Philosophy as a segue to "now what's going on" is a long stretch. That said, one of the points that used to be most argued by the eggheads, and there were many (still are for that matter) was what made humanity so different and superior to the rest of the inhabitants of our little blue marble. One point that was more or less agreed on was the ability of h* sapiens to create and use tools. Not going to name anyone specifically on this board but it does possess a higher than median standard of outside the box thinkers who can and do envision, design, create/fabricate, and use tools. In many cases it is a have to situation. Either what we need is not available or we have conflicting demands on the capital in our pockets. For some it is a little more nebulous, call it the thrill or joy that can be found in making and using something that is unique to the fabricator.
Shown are the two ends of a fender brace that I am in the process of fabricating. I can't buy one, so I either get to do without or make it and its partner. The one end is already drilled and has been shaped to resemble what might have done to a factory made item. The other end........well that is the rest of the story. The first attempt to drill it did not go well. It looks as rough as it is because the hole had to be welded shut and now the tab has to be refaced and redrilled. And my trust in my ability to do it free form is fragile, so...................................
I elected to create and build a jig. Nothing store bought here, the base is a length of wood that was cut from a longer, broken section. It's biggest attaction was that it already had a hole in it. Used a step drill to bore the hole out to the size I needed, grabbed an orphan bolt from a nearby tray, and dropped the brace onto the bolt and ran a nut down to lock it in place.
While the bolt located the one end, it did occur to me that just a single locating point would not be enough to keep the tube from bouncing around. That led me to wondering about whether or not I could add a couple of small pieces of angle to act as shoulders against which the tube would rest.
What you see, attached to the board, is two aluminum angles that used to be part of the case frame for a CCC computer. Have no condern for the computer; it was junk, badly corroded due to salt water infiltration from wet boots worn by cold bodies during winter. I had scrapped it a long time ago; threw the guts into the trash can, but kept the shell as it was made of thin material and therefore could be converted into something else; like a pair of locating angles for example.
Also, in the last photo, you can the matching hole in the jig for the new hole to be drilled. The 6SP vice grip that holds the undrilled end in place will not stay there. That ear needs to be accessible to the drill bit so one more clamp needs to be created for that purpose. Actually, it already exists, I just need to find it out on the welding bench where it ought to be lurking.
For the wondering minds, as in why is this all getting done in the basement and not out in the shop, I did manage to get out and about today; a couple of errands including epoxy primer and TP! (Too bad they weren't being sold by the same vendor, would have saved on the running around!) It was sunny and nice out, if you wore pacs, a heavy fleece hoodie, and a -40 degree rated thinsulate lined freezer jacket, and matching gloves. The weather map says this arctic weather bomb stretches all the way to the Gulf. All i know is that around here, right now, cold is spelled Cold, with a Capital "C" , and it shows little sign of moving off to elsewhere. So the shop is closed and will remain so until it warms up. The heat is on but turned down to conserve on gas consumption and electricity. By way of definiton, it is so cold that the Crows have headed for the pine hedges and hunkered down. They don't come to score their feed of scraps because they can't smell the food; it is frozen solid.
Nick
Shown are the two ends of a fender brace that I am in the process of fabricating. I can't buy one, so I either get to do without or make it and its partner. The one end is already drilled and has been shaped to resemble what might have done to a factory made item. The other end........well that is the rest of the story. The first attempt to drill it did not go well. It looks as rough as it is because the hole had to be welded shut and now the tab has to be refaced and redrilled. And my trust in my ability to do it free form is fragile, so...................................
I elected to create and build a jig. Nothing store bought here, the base is a length of wood that was cut from a longer, broken section. It's biggest attaction was that it already had a hole in it. Used a step drill to bore the hole out to the size I needed, grabbed an orphan bolt from a nearby tray, and dropped the brace onto the bolt and ran a nut down to lock it in place.
While the bolt located the one end, it did occur to me that just a single locating point would not be enough to keep the tube from bouncing around. That led me to wondering about whether or not I could add a couple of small pieces of angle to act as shoulders against which the tube would rest.
What you see, attached to the board, is two aluminum angles that used to be part of the case frame for a CCC computer. Have no condern for the computer; it was junk, badly corroded due to salt water infiltration from wet boots worn by cold bodies during winter. I had scrapped it a long time ago; threw the guts into the trash can, but kept the shell as it was made of thin material and therefore could be converted into something else; like a pair of locating angles for example.
Also, in the last photo, you can the matching hole in the jig for the new hole to be drilled. The 6SP vice grip that holds the undrilled end in place will not stay there. That ear needs to be accessible to the drill bit so one more clamp needs to be created for that purpose. Actually, it already exists, I just need to find it out on the welding bench where it ought to be lurking.
For the wondering minds, as in why is this all getting done in the basement and not out in the shop, I did manage to get out and about today; a couple of errands including epoxy primer and TP! (Too bad they weren't being sold by the same vendor, would have saved on the running around!) It was sunny and nice out, if you wore pacs, a heavy fleece hoodie, and a -40 degree rated thinsulate lined freezer jacket, and matching gloves. The weather map says this arctic weather bomb stretches all the way to the Gulf. All i know is that around here, right now, cold is spelled Cold, with a Capital "C" , and it shows little sign of moving off to elsewhere. So the shop is closed and will remain so until it warms up. The heat is on but turned down to conserve on gas consumption and electricity. By way of definiton, it is so cold that the Crows have headed for the pine hedges and hunkered down. They don't come to score their feed of scraps because they can't smell the food; it is frozen solid.
Nick
