Share your special tools

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Steve Goodbody
Posts: 219
Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 7:16 am

Re: Share your special tools

Post by Steve Goodbody »

Hi Greg - I've dropped you a PM.

Karl - thanks also for sharing - that's an elegant little gadget!

Best regards
Steve
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Steamer Al
Posts: 109
Joined: Tue May 26, 2020 3:17 am
Location: Comox, BC

Re: Share your special tools

Post by Steamer Al »

Here is a die for making little D shaped washers, for the nut on a taper plug valve. Used a design from an old Live Steam magazine, but the depth collar and index pin are my addition.
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milwiron
Posts: 156
Joined: Sun Jun 07, 2020 1:52 pm
Location: Flanagan, IL.

Re: Share your special tools

Post by milwiron »

Despite the looks of this I swear I really was a toolmaker and machinist my entire adult life.

I wanted a little chop saw with decent guts for cutting leaf springs and heavy spring wire. I can take this outside and keep the fine dust and swarf far away from machines. Of course I could have bought an angle grinder stand online for 30 bucks, that would have been way too easy and quick.

Couple-o-things: The cable tie is only holding the cord, the single bolt and fitted saddle on the handle give it plenty of rigidity. The guard isn't missing from the photo, nope... it's hopelessly lost in my shop. I do have a polycarb shield I place over the wheel.
Denny
minichopsaw.jpg
"Measure twice, curse once."
partime
Posts: 67
Joined: Wed Sep 24, 2014 8:12 pm
Location: Western Canada

Re: Share your special tools

Post by partime »

That is an excellent adaptation of your little grinder Denny! Just cutting spring material myself and I may have to borrow the idea!
Just finished my belt grinder and have the same complaint, it's a dirty machine and needs to be moved outside.
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gwrdriver
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Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2003 10:31 am
Location: Nashville Tennessee

Tender Bead is Re: Share your special tools

Post by gwrdriver »

KarlKobel wrote: Sun Nov 29, 2020 9:20 amAmong the many challenges . . .'beading' for the tender. -
Karl,
I'm very glad to see you've had success with this arrangement. I have the same job to do for my engine and this is exactly how I'd planned to do it.
One thing I'd planned to include in the block is a "gib" or stop of some kind to prevent the beading rotating as it exits the cut, but it appears that may not be something I need to be concerned about. My bead will be 3/16" brass, possibly 7/32", and be offset a bit from a full 1/4 wedge.
GWRdriver
Nashville TN
KarlKobel
Posts: 161
Joined: Sun Mar 31, 2013 9:53 pm

Re: Share your special tools

Post by KarlKobel »

GWRdriver,

The clamping jaws of the vice on the cross table seem to hold it from turning, even with stainless steel.

Karl
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Greg_Lewis
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Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2003 2:44 pm
Location: Fresno, CA

Re: Share your special tools

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Before you go to the pain of making the half-round beading, check jewelry sources. I found a roll of half-round brass just the size I needed. I don't know all the sizes available but you might get lucky. Go to Ebay and enter "half round brass." It comes in a roll, you can straighten it out by clamping one end in a bench vise and pulling hard on the other end, gripping it with Vise Grips.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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gwrdriver
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Location: Nashville Tennessee

Re: Share your special tools

Post by gwrdriver »

Greg,
Note that ours are ¾-round, per Karl's sketch, and I've never found a commercial source of anything but ½-round.
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GWRdriver
Nashville TN
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Greg_Lewis
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Location: Fresno, CA

Re: Share your special tools

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Ooooh, glad I didn't have to make that! There are better ways to suffer. :roll:
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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