not a tool yet only a part

[Frank S]

Make chunks not chips now where have I heard that before? OH yes TM51 said it
after welding the pivots shafts the next step was to machine them
after turning I put them in the mill to form the tang
after a couple of passes I decided this is going no where fast

I didn't want to take it to the band saw so I brought my porta band to do the job

after removing the chunks it only took a single pass down the sides to get to this point
one more pass to get the size I need

[KustomsbyKent]

Frank S, sounds like you've had quite the experience!
Any pictures of the shop you used to work in? I'd be curious to see these jigs you made.
What do you have for a current shop setup?

[Frank S]

Kent I hardly have any pictures from before 2013 and completely lost all of 2014 as well in a couple of hard drive crashes those few older pictures that I have were located in multiple forums I have posted on over the years
My current set up is 16 acres with a most of the time blue sky ceiling a 45 ft House hold goods moving van several dry box trailers a couple of 53 ft intermodal shipping containers, and a 24 by 28 tarp tent set up next to the van I am waiting on 2 of my dry vans and 1 of the intermodals to be delivered hopefully in the next month or so before starting on construction of my shop which will incorporate the 2 containers the HHG van/ machine shop one of the dry vans? tool van
I have enough materials to build a 80 by 80 18 ft wall shop if I decide top go that big

[KustomsbyKent]

So are have you recently moved onto the acreage? sounds like you're in a bit of transition period with stuff in van body trailers.
If you build a shop, go big! 80x80 with 18' sidewalls sounds like a good start!

we (my brother & I) built a 50x96 w/ 16' side wall shop back in 2000 on the home place, and I'm glad we went as big as we did, as it's fairly full now. my only regret is that it's 120 miles from where I currently live so I can work a corporate job. But we're also currently living on a small acreage (5 acres), so that helps!

[Frank S]

Kent we started preparing for our move in early 2015 first the place had been vacant for several years so the house needed a lot and still needs some attention then every time I could make the 200+ mile drive I brought out some stuff and mowed areas that had not been mowed in years this took a lot of time out of the 3 or 4 days at a time I could spend here some months we couldn't come out so yes it has and still is a transition period and probably will be for a long time. I dug way too deeply into my retirement funds initially and for a couple years previous in anticipation of one day locating a place that was remote by remote we had planned on being located about 60 miles from the nearest town but this place came up only 13 miles to the nearest town which happens to be the only town in the county with a heavy farming and ranching community about the county the deal that clenched it was the town supports a fairly well equipped hospital and EMT even has a heli pad a good forestry service style VFD no police department at all just the county Sheriff and 2 deputies which more than enough law enforcement for a county of under 2000 with 900 of those living in or near town Pretty much the ideal place to retire the property is long and irregular shaped with close to 2600 ft of paved road frontage

[KustomsbyKent]

Frank,
sounds like a great place to retire! And no shortage of projects to keep you busy so boredom doesn't set in. It's good to have projects, I have more than enough right now. I keep telling the wife that I need early retirement so I can focus more on my projects!

[Frank S]

Kent once you retire you will wonder how you ever had time for a job. Them main radiance between a project and a job is you have the option of walking away from it for a while and it will still be there when you return. A job not so likely.

[Frank S]

This project is soon to become a tool in progress I just about have enough parts made
here is the swing beam pivot shaft after completion.
After I had fir it in place to determine the locations of the holes I realized this is going to be one of those impossible to remove parts si I decided to drill and tap to jack holes also I have a deep issue with parts that have jack holes that are of a different size than the bolts used to mount them. Hence my jack holes are threaded for 5/8-11 since the part will be mounted with that size

[Frank S]

the part that started this thread is finally completely mounted now to finish the other side I'll have to borrow some of the bolts to fit up the other side as I have used up my entire inventory or 5/8 11 by 2" grade 8 bolts and these are actually borrowed from another project. so next time I go to tractor supply I will have to buy another 5 pounds of these

I have to tell you though drilling and taping in 3/4" thick caterpillar steel is a day's work in it self
the steel is the same as that which I used to make my fork carriage out of
http://www.homemadetools.net/forum/f...70-3#post84156