Stainless Steel

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Barrel Sander (M002) Progress

The Barrel Sander is coming along again, after a small detour to build the (M003) Auto Loading jig.  Here is the nine sides bolted inside the barrel.  They do three things:

  1. Make the barrel stronger so the wheels that it turns on have more support than just thin metal.
  2. Provide a disrupted circle which will cause the materials to actually turn instead of sliding.
  3. Protect the inside of the barrel from the sanding action.

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Stain Dipper Machine – Lathe Work

In the Stain Dipper Machine, we have a top pulley which is mounted on a 10mm shaft that is seated in 10x26x8mm bearings.  In the last post on this topic, I showed the pulley holder assembly.  In this post I’ll show the pulley and the final assembly.

Here is the finished pulley, made from a 1″ long by 1.5″ diameter piece of brass.

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Here is the pulley mounted on the top of the machine.  This is a satisfying point in the project because of all the ways this could have been solved, we chose an elegant, smooth, and accurate one.  You can’t buy this specific part anywhere in the world – we designed and made it just for this purpose.

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Here is a picture of tapping the pulley for a M5 set screw.

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This is a picture after the first operation was complete.  Now we need to turn it around in the lathe, recenter it, and finish the other side.

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Here is a picture of the part in the lathe.  Notice the difference in surface finish?  The shiny area is freshly cut.  The dull area was original surface.  The semi-dull area was shiny just an hour before, but oxidization got to it that quickly.

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A view of the spinning 4-jaw chuck and quick change tool post.

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Designing a better Lime Squeezer

From time to time we host a get-together or party where we feature fresh squeezed limeade as the main beverage.  We have universally heard 5-star feedback from people who have had this simple but good drink.

The problem is, squeezing enough limes for a party of 60+ people takes a lot of time (and limes).  After about the fifth lime the first time… I had enough!

I went down to the shop and built a simple but powerful hinged wooden squeezer about 3′ long.  It looked like two canoe oars with a hinge holding them together.  With this contraption, a suitable helper (Eli), and a big stainless steel bowl, we could really crank out the lime juice (gallons).

Since using that a number of times, I’ve thought of some improvements I’d like to make, eventually ending in a fabricated stainless steel mechanism that is easy to use, powerful, and helpful.  The force applied to the lime should be compounded at the end of the squeeze cycle, taking full advantage of maximum leverage to get the last drops out (less waste, less fatigue).

Using the power of four-bars, I’m working up a Solid Works model which should meet most of the above criteria.  I think we will soon build a prototype out of maple, which is a very hard wood.

Here is a picture of it “open”:

Here is a picture of it “Closed”: