Saturday, February 4, 2017
Friday, February 3, 2017
Where Have You Been All My Life You Little Darlin'?
I think I'm in love again.
I have been out in the garage most of the day doing what my Dad used to call Piddle Fartin' Around.
Dinking around with this and that, putting some stuff away, going through and emptying out boxes of crap and fixing a few things here and there.
One of the items that has been on my list was to shorten up the handle on my vise that a buddy made me.
It's 1/2 stainless rod and threaded on both ends with bigger 1" solid rod ends on both ends for handles. It worked great but it was about 4" too long and it was like spinning a clothes rod out of a closet.
I mean it worked good when you wanted to clamp the shit out of something because there was leverage to spare but it was a real pain if you just wanted to stick something in it real quick to do something because you had a hell of a throw on it you had to whip around. It would catch on my coat and just generally was a nuisance.
So I cut it down with my little portable band saw and stuck it in the lathe so I could turn it down and rethread it.
I tried using the Harbor Freight cutting bits but they are pretty useless.
That meant grinding one of the HSS blanks, something I had never done to make a cutting bit.
A buddy at worked turned me on to the best tutorial a guy could ever want for that. The gentleman uses a hunk of 4X4 to show you what the thing actually looks like and how to grind each face.
It's an awesome video you can watch here.
My first attempt kinda sorta worked, for a short while.
I had too much of an edge on it and unbeknownst to me, the top of it chipped off after a few minutes and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why the damn thing wasn't cutting anymore.
Being the sometimes stupid and always stubborn bastard that I am, I kept trying and trying for quite a while before I finally got frustrated enough to pull the bit out and actually look at it.
My second attempt was a little better, it actually started cutting and making chips.
Oh boy was I stoked.
I had played with the thing but was practicing on a brass rod that was pretty soft.
Stainless steel can be a bit of a challenge but I have some pretty good cutting oil that I kept brushing on it and that helped tremendously.
Of course this is a little machine so that means you have to make little cuts too.
Lots and lots of little cuts.
I finally got the turning and feed speed set to the point it was working pretty good and just started making passes.
I was finally making nice, curly, spirals of stainless steel happiness.
Here is the obligatory crappy picture, one of these days I am going to go down and get a real cell phone.
As I was standing there watching it work it occurred to me that there must have been a hundred times in my life that I could have used this thing to make my life easier.
I have tried chucking pieces up in a drill press and using a file on them before because I didn't have a lathe.
It didn't escape my attention that I am about as green as green gets when it comes to using this thing and there is a steep learning curve staring me in the face but I am making progress and that is all that matters to me.
I see lots of practice and lots of money throwing in my future but I am just tickled to death with the thing.
I have already informed The Wifely Unit that she needs to start saving money for next Christmas
There is something else I really want now.
I have been out in the garage most of the day doing what my Dad used to call Piddle Fartin' Around.
Dinking around with this and that, putting some stuff away, going through and emptying out boxes of crap and fixing a few things here and there.
One of the items that has been on my list was to shorten up the handle on my vise that a buddy made me.
It's 1/2 stainless rod and threaded on both ends with bigger 1" solid rod ends on both ends for handles. It worked great but it was about 4" too long and it was like spinning a clothes rod out of a closet.
I mean it worked good when you wanted to clamp the shit out of something because there was leverage to spare but it was a real pain if you just wanted to stick something in it real quick to do something because you had a hell of a throw on it you had to whip around. It would catch on my coat and just generally was a nuisance.
So I cut it down with my little portable band saw and stuck it in the lathe so I could turn it down and rethread it.
I tried using the Harbor Freight cutting bits but they are pretty useless.
That meant grinding one of the HSS blanks, something I had never done to make a cutting bit.
A buddy at worked turned me on to the best tutorial a guy could ever want for that. The gentleman uses a hunk of 4X4 to show you what the thing actually looks like and how to grind each face.
It's an awesome video you can watch here.
My first attempt kinda sorta worked, for a short while.
I had too much of an edge on it and unbeknownst to me, the top of it chipped off after a few minutes and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why the damn thing wasn't cutting anymore.
Being the sometimes stupid and always stubborn bastard that I am, I kept trying and trying for quite a while before I finally got frustrated enough to pull the bit out and actually look at it.
My second attempt was a little better, it actually started cutting and making chips.
Oh boy was I stoked.
I had played with the thing but was practicing on a brass rod that was pretty soft.
Stainless steel can be a bit of a challenge but I have some pretty good cutting oil that I kept brushing on it and that helped tremendously.
Of course this is a little machine so that means you have to make little cuts too.
Lots and lots of little cuts.
I finally got the turning and feed speed set to the point it was working pretty good and just started making passes.
I was finally making nice, curly, spirals of stainless steel happiness.
Here is the obligatory crappy picture, one of these days I am going to go down and get a real cell phone.
As I was standing there watching it work it occurred to me that there must have been a hundred times in my life that I could have used this thing to make my life easier.
I have tried chucking pieces up in a drill press and using a file on them before because I didn't have a lathe.
It didn't escape my attention that I am about as green as green gets when it comes to using this thing and there is a steep learning curve staring me in the face but I am making progress and that is all that matters to me.
I see lots of practice and lots of money throwing in my future but I am just tickled to death with the thing.
I have already informed The Wifely Unit that she needs to start saving money for next Christmas
There is something else I really want now.
The Oakland Raiders Need A Quarterback
Someone put them in touch with this gal please.
As an added bonus their front line would break records defending that.
As an added bonus their front line would break records defending that.
Thursday, February 2, 2017
You Have Got To Be Fucking Kidding Me
I have seen some stupid motherfuckers in my day but this is super concentrated weapons grade stupid.
Mission Accomplished
Damn, the shit a guy has to deal with in these newer houses.
I took the Sprite downtown in this freezing ass weather to pick up some Briggs and Stratton parts that I ordered yesterday just because its not raining, snowing or hailing outside at the moment and I needed to pull it out of the garage to get in there and do some shit anyway.
That fucking East wind is howling again so the wind chill is about 27 degrees and did I mention there is no heater in the little beastie?
Yeah.
So I get home and can't feel half my fingers and the very first thing I hear is that there is something beeping in the house, again.
I went through this the other day when I popped a circuit breaker fucking with that little table saw and it turned out to be the defunct ADT alarm system bitching at me because the power supply got interrupted.
So of course, my wife starts in saying it's fucked up again and that I need to fix it.
I couldn't even tell you where or how many sensors there are in this place that go to that but it is more than a few I do know.
I went and took a look at it and there are some trouble codes flashing but while I am doing that, whatever is doing the beeping let out a chirp.
The kid was standing around with his thumb up his ass in between video game battles so I told him to listen for where that is coming from.
He says it's the alarm system again.
It beeps again.
I know that beep.
It ain't the alarm system, it's a fucking smoke detector letting me know the battery needs to be replaced because I just did that for the one in the dining room two weeks ago.
I also used the last damn 9 volt battery in the house to do it and forgot to get more so I could go around and do them all.
It took a couple of minutes to figure out which one it was but we finally narrowed it down to the one in the oldest boy's room.
He is autistic so he isn't coming out and saying anything about it. Poor kid is just suffering in silence and watching his television.
A quick trip to the convenience store to pick up the last fucking 9 volt battery they had of course, and back to finish the job.
As I am on my way back from the store, I remembered an old joke that seemed to fit this situation perfectly.
So I did my manly duty and fixed the damn beeping so I could finish going about my business undisturbed.
As I was trying to figure out which smoke alarm was being the whiny little bitch, this tune popped into my head.
I am so glad I'm on vacation.
Right?
I took the Sprite downtown in this freezing ass weather to pick up some Briggs and Stratton parts that I ordered yesterday just because its not raining, snowing or hailing outside at the moment and I needed to pull it out of the garage to get in there and do some shit anyway.
That fucking East wind is howling again so the wind chill is about 27 degrees and did I mention there is no heater in the little beastie?
Yeah.
So I get home and can't feel half my fingers and the very first thing I hear is that there is something beeping in the house, again.
I went through this the other day when I popped a circuit breaker fucking with that little table saw and it turned out to be the defunct ADT alarm system bitching at me because the power supply got interrupted.
So of course, my wife starts in saying it's fucked up again and that I need to fix it.
I couldn't even tell you where or how many sensors there are in this place that go to that but it is more than a few I do know.
I went and took a look at it and there are some trouble codes flashing but while I am doing that, whatever is doing the beeping let out a chirp.
The kid was standing around with his thumb up his ass in between video game battles so I told him to listen for where that is coming from.
He says it's the alarm system again.
It beeps again.
I know that beep.
It ain't the alarm system, it's a fucking smoke detector letting me know the battery needs to be replaced because I just did that for the one in the dining room two weeks ago.
I also used the last damn 9 volt battery in the house to do it and forgot to get more so I could go around and do them all.
It took a couple of minutes to figure out which one it was but we finally narrowed it down to the one in the oldest boy's room.
He is autistic so he isn't coming out and saying anything about it. Poor kid is just suffering in silence and watching his television.
A quick trip to the convenience store to pick up the last fucking 9 volt battery they had of course, and back to finish the job.
As I am on my way back from the store, I remembered an old joke that seemed to fit this situation perfectly.
Q: How many women does it take to change a light bulb?
A: No one knows, they would rather sit in the dark and bitch about the light bulb being out.
So I did my manly duty and fixed the damn beeping so I could finish going about my business undisturbed.
As I was trying to figure out which smoke alarm was being the whiny little bitch, this tune popped into my head.
I am so glad I'm on vacation.
Right?
I Got This
Who needs a Kitchenaid when you have a drill press?
Shamelessly stolen from Mr. Orsm, who is extremely NSFW just so ya know.
Shamelessly stolen from Mr. Orsm, who is extremely NSFW just so ya know.
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
One Down Finally
I'm tellin' ya, I have more little projects than Carter has little liver pills.
Because I quit the drinking I'm not sitting in a bar throwing money and time away anymore so I justify it that way.
Something to keep me busy.
After 3 days of fucking around, I finally got one of them done to the point that I can find a spot for it and set it aside for now.
The little vintage Atlas table saw.
When I went and picked it up from my buddy, he told me that he had looked around on the internet trying to find out what year it was made and he said the closest he could figure was about 1943.
I did the same and came up with the same results.
The thing that pretty much pinpoints that year are the style of hand wheels for the adjustments.
All the other years had actual wheels, except that one.
I posted about the wiring disaster someone had cobbled together the other day but here is a refresher picture. This after I unwrapped half a roll of nasty old black electrical tape.
A few bucks later for materials and flunking Electrical 101 twice, I finally got the thing wired up and working.
I had it wired and working yesterday but it came on as soon as you plugged it in even though I had run new wires to the switch.
This caused me to second guess my electrical skills and I wound up tearing the wiring back out of it.
First mistake.
I dicked around with it and then got the wires all mixed up.
Second mistake.
I finally put it back to where it would run again when I plugged it in. Then I unplugged it and took the switch out to test it.
Bingo.
That little toggle switch to the right.
The contacts inside stayed closed even though you could hear and feel it clicking when you flipped it up and down.
I don't know why I find this hard to believe because I am such a pack rat but I actually found a brand new, exact duplicate, toggle switch in my electrical parts drawers. After I wired it and and did some continuity tests I put it all back together and plugged it in again.
This time it didn't come on by its self but did when I flipped the switch.
That worked for me.
I think it may have a bad bearing on the shaft for the blade, it has a bad spot in it at one certain point and wants to bind a bit but that is something for another day down the road.
It works. I even got all the features cleaned up, lubed and in working condition, including the table tilt.The very first thing I did was to free up the miter gauge guide that was rusted into the channel. It slides nice and smooth now.
That motor is as heavy as the cast iron saw assembly and it wants to tilt backwards because of it.
Some day I will get a newer motor and get a stand to bolt the thing to but as of right now, it works and it would cut wood if I needed to.
It's actually a pretty cool little saw and we all know that they used to build stuff to last.
That's why I like old machinery in the first place.
If it's heavy then it's worth having.
There isn't one single piece of plastic on the whole thing except the wire nuts I bought for the motor and the plug for the outlet has some, even it has a metal shield around the outside for grounding.
I'll finish getting it cleaned up some and replace that bearing if it turns out to be bad. After that and a newer motor, the thing should be good to go for another 75 years.
Because I quit the drinking I'm not sitting in a bar throwing money and time away anymore so I justify it that way.
Something to keep me busy.
After 3 days of fucking around, I finally got one of them done to the point that I can find a spot for it and set it aside for now.
The little vintage Atlas table saw.
When I went and picked it up from my buddy, he told me that he had looked around on the internet trying to find out what year it was made and he said the closest he could figure was about 1943.
I did the same and came up with the same results.
The thing that pretty much pinpoints that year are the style of hand wheels for the adjustments.
All the other years had actual wheels, except that one.
I posted about the wiring disaster someone had cobbled together the other day but here is a refresher picture. This after I unwrapped half a roll of nasty old black electrical tape.
A few bucks later for materials and flunking Electrical 101 twice, I finally got the thing wired up and working.
I had it wired and working yesterday but it came on as soon as you plugged it in even though I had run new wires to the switch.
This caused me to second guess my electrical skills and I wound up tearing the wiring back out of it.
First mistake.
I dicked around with it and then got the wires all mixed up.
Second mistake.
I finally put it back to where it would run again when I plugged it in. Then I unplugged it and took the switch out to test it.
Bingo.
That little toggle switch to the right.
The contacts inside stayed closed even though you could hear and feel it clicking when you flipped it up and down.
I don't know why I find this hard to believe because I am such a pack rat but I actually found a brand new, exact duplicate, toggle switch in my electrical parts drawers. After I wired it and and did some continuity tests I put it all back together and plugged it in again.
This time it didn't come on by its self but did when I flipped the switch.
I think it may have a bad bearing on the shaft for the blade, it has a bad spot in it at one certain point and wants to bind a bit but that is something for another day down the road.
It works. I even got all the features cleaned up, lubed and in working condition, including the table tilt.The very first thing I did was to free up the miter gauge guide that was rusted into the channel. It slides nice and smooth now.
That motor is as heavy as the cast iron saw assembly and it wants to tilt backwards because of it.
Some day I will get a newer motor and get a stand to bolt the thing to but as of right now, it works and it would cut wood if I needed to.
It's actually a pretty cool little saw and we all know that they used to build stuff to last.
That's why I like old machinery in the first place.
If it's heavy then it's worth having.
There isn't one single piece of plastic on the whole thing except the wire nuts I bought for the motor and the plug for the outlet has some, even it has a metal shield around the outside for grounding.
I'll finish getting it cleaned up some and replace that bearing if it turns out to be bad. After that and a newer motor, the thing should be good to go for another 75 years.
Great, There Is More Of That Fucking White Shit Coming
What the fuck is up with that shit?
This ain't normal for around here.
If and when we get nasty freezing cold weather, it generally happens one time in a year and lasts two weeks at most. We normally don't get a whole lot of it to begin with.
We already had that and plenty of it, a couple of weeks ago as a matter of fact.
Now they are saying we are going to get six more inches of snow and then some more freezing rain starting tomorrow, then again on Monday.
Fuck me runnin'.
I personally can not remember it doing this twice like that, weeks apart.
I was out in the back yard earlier and I'll be damned if I don't already see flowers on some of the plants out there and new shoots and buds everywhere.
The Daffodils are already about four inches tall so it won't be long when they start flowering too.
When I saw all that my mind started wandering into garden mode.
I was thinking about planting a few peas just to see if they will grow.
Looks like I will be waiting on that a bit longer.
This ain't normal for around here.
If and when we get nasty freezing cold weather, it generally happens one time in a year and lasts two weeks at most. We normally don't get a whole lot of it to begin with.
We already had that and plenty of it, a couple of weeks ago as a matter of fact.
Now they are saying we are going to get six more inches of snow and then some more freezing rain starting tomorrow, then again on Monday.
Fuck me runnin'.
I personally can not remember it doing this twice like that, weeks apart.
I was out in the back yard earlier and I'll be damned if I don't already see flowers on some of the plants out there and new shoots and buds everywhere.
The Daffodils are already about four inches tall so it won't be long when they start flowering too.
When I saw all that my mind started wandering into garden mode.
I was thinking about planting a few peas just to see if they will grow.
Looks like I will be waiting on that a bit longer.
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