Alternate ways. Gettin it done without alot of machine shop

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Harold_V
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Re: Alternate ways. Gettin it done without alot of machine s

Post by Harold_V »

steamin10 wrote:No, welded or brazed, it is a butt joint.
No, RET meant a lap joint. That's why he said to grind accordingly. A but joint won't survive long, while a properly prepared lap joint will.
A Buddy with a Do-All and welder is the best. :wink:
That works for me (my V-36 came with a blade welder), but for the guy who doesn't have access to one, preparing a lap joint is certainly better than paying for pre-welded blades (speaking for those who have more time than money). I bought several reels of blade stock years ago off ebay, and can now make a new blade for less than $2.

Harold
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steamin10
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Re: Alternate ways. Gettin it done without alot of machine s

Post by steamin10 »

Ok, I have never seen a taper in a lap joint, on a blade. ONLY butt joints. I dont have coil stock, so I am out of practice. If I get my big saw running again, the 1 1/4 inch blades are not available at the hardware, and I am sure I will be doing coil stock.

One must have an open mind to learn new stuff, and I have bonded broken blades to get by until orders came in, with silver. They last ok. In industry, there is always the need to be done yesterday, step it up, no waiting. Usually come as you are.

My hack title is showing.. :oops:
Big Dave, former Millwright, Electrician, Environmental conditioning, and back yard Fixxit guy. Now retired, persuing boats, trains, and broken relics.
We have enough youth, how about a fountain of Smart. My computer beat me at chess, but not kickboxing
It is not getting caught in the rain, its learning to dance in it. People saying good morning, should have to prove it.
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Fender
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Re: Alternate ways. Gettin it done without alot of machine s

Post by Fender »

I've made several silver-soldered "tapered lap" joints on bandsaw blades. Generally what I do, is hold the length of blade stock in a "U" position, and bring the two ends together side-by-side. Then, I clamp them together with a bunch of clothespins, and grind both ends simultaneously to a 30 degree point with a bench grinder. By having the ends clamped together, the angles match, even if not exactly 30 degrees.
I use a jig in a bench vise to hold the ends in alignment when silver soldering, then use a single-cut flat file to clean up the joint on the sides of the blade.
Dan Watson
Chattanooga, TN
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steamin10
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Re: Alternate ways. Gettin it done without alot of machine s

Post by steamin10 »

OK, simple enough. I will try that some time. Thanks for the description.

I count the day a loss if I dont learn something new, even if its what NOT to do.
Big Dave, former Millwright, Electrician, Environmental conditioning, and back yard Fixxit guy. Now retired, persuing boats, trains, and broken relics.
We have enough youth, how about a fountain of Smart. My computer beat me at chess, but not kickboxing
It is not getting caught in the rain, its learning to dance in it. People saying good morning, should have to prove it.
RET
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Re: Alternate ways. Gettin it done without alot of machine s

Post by RET »

Hi Dave,

Harold's right. I did mean a lap joint like I said. If you grind the ends right, you get a joining surface which is about 3/16" wide by the width of the blade and when you put the ends together properly, the finished joint is the same thickness as the blade. Once that is silver soldered, it is just as strong as the blade (well almost as strong and plenty strong enough for normal use). Simple right?

As I said, I've been doing it this way for a long time and it works quite well.

Richard Trounce.
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steamin10
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Re: Alternate ways. Gettin it done without alot of machine s

Post by steamin10 »

OK, after fooling with a band saw, because I have one, the casting trims can be done with a hack saw of course, and a little elbow grease. Holding the part solidly in a vice, we can trim the sprues, and control the saw so as not to make a cobblestone surface to manage. At this point I use a belt sander carefully to smooth off the saw marks. It is critical to control the machine so as not to wave around and round everything over, so a file may be a better choice. If flatness is critical, clamping our work with some flat scrap alongside for a guide will limit the off level rocking of sander or file. This is rough work, more by eye and gauge than micrometer or caliper. Just shaping the lumps into bumps.

When we work with a vice, there is the mechanics vice of various sizes, frequently with a useless pipe jaw cast in, and then my favorite wood workers vice, that is lined with soft wood. This is an advantage as it lets me crush my part for good holding, and does not mar any finished surface if it slips while I fiddle with it. It is for good holding, and not to be beat on, as it is more frail than the traditional bench vice.

I can hear the true machinists cringe already, but the fact is many things about castings are not true, and these variances can be overlooked, and be unimportant to our final job. Only the true working surfaces need the care to operate well. Hammer? One pound or two? Dealers choice.

*While out padding around, I have my current project in mind for those particular things to stick this together. I have a good ACE hardware store that has an insane bolt department, everything from metric shoulder bolts to SS button head socket bolts, and chromed standard bolts. So I picked up a few for this project by the onesies. Expensive per piece at .17 to .45 cent each, I dont have to buy $20 boxes from a supplier, and have unused excess to store. I have piles of excess all over the place. Having been down this road before, I have a coupla plastic bin trays with dividers, that hold many assortments of bolts, rings and other parts, just so they are together, and anything wanted is scanned for, in these plastic boxes. While we are on that thought, several soft plastic shoe boxes, make handy places to store project parts, while we wait for missing o-rings, or other parts to be made. Tractor supply is my go-to store for most common SAE, and metric bolts, sold by the pound. But their specialty bolts are limited. Common new bolts are stored in baking pans by body size, and various lengths of stock are in zip bags to eliminate digging. Fine pieces and micro screws, springs, and that kind of brack, go into oversized pill bottles. They are handy for brass fittings for plumbing and such as they get scattered, again, no digging. More to come.
Big Dave, former Millwright, Electrician, Environmental conditioning, and back yard Fixxit guy. Now retired, persuing boats, trains, and broken relics.
We have enough youth, how about a fountain of Smart. My computer beat me at chess, but not kickboxing
It is not getting caught in the rain, its learning to dance in it. People saying good morning, should have to prove it.
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steamin10
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Re: Alternate ways. Gettin it done without alot of machine s

Post by steamin10 »

While fiddling with this years crop of broken and ailing lawn machines, I came upon the stalled project of the diesel trucks, and its assorted piles of support parts. So, with my head hanging low, I promise to get back to moving this project forward, despite other setbacks on other fronts.
Big Dave, former Millwright, Electrician, Environmental conditioning, and back yard Fixxit guy. Now retired, persuing boats, trains, and broken relics.
We have enough youth, how about a fountain of Smart. My computer beat me at chess, but not kickboxing
It is not getting caught in the rain, its learning to dance in it. People saying good morning, should have to prove it.
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ironhorseriley
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Re: Alternate ways. Gettin it done without alot of machine s

Post by ironhorseriley »

Hang in there! As you have reminded me & others, life can get in the way and does. I have finally gotten to where I can start cleaning out our one car garage and clear out and set up my shop space in a corner & yes my wife has our car in the garage. Right now I am juggling a part time job & my full time job. That is where I am at.

Jim
Jim, Former railroader, fascinated by wood working & “all things engineered”.
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tornitore45
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Re: Alternate ways. Gettin it done without alot of machine s

Post by tornitore45 »

I'll be watching with interest.
While I consider metal to hard for hand tools powered by my old achy bones, I had the same attitude when starter my wood working hobby. No money for power tools and the idea that if the old master could do it, there was a chance I could do some stuff to be proud too.

I did enjoy working with hand tools back in metal shop class. I made a hammer, a jeweler anvil, a pair of pliers and a full set of caliper/compass/square/straightedge. Too old now.

By the way, shop class in middle and high school thought me much more than tracing, precision filing, drilling and hack sawing.
Mauro Gaetano
in Austin TX
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warmstrong1955
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Re: Alternate ways. Gettin it done without alot of machine s

Post by warmstrong1955 »

ironhorseriley wrote:........ yes my wife has our car in the garage.
Jim
:shock:
Say it isn't so!!!!

:lol:

Bill
Today's solutions are tomorrow's problems.
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tornitore45
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Re: Alternate ways. Gettin it done without alot of machine s

Post by tornitore45 »

Storing small screws and hardware.
A friend of mine gave me a box of 60 test tubes with stopper. Swiss Cheesed a piece of 2x6 arrayed as 5 x 12.
Machine screw, Metric, setscrews, from #1 to M4 plus setscrew up to 1/4".
Labeled only by size and pitch. Full description on printed table so that I can move things around without having to write small on a curved surface.
Mauro Gaetano
in Austin TX
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steamin10
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Re: Alternate ways. Gettin it done without alot of machine s

Post by steamin10 »

Since I have gotten older, I discovered medicin pill bottles are handy for many small parts and screws. a tray of 1/4 inch plywood, or louan, with some guide strips allows many bottles to be laid out in neet rows with the contents visible. In my AC work the really large bottles, carry line taps and such odd parts free from dirt and together.

usually most bought boxess of drawer type storage is rather fragil and I moan as they get dropped and broken to leave a toothless nice box on the shelf.
Big Dave, former Millwright, Electrician, Environmental conditioning, and back yard Fixxit guy. Now retired, persuing boats, trains, and broken relics.
We have enough youth, how about a fountain of Smart. My computer beat me at chess, but not kickboxing
It is not getting caught in the rain, its learning to dance in it. People saying good morning, should have to prove it.
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