238 replies to this topic

[dc-65x]

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Micro-Mark's Website

Micro-Mark's Summer Sale is on! Mo money, mo money! Hey, we all need to do our part to stimulate the economy right . So I'm doing my part. Here is the compact 10" disk sander:



The 1/24 GP car is for size reference. I squared up a 1/16" thick by 2" wide piece of brass with no trouble. The unit is small enough to keep inside my slot room instead of out in the garage. Now for the variable speed band saw:



Again it cuts 1/16" brass like butter and is small enough it too can say in the house. Both units can be hooked up to a vacuum to keep things neat. Here are the sander and lathe on a card table and the band saw on an old printer stand:



I've ordered some swing arm drafting lamps to clamp on each end of the card table for plenty of light. When we move, after retirement, I will buy some decent work benches to set everything up on. For now, this works OK.

For next month I've got my eye on a small ultrasonic cleaner for just over $100 and a micro bead blaster for a little over $200. Again small, slot car sized stuff...

Onward...

[havlicek]

I'll take one of those and one of those... oh... and one of those My pitiful work space looks as though it should be condemned compared to yours Rick.. .but I'm not jealous... much Great stuff and I predict years of "work" in your retirement!

[Champion 507]

John,

Doesn't the phrase go something like this...

"I've done so much with so little for so long, I can do almost anything with nothing at all"

Boy, howdy, I can relate.

No wonder Rick's stuff is so awesome. He has the knowledge, skills, and the TOYS to create the master craftsman things he does!

Stay after it, Rick. It's a pleasure to see and read about your work!

[dc-65x]

Hi John,

It's crunch time to gather toy car building stuff before REALLY modest living on a pension kicks in. My wife has hobbies, too (not slot cars for some strange reason ) and we've both decided to gear up. No dining out, vacations, house remodeling, furnature, etc, etc... just hobby stuff.

Hi Doug,

Good tools can make a project even more fun. They're just a pleasure to use. Some guys do a lot with a little and have fun, too. I've done that for a long time. But now, as long as they don't lay me off, I'm going for the gusto and gearing up .

[havlicek]

Hi Doug,

Funny thing over here is that I have wall-to-wall tools for my job doing carpentry/cabinets/building... almost none of which are useful for slots: "water water everywhere amd not a drop to drink" While it's great to have a full set of hand and bench tools, an important truth in any trade or skilled occupation is that no amount of tools will turn a hack into a craftsman

Hi Rick,

I hear a lot of people say stuff about how when they retire they're going to enjoy flopping on the couch. I see that as a recipe for early entrance to the "pushing up daisies club". The best scenario I can see for retirement is finally getting to work fulltime at things you enjoy. You and the Mrs. have the right idea.

[Champion 507]

John,

Since you're a carpenter, have you ever thought of building a new track from scratch?

[Duffy]

A happy retirement requires some of the following: blah blah blah loooong list blah blah blah...

... and nowhere on your list is "an understanding yet still-supportive and loving significant other"...???

RickT, I'm glad I read through the whole thread - you did very very right buying the slim collet-closure handpiece, the concentricity is one decimal point superior to the Jacobs-chuck one! Me, I just brought my veteran Foredom flex-shaft unit home to pasture, after sixteen years' mold polishing. These puppies never grow up, I tell ya.

"water water everywhere amd not a drop to drink"

Ohhh man... you just got TEN points if you can correctly name the source of this!! (no GOOGLIN', now!)

Duffy

[Pablo]

Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

[havlicek]

Since you're a carpenter, have you ever thought of building a new track from scratch?

Sure Doug. The technical part is easy enough, the materials are common/basic but the time involved makes this sort of a project expensive. I wonder how much people charge who do this stuff and if they can actually make any money delivering a track.

-john

[HarV Wallbanger III]

Hey Rick.... I keep seeing the bumper sticker:


Dang you just too cool!

[yomama]

DC, what don't you like about the A2Z QCTP? I am considering purchasing their set, as Sherline's is too expensive for my taste.

[dc-65x]

Hi Cal,

The after market tool holders and tool post look very nice. They hold up to 1/2" tools unlike the Sherline's 1/4" which I like. They also cost what, about a third of the Sherline. The problem I have is with the arm you rotate to lock the tool holder in place. It should rotate to about the 3 o'clock position when locked. Mine wanted to lock in the 9 o'clock and interfere with the chuck ??????

I called the company and they said a small run of tool posts had gone out with an overly long piston that locks the tool holder in place. They sent me a new one and it didn't help. I had to cut and trial fit the piston until the locking lever would lock at 3 o'clock.

So, worst case is you'll have to doink around a bit like I did. I really like the ability to use larger than 1/4" tools so at the price I guess I shouldn't complain.

Rick

[Duffy]

Rick and I have been secretly swapping some obscure stuff these past weeks; and as long as I'm lightening my Karmic burden through him, I might as well open up to you lot too. I'm a tool & die maker with a full shop to sneak around in on off-hours; if you need work on some little gobbet that's beyond your home tooling, PM me and maybe I can help. I'm usually cheaper than Real Industry and more expensive than you'd like, and I barter.

Duffy

[John O'Malley]

Has anyone run across a small bench top sheetmetal brake? All I can find are big suckers.

John

[Bill from NH]

John, check the Micro-Mark catalog. I believe their website is: www.micromark.com

[Rick]

John,

Harbor Freight has one that will shear 8 inches long, combined with a press brake. Micro-mark also markets the same machine but at a much higher price. I got my HF after an 11 week backorder, they do not carry them in their stores, only mailorder/internet......................

Just remembered this. AT Hamilton Tool, in Beaver Falls, they had a really nice finger brake about 18" long, stout little sucker too. I think the pricetag was $275, but not positive on that. I do not remember the brand name but maybe their web site, provided they have one, would give a pic and remote.........

[gascarnut]

I have one of these from MicroMark:



It works well for what it is - the bending part is strong enough for any of the brass thicknesses we use, and the shear will cut .062 brass if it is 1/4" wide or less, .032 easily up to about 1" wide.

[Bill from NH]

Rick, do you happen to have a current part # for the HF shear/brake? When I did a word search on their website, it wasn't shown. Their 18" bending brake selling for $35 is on sale at Micro-Mark for $38.

[Rick]

HF #: 90757-1ADH $139.99 and it's the same one Dennis has pictured. I just got a new catalog today and it's in there.

I have sheared .032, 5 inches long with no problem and almost no burr. The knives are adjustable if you would want to do very thin material. I would guess it would cut the .015 stock and still be almost burr free, as set now.

The 18" bending brake looks like real cluster with the clamping etc. I looked at it before but wrote it off. Price is right, for sure.

[dc-65x]

IT'S NEW TOY TIME!

I've just tried out my new ultrasonic cleaner:



Here it is with the lid off and the basket removed:



Here's a link to the best price I found and some tech info on my new gizmo:

Gemoro 2.6 QT Heated Ultrasonic Cleaner

For a size comparison, here is my Rick's chassis jig in the basket waiting to be cleaned:



Here's a before cleaning shot of a Champion 507R:



And after cleaning:



Next up is a micro blaster cabinet.............

[Phil Irvin]

Over the years. I have read both good and bad in that ultrasonic cleaning of arms may hurt them. I have never done it but others have. I don't know what liquid to use. When I worked making contact lenses. We had 2 large cleaners that used miniral oil.

PLEASE CHIME IN as to helping VS hurting

PHIL I.

[chaparrAL]

I use half ammonia half water .

[dc-65x]

It's a new month so it's time for a new toy ! This time it's a Micro Bead Blast Cabinet with foot pedal:



That's a 1/24 scale McLaren Mk6 on the lid for a size reference:



Here's a link to the best price I found:

Cyclone Micro Blast Cabinet

I haven't needed one often but when I have, well, nothing else has worked as well as micro bead blasting. This is not like the typical glass bead blaster found in machine shops. I'm using 80 PSI and the finest glass bead media I could find:



I got the media from Rio Grande:

Rio Grande Extra Fine Media

A single 5 lb. package is all it takes:



Here is the inside of the cabinet with the pencil hand piece:



I tested it out on some Cox mag wheels. Before:



After:



Neato! A very fine, smooth finish.

Next up was an old chassis. The next picture shows the rust on the main rails and the small size of the contact patch the micro blaster makes on the brass pans:



Here's the micro blasted pan and rails:



The brass takes on a matt but not heavily textured finish. The steel is actually polished and shiny !

The tumbler does a better job on the large brass surfaces. But I think this thing will be perfect to get into those places that tumbling media won't reach for vintage chassis restorations. No more hand work trying to get into those places. I'll tumble, inspect, micro blast where necessary and tumble again.

Onward........

[Victor Poulin]

WOW!! Thats a great price for that Rick. I,ve got a full size version that I had at my body shop, made by snap-on that set me back $1800 bucks plus !!
This one is great for slots.

Vic

[dc-65x]

Hi Vic,

When I found this unit for $150 I knew I had to have it. It's small and doesn't take up much space. Since I already had a compressor it seemed like a no brainer for my slot car workshop.