The Home Machinist!

I bought some steel recently; mostly solid rod, and one cored rod cutoff. Later when I went over the costs, I realized the cored piece that was just a little more expensive [by weight] was just about the same price as the solid rod by size. Obviously if you need it hollow, there's a significant savi...

The original break is there right under the weld. something broke it like glass [or like cast iron] at an unknown earlier date.

I would grind, then weld with stick from the inside, then grind and weld on the outside, then stress relieve it in an oven.

I also think it must be iron; steel would have bent instead of breaking.
It's clearly a steering part, the original break could have been the result of an accident.
Cast iron seems a poor choice of material for a part like that but you have to work with what you have.

Check with a sharp drill bit; spirals and it's steel, little graphite looking flakes it's iron.
Just to be sure.

Older ones work like sirens as the blades pass the edges of the table.
A buddy of mine in Amsterdam has an old monster 8HP iron machine that weighs a couple of tons. I used it a lot, made doors windows, and a couple of kitchens with it. Thickness is accurate to 0.2mm.
That thing is LOUD.

I have a wood planer too; I haven't used it much since I finished the house.
But I can hear one running from a distance quite often. The noise is from a professional shop 2 miles away.
Yeah, they're loud.

Then all is well!
The lack of 3-phase in much of the US is so odd to me. Europeans think of the US as the land of big power.

I even had 3-phase in my house in a village in India. I have 3-phase on my houseboat in Amsterdam.

My experience is that corrosion of machinery is worst during periods of non-use. If that's the case, OP could consider using some sort of preservative on the parts during those periods. I'm testing some belt spray from Permatex; it's supposed to be for preventing slip but it's gooey stuff I'm hoping...

I was lucky, I got a US made VFD on ebay for $50. No one else bid on it. It had some weird setup on it, I'm sure the first owner had failed to make it work. once I got it programmed correctly it works for me flawlessly. My 3-phase 2HP lathe motor is ancient; it wouldn't look out of place in a museum...

So shouldn't rkcarguy use a 3-phase motor and a vfd?

I also have 3-phase at home, but when I put my 3 phase lathe motor on a vfd it's much more versatile.
With VFD's, everyone can have 3-phase at an affordable price.

Or did I miss something?

cutting off hardened splines on axle shafts (again, repurpose). Stuff like that ruins edges fast, I had this problem; some automotive gears I repurposed were so hard, I couldn't get through with carbide. Simple solution; anneal it. Just heat it red, then let it cool. It's still pretty hard [hard en...

Very nice, but a timing belt pulley as the op needs will be cogged; I don't know how you'd machine that. marine grade aluminum would probably do, but bronze would work for sure. Plating might work; it's cheap and easy enough to try first. I just finished a new 45mm stainless prop shaft for my boat. ...