Friday, December 10, 2010

Things are coming to fruition.

I have been getting into the habit lately of going out for a walk when I get off work. Today, not so much. I had some parts ready for machining for the bow-press I am making for my cousin. The vise handles specifically today. This is that part finished and installed. BTW, this part is made from a bag of aluminum pop cans. I melted them, and made the pour into an old lead smelting pot I had laying around. Turning it to its final shape only took about ten minutes. Drilling and tapping the handle points and the set screw took a bit longer.


There are a few more parts that need cast and the following are my initial prototypes. I call them that since I need to go back and make some changes to the way the blanks are made. These would work if it were for me; its not though and my drive for perfection won't allow me to use them as a final product. The first part is the saddle for the fingers that hold the bow. There will be two of them. The second part is one of the fingers. There will be a total of four of those. They will be dipped in that Handle grip material to protect the finish of the bows. I still need to machine and harden the retaining pins for these parts. I figure I will wait until all of the casting is done and final machining is done before I make those parts though. That way I can make certain that everything will go together just right.




If someone is interested in doing this sort of thing, I HIGHLY recommend biting the bullet and getting the Petrobond. OMG what a difference that made. One pour, two parts and the only real issue was getting the sprue cut off cleanly. I made the sprue too danged big since I was used to the 'homemade' casting sand I had been using. (side note; if you are interested in this kind of thing, this company is a great resource for things you may want to get AND all kinds of information on casting.)


No Politics today, after yesterday I needed a break. The only thing I found amusing and distressing was the hiring of Former Prez Bill Clinton to come in for damage control. Seems every 'former' supporter of O'boy is bailing out on him.(at least, if they are still in office and need the political clout.)

5 comments:

Mayberry said...

Dio, you're an artist! That's some fine work there Bro. Those skills will be indespensable come SHTF, not too many folks (not ANY) I know that can cast parts from Coke cans. Excellent work!

Diogenes said...

Thanks Mayberry, It is actually quite simple, just requires a bit of patience. Seems I am getting even more of that as time goes by. The real treat is seeing the part fall out of the sand after all that work.

Ken said...

...good work,thanx fer sharing...i've never cast anything but sinkers...and musket balls once...tips-n-trix to us when ya get bored on the blog would be priceless...

Anonymous said...

You're going to do good when the SHTF. When you get to Winfield, that is. We are going to need someone with your skills. Ha! Guess who?

Diogenes said...

I see the Soffitrat has descended from the roof to visit again. LOL Welcome back old friend.

Winfield is one LZ there may be a couple of others. I think when things get really tight, we will all be looking for LZ's that are not as hot as where we are.