On 1/15/2011 2:20 PM, Baron wrote:
D Yuniskis Inscribed thus:

On 1/15/2011 10:46 AM, Baron wrote:
My comment was intended more as "tongue-in-cheek" (I have a
friend that I *never* ask for things like this as he *would*
turn something on a lathe for me and I often end up embarassed
at the "excessive quality" of his solution! : )

Us mechanical engineer types take great pride in our hobbies ! :-)

Well, *he's* the mechanical type: lathe, end mill, surface grinder,
shadow graph, coil winder, etc.

Of course, another friend has a sinker EDM and a couple of wire EDM
machines... a bit too expensive to qualify as "toys" :-/

Ooo ! I feel the green eyed monster coming on. :-)

Yeah, when I hear complaints about all of my crap ^H^H^H er, *toys*,
I think about *these* sorts of things! : The first friend (above)
gave me a 3KW FERRUPS (UPS) one day. I was trying to figure out how
to get it *into* the truck (weighed a couple hundred pounds... the
batteries alone weighed more than 100 pounds). He "disappeared".
And came back a few minutes later with a front-end loader, scooped
the UPS into the bucket and dropped it onto the truck.

Sheesh!

Some batteries (against which the "dummy" may mate) require
the little "nub" on the + end to ensure contact. Likewise,
some battery holders "guard" the + terminal with a bit of
raised plastic to protect against a battery installed backwards.
(i.e., a "flat surface" -- like the - terminal -- won't connect)

Ah ! In that case you would need to turn it to produce the pip on one
end.

Yes, that was why I suggested the lathe instead of just cutting drill
rod, etc.

I wasn't aware of that limitation. Though my son just pointed out the
battery holder in the Wii was shaped so you couldn't put the battery in
backwards.

Yes. It's the same sort of problem you face with "untabbed"
NiCd or Li cells. They don't always want to conduct abutted
"end to end".

Though, with copper, I think you could *almost* use a file as "cutting
tool" and a large electric (hand) drill to spin the work. Wouldn't
have much control over the dimension of the pip but I suspect you
could fashion a functional one in a few minutes. Heck, even putting a
slight taper on the one end would work!

Very true ! A trick I've used to clean up the end of damaged bolts.