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How to read metric abbreviation for level vial sensitivity. 20"/2mm
A little help from my metric friends, please. This is a pretty basic question I guess. But I was looking at some sensitivity specs for level vials and came across a good number with this sort of spec: 20"/2mm I am unfamiliar with the " abbreviation. Does " mean seconds in this case? There... -
New Featherweight Prism Design in the Works! 12" Length.
I have had the occasional request for a prism between that is between the 8 and 18" prisms that I designed and cast. So, I am kicking around a 12 that is cored out like the 18 and is similar in shape to both the 8 and 18. Here is what I have drawn in the last couple days. It is about 2"...- dgfoster
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- Replies: 0
- Forum: Machine Reconditioning, Scraping and Inspection
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Where can I rent a pickup that allows more than 10000# trailer towing?
Without going into all the details, I need to rent a 3/4 or 1 ton PU from a company that allows towing a trailer in excess of 10000 pounds. It looks like all the rental companies put a maximum for towing at 10K. I need to pick up a machine roughly 500 miles away using a 14 to 16 foot drop deck... -
Can You Help Me With Fairing an Inside Non-Circular Curve in 1/8" Soft steel Plate?
A friend of mine is a wood turner, and wanted to make special calipers to determine the wall thickness of bowls that he turns. The calipers have two legs each about 10 inches in length, and are comprised of sweeping but non-circular curves along their length. He brought Masonite templates to my... -
IT Folks: Video Links Invisible in Posts
In the last couple days I have noticed that some of the time I can not see video links that members have included in their posts. For instance in the Rail Lines in Northern Manitoba thread recently started I was able to see (as I recall) the "Snake Rail" link yesterday when I read the post by... -
Avatar Guidelines
There is at least one frequent poster here on PM that seems to crave attention and feels a need to keep changing his avatar in what seems to be nonsensical ways. I guess it is no big deal. But you'd think we could be adults here and make some vague attempt to follow the guideline that was... -
WTB Small Open-Sided Planer in excellent working condition.
I would like to buy an open-sided planer with enough travel to machine cast iron straight edges up to 48" in length. The machine must be complete and in very good working condition. I am not interested in a "project." It must be small enough to fit into a single bay of a typical double...- dgfoster
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- Replies: 26
- Forum: Tooling, Parts and Accessories For Sale or Wanted
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What is Your Favorite YouTube Training Video Series for Mig Welding New Guy?
OK, you have new guy in the shop who has no welding experience. In your fabrication shop certification of the welds will not be an issue but good solid welds and good fundamental techniques are important. You try to do what you can given limitations of time to teach him the basics as you go... -
OT Anti-Virus Software---helpful or not?
I know there are some very knowledgeable IT folks on this forum. I have been reading various opinions over the last few months concerning the actual utility of anti-virus software services. In my case I am running Windows 11 with auto-updates. (I also know that lots of folks have strong... -
Freebie Featherweight Scraping Gage
I had some spare time on a recent vacation to Phoenix and decided to draw up a scraping PPI/Radius gage that I could 3-D print and give to members. I know that similar metal gages are available commercially. But, for me to print up some and drop them in the mail is pretty easy and a service to...- dgfoster
- Thread
- Replies: 27
- Forum: Machine Reconditioning, Scraping and Inspection
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Can anyone give a "Chalk Talk" on the theory underlying Spherosyn scale and encoder operation?
I admit having only a vague notion of how the solid steel balls enclosed in stainless tube used as a scale might work as a scale for a DRO. In another thread there has been discussion of this brand of DRO and its unique scale/encoder combination. It seems relatively easy to see how magnetic or... -
OT? What Items at Harbor Freight are Actually Worth Buying?
If this has been covered before, my apologies. Background: Later this morning I am heading out to Harbor Freight to buy a small locking plier that I intend to heavily grind (basicly destroy) to make into a one-time-use soldering heat sink. I rarely darken their doorway as most of their stuff... -
Requesting Recommendations for a Robust Goose-neck Clamp Lamp
As winter comes on, my shop is cooler now and chemical processes like the curing of epoxy glue and Bondo (both of which I use often in casting pattern making) are slowed down because of lower ambient temps. I have recently acquired some simple screw-base ceramic heat emitters which work well... -
Featherweight 8" Straight Edge/Prism/Level/Parallel New and Improved!
THe 8" Straight Edge I designed and started casting in January 2020 has been my top seller. Having looked at it countless times and trying to decide how it might be improved, I have just begun making new patterns for an 8 that is very similar to the original. But, I think it is a little...- dgfoster
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- Replies: 11
- Forum: Machine Reconditioning, Scraping and Inspection
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Need information on metal strap with no (very little) work hardening.
My adult son and I are brainstorming a device that would require a strap of metal which could be bent into a flattened “C” shape, straightened, and re-bent many (hundreds?) of times without work hardening and breaking. As an example of the desired stiffness, think of a ribbon of soft between 20... -
EmanuelGoldstein does a “Thermite” with a second name?
I see he now appears under the name EmGo. Why/how should a member have more than one name? Denis -
Help Please with DRO Readout (LMT 500-43-9-E) on Legacy Lucas Horizontal Boring Mill
I borrow time on an old but still very accurate Lucas Horizontal Boring mill that was purchased from Boeing 15 years ago and was rebuilt by them in the 90's. It has a DRO that used to work just fine with .0001 resolution but in the last year the readout has become unreliable as it... -
Fixturing a Featherweight 26 for a HORIZONTAL Boring Mill (Method applicable to other similarly shaped parts)
Background: I get lots of questions from purchasers regarding fixturing my straight edge castings for machining. I have posted several threads specific to various castings in the past and have found that methods applicable for those castings are quite specific for those castings and for the...- dgfoster
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- Replies: 2
- Forum: Machine Reconditioning, Scraping and Inspection
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Improved Workholding Fixtures for Featherweight 18" and 26" Straight Edge Prisms (Useful for other similar items too)
(Please Note: While this thread will deal with fixturing my prisms specifically, I think it has application for machining other shapes that need similar flexibility in fixturing.) In a recent related thread I reported I'd been working on the concept and execution of an improved workholding...- dgfoster
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- Replies: 8
- Forum: Machine Reconditioning, Scraping and Inspection
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48" Featherweight Camelback Machining Video
Here is a link a PM member who wishes to remain anonyous sent to me. Machining a 48 Foster Featherweight It shows a machinist (not a PMer) using an HBM to mill one of my 48's. He makes some interesting observations regarding spindle length growth of an HBM. His workholding methods are...- dgfoster
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- Replies: 29
- Forum: Machine Reconditioning, Scraping and Inspection