De Ranged

I do lol.... I try my best to lock it down and only run one axis and in only one direction so I'm working against just the one screw against the cut of the cutter I get to the shop and notice a few spots where I didn't wipe the "bed oil" on after yesterdays machining have a slight rust colour...... I knew my coolant was way past change over but.... this was too much, so started on the tank.... was a bit shocked at the amount of gunk, swarf and one odd item that had made it into the tank. On a roll I decided to strip the bed down, clean it and adjust it as best as I can... oiled and reassembled that, replaced a clamp bolt on the tower and adjusted a few other bits I found a piece of steel in my stock that fit (It is unknown stock, but its a very low use tool and a large tip even if its mild it'll last a while) Having done all I could do to improve my chances I setup to do some machining.... decided to do the worst bit first the seat for the tip I took my time, with the 3mm end mill.... the last cut was .2mm more than the previous cut ..... yep lol that little extra caused the end mill to walk a bit harder into the work and instead of being a nice snug fit it has a bit of wobble about .2-.3mm, the carbide has a 5 degree side "seat" on it. I could cut a little deeper and it will snug it in but given the variables in accuracy of the compound slide and the accuracy of my (not so..) qaulity, no name brand, chinese mill drill I think that would be tempting fate lol... I think I'll just cut a little strip of shim steel and use that against the 5 degree of the tip I discovered I don't have any 2.9mm drills for the M3.5 tap so ordered a new one, on a positive note the steel is a free machining of a harder grade, cuts nicely but dosen't take a scribe line very easily.... oh and on an odd note I found a paint stirer in the coolant tank I'm guessing one of my mates might have used the mill while I was away and added oil and lost this mixing it lol no ones owned up as of yet

Been distracted with the new shed helper.... she is going through that stage where everything is a chew toy except the chew toys we buy her, I've got another couple of weeks before her last Pavo shot then I'll be able to walk her at the shed and she can come down I got down last night and got a bit of machining done.... working to finish a radius cutter for the lathe, One I started ages ago.... I have a cupboard of these sort of half finished projects, there is another large radius cutter that is designed to go into the tool post but its a bigger job to finish This is what i'm working with Now I started this yrs ago when I had just got the lathe so I thought I'd build this on a bearing.... I now suspect this is going to chatter, but there is only one way to know for certain lol.... finish it and try it The bearing is an old Hilux front hub bearing I have lots of these.... the recess under the bearing is a "key pin" to locate into the where the compound slide locates on my lathe I measured up and changed the original plan slightly so I can increase its cut to just over 40mm Dia. This ment I needed to reduce the height.... so lathed the top down, then mounted it in the mill and cut the slot as deep as I felt I could go with out compromising clamping strength.... I made the slot a bit wider as well going to a different carbide tip thats a bit bigger so wanted a bit more meat to hold it. Because I didn't have the height in the clamping slot I decided to cut a dovetail on one side so the tool post should be nice and rigid then the rest is just for the grub screws to clamp and a couple of tap'ed hole for a handle Oh and I had to make the center bolt hole a bit bigger so I could change the center bolt from a cap screw to a dome head cap screw.... not my best work lol didn't have a cutter big enough so I free handed a round hole with a smaller end mill, looks good from this angle lol About to head in and make a post..... not looking forwad to this.... I'm not a fan of cutters under 6mm with the backlash in my bed and tower on the mill drill I find they have a tendicy to build up the slack and "walk" into the work a bit and I need this carbide tip mount nice n tight Hopefully a few successfull pics to follow

Got some new toys yesterday.... Left hand M6 and M8 taps and dies I'm now able to make the turn buckles that will hold the forge together..... so I'm ordering the fire bricks today. Also got a couple of sets of Casters, enough to do 2 of the Parts trolleys ($29 for four of them 300kg rating... I thought it was worth a punt, I'm plesently surprised at the qaulity might buy some more for other projects) I get the engine parts back tomorrow morning so I'll give the tool stand a turn

At this stage no..... I'm still doing alot of CAD work modeling components for the design of the build.... what I can say is the rear PTO winch is going to have to move, adding links is going to move the winch... at this stage I'm thinking I may offset it to one side to balance out the batteries As for my mates truck, hes in the other island about 14hrs away,he'll have some fun with his as he has a surf (tank one side and exhust the other) As for rope strain.... you could be right, my reference is a bit of a special beast climbing rope is designed to stretch to save your life in a fall

Stainless is very expensive over here... 8 of the 32NB stainless short weld in bends (to do 2 fairleads on the buggy cage) it was over $260...... the idea is a cheap, large radius (no stress on rope), easy to install... with a minimal install size and lastly weight I'd be concerned about 1/2" putting a stress piont on the rope.... I don't know the specs, but i remember reading in a climbing mag that a 10mm dia cariabiner weakens the rope by 6% (something like that, been a while the gray hair could be effecting my memory) Most of the setups I've built, only bend the rope around 15 degrees, think I may have had one that had a 30 degree max on the way to a rear pulley so pretty straight Bowie, I did look at yachting and marine stuff but the larger stuff got very expensive or was thin stainless sheet formed into the eye and plastic/glass/alloy holding it.... makes me concerned about the wear factor due to mud n pumice I went with the open design for two reasons... if I ever brake a rope and have to get under the truck in the muck to feed it back through trying to feed a wet muddy fraied (sp?) rope throught a mud full'ed eye that is tight lol I think you'd be able to hear me swearing in england! The other issue is I know this is dodgy and not the done thing but I've had a couple of times now where on epic runs we have ended up running on a knotted line (also why I want the extra curve so a knot wont catch the edge) I have considered using 90 degree short weld in bends and feeding the rope throught them, this is why I'm not... I think they will fill with clay, I'm going to have to invest time to trim out the back of them to let the cable run without rubbing and the decider..... for the same cost (time n money) they arn't as bling lol Its also a reason to finish one of the radius cutters for the lathe and give it a go One thing that is going to be interesting is making a female die that will keep the flat plate center'ed as the male folds up the sides..... sort of hedging towards making a set of bead roller dies to form the flat bar into a curve and then the press to form the fit for the ring, The rings are just going to be profile cut

A little side project for a mate (and I'll use the same under my FJ40) under body faileads to run the winch rope from a rear mount winch The red bit is a steel support 8mm, the gray is 3 or 5mm stainless flat that has been pressed into shape..... I haven't formed anything qite like this before and not in stainless flat bar, the inside of the ring is 40mm and the curve of the thimble is formed around a 40mm die The theory is they are welded up under the truck so the stianless curve is on the inside of the bend the steel loop is there to aid in mounting and retain the rope I'm after a bit of feedback from you guys.... Stainless fairleads arn't a common thing here, I'd prefer to use 3mm as I'm pretty certian the 5mm will require heat to let it form this tight Is 3mm going to to work / last As far as forming it, I'm going to try and form it only 180degrees but I suspect there will be bits up the ends that won't form so well..... going to make the male and female dies on the lathe... once I finish a ball cutting tool lol

Very Nice!

Todays little side project.... finished the upgrades on the tool stand Got a bit more real estate for tools, a couple of can holders for penretrant/brake clean or possibly a beverage and a series of hooks I can hang hammers or large tools off Wait n see how it goes when I put my mates motor back together

Finished stripping my mates little 4K motor..... not the best news, found rust in two of the bores, he's got the block and the head in getting a hone and pressure test So a bit of spare time, I decided to solve the issue of the wind in the allyway slamming my door closed all the time Problem solved With the tools from working on my mates car away I started modifying the little tool stand to have some organization and bit more space when the lights went out lol Turned out a sparky from the power company was installing a new smart power meter in the front unit..... and he discovered that all was not as it seems with our wirering, the place used to be an old pet food plant... there are wires everywhere, there's a fuse in the switchboard thats a foot long! After a bit I worked out the sparky wasn't going to sort this in a hurry so bailed for home to do some more CAD for other projects... been told its all sorted, but it took a good while and another sparky lol

Thank you The can thing is sort of a long term for when I finally lol get around to building my shed, I've made another panel and if it gets cold enough to need some warming at my workshop in town I'll mount them Along the same lines I made a fruit dryer... it worked but was slow, slow enough that some of my apricotes I tried drying got moldy before they had fully dried.... then while I was away at work it fell down and broke the glass.... so I now have an excuse to make it better lol might just add a whole panel worth 3-4 times the heater panel lol also lay it flater so reduce the flow of heat

Trolley is finished lol..... and in use, I already want to modify it 🙄 All made from offcuts or recycled steel.... arghhh don't look to closely at the mesh in the bottom lol I got sick of welding it and it got a little in-accurate The mods that will happen later, the repurposed casters might be on the small side, as they arn't turning any longer lol, and I want to add a hook at each end opposite the marker pen for a roll of tape (so I can tape things in order or groups eg push rods and rockers) Going to modify this as well... a little tool stand I made so I wouldn't rest tools on the projects as I work Heres a little tip for anyone with a bandsaw, the 4 legs are rammed full of the swarf from the bandsaw... makes it weighty and stable even when its further up (when I'm on a step working in a 4wd engine bay)..... problem is when a socket sets on there I'm running out of space Might add some can holders to the side for lub, brakeclean n beverage.... add some hooks for hammers etc and another short depth shelf under it Also got this lot finished so I now have somewhere dry my riding pants Not that I need this we are having a very mild winter.... I'm not even wearing them

We use both the M18 and M12 Milwaukee stuff at work.... look at the M12 3/8", another tool in that range that is a go too is the M12 variable speed die grinder

Had a productive afternoon, the 109" is now up on stands.... with it sitting in storage I didn't want the tyres forming a memory in the sidewalls from sitting all this time in one spot so... Nice n simple they hold the tyres about 2"s in the air... made from my offcuts pile and a small amount from my steel rack While I was at it I finished off a parts trolly/storage rack, with doing the work away stuff I start something mechanical, get it pulled apart, workout whats wrong and a solution and then I've had to go to work.... my memory isn't very good and often when I come back I have a jigsaw puzzle of parts spread over things and a general idea so I end up loosing alot of time while I puzzle out the jigsaw of parts.... as well as loosing time I also seem to loose bolts, even if I don't go near it bolts seem to disapear? So the idea with these trolleys is everything goes onto the trolley in organizer tubs, they get stacked in order, there will be whiteboard markers on the trolley so I can right notes on the tubs as well and they are on casters so if parts are slow or I have to do something else... I can trundle them under a bench so hopefully bolts don't disapear lol Didn't get this one painted till after dark so Pic's tomorrow

Training up a new apprentice..... I'll start with training her to find the veniers, then move onto the 10mm spanner No lol this is one of the new ideas..... got more coming Going to finish off a few things around the shop first, just little things that have been annoying me and I have the potential to over engineer lol about to take the bike in there now so I'll throw up some pic's later tonight when I finish the design on the foundry

Back in my workshop...... Covid kept me in Australia, got talked into going over to help out work, plan was a 10 week stint (including the 2 weeks of isolation in a hotel when I returned to NZ) I'd previously handed my notice due to the Covid restrictions on travel lol..... Almost 5 months later I'm home! Couldn't get a booking in a covid hotel in NZ, no booking no flight.... but I'm home and repeatedly told work not again! So going to take some time off and do some stuff in the shed.... with staying away in hotels I watched too much Youtube lol really shouldn't watch that sort of thing I get ideas

Ooooo nice, I've considered upgrading to Milwaukee..... just for the strength of there rattle guns, the Milwaukee is almost 50% more than the Hitachi/Hikoki catch is all my stuff is Hitachi so I'd have to buy a whole battery and charger with it... and I have other toys I want first

This is a guess.... but it looks like some form of CV boot band setting tool Use the hook to tension the strap then crush the clamp to lock the strap and the "top" blade thing'ie is a guage tool to lock into the band and pull against I have used a tool (borrowed from another mechanic) that was similar.... didn't have a hook like that, it had a little hook you folded the end of the strap into from the side

One more thing being a 110 you may get denied over compliance vehicles imported with a first registered date after a certain date have to have front and side impact air bags and webbing grab seat belts.... I've been told the threshold date has changed (a mate had a corvette that was a month over and untill recently couldn't be registered for the road).... I don't know if this applies to personal vehicles, but I would assume so as you are paying a tax bond which gives you the option to import

I've been involved in shipping earth moving gear to NZ, get a fixed price to clean it (makes cleaning it the responsibility of the cleaning company) we've had gear pushed back multiple times and costs thousand's each time.... any dirt is a fail and being a 4wd they will look I'm pretty certain you are allowed to drive for up to a yr on your GB plates, same here in Australia (seen a few GB plates in NZ) ..... check on this because if you can't and you have modified the vehicle it can get messy with our road rules (if you have PM me and we can talk I know most of the mod rules from when I ran my custom shop) When you get there, get "Responsible Camper Accreditation" its through one of the camper associations, you will need to get a toilet and it has to do with the size of the black, grey and potable water tanks in your camper.... information is online We have had issues with freedom campers in alot of areas who leave rubish and toilet waste.... it is bad enough that some councils hire security staff to move on freedom campers, but if you have the sticker alot of them even have free camping areas. Napier where I'm from they have a parking area with showers and toilets on the beach that you can stay for up to 3 days free

I've been welding up alloy bits for my bike.... finished the first round of this so decide instead of sitting on the half full bottle of gas I'll use it up and return it to BOC (there rental costs are a bit painfull lol) So I setup to weld the wheel scales 6mm and 10mm alloy.... Doing the outside corners, so I setup for a horizontal weld (I'm pushing the limit of material with my 200amp Tig so not even going to attempt to do this vertical ) wind my poor Tig up to 200amps, do a practice pass all good..... stand on the peddle, Damm this is loud!, I'm holding there heating waiting for the sparkles (the oxide) to clear and form a shinny pool.... because I'm in a 90 degree fillet the arc is focusing on one side or the other, so I move the tungston deep in the fillet (I'm a mm... 2mm off either side now), beauty..... the pool is starting to form on both sides..... there we go..... right time to bridge the pools accross so start to wobble the torch and break the surface tension and wick the two pools into one...... PHSTTTT.... Bugger dipped the tip. Im just too shakky lol do another practice run and yep the weight of the cable is enough to shake me.... so grab the mig and I now have a steady for my wrist Right grind the tip, set back up and I'm looking at the weld area there's a bit of that blackish oxide so grab the die grinder and whip the surface off..... with the airmuffs on I noticed my ears ringing, damm this welder is loud! grab some ear plugs All good way we go.... things just arn't working right the pool is building up to one side, filler rod is melting back and dragging the molten material out of the pool.... its been a while since I've welded at this level must be my technique... so play with torch angle/height things improve but still not working right.... I'm a couple of corners in. They are welded lol just not nice I've played with my technique to the point I know its not that so I stop and check the settings..... change my AC balance a little bit, it is a slight improvement but still not right. I've finished all 4 corners on one of the scales now so I stop to change scale covers and noticed theres alot of condensation on the regulator..... what the!..... the flow gauge is max'd..... one of my mates lol, has wound it right in, it took a couple of turns to get the needle off 30Lpm..... dial it back to 8Lpm and I'm no artist lol but thats good enough..... oh and changed my mind on doing full welds on the inside braces becasue of the thickness of material its sucking the heat out of the weld so the welding is very slow.... I've got enough material it should be plenty strong enough for the leverage .... time will tell

That makes alot more sense lol sometimes the blinders drop down and you miss the obvious.... Now to make a frame to hold this and a couple more..... Haveing to put on wet riding gear to ride into the shop yesterday I had a bit of an idea to do with this air heater lol So I can hang these up by the door..... That will hold the jacket open so I can blow warm air up in there to dry them out Time to go build some alloy bits for my bike, really enjoying riding

Was a fun little adventure lol

Got all the cans done, glued in and painted so put it out to test (I've left the glass off so the heat trapped under this doesn't effect measurement of the can/tubes) I set it up at about the ideal for solar panel light collection (40 degrees off horizontal, for my latitude), I was measuring with an IR thermometer (have some issues with certian surfaces) I took measurements randomly over the day from air temps 26 C to 15 C and sun shine varied from bright and strong to overcast and cloudy I measured the surface temp of the top cans in each tube and some metal blocks I placed accross the end of the tubes (so I could measure the exiting air temp of each style of tube) I didn't bother to record temps I was looking for which was most efficent and trends The surprising thing was the winner wasn't the tubes with the most interferance and slowest air flow, it was the tubes with the single tab as each join that was bent like a propeller blade (closest in the bottom pic) The open tubes while having the hotest suface temp were roughly 20% less air temp, the middle ones that I just cut and bent the bottom and top (middle bunch of tubes) I think restricted the air flow the interesting bit was the surface temp was 10% less than the open tubes but 10% more than the winning option.... maybe with a fan drawing air through there maybe a gain with this option At its hotest 26 C air temp and full sun the surface temp was 48 C on the open tubes (the hotest surface temp, but the black colour gave me trouble with the IR thermometer got results from 58-35 C when measuring that, but I take the most consistant of 4 or 5 measurements)

The top is very light I can cut them out easily with a box cutter, I've tried a number of different patterns and knives to cut it.... a hole saw just bites and crumples the can Been thinking how a can has enough structure in its side to take my weight standin on it..... I might be able to build some sort of punch setup that you drop it in and a set of knives. I need to know what shape to build too Had a bit of fun last night coming home from the workshop 231mm of rain yesterday.... when I went to leave the bonnet of the ute went underwater so turned around and parked up at the shed and got my bike.... pouring rain and I'm on the bike lol, got out onto the street my feet are soaked but all good then I discovered there is a section of the street that is lower (never noticed that before) I used to ride rivers when I was younger so as the water got to the seat height I wound the power on to force a bow wave and keep the seat out of the water..... catch is that sheets the water up off the front wheel at me lol up till then I was thinking I should get a pic of how deep 50m later the street came up.... enough to let me slow down, about level with a car that had been abandoned in the road guessing it was hydraulic'd

Done alot of cleaning, been sorting out all the old motors, gearbox's and mechanical stuff I had stashed away..... almost all of it there is nothing wrong with it... I just can't remember what they are from lol, 4 scrap runs and 2 tip runs The test solar air heater is progressing Carving out the ends of the cans is very tedious.... I'll be able to put it out and test heat output difference between the different methods I've used to hollow the cans out " I'm really hoping there is little difference or that the method that removes the least material from teh cans is the best lol Talking with a local shop owner, I've ended up with another "help out" project, a KP60 toyota starlett.... Its a memorial project from a mate that has floundered, the panel and paint has been done it just needs put back together