Welcome to my blag.
[ Notice there's no 'o' in it. Let's keep it that way. ]
really ties the shop together
Harbor Freight has a sale right now, and if you're on their email list, you probably get a new coupon just about every day. I had a 15% off coupon and "needed" some odds and ends, so I took a trip to Worcester to check out their nearest retail location.
I'd been looking at horizontal band saws off and on for years, I just could never justify the cost. I think that changed when I used one to cut a 6"x3" piece of mild steel in half. It took minutes, and was probably the quietest machine in the shop - even quieter than the fan. Any tool that efficient has a special place in my heart.
This one is an import and usually runs about $250. I was planning on getting this model at some point anyway, but right now it's on sale (in-store only) for $189. With 15% off that's only $160!!
I took a look at it in the store and was surprised to find that most of the parts are cast iron - not sheet metal like I expected. The bearings aren't fancy, but the arm moves smoothly and the machine feels pretty solid. The bed and vise have a machined finish. The nice thing about this model is that you can lock it in the upright position and add a cutting plate to use it as a vertical bandsaw.
I haven't even put the thing together yet, so I can't say if it works as well as the one I've used, but for $160 I doubt I'll be disappointed.
2009-06-16T09:39:00.005-04:00
My New Toy
Last week I decided I had to have this welder. I'd actually been looking at MIG welding machines for a few years, but just couldn't justify buying one. I have access to a fab shop, I've taken a short intro to welding class, now I'm building a tubing bender out of some pretty thick steel, and I need something pretty heavy duty to weld it up anyway. Perfect timing!
This is the Hobart Handler 210 model. Hobart is made by Miller, so it should be quality stuff. Plus, some of the parts (including the gun) that came with it are actual Miller parts - stamped with the Miller logo. This is the largest (highest amps) Handler. I went for the largest based on one suggestion that I read on Hobart's message board. It was something like: "Buying larger only hurts once - when you pay for it. If you get something smaller you'll be kicking yourself for years." Actually I do need all that power for the 1/4" steel that I'm welding. And besides, when I finally get a spool gun to do aluminum, the wire speed control is built in to the unit. So it wasn't all an impulse purchase.
2009-01-20T16:59:00.005-05:00
the DIY revolution
Something that I've been thinking about lately is what seems to be a trend of a growing d.i.y./hacker/maker/backyard mechanic/handman culture.
Maybe it started with Home Depot and Lowes, but I think there's something else happening. If you watch the Discovery Channel you probably have noticed that almost every show is about making stuff. Mythbusters, Prototype This!, How It's Made, even shows like Time Warp have an element of backyard fabrication. Although I'm not a homeowner, I've noticed this trend with home improvement shows too. I mean, there's a whole network now for this stuff - the DIY Network. In general it seems a lot of people are interested in learning to do things themselves.
I attended an Ignite Boston talk this past fall and Tim O'Reilly talked about this resurgence of self-sufficiency. He noted that these trends have come and gone throughout history, so it's really nothing new. The one thing that seems interesting to me is that in this day and age the technology is so much more accessible. People are building their own 3-D printers and CNC machines at home. I'm sure there are hobbyists out there with better facilities than some prototyping labs. This makes me start to wonder what will come of all of this. It seems that the most exciting innovation could come not from a large corporation but from a person working quietly in a basement shop. It also makes me think that we might break free from the historic model of these trends. This might not be a fad, we might be at the verge of an industrial and economic revolution.
...or maybe not. Still I'm excited to see what comes of this all.
2008-12-12T12:54:00.002-05:00
"Smart People on Ice" was taken
So here's my first post.
I'm not a blogger. I don't even have a blog. ..but I figured I may want an easy way to post quick updates to my website without editing html, so I created a blogger account and set up this page to load the Atom feed from it.
I'm using a PHP based RSS/Atom parser called Magpie RSS. It's distributed under the GPL License, so if you want to do this too, go download the code; it takes 5 minutes to set up.
Incidentally, my Blogger account is named "H for Toy." Bonus nerd points if you catch the reference.
2008-11-26T17:59:00.006-05:00