Recent content by shred

I have an carbide inserted blade from Enco I use on my 12x36, The Made-in-USA blade-and-block they're always putting on sale (although not this month, oddly enough)-- much like the one Bogstandard and others have. It completely rocks over the HSS blades I suffered along with for so long. The one...

I was always a fan of the First Ascent of the North Face of the Uxbridge Road from my climbing days. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U0tDU37q2M

These are extremely handy things to have about. I made a set the first time around and am constantly searching for them in the piles of junk in my shop. I guess I'd better make another pair.. easier than tidying ;). Numbered-thread size holes is worth considering for the US folks too.

I have one of the Harbor Freight swatters (the old yellow one). It does not generate a spark per-se, but instead charges the X and Y of the wire grid to a relatively high voltage (which may be lower than the other circuits as you don't want a spark without a bug completing the circuit). The one...

I made a simple bender from some plans Bogs posted here years ago-- not too different than George's. The trick was cutting the grooves in the rolls-- somebody came up with an ingenious way to do that using a simple drill rod tool held in a lathe toolholder and running the lathe backwards.

Old computers have useful bits in them-- sheet metal from the cases and frames of desktops. Sometimes nice miniature ball bearings in the fans (more so on laptops and once-high-end PCs). Hard drives are a good source of extremely strong magnets and several more ball bearings with varying...

I used as much as would dissolve and then some. Degrease the part and put it in the solution in a jar somewhere you pass by. Shake jar every time you pass it. After a few days I was able to pull out the broken bit.

Brass kick-plates for doors are a great source of sheet brass, but be very careful to check it's really solid brass and not plated steel or anodized aluminum as most are these days.

I have long stuck a straight-shank ER holder in a 5C collet in a block to hold odd sizes my 5C set doesn't go to and this will be much handier. However I'm not tooled up on ER-32... get one now or wait for the 25... hmm... ???

You'll just have to make the tension overarm then... I looked at one a few years ago and it wasn't terribly complicated-- a spring-loaded sliding block with a couple bronze gib strips to take up wear. Maybe Bogs can post some piccies of the one he has as well.

I have a die-filer (two now actually :o). There's not that much to them, which is good given the lack of information around. A good manual for an All American Die Filer is posted on the net that will get you most of what you need to know (some machines tilt the table, some the file, but I think...

I have one like the first link and it's a poorly made one. It works, but it leaks and doesn't pump all that well. It does ok with ball-oilers though. Since then I have been dropping by garage sales and picked up a couple old Eagle brand ones that are much nicer and much less leaky (although a...

FWIW, this seller has a reputation for listing everything as 'NICE!!!" or better. That and rumors of shilling too. But I've bought things from them and been ok with the price and condition overall.

I've found a few Kennedy boxes for sale on Craigslist. Each time I've come away with a trove of experience and shop-made tooling from the old hands that were finally letting go of their boxes and were happy to see them go to somebody that would use them as they were intended. It's enlightening...

By an odd coincidence I was looking for bulk 0.035" hex keys last night for a possible small-run product using 2-56 set screws. Enco has 'imports' at ~$5 per 100 or 'Eklund' for ~$20 per 25. Is there really that big a difference between a 5 cent key and a dollar one? The 0.035" size is one size...