03-24-2012, 05:32 AM
Nice job - the red paint should take it out of the "self-hiding Spanner" category! Only thing I'd add would be a chain attaching it to the tailstock, no chance of it escaping then! 
I've used heatshrink for a handle covering quite a few times , found it makes them a lot more pleasant to use on cold mornings - chilly in these English Sheds, ain't it? I've used different colours (red, yellow, green, blue etc.) and painted the matching nuts to match so I can tell which one I want quickly - otherwise I stil end up searching through the spanners etc.!
Did you use that blowlamp for silver soldering? Paraffin or petrol as fuel? My grandpa passed a couple on to my dad, maybe I can pry one from his shed if it'll be hot enough for Serious Soldering?
Sockets can be pretty useful things, cut off the drive end (like you've done) and silver solder the bi-hex into a tube, slide a suitable piece of greasy hex bar in and you have a sliding/extending coupling for jackshafts etc - John Stevenson wrote this up on HSM a while back (in the "shop made tools" thread - well worth taking a week to go through!) when making transmission shafts, and you can use 'em as a coupling to a socket-set universal joint to get an articulated shaft if you need one :)
Dave H. (the other one)
I've used heatshrink for a handle covering quite a few times , found it makes them a lot more pleasant to use on cold mornings - chilly in these English Sheds, ain't it? I've used different colours (red, yellow, green, blue etc.) and painted the matching nuts to match so I can tell which one I want quickly - otherwise I stil end up searching through the spanners etc.!
Did you use that blowlamp for silver soldering? Paraffin or petrol as fuel? My grandpa passed a couple on to my dad, maybe I can pry one from his shed if it'll be hot enough for Serious Soldering?
Sockets can be pretty useful things, cut off the drive end (like you've done) and silver solder the bi-hex into a tube, slide a suitable piece of greasy hex bar in and you have a sliding/extending coupling for jackshafts etc - John Stevenson wrote this up on HSM a while back (in the "shop made tools" thread - well worth taking a week to go through!) when making transmission shafts, and you can use 'em as a coupling to a socket-set universal joint to get an articulated shaft if you need one :)
Dave H. (the other one)
Rules are for the obedience of fools, and the guidance of wise men...
(Douglas Bader)
(Douglas Bader)