Shop

A bunch of random little things from the last week or so. 304 Stainless This is the first time I'll be doing anything substantial with 304, so I expect to learn a few things. It's for a project I can't talk about yet. I need to knurl, face, and part it. I think the lathe is up to it, so we'll see if my skills are, too. A 12" bar of 304 stainless, 2" in diameter. Big Blue Gets Away From Someone We had an unfortunate incident at Nova Labs: a job got away from the user on "Big Blue", the 4x8 CNC router. I helped out with the repairs on it and on the other large CNC machine this weekend. I didn't get any pictures of the repairs (I'm still working on remembering to take more pictures), so here are some pictures of the damage instead. The router bit went through the spoilboard and into the phenolic-and-linen sheet underneath, plowing a pretty good groove until the bit snapped. Another view of the damage. ...

Today I set up the gas for the M3's fiber laser: a nitrogen tank and an oxygen tank. The regulator, attached to the M3's nitrogen tank. The oxygen and nitrogen tanks going into position. The tanks, chained to the wall. It's very important to chain them up. The contents are under high pressure, and if one fell and the stem broke off, it could be propelled around the shop at high speed. Not to mention that a high concentration of oxygen in the room is a real fire risk. Important to be careful. ...

I love my M3, but it has been frustrating to have the computer just sitting on the edge of it. The computer is just wide enough that when you open the lid, the lid wants to knock it onto the floor. I knew I needed to make some space for the computer to hang out nearby. My solution: install a keyboard stand attached directly to the machine. I drilled a hole and mounted a commercial stand. I used the Vevor mag drill again. The best place to do it went right through a warning sticker with some…creative…spelling. ...

This is what happens when a hobby machinist needs to work on his bike, but has no bike stand. Or at least, this hobby machinist. Note: don't do this at home. The shop crane was pretty tippy without the leg down, and those things are heavy. While this was amusing, I won't be doing it again.