project ideas?
Jim
I have been on this site lurking for God knows how long. I am a
journeyman welder of 30 years. I have also got pressure tickets in SMAW of
low carbon, TIG Stainless and TIG Inconel and am also a qualified weld
inspector in ASME Z662 (for pipeline construction). I also teach when I have
time at the local trades college..I am a non qualified machinist but have a
steel lathe and am a registerred gunsmith and master firearms instructor....
Given the above history, I have to stay at home and be with my wife
with breast cancer. We got given a tough hand but ya gotta play the hand
that God gave you.
My question is quite simply.... Got any ideas for projects for a tradesman
to build at home?.thanks ...Jim
Tim Wescott
For money or for fun? To learn something or just to make?
My personal queue (which I'll die before I empty, I'm sure) includes
building at least one model airplane engine (and flying it), and learning
how to hammer weld well enough to replace the bottom 6" of my 1963
Suburban and/or make an all-steel Morgan Trike replica (well, a replica
of a 2009 Morgan trike, which means I have to design it first :-) (and
yes, fabricating sheet metal car parts needs more skills than just hammer
welding, but you get the idea).
Build some street rods. Start with a 23 T-Bucket. Don't buy a frame,
though, for crying out loud! That's got to be the easiest frame to build
in the _world_, with model A frames being a close second -- all you need
is the right sized stock, a flat floor a tape measure and the right
attitude.
I don't know who you'd ask for plans to build a T bucket frame. The
Wescott's Auto Restyling catalog has frame drawings for the stock frames
for T's, A's, '32's, '33/34's and '40's, but a T bucket is a different
animal. (On the other hand, you have a lot of latitude with a T bucket,
too; as long as it goes down the road straight and looks good you can
make just about any old frame).
Jim Wilkins
> Hello,
...
>
> My question is quite simply.... Got any ideas for projects for a tradesman
> to build at home?.thanks ...Jim
This is the most useful home project I've built:
http://picasaweb.google.com/KB1DAL/HomeMadeMachines#5168765918437561074
The framework is 2" square tubing, attached to the tractor frame at
the side rails and the (added) front bumper. The hydraulics are all
salvaged; the cylinders were worn-out import Porta-Power clones. The
bucket is 16 gauge stainless to resist road salt. I had to make an
adjustable pressure regulator for the control valve to limit it to
1000 PSI, more will break things, starting with the front tires.
I originally designed it to lift 500 Lbs but 200 raised 4 feet puts it
near the limit of stability. That's a Garden Tractor with a frame
that's stronger than a Lawn or Yard tractor's.
Jim W