wishy-washy washers and headbutt nuts

 Number A:

 That big damn nut on the end of the arbor makes it hard to saw something clamped in the vice.  I was just barely able to do the cuts I needed on two sides, but now it seems I'll need to be very brave (I am not brave on setups, I am conservative, as I dislike it when work flies out of the machine and tools break) on the next several cuts.

 And my sharpie marks wore off so I've gone back to the bench to use layout dye and scribe the marks I need in that.

  OH WAIT, my layout dye is nearly dried out.  Can be partially reconstituted with ethanol, but only partiall - it also wants butyl acetate, which neither you nor I have on hand.

 OH WAIT, my scriber is dull and chipped (when did I drop it on the point?) so I'll just hop online and... I'll just hop online and... I say, what the galloping F, I can't buy a scriber without a magnet, and if I do, the tip isn't replaceable?  And literally nobody is selling a nice unit with a brass or wood handle... with a conical scribing point.  There is one nice brass and wood engraving pen... but it hold carbide engravers knives, not conical scribing points.  FML

 But hey, at least the runout on the arbor is less than I can measure, which is nice.  Also I need a tenths indicator, LOL.   Never enough tools.


Letter 2: 

 What in the seven hells is going on with these "precision" spacers on the arbor?!? Check this out:

 

 Maybe it's only the chamfers which are making that weirdness apparent - which, I dunno, were maybe hand-ground before sending them to heat treat?  Remind to take a file to one when I got back out, I bet they aren't even hard.  Grump.

"Progress was alright. Only it went on too long." - Thurber

  I am outraged, outraged I say, that the $4 Chinesium "slitting saw" I bought off of Amazon is not properly dished for cutting clearance like a $400 made in the USA unit is. This means it can't be used for its stated purpose, if you try you will have a very bad day. (spoilers: it'll break)

 This was not a succulent Chinese meal for me.  Is this democracy manifest?!?  $400 quality cannot be had for $4??  I shall write my congress-critter! 😂

 Meanwhile, the saw arbor that was promised for Saturday before the sale, is now promised for Monday after the sale.

 Findmall (a store on Amazon) does this a lot.  Some other stores on Amazon do not.  Don't give your money to stores that pull any sort of bait & switch on you.  Don't reward bad behavior.

tool pr0n

 For some time, I have wished I had a slitting saw + arbor for the mill.  Slotting saw?  (there is some debate over which is which - textbooks don't agree) 

 Anyway, I've wanted to cut keyways in a shaft for instance.  I've wanted to cut a thin slit in a clamp with a round hole.  I've wanted to make deep grooves.  Try making deep 1mm wide grooves with an end mill.  That's not happening.

 Also, the arbor can be used with gear cutters too.  And probably some milling cutters I'm not even aware of.

 And hey, if you've ever needed to make your own heat sink with thin fins, this is how you do that - stack a bunch of thin saws with spacers on the arbor. You'll need a power table feed and patience... and ideally a lot of emulsion coolant... so you won't catch me trying it any time soon.

 I've been eyeballing these for more than a year.  I chose 22mm over 1in kinda arbitrarily because when I shop for saw blades, I see more available with a 22mm hole vs. a 1in hole.

 Now, I find I'm making something which would be seventeen times easier (I measured) if I had the darned slitting saw.

 Did I evaluate other options? Yes! Option one was to cripple myself trying to do the same work badly, with a hand saw.  It would have taken days or weeks, including time for recovery in between.  This is not a hand saw job.  Option two would be a five thousand dollar band saw.  Which I haven't got room for even if some rich uncle gave me one.

 So I think I'm gonna pull the trigger on a cheap Chinesium sample and see how bad its runout is, since they don't specify runout until you get into the hundreds of dollars for non-Chinesium versions. Will it be useable?  We'll find out tomorrow.  It will certainly be returnable.

 It's well under $50 for the package which is ridiculously low compared to name brand, but even that is a bit of an ouch in the wallet.  I hate being retired, unemployed, and broke.

 Update: Hah! I can check the runout of the arbor tomorrow, but I won't get to play with the saw until Sunday.

 

 Random thought: this probably won't fit in my existing collets-n-arbors holder mounted to the side of the mill; it will probably stick out too far and hit the table.  Another item to go in a drawer and get scratched up because it's in a drawer with other steel items.  Offends my delicate sensibilities, it does.

 Honestly, this is all Inheritance Machining's fault, as he has helped me start caring again about the quality of my work.  It's not my fault I'm spending money, it's his.

issues, I haz 'em

Issue Numero Uno

I need to weld two steel straps together, maintaining squareness and dimensional alignment over a length of 28in.  The smaller of my regular welding magnets are too large.  I went looking for tiny welding magnets and discovered that most vendors attitude toward "mini", "small" etc is, "dimensions? why would you want to know that?"

 Found some that might serve, but I really don't feel like spending money on a maybe, and maybe the return will be a hassle and maybe it won't...

 The next-most-obvious solution is a custom made jig.  Okay, I'm used to making those anyway, and this one would be small.  How-some-ever: it's "nominally 1/8in" material (actually as small as .113) and the only 1/8in cutter I have is a fancy solid carbide cutter with... oh hey, is that an TiB2 or TiCN coating on it, specifically for aluminum?  Perfect.  Except I have sh*t luck with tiny cutters; I break them.  I need a power feed and more patience, but until I'm able to acquire either of those, I'll just have to go a lot slower (feed rate/CPT) than I am used to.  On the plus side, carbide cutters go crazy fast in aluminum.

 The jig would be a T-ish shaped hunk of random aluminum, with two intersecting .125 slots.  The idea is to tack one end, then back the fixture away down the material, as I put tacks and then stitches down.  This gauge will need a small relief on the insides of the corners, for the fixture to be able to slide over the weld beads.  If I can swing it, that relief will be the same curvature and dimension as the corner radius of the steel that needs to slide through this assembly.  So if the jig slides, the actual sliding part will too.

 I could avoid that entirely by drilling a bunch of holes or slots in one piece and welding from outside, but this is not as strong unless I go to great lengths.  That would make two parts very "expensive" in terms of time and effort.  So I am not doing it that way.

 The order of assembly allows me to weld the "caps" on and if necessary, grind or mill, the welds in the  inside corners of the two channels before sticking the sides on.  The sides get welded on from outside.  Gee, it sounds good on paper...

Issue Numero Dos

Ace / Hillman: Worst. Steel source. Evah.

 Don't buy steel from Hillman!  I know I already pointed out that Hillman are cheating you on steel thickness, but check this out;

 Today I found a rough spot that I could feel but not see, due to the strange surface finish their steel has.  I had just finished getting their thrice-damned label off with a putty knife and acetone, so I thought maybe it was some hardened label adhesive or the like.  So I ran it over the deburring wheel, when suddenly -->

 That is deep rust pitting.  This piece of steel laid around in the weather and got rusted as hell, then they broomed it (w/ wire brush, convolute wheel, etc) and hoped no one would notice.

 This might also explain the reduced (deceptive) thickness, if they have to do it a lot.  Fook China and Hillman both.

 Strongly recommend you don't build anything important with their stuff... such as outriggers?  Well, the outrigger housing is so over-designed, I could lose 1/3 of the thickness of all of the steel involved and it would still be safe.  I try to build stuff that does not break.

Issue Numero Tres

Are You Fookin' Kidding Me?

 This fookin' ferrule for rack handles!  That price is not for the handle, it's just for the little ferrule where the handle joins the panel.  I need eight more of them. 

 I am not bloody well going to make eight fiddly ferrules from scratch, tho I certainly could.  I don' wanna.  So I look online and got some serious sticker shock.  They aren't on eBay either (at the moment).  I'll keep looking around the interwebz and watching ebay.

 I am not paying two bucks each for a fancy washer that has zero labor in it, since it is made on an automatic screw machine.  JFC.   Keystone Hardware, via Digikey is "only" $2.51ea in black, silver is a little less...

Sofa King Wee Todd It

high performance brazing with your MIG welder

 
 So I was today years old when I discovered you can buy ERCuSi-A Silicon Bronze MIG wire in three popular sizes, and with this wire, you can A) MIG weld high performance silicon bronzes and B) MIG weld galvanized steel.  (Cough, they say.  I'd want a positive flow mask or a reall good exhaust fan)

 It is well-known enough that even Amazon carries it.  This would have come up if I had been able to continue with my pulsed power work.  The fast Marx trigger generator had a coaxial copper housing with a bronze flange at one end for closing the ground end and their joining needed to be robust both mechanically and electrically.  At the time I was thinking silver solder.  Never got the chance to finish that project. 

buying steel

Two things.

Thing One
I'm still struggling with the design and materials for the hoist cart's outriggers.

• they need to extend far enough out that some kind of stowing means is necessary,
  otherwise, I'll be destroying my shins against them constantly

• from a mechanical strength view, a sliding/telescoping mechanism looks better than
   something that swings around on a pivot, and it occupies less space

• telescoping tubing is hard to come by, you usually end up fabricating at least one of
   the two pieces, and that is exactly what I intend to do.

obviously the parts aren't aligned or fixtured

• I have rectangular tube I'd like to use which is perfect for the outrigger arms, except I cannot buy a ready-made outer tube / shell / housing with the right ID

  I bought a lot of steel to weld up my own housings to fit the those two tubes I have on hand, but one dimension, which appears on two long pieces, is too small by about 1/16in.  I'm goingto try to fill it in with weld anyway.  Then comes the adventure of cleaning up the interior enough that the tubes will actually slide into it.  >_> 

 I've been planning on making the 'H' beam first, so it can be welded from inside.  If I decide I don't want to do that, I could also drill a series of holes or mill slots in the wide bit, and weld the center web from outside. Clearance is set with thin (.015

 Anyway, here's Wonderwall a lashup of my general idea:

But I paid for .125 thick, Hillman!

Thing Two
 Be careful when buying steel from hardware stores. They cheat you on dimensions like thickness.

 ie; you pay for 1/8in thick material, but it's really .114 or even worse.

the offending vendor (found at Ace Hardware)

How thick will this stick be?  How thick will that stick be?  Astonishingly, there is variation in a single short stick.  Yes, I checked my measurements several times.  The measurements at left were AVERAGE, not the smallest on the sticks.  The smallest was around .112 on both which is just ridiculous.

 When I buy steel from the surplus yard, and have to blast rust and mill scale off of it, it's right. on. dimension. Hot rolled, cold rolled, doesn't matter.

When I buy clean steel from McMaster, it is either right on dimension, or a few thou over.

 HOW IS THIS STUFF TOO THIN, THEN??  This stuff comes out of a rolling mill, for Ghu's sake.  What could someone possibly do to add variation in thickness?  It would seem impossible, but calipers don't lie, and neither does a dial indicator on my surface plate.

WTAF, Hillman?!?

 Parts of this assembly can see up to1,200 lb strain, and if it breaks, people could get badly hurt.
I guess I'd better re--figure the complex box beam calcs I already did once like half a year ago, to see whether I need to buy all new steel (and then throw this Chinesium garbage through Hillman's office windows - the one in Boulder).  Grump.

 Hillman would try to throw their "overseas partner" (China) under the bus, to which I would respond, "Don't you perform incoming QC? Don't try to tell us this is a one-off."

 I've seen this at two different Ace Hardwares, but oddly, I can't find anyone else whinging about it on Reddit or YouTube.  Obviously it's a secret conspiracy against me, then. =^_^=

nailing a few of my theses to the workshop door

 Regarding bans on 3D printing (additive manufacturing) and licensing or permitting or inspection of machine shops (subtractive manufacturing):

1. Get a (proper) warrant.

2. You can take my tools over my cooling corpse.


That about covers everything, I think.

 I will not comply with the law, should such legal experiments become the law of the land.
I will not meekly obey, civilly or otherwise.

Everything or nothing. All of us or none.
One alone his lot can't better,
Choose the gun or the fetter.
Everything or nothing. All of us or none.
 
-- from Bertolt Brecht's "Svenborger Gedichte"

the decline continues

 On a good day, I am useful for the first four hours of the day.  After that, I'm incapable of any task more sophisticated than pissing, lifting heavy objects, or spitting.

 This morning, I put casters under the stand for the mill rotary table.  It was pleasant to be able to use the hoisting cart for this, its original and primary purpose.  It was not pleasant maneuvering the thing around my shop because it is quite frankly too tall.  Or the light fixtures are too low.

 And in accordance with the Nothing Can Be Simple For Railgap - Ever, I had to chase the allegedly 3/8-16 studs on all four casters.  Multiple nuts were tried first, there was nothing wrong with my nuts.

what?

  I also replaced the water container I'd been using as a counterweight with cement pavers.  It's ugly, but at least now it has sufficient counterweight mass, until I can afford to fill the bottom counterweight with lead shot.

 Four casters.  Took me about four hours.  Some of that was spent wandering aimless back and forth between the house to refill my coffee, get breakfast, etc.  I also puttered around, cleaning up my bench. Other than that, I can't figure out where the time went.  Now it's nearly 10, and I just want to go back to bed.

EOL definition

 

In engineering, End of Life (EOL) is

the final stage of a product's lifecycle, indicating it is no longer useful, supported, manufactured, or sold by the vendor. It marks the point where a product becomes obsolete, requiring disposal, recycling, or replacement.

Make Art Not Friends (because friends die)

 Bad day for me for sure, but this video is real art.

Looking out the window at a world on fire
It's plain to see, the end is near
Seen all the sights
Tired of the lights

So you can let me off right here
This town's getting crowded
Truth's been shrouded

I think it's time to change up the sound
Yeah, the wheels keep turning
The flames gettin' higher
Another cycle goes around

Face in the mirror, all skin and bones
Bloodshot eyes and a heart of stone
Never again, I'd rather be alone
Think I'm gonna just stay home
And make art, not friends

I love saying "no" to all the "yes" men
Just to see the look on their face
I love how everybody knows what's best
But nobody knows their place

Sucker every second, stack 'em up to the sky
For every winner there's a hundred that died
So you get yours, and stay outta mine
Here's to the memories, where do I sign?

Face in the mirror, all skin and bones
Bloodshot eyes and a heart of stone
Never again, I'd rather be alone
Think I'm gonna just stay home
And make art, not friends

Oh, it's getting hard to find a good friend
So close the door behind you
Before any more come in
Nobody writes and nobody calls

Nobody bother, 'cause I'm over it all

Face in the mirror, all skin and bones
Bloodshot eyes and a heart of stone
Never again, I'd rather be alone

Think I'm gonna just stay home
And make art, not friends

-- Sturgill Simpson