Recent content by Stuart Samuel

Yep! I’m thinking that, if I’m going to try it, I might as well give it a best case scenario, and make some sort of split forming tool from some brass offcuts at work.

Good idea! My suspicion is I’m out of luck, but I don’t have much to lose there. I’d also considered getting some copper tube and soldering (either silver brazing or higher strength tin/silver stuff) the existing ends onto new tube. Could machine a little collar to keep everything lined up at...

I’m bouncing between bigger stuff and smaller, more achievable stuff on the lathe. Took apart the threading dial and got it moving again. Took off that clearly damaged oil line. Spent a little time disassembling the 3 jaw chuck it came with and cleaning that out. Some rust, and a cracked pinion...

Thanks Don, thanks Dan!

Anyone recognize these fittings, and have a name for them? Oil line is crushed on the outside of the headstock. Copper tubing OD is 2.97mm, body of the bead/ferrule/thingamagig, which looks like a brass alloy give or take, is 4.97mm. The tubing appears to protrude through at one end, making me...

Yep! Use them all the time at work. Only cautionary note, I blew up a 1” one on some brass. It was brand new, razor sharp, and I lowered it in with the quill on a knee-mill. Dove into the material as soon as it made contact, and bam. Now I use the knee to bring the work up in a controlled...

That hadn’t crossed my mind! I’ve used it to scrub walls before painting, thanks for the tip!

Hey, that looks familiar! Same one’s sitting in my front room. :) Except mine was stripped of all accessories, and cost $2800. Hmm. I think I’ll save those photos for reference. Thanks for posting it!

My usual practice is to work with a bend allowance of 1.5 x metal thickness per 90 degree bend. So, on a piece with four bends, add up all outside dimensions (or inside, but needs to be apples to apples), and subtract 6 x MT (add if you're using inside measurements). It's less and less accurate...

Same, on all counts!

Never had a chance to weld stainless with stick. My current job is all tig, haven’t run any stick in over a decade. I’d probably fail a flat test.

Sold!

I had the most trouble learning vertical, honestly. Just couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. One of the other students was a really phenomenal welder who’d worked in the shipyards inland from Shanghai. He let me watch him weld, I had sort of an epiphany. After that, overhead was totally...

I do remember noticing that if my plate was really, really hot, and I wasn’t 100% sure of a stop, I could, uh, edit it a little with a knotted wire wheel.

Hey Dan, I have an extra set of these from trade college, let me know if you want them.