Afternoon challenge

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Russ Hanscom
Posts: 1955
Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2006 11:10 pm
Location: Farmington, NM

Afternoon challenge

Post by Russ Hanscom »

The thrills of volunteering. Helping at a Habitat house project and my task was to hang a rain type shower head. After much searching and deliberation, we concluded that most of the swivel union that connects the head to the piping was missing, and open house was next day, and for some reason getting a replacement head was not an option. After taking the remaining part home, I determined that the existing head thread was a 1 3/32” -20 and the next closest option was a 28-1.25 mm. Neither of which was going to show up at Ace, but we did look.

I had no desire to attempt to thread a blind hole of an unknown size without any easy way of checking the fit and the head was too large to try on a part still in the lathe; I determined that an odd thread to pipe thread adapter would serve as a test piece and then a straight threaded collar would join the adapter to the shower head. The swivel function was not needed which simplified things slightly.

Some free machining stainless stock was available, so the pipe thread adapter was made with a ½” FNPT on one end and the odd thread to match the one on the shower head on the other end. The next step was to thread a collar at 1 3/32”-20 and make several fine finish passes until the adapter went into the collar. An O ring or plastic washer between the two male parts assures no leakage. I skipped wrenching flats on the parts and used a strap wrench for assembly.

Such fun,
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armscor 1
Posts: 311
Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2016 3:12 am
Location: Philippines

Re: Afternoon challenge

Post by armscor 1 »

Keeps the mind and body busy in these trying times.
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liveaboard
Posts: 1971
Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2013 1:40 pm
Location: southern Portugal
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Re: Afternoon challenge

Post by liveaboard »

Custom made shower fittings; utter madness.

Done it myself a few times.

It's satisfying though, isn't it?
Russ Hanscom
Posts: 1955
Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2006 11:10 pm
Location: Farmington, NM

Re: Afternoon challenge

Post by Russ Hanscom »

Quite, and better than one could buy.

Years ago, I salvaged a bunch of 1 1/2" dia stainless rods; they come in handy every so often. Not sure of the alloy, but the behavior strongly suggest free machining.
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Harold_V
Posts: 20232
Joined: Fri Dec 20, 2002 11:02 pm
Location: Onalaska, WA USA

Re: Afternoon challenge

Post by Harold_V »

I was a recipient of some of that stainless, you may recall, Russ.
It's 303 S, on which I'd stake my life.

Well done on the adapter. I'm not the least bit surprised at your success.

H
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
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liveaboard
Posts: 1971
Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2013 1:40 pm
Location: southern Portugal
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Re: Afternoon challenge

Post by liveaboard »

I made a few brass bathroom fixtures and had them chromed; like a 60mm disk to cover the tub overflow.
The shops only had plastic rotating knobs that lift the plug via a cable in a sheath; "But with the hard water here, those always get calked up within a few years." I complained, "What do people do about that?"
"Buy new ones." the salesman said happily.

A bathroom in a boat I built has a brass porthole, I took it apart and had the frame chromed too, to match everything.
6 muselaer bathroom.jpg
No picture of the overflow cover, too bad.

Here in Portugal I wanted a good quality shower curtain rod with a 90 degree bend. No such thing as a quality curtain rod it seems, because bathroom fashion is to have a sliding glass partition that I find ugly, a huge chore to keep clean, and restricts space.

I bought a piece of 25mm stainless rod and took it to a shop who had a bender.
They told me they would "send a quote" to me, so I knew they were useless.
Went home, made a bender, bent it, cemented it into the wall.
It will hold my weight at the corner.
Ar Ar Ar...
A few weeks later, they actually did reply with a quote to bend the rod, something completely silly that justified my work hours.
Russ Hanscom
Posts: 1955
Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2006 11:10 pm
Location: Farmington, NM

Re: Afternoon challenge

Post by Russ Hanscom »

We have a curved shower rod made out of 1" SS tube - same process and results!
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