I know Phil will go bonkers over this when he sees it.
The guy made this from scratch in his "shop". And what a shop it is.
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What I've Been Up To....
Started this post on Monday, then came down with a head cold, which is now progressing South. Feeling better, but still a bit woozy...... To...
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That was amazing, and he answered the Acme threads question.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm going to watch his video about removing the weld from tubing so the pieces can telescope.
With the exception of the angled water jet cuts, most of the other cutting could be done with a grinder and a large number of thin cutting wheels. (and determination and patience!)
I noticed that his "fancy" knife edge cuts also lowered the risk of pinch points where the stationary and moving parts come together.
Again, amazing.
Yes, he's very skilled and talented.
Delete$200 in parts, $50,000 in equipment, and $10,000 of knowledge... LOL Nicely done though!
ReplyDeleteHAH!
DeleteProbably more like $200k in shop equipment.
I don't think numerically controlled water jet machines are cheap, but I didn't recognize the brand of vertical mill he was using, so maybe he saved a few $$ there!
It was a Bridgeport. There's a certain look to their nameplate that looks like no other.
DeleteYou can get good quality used Bridgeports for less than 2K nowadays, in the Contiguous USA. Those poor guys up in Alaska like Doc are in trouble now (but back when all the base closings were going on, people could just basically pick stuff up for free or near to free.
'Shop' is not the word for that guy's facility. 'Factory' is closer to reality. He's got the whole 9 yards in there, including a computer guided laser cutter, every welding machine known to mankind, every kind and shape of metal lathe, Good God, the guy can probably fabricate a Space Shuttle if he had a mind to.
ReplyDeleteI'd still call it a "shop", as to me me, "factory" means a production line setup.
ReplyDeleteHe has a very well equipped, high-end fabrication shop, 'fer sure', but I don't know what else he builds...
I can tell you what else he builds in that factory: robots.
DeleteI know he has a bunch of videos, but I only looked at the vise build, and the vise testing ones.
DeleteHe also designs and sells a lot of high-quality steel fixtures like squares and welding tables. Go to youtube and click on his site and you'll see everything.
DeleteInteresting, and he's good, just look at his welds. Lots of $$$$$$ equipment, which is great, so why does he say he's building it to save money.
ReplyDeleteGuess I missed the "save money" part. I thought he built it because he could readily find one that opened far enough, and didn't get all wobbly.
DeleteMost of his stuff he's bought used from auctions. New? Serious money. Used? Surprisingly not as much. Often big equipment goes for salvage weight, as everyone is enamored of CNC equipment these days, not manual "have to actually touch a tool, ick" stuff anymore.
DeleteThough the waterjet cutter? That looks very new.
There's another guy, Alex something, a custom knifemaker from England who moved here, who has done the same thing, set up a huge shop with new and used equipment.
Custom fabrication of unique one-only or small production runs (2-10 pieces) is something a lot of shops have gotten away from, so shops like this guy's are really raking it in.
Doc's Machine Shop in Alaska is like that. Guy lives in a fishing village/area, does paintball inventing and making, and also stuff for locals, like fixing boats, cars, tractor parts... Stuff that 'production' shops won't touch with their computer driven stuff. All manual (though he wants a CNC mill for some of his paintball stuff and for limited runs of other things.)
Depends on what machine you're buying. "I Remember" when I was little and my Dad was selling Bridgeport vertical milling machines. There was a time when new machines had a TWO YEAR lead time. Used Bridgeports were going for more than a new one, and were quite scarce. Even an old, loose, sloppy machine, which could be rebuilt, was going for 75% the cost of a new one.
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