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[JScott]

EdK, thanks for the tip.  I bet I'll use that down the road.

[Highpower]

(08-19-2024, 08:59 AM)JScott Wrote: I'm going to run them over the surface plate to see if I can check parallelism and squareness but I'm only going to the thousandth not the ten thousandth.

I bought a used set on eBay for a very good price but they needed some TLC. Seeing as I don't have a surface grinder I had to send them off to someone who does.

[EdK]

(08-19-2024, 01:48 PM)Highpower Wrote: I bought a used set on eBay for a very good price but they needed some TLC. Seeing as I don't have a surface grinder I had to send them off to someone who does.

Cool!

Ed

[JScott]

This engine hoist arrived in July but I only recently had time to assemble it.  It's basically the same thing available at HF, et. al.  This hoist is pretty handy to lift and move my mill and lathe.  I'll try and get pics during the install as I start organizing the "shop".

   

[rleete]

I've needed some setup blocks for a while now.  I borrowed one from a buddy, but I really wanted one of my own, so when this one popped up on eBay, I stuck it in my watch list.  Seller came back with an offer I couldn't refuse.  Heck, I couldn't buy the steel for what he was asking.  After tax and shipping it was 25 bucks. This is what showed up at my door:

   

Yes, those are mug dauber nests in the holes.  Rust was minimal, but it was looking sad.  

A bit of WD-40, a fresh stone and some elbow grease revealed the fine steel underneath.  There's still a bit of discoloration, but the surfaces are smooth as glass, and I can't measure any variation in the surface anywhere.  Everything is square, and the holes, while a bit tight all thread nicely.


   

[JScott]

It's so gratifying to see what a Scotch Brite pad and WD-40 can do to surface rust. Great find there and resurrected nicely.

[rleete]

My son is a mechanical engineering student at R.I.T.  He recently lost a ring (sentimental value only), and I said I'd try to make him one to replace it.  I have ring sizing tools but haven't gotten a chance to have him try them.  I asked if he could measure the I.D. of one of his other rings, but he has no way to do so.  So, I bought this:

   

I got an offer from the seller and decided to buy.  40 bucks shipped.  I figured for the price they were typical chinesium junk.  However, they are pretty nice.  Not quite as silky smooth as my old Starrett, but easily better than most I've seen at that price.  Certainly better than the HF ones I looked at.

[Highpower]

Not bad. Those are selling for $44.81 at Amazon and Brownells. Better than their plastic version for sure.

I learned you have to be careful with ring sizes though. Many years ago I wanted to surprise my better half with an anniversary ring. I thought I would be slick and measure her wedding ring with my calipers when she wasn't looking to get the size. I took my calipers with me to the jewelers to match it up with their sizing rings. They made the ring and that was that. Or so I thought...

We ended up having to get the ring resized anyway after I gave it to her. That's when I learned jewelers have different sets of sizing rings. Thinner ones for narrow rings and wider ones for wider rings. While a thin gold band of xx size may slip easily on a finger, a wider band of the same ring size (inside dia.) will likely not according to the jeweler I dealt with. Turns out the new ring I bought her was a bit wider than her wedding ring.  

Since then I now own a couple of sets of sizing rings and a resizing tool as well.  

By the way, I feel your son's pain. In my late teens I was helping my bro-in-law do some kitchen equipment work at a nursing home. When we were done I went into the bathroom to wash my hands and I set my high school graduation ring down on the sink. (White gold with a small diamond stone.) Yep, walked out and forgot it. We drove back to get it about 15 minutes later and it was gone and of course nobody ever saw it. In a nursing home of all places.  

[rleete]

I also have a resizing tool, although I must confess I have never used it.

Ed, I got the scales you sent today. I won't bother with a picture since you posted them already. Many thanks.

[rleete]

I have a couple of countersinks that are many years old and have seen better days.  After talking to the shop supervisor, he recommended a few brands which I looked up online.  Holy cow, I had no idea how expensive they were.  Typical sets of 5 are over $100.  Then, just as I was about to give up, the supervisor emailed me a link to a used set on eBay.

$16, but two aren't original to the set.  I stuck them in my cart, but had to take care of actual work, so I forgot about them.  15 minutes later, the seller offered them for $14.  SOLD!

These are M.A.Ford brand, and all are in decent condition.  Several look like they've never been used.  All are sharp enough to cut aluminum cleanly, which is what I use the most.

   

As an aside, I tried sharpening the old ones.  I put them in the lathe, ran the chuck backwards (slowly) and held a sharpening stone against the flutes.  It did seem to help clean up the flutes somewhat, although they are nowhere nearly as nice as the new set.  Since the old ones have a hex shank, the handle I use with them won't fit the new ones, which have a round shank.  Luckily, I had saved the drill chuck from the HF drill I stripped to make my power feed, and that combined with an old screwdriver handle works well.