Jim in WA
BST Users-
Posts
77 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Recent Profile Visitors
518 profile views
-
t_man7 reacted to a post in a topic: Spray booth for flammable paint
-
I use a spot facer. They are made to cut close tolerance holes in aluminum but work well for this. It has a pilot pin or bit in the center. Don’t use it without one. As the glass eyes are on a wire it works quite well. I do use a jig fixture to hold the plug in place on my drill press and found a high speed reduces tearout.
-
You can buy hand seamers. These are just a couple of the many models and sizes available. They range in price from $20-$200.
-
I think it boils down to what you want and how much you value your time. For me I am doing retro plugs that had glass eyes. I am into each plug for about $2 for the eyes. It could go as high as $7 a set depending on how species specific you want to go. I also found sheets of holographic eyes, many styles and colors, available through any good sports shop that carries fly tying supplies for really cheap. I am not sure why you would spend the effort to make them.
-
H'Islander reacted to a post in a topic: AYC Score?
-
If you have a real lead billet. Easiest way is to melt it into your crucible for pouring. Good respirator, hit it with the torch until it’s as full as you want. And it’s at temp, requiring little time and heat soak for your pour. learned this when the torch caught my eye in the shop during a session cussing my sawzall. The reason I stated real lead billet was I got ahold of one that obviously had some other alloy in it. I eventually threw that one away. I use lead mainly for surf casting style sinkers that work well in the Columbia river with 7 knots of current. I switched from the old style barbed wire core to making my own Gemini sinkers a few years ago. Average sinker weight I make is 8 oz
-
Just curious why you like the AKC so much. I can understand if it was Sitka Spruce. Cedar being cedar, not the best wood for strength. I use NW Red because of availability and tradition.
-
Anhydrous isopropyl I presume? much more effective as a solvent than your watered down drugstore rubbing alcohol. I will just have to do what everyone else ends up doing. Experiment and test to fail. Eventually finding what works.
-
Just a question. How long after application did you do your wear and solvent test? I am getting ready to purchase clears. Deciding whether to use their line of clears or go to a poly U. Some plug patterns will be Etex just because of I am suspending glitter in the clear coat.
-
t_man7 reacted to a post in a topic: Spray primer
-
I guess this depends on how much spraying you want to do. I have used many Prevails. They work well with poly u’s. Downside is not having another when the last one runs out before your done. I just paid $159 for a complete compressor/tank system that will work well for years. Not that great of an airbrush, but I was buying a good consistent air supply. It really isn’t a big deal to clean and maintain the airbrush. The difference in finished product is huge. Night and day. Over the long term the airbrush system will be cheaper and give you greater satisfaction.
-
Ditto, very solid, great reputation, won’t break the bank.
-
Jim in WA reacted to a post in a topic: Drill chucks
-
t_man7 reacted to a post in a topic: Thru Wire Drill Bits
-
That’s for sure. Simple paraffin wax applied to a bit or even bolts and screws especially stainless will prevent galling when using power tools to install them, ( I can’t tell you how many times I tried to remove recently installed stainless fasteners that were put in with an electric drill without this step and they were pretty much welded together) and with cutting tools it will help prevent plugging. It melts with the heat and will release the chips etc. and not allow them to stick.
-
Jim in WA started following Thru Wire Drill Bits
-
t_man7 reacted to a post in a topic: Thru Wire Drill Bits
-
By this he means wire gauge bits. They are made to be very accurate. With over 20 years experience in the aerospace industry I have drilled a lot of close tolerance holes. To use cheap bits or heaven forbid a fractional bit (that was called career suicide) you can’t even get within the .003 tolerances for things like rivets. With that attention to manufacture you also can count on the rest of the bit to be built well. You will pay for them. It’s typical for a person who uses them to buy say 10 each of the sizes they use rather than a set. Do not overlook the drill/chuck you are using. A sloppy assembly will cause even the best bits to wander. The best wander less bits will be gun barrel bits. Terribly expensive. Never made sense to me as they do not sharpen the edges of the flutes. On less step for them but they charge you more. Usually used when drilling out a hard material like a steel bolt in a really thick aluminum fitting.
-
t_man7 reacted to a post in a topic: Vega Duplicator - Your thoughts?
-
That all being said. The whole reason to use and perfect a duplicator is to have a consistent result in a short period of time. The Vega will do this. Yes you have to adjust and experiment and adjust again. But in the end I personally cannot duplicate the same exact result time after time by hand. So I will use my Vega, put up with the annoying quirks until I have a better idea and mod my Vega again. Thanks again Steel your contribution keeps kicking some serious butt.
-
Bmackerel reacted to a post in a topic: Vega Duplicator - Your thoughts?
-
t_man7 reacted to a post in a topic: Vega Duplicator - Your thoughts?
-
I think to be honest, I found the whole Vega template follower assembly to be flimsy. Not much resistance to side loads. Working on a fix for that. That is probably my biggest disappointment with the Vega. I would rather see a .500 square stock holder with a really hard small guide pin. Think about it. A round pin can deflect in any of 360 degrees of direction. Square stock is pretty much limited to 4 directions. Food for thought.
-
Like anything else rough it up with a medium grit and prime before you put the killer on. I would read up on the createx recommendations and just follow through.
-
t_man7 reacted to a post in a topic: Vega Duplicator - Your thoughts?
-
I guess it depends. I have a lot of respect for Steel Pulse. He has helped me tremendously. Yes along with a lot of other members who have helped me greatly. I do still have the spring on mine and have gotten used to balancing the tension to depth of cut. That being said the choice is up to you. Take it off and experiment. I found it easier to leave it on for now. You may have a different opinion and that’s OK. Whatever works for you. Definitely talk to Steel about cutter holders and inserts. Best improvement so far on turning. It cut my tear out down at least 50% compared to stock cutter. I am working with Western Red Cedar.