The Workshop Progress Thread

Nice engraving John, only one slight problem you have got your tails and pins mixed up, the idea is that as you pull on the front of the draw the pins will tighten into the "wedge" shape of the tails. As you have it the front will slide straight out of the joint.

Although blind this is one I prepared earlier

Edited By JasonB on 10/10/2015 07:39:40

Lovely work, Jason

MichaelG.

It certainly is. I tried cutting some dovetails last week. Gave up and used butt joints

Rod

Rod,

Man after my own heart!

Gave up on 'proper' wood joints years ago

Nice work Jason?

Geoff - Metal any day, although I did enjoy making all those tool drawers.

The best competitive dovetails are the secret dovetails used on a mitre joint. Used them on a 24" sideboard made many years ago in Mahogany, sorry cannot show them, they are glued inside the mitre

John

I think this must be your first post where you have resorted to true bodging!

In all your previous posts processes you have described as bodging, have actually been repairing, modifying and making things, by practical, expedient, ingenious, and clever engineering. These fake dovetails are completely at odds with your normal methods.

Good dovetails are only visible by the differences in wood texture and grain direction, the joint lines might be undetectable otherwise. Etching thick lines with a laser is highlighting something that should not be there (and certainly not on the drawer face).

Indelibly marking the drawers contents is OK if the contents are never going to change but if you are going to put text on there at least use a clear font. As a more engineering alternative you could laser cut the text deep enough to fill with epoxy loaded with bronze powder which could then be sanded flush so it looked like metal inlay.

If you are going to make drawers why not comb-joint them (stack of slitting saws or indexed slots)? They would be visible on the front face but at least they are strong and look good, or at least look 'engineering like'

On the other hand, maybe I got the wrong end of the stick and your fake dovetails were meant in jest?

Ian P

Finished my lever tailstock today only to find that when applying pressure to the drill bit the thing twists. The clamp bolt is tight. Looks like I will have to redesign the linkage so that the force is along the bed.

Had more luck with my lantern chuck!

Cheers Michael.

Michael,

Change your linkage over and put the link at the back.

I originally had mine like yours and experienced jamming etc.

John S.

Thanks John.

I will try that.

Cheers Michael.

For anyone wanting a lever feed this is JS original post on his design. Final version of lever connection is quite some time later. Note a page or two earlier is what drove him to it, the annoyance of the taper ejecting before the barrel is fully retracted.

I bought a secondhand tailstock to try and make a lever action ram but found it too hard work when drilling larger than 6 mm or so...too much force needed so back to the drawing board and a BL mini steering rack was put into service as a sort of capstan drive

Works well.. lots of feel on small bits and lots of power with larger ones

This was my lever action unit made the block that screws into the casting so it was just a modification to mount the steering rack

Having got off to a bit of a false start when my propane bottle ran out half way through soldering the Tidman valve chest together I got it soldered OK with some new gas. Then treated it like a casting by facing off the mounting flange and poping a few holes in here and there. Also made tha governor butterfly valve, spindle & gland nut plus the Valve rod, nut, gland and pivot pin & washer. Chest is 2.5" x 3.75" x 1" thick with an unusual integral cover.

Jason

That is immensely depressing to we mere mortals !

Nice work - very well done.

Norman

What's the purpose of the lever? Quicker drilling?

At last, I finished fitting the Z-axis glass slide to the VMC mill. Used the DRO to make new tee nuts for it so that I can use the clamping kit I originally bought for the old, somewhat smaller lathe. I won't clutter up the thread with a photo - it looks just like the other two, only turned round 90°, not surprisingly. If you really must see, there's a photo in the album.

John

Well, last couple of days I've had a few tries at replacing the little metal clip that pulls the piston up on a 2-ton trolley jack.

The difficult bit is that it needs to be flexible enough to fit over the end of the piston to locate in a groove without unclipping, and made so it doesn't distort under the strain.

Vesrion 1, complete failure. version 2 worked, but I made the hole too small and it was taking the downforce so it partly collapsed and let go. I've schemed out version 3, but it will wait.

I still can't figure out how the original failed.

Neil

Made the indirect mandrel indexer from an old 120 toothed wheel I was given. I turned a 10 TPI worm to fit it and mounted it on a bit of ally angle.
The wheel grips inside the mandrel, just tighten the knurled knob.
One turn of the handle = 3 degrees.
I shall scribe 12 lines to give 15 arc min divisions.
I only want it to put the flutes in the Lady Stephanie columns.

LS.. column fluting - my setup, note packing under tailstock.

As they are brass when you break the round nosed 1/16" end mill you can grind up a replacement from the stub

Neil

thanks Neil, I know what I'm doing tomorrow :-/