The Home Machinist!

Another free CAD program is LibreCAD (formerly known as QCad): http://librecad.org/cms/home.html. I have only used AutoCAD once for about 10 minutes, so I'm not sure how it compares, but I *think* the interface/command structure is somewhat similar. This is open-source and multi-platform -- runs on ...

Don't know if you are still working on this ... I am sure that the mechanical amperage adjustment that you are proposing will work better than none, but from my experience with TIG, I would say that it will not be nearly as helpful as a true pedal-control machine. The ability to change the amperage ...

I know this is a very old thread, but I wanted to chime in -- IIRC, 6010/6011 produce a more brittle weld than 7018. The point of keeping 7018 dry is not so much how it runs, but how much hydrogen gets into the weld. Hydrogen in weld = embrittlement. Thus, I would not be comfortable using 6010/6011 ...

My apologies for going off-topic. I certainly did not intend my remarks to be political nor an invitation to political responses -- but they were indubitably off-topic!

A highly placed member of my law school was honored by being hired to teach a research and writing class. That's three credit hours. She said she got something like $40,000 for that. There was a time when academics were underpaid, but these days, I'm for anything that undermines their compensation....

Sounds like a job for a horizontal mill -- mount slitting saws on an arbor, separated by spacers.

I know that doesn't really help ...

Bob, I would agree with others that it sounds like your tooling might not be on center. Sharpness of the bit (able to draw blood) has nothing to do with being on center. To get the bit on center. take a six-inch rule and place it against the workpiece. Bring the tool bit up to it and trap the ruler ...

I use Open Office, it too is free, compatable with most MS Office files, and can create PDFs from documents. http://www.openoffice.org/ You and others may already know this, but in case not ... LibreOffice and OpenOffice are essentially the same thing. LibreOffice represents a very recent "for...

Hmm ... if you are interested in having plans (for example, to develop a magazine article or such), take extensive pictures and detailed measurements, and I'll draw up a set.

If you leave the compound in the usual position for right-hand external threads and try to cut right-hand internal threads on the near side of the internal bore, the direction of cut will tend to pull the backlash out of the compound in unpredictable ways, resulting in very messy threads. I can tes...

Impressive! If you decide to release the plans, I would love to have a set!

My understanding is that bed rail is generally made from a range of recycled materials, without much effort to control the mixture, thus leading to very inconsistent levels of carbon along the length. This certainly fits my experience -- on any give rail, one hole will drill like 1018 using an HSS d...