Broad Ambition - The Model

[grendel]

Not a lot to update, as I am carefully applying the colour to the badge, as there are 3 colours and probably a couple of coats for each this is taking some time.

[grendel]

just some pictures as the colour goes on, white today.

[grendel]

Time to get the blue on the star.

[BroadAmbition]

What a proper Bobby Dazzler

Griff

[grendel]

oh, a few days of quiet from me, that of course doesnt mean I havent been doing odd bits - around all the other things that have been going on - car brakes, Christmas, boxing day et al.

Its been a bit cold in the workshop (warmer than outside working on the car) but a ceramic heater has raised the temperature to a workable 10 degrees. anyway I have finally cracked drilling a hole through a 10mm brass rod, exactly central, I managed to drill a hole endwise into a section of rod, with an 0.8mm drill in the lathe, close enough to central that this tiny drill did not break, then enlarged out to a 4mm hole, this section then goes into the drill vice at right angles to the rod, the drill is now held central and dead vertical in both planes allowing perfect holes to be drilled through.

Additional work on the special lathe bits for turning the ball end was done, these are now cutting better and make turning the ball end easier.

Then the shoulder is turned and the section below turned down to 4mm diameter. after this it is parted off the lathe, taken out and turned around. the lathe is reconfigured and the hand crank and thread turning gears attached, and the 4mm section threaded on the lathe. this can only put the thread to within a couple of millimetres of the shoulder, so a 4mm die is then used to clean the thread and continue it as close as possible to the shoulder, then a nut is threaded on and one of the handrail supports is finished. 

I managed two of these today, along with some more side deck supports, and the front brakes on the car.

[grendel]

This morning we take you through the production of a handrail stanchion.

First the work area, working at the lathe using an illuminated magnifier, this not only helps me to see the part I am making, but acts as a shield to protect me from the brass swarf flying off.

so the part has the hole drilled near the end, then mounted into the lathe, the end is faced off and the whole turned down to diameter.

The end is rounded off using a handmade lathe bit shaped with the curve for the end.

next we cut the inner curve and shoulder, another special lathe tool. 

After this the inside of the shoulder, turning down the section to 4mm for the thread.

next remove the drive pulley and fit the threading gears and crank, then its time to cut the thread. once its nearly there we transfer to a 4mm die and clean the thread up, extending it as close to the shoulder as the die will allow.

then just thread the nut on the end, and another handrail stanchion is ready.

[grendel]

well we are up to 8 stanchions, I have printed a new drive pulley for the lathe to give me a higher top speed.

[grendel]

So while I have been knocking out a couple of handrail stanchions a day, the work on the side deck supports has also been progressing, over half way now.

[grendel]

gosh nearly a whole week at work, and no updates I hear you cry - well I have been doing a few bits, I now have 13 of the 18 handrail stanchions done, when I am working I can usually only get 1 done per evening, but it is good fun. every night a pair of side deck supports have been added, so really its just more of the same as I have posted earlier this week.

[grendel]

only 1 stanchion done today, its been a busy day with an apres Christmas tidy up in the kitchen, amazon boxes have been relegated to the bin, and the treadmill is once again accessible (my work clothes shrank over Christmas) so gentle exercise is once again possible.

This means i have 15 stanchions made and just 3 left to make.

[grendel]

well 4 more stanchions made today, the third (last one ) I managed to shear the thread off trying to get the thread closer to the shoulder than i should have, so i had to make 1 more.

more ancient tools have been dug out and got working, my bench grinder was found in a terrible state in the shed, but fired up first go.

At the boot fair this morning I found some drill bits, a whole bundle for £10, there were 26 bigger than 10mm, probably over 100 drills in total, maybe 20 that need sharpening.

 

[grendel]

well the drills I got at the boot fair have been sharpened, some in the sharpening jig, others on the bench grinder, A jig was made to get the 118 degree angle for the cutting face of the drill.

[Wildfuzz]

I always have real problems trying to re sharpen drill bits, is 118 degrees the optimum angle for all bits?

Don't you just love the ingenuity of some people!

[grendel]

its not, but its the generic angle all HSS bits come set to. here is a more detailed diagram. generally though 118 degrees is about right, and if its freshly sharpened, will get decent result.

[grendel]

I may need to modify my jig to get a little more rake on the edge, just to give more clearance behind the cutting edge - leaning the jig back away from the wheel should achieve this (ie planing a chamfer on the edge of the block at the bottom to lean it back 10 degrees

[grendel]

Actually thinking about it - it would be easier to fit a small wedge at 10 degrees on the top edge.

looking at that chart, I mainly drill brass and mild steel, so 118 degrees is a good all round setting.

[grendel]

block modified with a 7 degree wedge, this gives a little rake behind the edge. this is the sum of the drill bits I got, at £15 I reckon that works out about 10p each - bargain, other pics show the edge on a drill and the rake behind the edges.

[grendel]

the proof as they say is in the pudding - or the hole in  this case, yes sharp enough to drill steel bar. - the curly shavings proof enough of the sharpness.

[Wildfuzz]

 

[grendel]

well day off today (12.15 doctors appt for blood test, blood pressure etc) and I thought I would convert some teak into cabin sides and as it happens a lot of sawdust. now Charlie didnt tell me that this teak is murder on table saw blades, by the time I had slowly done 3 cuts 3" (75mm) deep to get 4 no 5mm planks, the air was blue with smoke off the blade and everything had a thick layer of sawdust, despite having the saw connected to the shop vac, doors were opened to clear the air, and then the vacuum was used to hoover all the sawdust up. result 4 planks 75mm x 5mm. still to finish the side deck supports and the decks, before the sides will go on.

[grendel]

now I have run the planks created across the belt sander to remove all of the saw marks. the first stage of finishing, once these are cut to shape they will get the final sanding then varnish treatment.

[Guest]

Good job its proper teak not iroko I start coughing just looking at the stuff its deadly to machine mask on or not many many bar counters taught me that lesson in life , a true double grain nightmare wood 

[grendel]

my nightmare wood is a form of greenheart, me and a mate rescued 2 8 foot offcuts when they were replacing the groynes at whitstable, my mate got it sawn at a local sawmill, they split it down to 10" x 1 1/2" planks and 5" x 4" posts, blunting 2 sawblades doing so.

the big problem was the splinters, get a splinter and within hours it was festering away.

the good part is the raised bed I made from it still hasnt rotted nearly 20 years later.

when we got it in the back of my van the back end sagged a bit - it took the two of us to lift each bit (and we were quite strong lads in those days)

[SteveO]

As a would-be wood-butcher and embryonic wood turner, I never cease to be amazed by the amount of shavings and sawdust I produce. As a Yorkshireman,  who doesn't keep hamsters, pet mice or other small pets, I am saddened that I can't find a use for them.  Can this material be collected, mixed with some sort of binder, compressed, dried and burnt in a log-burner. Does anyone have any experience of this or any better ideas?

[grendel]

sawdust can be compressed into wood pellets, I doubt though that we will produce enough to make a lot. mine is mixed in with brass shavings in the shop vac though.