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