# Best Homemade Tools >  hydraulic coffee mug

## sossol

Made from the reservoir of a 70s-era bottle jack, and a stainless steel travel cup with the top cut off.
The birch plywood disks were cut on my metal lathe to fit the cup snugly and keep it from distorting as I rolled the lip over. 
The cup is currently held in by the foam sleeve, and the bottom just has tape for now.

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baja (Feb 1, 2020),

benkeller3 (Dec 31, 2017),

blkadder (Aug 9, 2016),

gunsgt1863 (May 14, 2018),

high-side (Feb 1, 2020),

lazarus (Aug 21, 2016),

NortonDommi (Dec 28, 2017),

Paul Jones (Oct 2, 2016),

rlm98253 (Dec 28, 2017),

that_other_guy (Apr 25, 2020),

Tuomas (Aug 31, 2016),

Wmrra13 (Aug 9, 2016),

Workshopshed (Aug 13, 2016)

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## Moby Duck

Great job you have done with this build, and a novel idea. At least nobody is likely to steal it. Does the smell, or the residual taste of the carcinogenic Chinese hydraulic oil on your bottom lip, improve the taste of the coffee or does it make it worse?

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## sossol

It was Taiwanese oil (this was made prior to the Chinese MFG exodus), and how could that not improve the flavor? 

I washed the reservoir with solvent, foaming degreaser, and finally, Dawn dish soap, so I'm sure that there's no oil left in or on it. My sense of smell was ruined years ago, so even if it did smell of oil, I wouldn't know. My brother-in-law said that it just smells like raw steel, though. Plus, I make coffee strong enough to eat with a fork, so that smell would overpower all others anyhow.

Neil

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HobieDave (Apr 13, 2020),

Moby Duck (Aug 8, 2016),

Paul Jones (Oct 2, 2016),

Toolmaker51 (Aug 8, 2016)

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## Yury11

Thank You!!

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## billster

Great build, a "must have" for any coffee achiever's workshop.

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## BarryCarroll60

Hi just joined always looking for new ideas!

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## sossol

I finally made a proper base for this mug out of ABS sheet. The hole in the bottom is where I had a brass nutsert to thread a rod into it. I used one of the handles from a tap wrench. Worked a treat. I used a parting tool to carve a groove that press fits to the bottom of the mug. The raised center on the bottom is supposed to look like it was left at a rough cut. Kinda failed after a few attempts, so I left it. I left the top rough because it's hidden.

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## billster

The rough cut on the ABS sheet doesn't look too bad, actually, until you look closely, but that rough cut is not visible, so no real failure. Do the grooves inside the lip snap-fit to anything on the cylinder outer wall, like threads (assuming the base of the bottle jack was screw-on type)? Great adaptation of the travel mug. I may have to copy that, use up an old tractor hydraulic cylinder left to die decades ago in the dirt on my farm. I find many uses for ABS and several other polymers - adds a good look to yours. I really like the idea of the heft. I constantly reach for coffee without really looking where my hand is going and it seems I bump the mug just enough to knock it off kilter...which is why ceramic mugs are banned from my workshop. :Brick Wall:  I hate when I do that.

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## sossol

> The rough cut on the ABS sheet doesn't look too bad, actually, until you look closely, but that rough cut is not visible, so no real failure. Do the grooves inside the lip snap-fit to anything on the cylinder outer wall, like threads (assuming the base of the bottle jack was screw-on type)? Great adaptation of the travel mug. I may have to copy that, use up an old tractor hydraulic cylinder left to die decades ago in the dirt on my farm. I find many uses for ABS and several other polymers - adds a good look to yours. I really like the idea of the heft. I constantly reach for coffee without really looking where my hand is going and it seems I bump the mug just enough to knock it off kilter...which is why ceramic mugs are banned from my workshop. I hate when I do that.



The cap on this jack was threaded to the pressure tube in the center, which I discarded. The bottom is a flat cut that seated against a plastic sealing ring, which was at the bottom of a ring groove in the cast iron base. I basically copied that groove in my plastic base. The bottom of the reservoir cylinder it has a bit of a mushroomed lip similar to that of a cabinet scraper on the inside and outside. The groove in the plastic grabs that lip. The base can be pulled off easily, but there is no strain on it otherwise, so it stays in place. The eventual plan is to use the base to hold the inner cup in place. 

Originally, I did this on a lark, with no expectation to actually use it, but once I got it cut down, it went from an excuse to run the lathe to an actual project. It turns out that it weighs so much that12oz of coffee has little effect on the heft, so it feels the same whether it's full or empty. The weight also all but eliminates bump-spill. You'd damage a knuckle if you hit it hard enough to knock it over. 

Please do copy this, and post the results. You could improve on it and give me more ideas.

I may, but probably won't, replace the travel mug and do a better job. I rolled the edge over cold (didn't want to burn the plywood), and didn't take the time it needed, and it split in a couple of places. I imagine that it was already work-hardened by the drawing process, and I should have annealed it, but I didn't.

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## billster

I have one cylinder that may be the one. Outside is totally rusted, but not flaking, so it has a nice patina. If I copy this, I'll post the result. I'm a patient person, but usually not when it comes to making stuff for myself - then it's quick-and-dirty. That will probably dominate the project if I do it, but I'm willing to show just about any Q&D work, almost always fun stuff.

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that_other_guy (Apr 25, 2020)

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## Jon

> I have one cylinder that may be the one. Outside is totally rusted, but not flaking, so it has a nice patina. If I copy this, I'll post the result. I'm a patient person, but usually not when it comes to making stuff for myself - then it's quick-and-dirty. That will probably dominate the project if I do it, but I'm willing to show just about any Q&D work, almost always fun stuff.



Did you have a go at this? Very cool idea; curious to see if others have tried it.

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Paul Jones (Oct 2, 2016)

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## billster

Haven't done it, yet. Probably will be after the weather isn't as inviting, and the woodstove is fired up. I did pick a mug to use, so that's progress.

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## Jon

> Haven't done it, yet. Probably will be after the weather isn't as inviting, and the woodstove is fired up. I did pick a mug to use, so that's progress.



Sounds like step 1 is complete!

We've been cooling off here in the Colorado mountains too, and have just started using the woodstove again.

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## billster

I guess I should take the camera out, anyway. Got my old lathe working and my brother-in-law helped with two gunsmithing projects since hunting season is almost upon us here. I may just grab that old cylinder and start on it. Shouldn't take too long, though I do tend to get sidetracked when digging through my parts bins. I'm probably not alone there, though, ya think?

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## sossol

I often get sidetracked before I even make it to the bin. This mug was itself a sidetrack. Even my avatar is a product of a sidetrack. I was cleaning up the cutoffs from my metal moxon vice, when I noticed that they made some neat patterns.




> I guess I should take the camera out, anyway. Got my old lathe working and my brother-in-law helped with two gunsmithing projects since hunting season is almost upon us here. I may just grab that old cylinder and start on it. Shouldn't take too long, though I do tend to get sidetracked when digging through my parts bins. I'm probably not alone there, though, ya think?

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Paul Jones (Oct 2, 2016)

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## billster

I did take notice of your avatar. I, probably like most on this forum, don't throw much away and repeating shapes are often inspiring for little doo-dads.

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## moperformance

One of those things that put a smile on your face just looking at it. 
Many thanks, 
Bill

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## sossol

I had set this mug aside since my last post because I couldn't find a proper cup to replace the temporary one. I found a Grey Goose drink mixer cup, which has more volume and thicker walls, but didn't have no idea how to fit it (I wanted it to be purely mechanical - no adhesive) until this past weekend.
What I did was cut the cup down so that it wedge into the jack barrel with a bit still proud of the top. I used the very hydro press this jack came from to force the bottle over the cup. Then I trimmed the rim of the cup and the top of the bottle to make an interference fit, then crammed them together. 

Now it's as done as it'll get for now. Maybe ever. 


Neil

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billster (Apr 14, 2020),

Jon (Apr 17, 2020),

that_other_guy (Apr 25, 2020)

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## billster

It's springtime in the Rockies, much work to do, but after winter shut-in my own stuff gets (mysteriously) put at the top on my honeydew list. I have a couple of donor insulated mugs and the cylinder is looking like it needs a makeover.

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