haven't been on here much largely because of an exhausting job search followed by a cross country move from PA to WA, but I've now got what passes for my workshop set up and started making things again.
First project is a cable stop for the front derailleur on my commuter bike. I want to run a continuous outer to the mech, like on the rear mech (keeps out crap, makes it largely maintenance free), but with under BB cable routing, there's no end stop for it. Idea was to make a simple split clamp. First, I used a holesaw to make a round out of 1/2in alu (6061?) with an offset hole. Then drilled and tapped a couple of holes so that I could saw it in half and then bolt it back together to bore out the hole to the seat tube diameter. That didn't quite work as planned but it came good in the end. Pile of chips from slotting one half of the clamp, then the clamp itself. You can see the hole that the cable will go through and the stop for the cable end on the other side. First major metalworking project on my drill press "mill" and it went really well. Next time I think I'll slot with a smaller endmill and then finish each side, instead of trying to do it full width. now I need to get the chemicals to set up my anodizing rig so I can anodise it black and stick it on the bike
next up is something similar to act as a suspension boot retainer and mudguard mount (bike has a PITA headshok). once I've got more practice milling I'll start on my much thought about new bike light!
I don't know what it does (even after the description, I'm not into bikes much, I just maintain my 50 year old city bike), but that looks like a nice piece of work!!
(even after that Eurofighter titanium landing gear mill video I saw earlier today :-D )
thanks djozz, much appreciated. It’s not much compared to stuff that I see on here, but it’s a step in the right direction. The main plus is that I’ll now hopefully have lovely smooth shifting with my front mech
You moved from PA to WA for a new job? Wow, and congrats on the job, and hope that you like it in WA!
One of my cousins just moved there (from HI, believe it or not) and absolutely loves it there (she keeps trying to convince us to move there from the east coast - tempted…)…
thanks MRsDNF! It wasn’t too bad time wise and I find it a good way to relax, so stopping before midnight is usually more of a difficulty than getting on there in the first place. It was also really neat to combine both new stuff on the “mill” with more practiced operations (boring and facing) on the lathe. Makes me feel like a “real” machinist
thanks John, it was a lot of luck (free drill press and a guy from a machining site gave me the collet chuck) and hard work (stripping down and rebuilding the X-Y vise), so having it all come together to do what I envisioned was really cool! I’m currently doing some foot work to find all the chemicals I need to set up the anodising line as I unfortunately had to dispose of what I was given in PA as they weren’t safe to transport. Again, another super stroke of luck - one of the grad students I met in the machine shop at my old job was leaving and wanted to get rid of the anodising set up he’d put together (didn’t want someone hurting themselves with it), so he gave the lot to me, tanks, heaters, jig/ anodes, the lot. I also scavenged a broken electrophoresis power supply (250V 2.5A, so just enough for this) which another guy in the shop helped me fix. I consider myself a very lucky git indeed!
yup, 1 offer out of 75 applications! I’ve wanted to move out to the west coast since a friend moved from PA to portland a couple of years ago, both to check out a different part of the US and to have a really cool road trip getting out here (~3000 miles!). It’s put a pretty huge dent in our savings and we’ll only be here for a year, but hopefully this’ll give me enough experience to be properly competitive for the next round of applications in a couple of months.
We’re in east WA, so it’s not really the west coast vibe of lore, but I’m getting to like it. Going for a drive into the Blue Mountains this evening and hopefully getting a ride out there next week. Still, on the plus side I’m not tripping over hipsters all the time
