too much time on my hands)!