Game changer

[Pistolero]

My mother told me to take typing class in the 10th grade, and I did, was the only guy in the class.
The other section had one or maybe two guys. That was in 66, and computers were behemoths in
a data center, and you ONLY communicated with cards, although the card punch was a typewriter
keyboard. My parents got me an electric typewriter before I went off to college, so I never was much
of a key pounder, have hardly ever used a manual.

I paid professional typists to make the final copies of my master's thesis, about broke the bank, but you
had to have something like 12 originals to hand in. Paid to get offset printing, got a few extra copies.

Typing sure made my job easier, very quick to write reports. First 10 year, no PCs, so I would do a rough
draft on typewriter have the secretary fix it up and make a finished copy on letterhead. Eventually
secretaries went the way of buggy whips, except for bosses, and even then they were 'office assistants'
didn't do much typing.

Thanks again, Mom.

Bill

 

[Ian]

Amen to "thanks Mom".

Now I type a lot with just my thumbs. Sheesh.

Oh, and Brad, your collet isn't quite the "game changer" that your new mill is, now is it?

 

[Brad]

Oh but the things they can do together.......

 

[Bret4207]

We had one girl on the job that had actually been a professional secretary. She could burn out a report in nothing flat, never taking her eyes off what she was reading and transferring to the report. Wasn't worth squat in a fight or chasing down bad guys, but she could sure type.

 

[Pistolero]

Peter Principle, Bret. Grin.

And Brad - you will be amazed. Now you can, quite literally, make anything you want
to make. ANYTHING, the only limit is workpiece size. So no F-15 wing center spar sections,
but if you actually want to make a 1911 from bar stock, you can. Of course, that isn't the
winner in the "make versus buy" choice. Always remember, "make versus buy" is the
first choice when you want to source something. Even when we had a entire shop, capable
of making anything, literally, in the world from custom microelectronic chips to large machined parts,
the first discussion was always "make vs buy". Often we just spec'd what we needed to an
expert in the field, and got them cheaper and faster than we could have made them.

But for that thing you cannot buy, or at a reasonable price, or the size you need. You
can make it.

Don't like the too big throats in a favorite revolver? You can make a new cyl from scratch,
but it would be better to find a cylinder in a smaller caliber and line bore it in the frame
up to the correct new dimensions. Grin, lots of work, but you can.

Bill

 

[Ian]

He still needs a large kiln, a TiG setup, a gas axe, a band saw, and some other goodies to qualify for everything. He could have had all that and more if he'd just shipped the mill to me and come to visit on his days off

 

[Brad]

I have a gas axe. I have access to a pottery kiln, just not the best for heat treating. A band saw, now THAT is a definite need.
A set up for heat treating steel is something I have considered.

And visit on my days off? You gonna pick me up at the airport? That is a heck of a drive.

 

[Pistolero]

Heat treating, unless you are going to make something pretty fancy, is easier than
a lot of folks think, Quench and temper. One useful tool for heat treating finished work
pieces is either an inert gas purged electric oven or stainless steel foil. Tempering with
tempering colors is pretty accurate, too. Good enough for most purposes.

A hand held reciprocating saw will work for cutting off stock up to a pretty good size,
and costs less than a quality bandsaw.

Bill

 

[Brad]

My reciprocating saw is often referred to as my “poor mans bandsaw”. I use it for cutting stock larger in diameter than I can easily chuck in lathe for cutting off. Where it can be lacking is curves and inside corners on flat stock.

Heat treating would be easier if I owned a simple method of getting parts that hot. Besides a propane I got no torch.

 

[Pistolero]

I use my saw the same way. Once you have a reasonably sized chunk, the mill will
do all the rest. For moderate sized pieces, propane torch will do fine with a
bit of fire brick to reflect the heat in. If you need a bit more, a $10 bottle of
MAPP gas gets quite a bit more heat output.

A HF oxy-acetylene rig is fairly good, not super quality, but good for a lot of work.

Bill

 

[KeithB]

Been thinking about buying a cordless bandsaw to cut stock in half at vendors. They charge me $5 to cut a 20' piece into two 10' pieces. Wouldn't take too many pieces to pay for a HF portable bandsaw.

 

[Pistolero]

Good point. $5 a cut is pretty high. My supplier charges $1 a cut, and often I go ahead
and have pieces cut to size, especially larger stock, rather than hassle at home, and likely
not get as nice and square a cut as they do on their power saw in a jig. When I made my
target stand bases, I had all he pieces cut to size, probably cost $2 extra for each stand
and saved a lot of time. Just welded it all together when I got home, tap two holes in
each one.

Bill

 

[Brad]

I would be cutting each 20 into 6 3 footers and a 2 footer.

An HF portable band saw makes sense for that kind of work Keith.

 

[smokeywolf]

Put a cargo rack on the truck and buy a nice band saw for the shop.

 

[KeithB]

Put a cargo rack on the truck and buy a nice band saw for the shop.

That's a very sensible idea. I might do that except before long we will be in a new building and I plan to build or buy a trailer long enough to haul 20' pieces. I used to have a home built 20' trailer with a Dodge Caravan axle that was the berries for hauling light loads of long pieces. Sold it, wish I hadn't. I built it outside and used a small MIG wire welder that was working to its limit. With a new shop, an open floor, and a much better MIG welder it shouldn't be too hard to make another one.

 

[Pistolero]

Are they actually doing work on the building yet, Keith? Last I heard you were
still struggling with the red tape. Hope that part is past and concrete is poured.

I just saw the new 'label' below your pic.....I'd have to say way beyond half-fast....
7/8 or better, for sure.

I keep thinking that I am sneaking up on 1/4-fast. Or maybe not.

A bit like my other skills, I can do all the construction trades. I can do plumbing, electrical work, roofing,
framing, hardwood floors, tile floors and walls, lay brick, pour concrete, even a bit of sheetrock (although I
really avoid anything more than a patch or two, hire big jobs) cabinets, shelving, with nice sliding inserts, but
I would absolutely starve to death if I tried to make a living at any of those trades. Too darned slow, can't
manage to get any speed with any quality of work.

Same for machine work. I can make stuff, some of it even pretty decent, but bog slow. The pros do good
to excellent quality work, very quickly. I'm nowhere near that standard.

Sometimes you can buy an old boat trailer for next to nothing. A little bit of mod work would make a
light to medium duty steel hauler.

Bill

 

[smokeywolf]

That's a very sensible idea.

Was thinking a cargo rack on the truck and band saw for the shop might also work for Brad.

 

[Bret4207]

I have a band saw, a abrasive chop saw and a couple sawzalls. I find myself almost always using the chop saw for anything that will fit in it these days. The band saw is great if I have a 6" thick hunka metal to slab off, but it's slow and not real accurate. Sawzalls are great for real rough work in not too thick metal where you can't use the other 2. An oxy-acetelyne cutting torch is good for the real rough stuff. Plasma is neater but out of my price range still.

Keith, as long as you're hauling light but long stuff, you can essentially build a pole trailer. Long tongue, light single axle. Unless your state has some weird laws, as long as the load isn't hanging more than 4 feet off the rear of the trailer, or of you flag it/use lights, you're good to go.

 

[Brad]

I generally buy in 3 or 4 ft lengths and might place 2 orders a year. I don’t have a place to store 20’s and certainly no way to handle them.
Do I pay more for convenience? Absolutely.

 

[Rick]

Sometimes the cheapest way just isn't always the best way. Sometimes spending a little more will save headaches down the road. Would depend on how much more vs how big a headache.