Removing broken hitch ball?

I have a couple of spark wheels from disposable lighters mounted on mandrels (make certail to get the solid not the spiral wound ones, and use the O ring from the jet for centering) to use as rotary files.

(...)

That is way 'out of the box' thinking.

Cool!

--Winston

How about if you want to cut an eggshell in half -- cleanly. You obviously need some soft but steady support for the eggshell, and a way to minimize shaking of your hand if you are hand holding the Dremel, but with soft wrist support, and working seated at a workbench, you should have enough control to do a clean job on the eggshell. Now the remaining question is *why* do you want to cut an eggshell -- and that is going to be your problem, but if I ever need to do that, I have the tools. (Ideally, the flexible shaft version of the Dremel -- or even better a Foredom drive and shaft, and an extra flexible handpiece to go with it. (I use that for tuning concertina reeds among other things, but with wheels about 1/8" thick or so. :-)

Enjoy, DoN.

Which way around, for cutting the eggshell in half? A Raw egg?!

The thin, small diameter disks aren't intended to be panel cutting discs.. the disk doesn't approach a large surface squarely, like a circular saw blade generally does, for example. Still, with a steady grip, one can make cuts in wide areas while maintaining the pitch required. The small disks, even when used with the Dremel 90 degree adapter still don't have large enough diameter to cut perpendicularly in a large/wide surface.

One fairly useful purpose I've found for the thin abrasive disks, is to cut a clean slot in a stripped/deformed screw head to make removal possible with a flat blade screwdriver, and if the screw head is recessed, the small disks only cause minimal damage to the surrounding material. When I've worn the small disks down to a smaller size, I leave them mounted for uses where a fresh full sized disk wouldn't fit the application.

The dirt cheap diamond grit metal disks are great for a lot of cutting uses too, and almost unbreakable (can't imagine how one would break them, but I suppose it's possible).

A 1/16" or smaller veining cutter (ground cutting teeth not abrasive) works very well in a Dremel with the router base accessory, for cutting out curvy lines in acrylic sheet or other suitable materials.

The old Handee accessories included some unique drills, in that the cutting section was ground as a very short "head" with 2 flutes like a regular drill point end, with a thinner shank section behind it.. very well suited for using with a small motor, low-powered tool.. less rubbing on the sides of a hole.

I suppose the machines that grind the various types of miniature cutters must be fascinating to see or watch in operation.

Having procured a few 3/4-16 nuts from OSH (Thanks, Bruce!), I've installed the HF hitch ball on my truck without issue. I was 'way out on the handle of the knuckle-buster and gave it a few really good reefs. The hardware tightened up and stayed in place. It will be 'one with the truck' for a very long time to come. HF should buy OSH. They are a match made in Heaven.

--Winston

It keeps cats from breaking ornaments, too. :)

Winston on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:18:06 -0800 typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:

Hmm, good site. But the bumpers all seem to come attached to a truck. Not very handy that, or portable.

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I feel that anything one attaches to a truck becomes instantly more handy and portable.

Lately, I've use a truck to enhance the accessibility and portability of these items: Lumber Steel Slatwall An oil furnace Trailer hitch

I *am* willing to listen to reason, however. :)

--Winston

Megadittoes, and add:

Machine tools Woodworking tools Truckloads of crap to give away to charities Truckloads of scrap metal to turn into a trip to the hardwood store Young lady's wardrobe (which turned into a nice, nice tip )

Ayup, truckses are handy li'l guys.

I don't know about that one, though. ;)

P.S: Remember this mantra "No, my truck isn't for loan. My insurance prohibits it, even if your insurance covers it. And I'm busy for the next seventeen years. Ask me to help you move then." unless it's a willing and supple feminine figure, then consider it. Beware the PTs.

-- To use fear as the friend it is, we must retrain and reprogram ourselves... We must persistently and convincingly tell ourselves that the fear is here--with its gift of energy and heightened awareness--so we can do our best and learn the most in the new situation. Peter McWilliams, Life 101

(...)

Bumper sticker I saw a few years ago:

"Yes, this is my pickup. No, I won't help you move."

--Winston

Someone wanted to borrow my old stepvan to move a grand piano. The steovan had a steel Union City body with the narrow hinged doors. He said, "That's OK, well just take it in through the passenger door." No way, and no thanks!

You can always spot the people who failed Geometry. :)

--Winston

He was my high school's equipment manager for the football team. Do I really need to say more?

The irony was that he went to work for the state of Ohio as a helper on one of OHIO DOT's road survey crews. :(

I got a couple surprises along that line this week. I found fluorescent tubes (same part number and brand) at about half price at my local Ace Hardware WRT Home Depot, and surprisingly lower prices at Lowe's WRT OSH for some other items as well. I always pictured Ace and Lowe's to be the 'high priced spread'.

It ain't necessarily so.

Like most, I sure don't place enough value on my time.

My local full-service OSH closed and was replaced by a brand-new store that is much closer. The bad news is that most of the time they simply don't stock what I want to purchase. They've got lots of appliances for sale but no roofing material or 'hundred count boxes' of hardware, for example.

'Went in there last week for a regular plastic laundry basket to fit an existing cubby in the bedroom. OSH had both sizes: 'Too wide' and 'too tall'!

--Winston

One thing to keep in mind - many of the "dedicated" fastener and industrial suppliers, who's prices are 20% higher, actually still carry QUALITY fasteners.

Remember,"If you want first quality oats you need to be willing to pay first quality price. If you are willing to settle for oats that have already been through the horse, they DO come a little cheaper".

Much of the "hardware" purchased from HD, Lowes etc is definitely of the "already been through the horse" variety.

For some jobs, that is adequate. For others, it is not. And just because what you bought last week or last year was of sufficient quality doesn't mean what you buy today is - or even if the last one you took out of the package was adequate doesn't mean the next one will be. (as I found out today - 5 fasteners - 5 were "decent" and one badly mis-shapen and virtually useless)