On Tue, 06 Sep 2016 19:25:03 -0500, Ignoramus32044
wrote:

this is not metalworking

Well, aren't you the freakin' purist today?


On 2016-09-06, Larry Jaques wrote:
OK, so only half of it is. wink

http://newatlas.com/royal-navy-robot...-thames/45268/
Wouldn't you love one of these RC units, maybe with a pair of Ma
Deuces hung front and rear?

So, on to the metalworking part:

I had been getting more and more seasick this past week, so I flipped
my office chair over this morning and found the trouble. One of the
1/8" thick steel fingers had finally snapped off, one holding the tilt
adjustment together. I took the chair apart, moved tons of crap out
of the way in my shop so I could roll the TIG to the doorway and work
outside, used the HFT 4" angle grinder to make some metal clean, and
tigged that li'l pup back together. A little flat black spray paint
and I was back in business about an hour later.

It sure is nice to have the tools and knowledge to be able to do
things like this myself. I had repaired part of this task about 4
years ago when the rivet made its way loose. A bolt kept it together
for another 4. I had evidently missed the cracked finger back then,
as part of the break was dull, the other bright. It's not a pretty
weld, but I got some more practice in on it. It's still fire season
and this was not quite legal, but I hosed down the walk and grass all
around it for 25' so there was no chance of a spark igniting anything
during my one minute of welding.

The chair itself was a good high-backed exec style from Staples I
bought as a gift to myself, hmm, maybe 2 decades ago. It's really
hangin' in there. The thick foam is still perfectly sound, as is the
black fabric. Given the amount of time I spend in it, it has proven
to be a very good investment, perhaps good enough to go another
decade.


Oh, one last thing before I go:

What would you use to cut up half of a truck utility bed into its
component panels? It was a freebie from Craigslist a decade ago. My
knee was acting up a the time so I never got back to pick up the front
half. (Nope, no idea why the idiot would have cut it in half in the
first place.) I think it runs from 12ga to 9ga diamond plate.

Anyway, I'll save the doors and hinges as units, but need to cut the
steel panels near the welds. I'm thinking to use a cutoff wheel to
get to the corners, making slots wide enough for a recip blade to do
the actual panel cutting. I think that both HFT and Ace bimetal
blades are available (broke the last 6" 24tpi Lenox last year) so I'll
do a longevity test on each of 'em, starting with the HFT.

This is one of the little tasks I've been waiting to get around to
once I retired.


--
Every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are
based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that
I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as
I have received and am still receiving.
-- Albert Einstein