New Dan Gelbart video

[northwest]

Now, I have been following him for a good few years now and his was the very first youtube channel I actually thought worthwhile to subscribe to. Bit of a legend in the small shop engineering world and he has a new video out that is not only engineering but has a terrific tip for welding too, I was impressed:

 

[frank horton]

thanks
always looking for someone new to watch......

 

[northwest]

Here he explains his beginnings and I just have to have one of those carburising ovens!

Very bright guy with a wealth of experience he doesn't mind sharing. The workshops are at his home in British Columbia.

 

[pressbrake1]

I’ve mentioned spot welding aluminium on here by using stainless tips

Definitely a interesting old fella , thanks

 

[Seadog]

He has done some impressive stuff. His workshop is immaculate with no expense spared. Some very interesting information to be gleaned from his videos.
The ultra-high precision lathe with air bearings is a wonderful piece of kit.

 

[northwest]

Definitely a interesting old fella , thanks

When he mentioned that the people scraping the jig borer in wore aluminium aprons to prevent the transfer of heat I thought that might interest you, with one micron accuracy it was pretty mind boggling. The fact that the half micron error had been designed out of the machine just made my head hurt. Absolutely amazing stuff.

 

[RichardM]

I was watching Friday, very interesting and likeable. Definitely worth watching.

 

[pressbrake1]

When he mentioned that the people scraping the jig borer in wore aluminium aprons to prevent the transfer of heat I thought that might interest you, with one micron accuracy it was pretty mind boggling. The fact that the half micron error had been designed out of the machine just made my head hurt. Absolutely amazing stuff.

On small parts avoiding prolonged body contact is definitely relevant.
It always makes me chuckle how they call English bedding curls Moore pattern scraping when it’s traditional English style.
SIP used a correction bar to move the fiducial indicator for screw corrections

English newall invented the dro to avoid screw error which has proven itself

 

[E T]

Now, I have been following him for a good few years now and his was the very first youtube channel I actually thought worthwhile to subscribe to. Bit of a legend in the small shop engineering world and he has a new video out that is not only engineering but has a terrific tip for welding too, I was impressed:

Never seen this old guy before, but I like what he does. Subscribed.

 

[northwest]

English newall invented the dro to avoid screw error which has proven itself

If you watch the video where he talks about models he is somewhat in awe that "in England you can even buy scale sand!"

Which even for me thought it was taking things a bit to the extreme but if anyone is ever stuck for a reason to own a tool or any hardware this guy can justify it for you.

 

[Barking Mat]

That's a seriously mental workshop.

Fair play to that man.

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

Here he explains his beginnings and I just have to have one of those carburising ovens!

I had that video recommended to me last week, and instantly subscribed.

I have to say the oven is a particularly elegant solution to carburising, especially compared to the normal commercial solutions of:
- a constant loss acetylene atmosphere (same principle but way more expensive and a little more risky)
or
- molten cyanide bath (I suppose less risky when done right, but the consequences are turned up to 11 if you do have an accident).

That's a seriously mental workshop.

Fair play to that man.

It's notable that when he retired, he sold the company he founded for a billion dollars...

... and that that company was based entirely on inventions he made, in the field of miniaturised optics for laser printing.

His workshop is exactly what I would expect to happen when you remove all financial constraints from someone who is a lifelong inventor and deeply passionate about engineering on both a technical and practical level.

The really cool thing for me is that he was so wildly successful, without it changing him to the extent that he lost the spark for the things that put him in that position.

 

[indy4x]

Bizarrely, this popped up on my feed yesterday

 

[northwest]

His workshop is exactly what I would expect to happen when you remove all financial constraints from someone who is a lifelong inventor and deeply passionate about engineering on both a technical and practical level.

Absolutely but the thing that really puts it into a class of it's own is the fact he uses a good number of machines and equipment he built himself in that workshop. When he quite easily could have replaced some things by buying stuff, like the folder for instance, he chose to keep the one he made instead. A true master and a right gentleman too, the sort of person you would like to spend the day with on a project because you know you are going to learn more in that one day than a month of Sundays with anyone else. I live working with really bright people, make no mistake it definitely rubs off and I really benefit from it.

 

[Seadog]

I had that video recommended to me last week, and instantly subscribed.

I have to say the oven is a particularly elegant solution to carburising, especially compared to the normal commercial solutions of:
- a constant loss acetylene atmosphere (same principle but way more expensive and a little more risky)
or
- molten cyanide bath (I suppose less risky when done right, but the consequences are turned up to 11 if you do have an accident).


It's notable that when he retired, he sold the company he founded for a billion dollars...

... and that that company was based entirely on inventions he made, in the field of miniaturised optics for laser printing.

His workshop is exactly what I would expect to happen when you remove all financial constraints from someone who is a lifelong inventor and deeply passionate about engineering on both a technical and practical level.

The really cool thing for me is that he was so wildly successful, without it changing him to the extent that he lost the spark for the things that put him in that position.

He was principle in the development of the CD and laser disc, I seem to recall.

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

Absolutely but the thing that really puts it into a class of it's own is the fact he uses a good number of machines and equipment he built himself in that workshop. When he quite easily could have replaced some things by buying stuff, like the folder for instance, he chose to keep the one he made instead.

Oh yeah.

But I do get the impression that where he has retained home-made equipment, it's because he made one that's genuinely better than anything available to buy.

Looking at that folder, I don't think you actually could just go out and buy anything nearly that good from a build quality and design point of view, which would also be remotely suitable for his needs in a prototyping workshop.

The air-bearing lathe is another example of this, there's a probably 4 manufacturers globally who can produce a CNC turning center capable of holding similar tolerances to his home-brew one.

But they're all optimised for serial production, as 99.99% of customers buying one will need to ship a lot of parts to cover the cost... Meaning those machines are not actually well suited to a prototyping shop like his, and the home-brew one can't be beaten.

A true master and a right gentleman too, the sort of person you would like to spend the day with on a project because you know you are going to learn more in that one day than a month of Sundays with anyone else. I live working with really bright people, make no mistake it definitely rubs off and I really benefit from it.

Indeed.

Watching the workshop tour video reminded a lot me of going to buy some toolholders from Dave Akhurst (ex RARDE engineer, sort of minor celebrity due to various well publicised projects)...

Wherein I did buy some toolholders, but also got a free lesson in precision turning tiny parts, had tea with him and his family, and got design advice on an instrument I was building at work.

 

[pressbrake1]

He was principle in the development of the CD and laser disc, I seem to recall.

Don’t tell that to conspiracy theorists who think aliens designed the now obsolete laser disc!

 

[mark roberts]

The level of advice he goes into for R&D work is unreal, even down to how to test a paint finish with gaffer tape. His method of rust prevention could be useful for a lot of people here with unheated sheds. Not sure I want to try caustic soda though.

 

[Seadog]

Yes, his video on metal preparation and finishes is very detailed.

 

[northwest]

Yes, his video on metal preparation and finishes is very detailed.

It taught me a lot and expelled some myths too. I never paint or put a finish on most anything now unless I just took them out of the blasting cabinet.