# A few projects on the go - Super post



## Jwest7788 (Oct 12, 2016)

I've been a little "radio silent lately", figured I would post an update with what I have been working on.

Nothing is actually complete yet, everything being worked on, but it's been so long, I should post something!

1) Clickspring Gyroscopes (X-mas gifts for brother and father)
Notes: Broke a drill bit off into the brass, the submerged part is dissolving the drill bit in Alum
Make shift press due to over-sized rod, and having already removed the part from the super glue arbor.



 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 



Still need to: Make the bearing rods, tap the outer frame, make the pullstring + handles

2) Ford Ranger hidden winch install:
Notes: The 3/8" X 8" X 32" flatbar with the super heavy winch together require a car jack to get up against my truck, too heavy for this lad.
Had to remove the solenoid box and turn some (red, becuase I'm classy) support rods.



 


 


 


 


 


 



Still need to: Mount the solenoids to the new location, Make the solenoids water resistant now that they're out of their case, make extention 2Guage cables to reach the winch motor, wire the inside cab controls. - Relocate the front tow hooks (or weld back on, long story)


3) Not metal, but made my first set of stairs:



 




4) Am storing a lathe for @kylemp for a bit



 


 


 



Beer can for scale?

5) Am building the protospace "Pneumatic, automatic, pop can crusher" project.
Still planning this out, no pics yet.


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## Alexander (Oct 12, 2016)

Good stuff! Are you going to wire kyles lathe? You know for optimum storage, possibly start it up and if the chips fly no harm right? @kyle if you need to store your surface grinder somewhere i have a spot right here for it right in front of the rotary phase converter.


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## Jwest7788 (Oct 12, 2016)

Haha, it's 600V if I recall correctly. So no such luck unfortunately. 
Yeah, I could get behind the idea of a surface grinder too. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## PeterT (Oct 14, 2016)

_...Broke a drill bit off into the brass, the submerged part is dissolving the drill bit in Alum_

I experienced the brass 'grab' issue on the lathe recently. Didn't break the drill, but caught me off guard. It dug into the hole & managed to spin the shank in the chuck. No harm done but a good kick in the pants to deal with this properly next time. I read a few articles that are mostly confusing using words like 'dullen' the bit. What they really mean is to reduce the (normally) positive rake angle. There is a picture half way down this link that shows the procedure. I blackened the tip with a Sharpy felt & used my magnifier to ensure the relief (now shiny metal) was equal. Seemed to work much better. It did not grab & 2 equal swarf spirals came off. I have one of those el-cheapo Darex sharpeners so rather than make a dedicated set of drills for brass which I seem to do little of, I will just stone the modified rake angle for brass job, then re-sharpen restore immediately after. BTW not all brass is equal & I think that was another issue. Maybe the lead content (free machining) or lack thereof on this particular material?

http://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/viewtopic.php?t=90388


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## Jwest7788 (Oct 14, 2016)

PeterT said:


> _...Broke a drill bit off into the brass, the submerged part is dissolving the drill bit in Alum_
> 
> I experienced the brass 'grab' issue on the lathe recently. Didn't break the drill, but caught me off guard. It dug into the hole & managed to spin the shank in the chuck. No harm done but a good kick in the pants to deal with this properly next time. I read a few articles that are mostly confusing using words like 'dullen' the bit. What they really mean is to reduce the (normally) positive rake angle. There is a picture half way down this link that shows the procedure. I blackened the tip with a Sharpy felt & used my magnifier to ensure the relief (now shiny metal) was equal. Seemed to work much better. It did not grab & 2 equal swarf spirals came off. I have one of those el-cheapo Darex sharpeners so rather than make a dedicated set of drills for brass which I seem to do little of, I will just stone the modified rake angle for brass job, then re-sharpen restore immediately after. BTW not all brass is equal & I think that was another issue. Maybe the lead content (free machining) or lack thereof on this particular material?
> 
> http://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/viewtopic.php?t=90388




Yeah, I read about "brassing off" drill bits pretty much minutes after breaking that drill bit off. I learned about the alum trick here: 



--> Turns out it works perfect in brass as well as aluminum. Took days, but worked just fine.

The bit turned into a fine black iron oxide powder.

Yeah, I ended up "brassing off" a bit and then using a sharpie to mark the bit for later.


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## Jwest7788 (Nov 14, 2016)

Follow ups:

On the gyroscope project:



 


 
Almost done this one, still need to make the pull cord/string (bought some 50lb fishing line yesterday), Also need to generally clean up the parts, bit of sanding. After a test spin, I've decided I need to remove more material from the portion closer to the middle / axis of rotation. Was hoping to avoid it, but will probably buy a bigger drill bit and follow clickspring's gyroscope plans a little closer for that. 

Truck winch:
All installed and back together. Had to relocate the front tow hooks to make space for the final winch placement. Wired up into the cab with a master shutoff to prevent anyone tampering with the winch when I am not around too.



 


 


 


 


 


 
(apparently I forgot to take an "all done" photo though, haha)
Thanks again @Janger for your help with the mig welding.


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## Janger (Nov 14, 2016)

I really like the gyroscope Josh. Really nice work. My Dad would love one of those. where did you get the giant brass  stock?

Will drilling out holes be tricky? I would think even a small error will screw up the balance.


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## PeterT (Nov 14, 2016)

Cool gyro's. Getting a jump on Christmas gifts... or planning a back yard rocket launch?


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## Jwest7788 (Nov 15, 2016)

Janger said:


> I really like the gyroscope Josh. Really nice work. My Dad would love one of those. where did you get the giant brass  stock?
> 
> Will drilling out holes be tricky? I would think even a small error will screw up the balance.


I'm a little wary of the hole drilling. Started yesterday and immediately began running into troubles drilling the brass with my little mill. I have a little (6"?) rotary table, which should get me close to on point with my hole placement. That and a dial indicator anyways.

Yeah, drilling the brass is turning out to be a bit tricky though, I admit. Need more clamps I think. Already scrapped one axel, which sucks.



PeterT said:


> Cool gyro's. Getting a jump on Christmas gifts... or planning a back yard rocket launch?


How did you hear about that?


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## Janger (Nov 15, 2016)

SpaceX job interview? Tell Elon I say hi!


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## DPittman (Nov 15, 2016)

Your gyro project got me all excited and now I wanna try one...I don't have a mill so the wheel holes will be tricky for me.  The trickiest part however is turning the 3" round stock that I have and thought was BRASS but turns out is COPPER!  I've tried a little facing and I think it will be do-able. 
What did you use for the outer frame? I haven't got any aluminum pipe like what is required.


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## Jwest7788 (Nov 16, 2016)

DPittman said:


> Your gyro project got me all excited and now I wanna try one...I don't have a mill so the wheel holes will be tricky for me.  The trickiest part however is turning the 3" round stock that I have and thought was BRASS but turns out is COPPER!  I've tried a little facing and I think it will be do-able.
> What did you use for the outer frame? I haven't got any aluminum pipe like what is required.


Actually I used aluminum pipe. Mine might be undersized though. I'll measure tonight, if it's big enough, you're welcome to a slice. 

JW


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## DPittman (Nov 16, 2016)

So do you think the size is critical?  What would oversize or under size matter? (As long as there was enough clearance for the wheel).  
Thanks for the offer of sharing a slice of yours with me but I haven't even started to look for some myself.  I'm also 3 hours south of you so logistically pick up is difficult.  Thanks tho!
I'll look forward to hearing how the completed gyro works.


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## Jwest7788 (Nov 16, 2016)

DPittman said:


> So do you think the size is critical?  What would oversize or under size matter? (As long as there was enough clearance for the wheel).
> Thanks for the offer of sharing a slice of yours with me but I haven't even started to look for some myself.  I'm also 3 hours south of you so logistically pick up is difficult.  Thanks tho!
> I'll look forward to hearing how the completed gyro works.


Right, forgot about the distance there. I head to the crowsnest pass about once a month though. I would be happy to take the highway 2 instead of the 22, down to highway 3, maybe meet for coffee in Fort Macleod, if you have any troubles finding a ring.

Nope, size of the ring isn't critical, as long as the brass fits. --> The axle can be made longer or shorter as needed to adapt the design.

Do buy some fishing line for a pull cord, short of silk which I think is best, 50lb line has been working great.

Anyone have thoughts on Brass VS Bronze for the bearing surface? I had a rod of bronze I ended up using, but wasn't sure what was technically better?


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## DPittman (Nov 16, 2016)

Jwest7788 said:


> Right, forgot about the distance there. I head to the crowsnest pass about once a month though. I would be happy to take the highway 2 instead of the 22, down to highway 3, maybe meet for coffee in Fort Macleod, if you have any troubles finding a ring.
> 
> Nope, size of the ring isn't critical, as long as the brass fits. --> The axle can be made longer or shorter as needed to adapt the design.
> 
> ...



Hey thanks for the great offer, I might just have to take you up on it someday not because the piece of pipe is so hard to come by but rather I would love to meet you and and shoot the breeze about shop things!

It seems to me bronze was used in the past for bearing surfaces.  I have a hunch that it would be preferred over brass.  I think old lathes used babbitt bearings but that's different from bronze.


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## Alexander (Nov 16, 2016)

Bronze is better than brass in every possible way when making bushings. Less friction, longer lasting reduced running temperature. I imagine someone else will be able to elaborate. I am not no engineer but did get a chance to take a few courses on metallurgy.


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## Dabbler (Nov 17, 2016)

easy.  all bronzes are harder than brasses.


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