CorvAircraft> Make Your Own Cows (was: "Crank Threading")

[Dave Morris "BigD"]

Boy I don't know about that one.  If I had to explain to my wife that 
I wanted her to ride along in an

airplane that I built
from parts I made with a brake that I built
from parts made on a lathe that I
welded using a welder I made
etc. etc. etc.

I think I'd get "that" stare.

:)

Dave

At 10:42 AM 4/11/2007, you wrote:
>Scott --
>
>Ah, the "Hamster Dance."  I should have known.
>
>That's a good tip on the brake.  I'll have to chase that one down.
>
>Actually, one of the items on my endless "to do" list is to 
>scratch-build a TIG welder.  I've got two friends (both of them 
>engineering types like me) who also want TIG's for various reasons, 
>and we've decided to pool our brains and beer money to come up with 
>something that can be made for $450 or less, including torches, 
>electrodes, etc.
>
>We've bought a $100 Harbor Freight stick welder and a surplus neon 
>sign transformer, and we're in the process now of cooking up the 
>control system to use the NST as the arc start and the HF stick 
>welder as the supplier of the heavy current.  A bit of surfing the 
>web has turned up some good stuff on the US Patent Office related 
>sites, most of it being patents filed by various Miller designers 
>over the years.  I also paid the whopping total of $7.50 for a 
>little book somebody did on how to make TIG welders from the guts of 
>old microwave ovens.  And there were probably about $7.50 worth of 
>good tips in there.  So the ideas are flying back and forth at the 
>moment.  So many cool projects, so little time...
>
>Anyway, I'd like another welder just to have one -- and to prove 
>that a very good one can be made cheaply.  My pal Hank wants one 
>because he's digging into building an aluminum-bodied VW-powered 
>airframe (the BK1), and he thinks a TIG would be handy.  And my 
>buddy Dan wants one just because he builds very large Tesla coils 
>for recreation (The 4th of July show at his house is *quite* 
>impressive) and this would be an interesting diversion.  It might 
>also give some minor measure of respectability to him with his 
>homeowners association -- which seems to have problems with some of 
>the larger electrical discharges coming out of the house at the end 
>of the block.
>
>Anyway, I've been gas welding for years, and TIG welding for 
>considerably less time -- but I was shocked (pardon the pun) the 
>first time I tried TIG at just how freaking easy it is to make a 
>really pretty bead.  And when a guy from Miller demo'ed one by 
>welding a razor blade to an anvil, I said, "Okay, I'm in..."
>
>Coming back to Corvairs, I'm pretty sure nobody's got an 
>off-the-shelf bed mount for a Nieuport 12, so a TIG is going to 
>prove a very useful thing...
>
>-- Eric
>
> >
> > From: "Scott Laughlin" <cookwithgas at hotmail.com>
> > Date: 2007/04/11 Wed AM 11:17:38 EDT
> > To: corvaircraft at mylist.net
> > Subject: RE: CorvAircraft> RE: tapping crankshaft - Cows/Machines
> >
> > Eric:
> >
> > I'm glad you liked the video.  My daughter inserted the song - it's called
> > "The Hamster Dance."
> >
> > The sheet brake plans came from Larry McFarland's page at 
> macsmachine.com.
> > He will refund your money ($35) if you build the brake and send 
> him pictures
> > of the final product.
> >
> > My favorite new machine in the garage is my Miller Synchrowave 
> TIG welder.
> > If you are still gas welding, moving up to a TIG is a great idea.  My gas
> > welding practice really paid off when learning to TIG.  If you have some
> > spare cash and are looking for a  new tool, the TIG is a great 
> addition to a
> > shop.  I use it every chance I get.
> >
> > Keep up the good work Eric.
> >
> > Scott Laughlin
> > www.cooknwithgas.com
>
>
>
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