4th Annual BLF/OL Scratch Made Light Contest- Hand Made 10/31 finished

Very very nice! Isnā€™t it wonderful to have all those odds ā€˜nā€™ ends that you saved for so longā€¦? (TP holder).

Capillary action draws the melted brazing wire wetting any pair of closely mated surfaces that have been cleaned well and fluxed. Gaps generally arenā€™t bridged and poor cleaning or if not enough flux or not enough wire is used then even well fitting joints can have voids which is why I used more than probably necessary. Itā€™s similar to a plumbing solder joint in how the solder instantly flows through the joint but wetting happens at a much higher temperature(glowing hot)and is much stronger than tin solder, more expensive tooā€¦ With small or thin parts itā€™s easily possible to melt them into slag. Iā€™m still not very good or consistent at it since I donā€™t do it much.

The penalty is having too much clutter but itā€™s nice when you find the perfect bit not for sale anywhere.

Iā€™m with ya. :+1:

I am sooo smart. At least some people tell me so but sometimes Iā€™m not so sure. Read on if you want to bask in my blazing intellect. :person_facepalming:

I decided to use a different method to tap the battery tube threads than the big brass nut I used on the copper threads so I cut a piece of 1ā€ PVC and cut a slice from it so that it would fit inside another section. I needed to ream the inside of the inner piece so the brass battery tube would also fit. Once that was done there was a gap at the ends because the PVC is thicker than the brass collar pieces. So I cut a ring to fill the gap and keep it all centered in the outer PVC tube. Then I tapped and taped a short piece of aluminum tube to also center the tap in the PVC tube. Here it is all put together. Now I just need to grab it somehow. I did the tail end first since the threads are shallower at that end. Thereā€™s a 5/8ā€ bit wrapped in tape shoved inside to prevent it from crushing. So far so good. Then I switched it around to do the other end which gets ~20 mm of threading. For awhile it went just fine but then the brass began to slip inside the PVC so I put the whole thing in the pipe jaws of the 5ā€ bench vise. It still slipped some and each time it did I tightened the vise a bit more. All good right ? Wrong! The pipe jaws corrugated the brass. I tried annealing it and rolling it, annealing it and pressing another pipe through it. Finally annealed it one too many times just a bit too hot and effed up the seam and rippled the tube. Trashed two days work with my smarts. I already have replacement parts started and an idea how to prevent a reoccurrence but this sucks the big one.
Small update

Sorry about the good idea not working. I guess you were screwed from the start. :person_facepalming:

There must be more of that Humpty Dumpty getting around the traps than just in my shed. :stuck_out_tongue:

Looking forward to see how MK2 is achieved. :slight_smile:

So many details of construction to work out and it is a real bummer when something goes wrong after so much time being invested. Good luck with V.2 :+1:

I think I spent as much of the evening trying to fix it as it took to mess it up in the first place. Fortunately itā€™s not a case of something I canā€™t do just something I did wrong. An epic fail would involve harder to replace items like the wood. With any luck Iā€™ll be able to improve MkII.

Were you using anything as a thread cutting fluid?

Ouchā€¦ Iā€™ve used the nut guide method in the past on a pontiac engine build tapping to replace push-in rocker arm studs with screw-in studs intended for a big block chevy (after adding helicoils). After damage from a saboteur (one of my brothers) a big block chevy rocker arm broke but the studs held. 700+ hp engine. 1958-1963 big block pontiac engine converted to hei and coupled to a 400 turbo trans in a 77 firebird formula. It produced enough torque you could feel the car twist.

Yes, some light oil.

I am sorry, such things are always annoying. But thatā€™s the right attitude, if you have to do it again then at least itā€™ll be an improved version

Out of action for a bit. See op.

Sorry to hear that. Get well soon, take care of it and do what the docs/therapists say

Thats no good at all RBD. It looks like you have a bit of carnage to your thumb as well with the big groove in it. Get well soon. :frowning:

Very nice project you have going. I hope you heal up quick.

Ouch! Best wishes for fast healing!

Thumbs fine, thatā€™s just the elastic bandage wadding me up. After the first 24 hours the wrist is pretty stiff and ~50% oversized. Feels like a stubbed toe right in the joint. Another day and it will be more colorful, already showing a bit yellow.

Any sympathy from the better half?

As usual, no. She thinks Iā€™m an idiot. This time sheā€™s spot on.

Argh - sorry to hear about the setback.