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Welcome to Westwood Metalworks, What is he building in there?

Also finished the contact wheel snap ring groove, and the tracking wheel axle.

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Machined the bought wheel to length, then measure how close i got the bearing bore depths between the two.
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Not bad, for the hokiest setup for depth control ive done yet....

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The axel was made from a large fhcs
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Thats all for today.....
 
Spent the morning redoing the cad modeling for the grinder. Still not "done", but done enough that I can finish the axles for the platten attachment wheels. I had prints printed from the original model pre crash, but I made a call to flip the wheels end for end to what I originally had, so wanted to draw them to make sure it would be right. Still a few more things left to model until I'm back to where I was, but I'm not doing all the revisions and major design changes I made along the way. Still really bummed about losing those, as that was a major thing I wanted to highlight when I get to the point of doing a build thread on it. Oh well, something, something spilled milk......

Then I started cleaning up from my school work and took some pics of my final drafting project, and machine shop project (tap wrench). See If you can spot the difference between them......
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We also made a prybar from c1045. Machined taper, forged pry end. Normalized, Hardened and tempered. What looks to be a crack in the tip is just a scratch. Just noticed it after taking the picture......Had a bit of a panic when I saw the pics lol

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Should be pretty handy at work. Not sure I'll ever use the tap wrench, but it was a fun one....
 
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Dan Dubeau said:
Spent the morning redoing the cad modeling for the grinder. Still not "done", but done enough that I can finish the axles for the platten attachment wheels. I had prints printed from the original model pre crash, but I made a call to flip the wheels end for end to what I originally had, so wanted to draw them to make sure it would be right. Still a few more things left to model until I'm back to where I was, but I'm not doing all the revisions and major design changes I made along the way. Still really bummed about losing those, as that was a major thing I wanted to highlight when I get to the point of doing a build thread on it. Oh well, something, something spilled milk......

Then I started cleaning up from my school work and took some pics of my final drafting project, and machine shop project (tap wrench). See If you can spot the difference between them......
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We also made a prybar from c1045. Machined taper, forged pry end. Normalized, Hardened and tempered. What looks to be a crack in the tip is just a scratch. Just noticed it after taking the picture......Had a bit of a panic when I saw the pics lol

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Should be pretty handy at work. Not sure I'll ever use the tap wrench, but it was a fun one....
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That is a nice looking tap wrench, it would get used a fair bit around here.
 
Found a few axles hiding in these today...Salvaged 6"x1-1/4" FHCS from rock crusher wear plates I worked on a few months back. I save everything 😀
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Have not pressed them in fully yet, but will probably do them tomorrow, as well as a few more finishing touches. All wheels except the drive wheel are mounted and rolling now...
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One. More. Piece to make
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I had planned on casting it today, but re thought that plan when I went outside lol. I don't need it that bad, It can wait....
 
Got some finishing touches done today. The axles pressed in, and all the wheels but one mounted.
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There is about a 1 thou interference on the 1/2" diameter, and I will eventually weld the backside, but want to run it first incase there's any issues with that design.

With any luck I'll cast the drive wheel in the morning.....maybe. some unexpected lawnmower repairs need done too.....
 
Well, I finally had a successful lost foam wheel casting today.

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Deja vu yet?

Here's something not seen yet. A good casting...
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Almost got it all machined, but i got called into work tonight, so had to quit early. Only the taper lock bore left. It cleaned up pretty good, some slight porosity/sand inclusions, but not bad enough to worry about.

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Pretty happy right now 🙂. If I didn't have to work tonight I'd have a running grinder before I went to bed tonight.....tomorrow for sure 🙂

Wasn't sure the myford could get it all, but was no prob. But clearance is clearance....almost like i planned it....
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JustaDB said:
Crocs. The preferred footwear for those who deal with hot, liquid metal... 😛
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All kidding aside, I practically lived in crocs for several years outside of work. I developed some pretty bad problems with my feet but didn't associate them with my feet. I saw my family doctor who said I shouldn't wear crocs and referred me to a foot specialist. The foot specialist said no more crocs.

I have not worn crocs in 15 years now but the problems caused by them are still haunting me.

Today I mostly wear Clarke's and Merrell's. I'll never wear Crocs again.
 
I changed into proper clothes and footware before the casting fellas..... I wasn't wearing that stuff any longer than I had to......
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And yeah, crocs are terrible for your feet. I don't wear them much, just slipping on to putter in the garden, shop or backyard. If I wear them too long back, knees, feet start to feel it.
 
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No progress on the wheel today. Work kicked my ass last night, and I slept all day to go back in tonight. Was rebuilding the vanes of a large fan separator that grenaded it internals. Fun time......

I did have a thought last night around 4/5am though....Not sure if it was a fever dream or not, but the crucible I made to pour this using my forge is really no longer of any use. It was basically just to get me through this job, and I'm going to focus on building a proper foundry to use graphite crucibles next, before I do anymore large castings. I'd thought about using it as a large ingot mold when I was finished with it, and that's why I made it drafted on all sides. But I had another idea last night to make a lid for it and use it for hardening/case hardening. Maybe like a sliding lid that I would be able to get off in a hurry to quench. Bolts would be too slow I think. I'd like to be able to play around with colour case hardening with various carbon sources, and having a large vessel like this would be very handy. Any thoughts, ideas, anecdotes, or good limericks?
 
Susquatch said:
All kidding aside, I practically lived in crocs for several years outside of work.
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I've never seen the draw. For 18 years my daily footwear used to be a pair of Zamberlan hiking boots. On my 4th pair. With the advent of my newish job 2+ years ago, I wear safety boots during the week & the Zamberlans on the weekend. Occasionally a pair of shitkickers when I ride. Save for a pair of Florsheim loafers for dress, a pair of sneakers for canoeing and a pair of sandals, that's the extent of my shoe closet.
 
JustaDB said:
I've never seen the draw. For 18 years my daily footwear used to be a pair of Zamberlan hiking boots. On my 4th pair. With the advent of my newish job 2+ years ago, I wear safety boots during the week & the Zamberlans on the weekend. Occasionally a pair of shitkickers when I ride. Save for a pair of Florsheim loafers for dress, a pair of sneakers for canoeing and a pair of sandals, that's the extent of my shoe closet.
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I have zero idea what you just said
 
Now that I am wearing girl clothes all the time I get to use the 20 pairs of shoes I own! I have 2 pairs of hiking boots, one for every day wear, and another for trail use. When I'm in a skirt, it might be heels or wedges, but mostly it is sneakers and flats.

Around the shop it is always hiking boots - lathe swarf is too hot! My green tab boots are too uncomfortable to wear on my concrete floor for a long shop session. Why are safety boots so damn uncomfortable?
 
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