Little help for a neighbor (on topic)

Nice job. One of my first exposures to metalworking (maybe THE first) was when I was four or five years old and a part on my little brother's crib had to be welded.

They look good. :)

Interesting what we remember.

I had a chain-drive tricycle as a preschooler. I have no idea where my Dad got that trike since we were poor. By and by, the chain guard broke. My dad asked me how I rode the trike. I explained that I pretended the two screws that held the chainguard were clutch and brake that needed to be stomped upon from time to time, like grownups do when they're driving.

He found a guy to weld the broken bracket.

Don, very cute, much better than the original. How did you put that little knob on?

OMG!! Someone will put their eye out!!

Very very very nicely done! A craftsmans job indeed!

Gunner

"Confiscating wealth from those who have earned it, inherited it, or got lucky is never going to help 'the poor.' Poverty isn't caused by some people having more money than others, just as obesity isn't caused by McDonald's serving super-sized orders of French fries Poverty, like obesity, is caused by the life choices that dictate results." - John Tucci,

I've got to get or make some vise jaw pads. Is that what you used? If I did those now, you'd see nicks.

I made cylinders .317 dia and .375 long (per the original), drilled and reamed them .1880. I turned little pegs on the 1/4" rod .1875 dia by .375 long. Silver-brazed cylinders on the pegs, shaped them in the lathe with a file. It only took a couple of minutes.

I did get some nicks in one of them. The nicks got removed when I shined them up at the buffer to knock the black oxide off from brazing and hot-bending, preparatory to plating.

Hot bending really requires very little force, so the vise need not be cranked hard. Just wrist-twist force with pliers is enough. The region and location of the bend can be controlled quite well by localized heating with an aircraft torch. It ain't production speed by any means, but it does get 'er done with no jigging.

We're going down to Rochester today and will be there all day tomorrow, but upon return the parts will go into the ultrasonic cleaner for a bit (to remove the wax from the buffing compound) and then they'll be plated with copper and nickle so they don't rust.

Don, the result is very cute. Thanks for sharing. My lathe is, finally, in a great working condition, so I will start trying to make similar things also. Obviously there is much to learn.

Man, you really go all out when you take on a job! I'm guessing that those brackets are probably in a prominent place, so they need to look good.

Don Foreman on Mon, 01 Nov 2010

Cool. nice work too.

It is always "easy"for the guy who knows what they are doing. Some days, I'm that guy, other days ... "Do I look like I know what I am doing?"

But hey, "ya done good". Imagine what you would have accomplished with a Community Organizer with a Degree in Community Outreach. On second thought, lets not go there.

tschus pyotr

p.s. Suddenly, I am recalling a book I think was titled "Patriot, Go Home". Family of ne'er do wells, long term recipients of Public Assistance (think "Alfred P. Doolittle") get stranded alongside an unopened Highway which was Closed to the Public. In a short while, they have set up camp, opened a fishing operation, started a roadside stand, and when the Government People show up, gotten an exemption under the Travelers Improvement Act of 1875 (or was it 1873?) or some such statue. Well, the Bureaucrats looked up his claim and found he only missed it by a couple years. Anyway, they get a visit by a couple from a nearby retirement "community", where they can't have the grandchildren over, she can't garden, and he can't put up the birdhouses he makes. They decide to stay, and when she reminds him that it is time he takes his medications, he takes the bottle and flings it across the road. Fun book.

Then you bent the rod?

Excellent work as always.

Wes

Yep.

They're actually about invisible once installed, but I don't want them to rust. Zinc would have sufficed.

Walks continue 365. I have a treadmill and TV for when the trails are arse-deep in snow.

Don't pack a pistol on the treadmill.

It won't slow you down THAT much, Don. :)

Aha!

Why not? You don't think a measly little .380 could take down a beefy treadmill, do you?

(actually, I'm neutral on that round, but it has had a fun history here on wreck.metalheads...)

-- Experience is a good teacher, but she send in terrific bills. -- Minna Thomas Antrim

I'm more concerned about damage to the TV when the good guys are about to get wasted by the bad guys. BTW, my trail carry is a .38 with +P ammo.