Category: Tools
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FINISHING Restoring A Chinese Laser Cutter Part 3
Almost done!! Picking up right where we left off last time, here is the laser tube strapped into the adjustable tube holder. The zip ties were a little tricky to thread through given the limited finger clearance, but overall I’m really pleased with how well the brackets fit. The thumb screws under the tube for […]
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Restoring A Chinese Laser Cutter (part 2)
As I mentioned in the last post, my next step on this project was to lift the frame up higher so I could fit a lot more stuff underneath. The original frame is made from thin-walled 2″ square tubing, so I decided to also go with 0.063″ wall 2″ square tubing. I borrowed time on […]
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homemade plug cutter
I wanted a plug cutter to cut wooden plugs for fret markers for a guitar I am working on. I with an old bolt. To form the ‘flute’ of the cutter where the chips clear out, I made an angled clamp block. I just eyeballed the angle I wanted and drilled a hole in a […]
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bandsaw revival
Revival might be overselling my effort here. Just imagine a lot of wire brushing, steel wool, and shop vacuuming and you will have the right idea. Also, I made blade guards! Both the left and right blade guards were missing. I started by working out the shape for the right blade guard using some junk […]
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fixing a DeWalt DW375 planer
I’ve been dying to get a planer for a while now, and recently was lucky enough to acquire this one off Craigslist. It needed a little work to get going though. The main problem was that it was jammed so that turning the hand crank with any reasonable amount of force wouldn’t actually raise or […]
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drill bit rack
This weekend was full of garage organization and tool shuffling. In short, many things that needed doing were done. The drill press now finally has a home against a wall, so it is time for all the drill bits to join it, too. Construction is very basic. I took apart the cheap metal drill index box […]
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small paring knife
Recently, my friend Nick gave me a knife blade that he forged. Here’s what he said about that process: “the knife is rather experimental. the steel is from a Timken bearing race. one side is ground hollow. quenched from an orange heat in motor oil. tempered over a hot block to a straw color.” Seems […]
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homemade knife: small fixed blade
I’ve always wanted to make custom knives. When I finally deemed my circular saw blade too dull to use, it seemed like a great opportunity. The steel used in saw blades usually has high enough carbon content to be hardened, so hang on to them! (or mail to me :D). I traced my blade pattern […]
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micro drill press
Hence concludes the many months where I couldn’t get my act together to post about my projects!! Here is a small one that I did a few weeks ago on my last visit to MIT. I spotted the chunk of aluminum (that makes up the base of this drill press) in a scrap bin. The […]
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Homemade Hand Tapper
Hi friends who read my blog. Here is a project that has taken just short of forever to finish mostly due to my new Real Person job and its associated Obligations, and minorly due to some tool troubles… “What is a hand-tapper?” Why, it is simply a tool that can hold a tap way straighter […]