Compared to most guys on here I'm a newbie to the machining world. However, everyone knows how to spot a bad a$$ part or project I have searched for similar threads and I have found nothing.
Its not about bragging rights, but it kinda is.
Lets see some pix of some amazing parts, assemblies, projects, or other things you have made.
Milled, turned, welded, or what ever.
Steel, aluminum, play doh, you get the idea.
Awesomeness ... That's all I'm asking for ...
We all love to be inspired
Last edited by Blackdiamond; 08-12-2012 at 09:08 AM.
Sadly, most of the amazing parts are the ones people can't, or won't, share pictures of.
Myself, I have no pictures, but I once worked on a turbine duct that was at least 30 feet in diameter and 12 feet high. We had to turn and polish the inside diameter to a ridiculously tight tolerance on one of the largest vertical lathes in North America. One of my first jobs when I got out of school.
It's funny you say that. I know a guy you used to do the same thing for the f-35 jet. I know there are restrictions for posting drawings. Most parts can be seen as a finished product.... I understand government contracts, etc. I just finished my belt grinder. Turned out pretty good. Was planning on posting some pix tomorrow. Obviously not the coolest, but most useful for me...
It's not really anything special to make, it's the very tip to a laser guided missile. It's just cool to know that our part is always the first thing to arrive.
So here are a few of the most interesting things I have built.
We had a brand new Sub Zero fridge (quite expensive) with a cabinet door, that didn't match our cabinets. I was told by many people including the manufacturer, that stainless steel panels couldn't be retrofit to the unit without replacing the entire door. So being me, I decided to design some fronts, and a mount system, and did it my self. I also machined the handles from 303 round bar. Turned out nice.
Also, I attached some pix of my billet belt grinder I just finished. I have some other things I want to add, but it's definitely the most useful thing I have made to date. Machined all the parts from 6061, and mounted it on a grinder stand. The motor is mounted on a hinge system I built. Need to get a bigger contact wheel, for more aggressive grinding
Anything...huh! I built this post-cap machine years ago. This machine makes the little Redwood post caps you see in the Home Depot stores (West Coast).
Nice work on the Sub-Zero! Just had to do something similar with a secondhand unit I got. Was pulled out from a built-in installation, and had to fabricate side panels for a free-standing install in my new kitchen.
Wasn't the top panel (over the compressor box) on yours an open grille for airflow?
Also, I attached some pix of my billet belt grinder I just finished. I have some other things I want to add, but it's definitely the most useful thing I have made to date. Machined all the parts from 6061, and mounted it on a grinder stand. The motor is mounted on a hinge system I built. Need to get a bigger contact wheel, for more aggressive grinding
For a large cheap contact wheel use can use a large "rubber over metal" caster wheel.
The image posting feature is so cool I can't stop myself. These are pictures of a volumetric filler I built for a local tree farm. It's tied to a automatic bagging line and this machine fills small bags with an exact amount of seedling mix or vermiculite, depending on which slug is inserted into the slide. Previously it was done by hand..this machine will fill one bag every 2 seconds or so...and they fill thousands a day.
"Coolest" and "ever" make it a tough call. For me, those would be hand work in my usual trade using wood, ivory, mother-of-pearl. But, more apropos to this discussion, two come to mind:
A swivel-grip magnetic socket screwdriver:
And, the first of what might become a little "evolution" of guitar string winding cranks:
Anything...huh! I built this post-cap machine years ago. This machine makes the little Redwood post caps you see in the Home Depot stores (West Coast).
Stuart
Stuart,
You wouldn't happen to have a video of that thing making product, would you? Would love to see it operate. Very interesting!
I don't have a video..I'm retired and the machine is at the mill. That doesn't mean I can't go take a video when the run it. I'll scratch around and see what I can do.
Hope this isn't too off the intent of this thread, but I 'did make em'! A pneumatic stamper to mark Rosewood bars on high end Marimba's. The machine is tied into a TigerStop on a precision trim saw so the stop recedes automatically and each bar is stamped with its musical note...C sharp or B flat etc. I attempted to paint it HAAS colors but it turned out to be tomato soup...yikes.
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Originally Posted by Blackdiamond
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