Steven Bronstein

Well, I messed up installing a railing into a hardwood floor. I did not drill big enough pilot holes and two of the lag heads sheared off halfway into the hole, though of course they sheared at the wood floor line. I have a left hand drill and ez out coming from McMaster so I think I can solve this problem. However, I would like to find an alternative to lag screws. I am considering the 1/4" x 2" GRK structural screws for installing interior baseplates. Any thoughts? I am going with the 1/4" because the larger diameters only come much longer. Any suggestions. Thanks, Steven

this is a tangential question. I have always wondered how the punched the eyes in sewing needles......

I tried it with drilling a 1/2" hold on the flat and then set it at the proper angle and drilled again with an aligning reamer, in the drill press, and that seemed to be the ticket. Ended up with a clean oval hole at the correct angle in the correct location and no chatter.

Better version is to predrill 1/2" holes in the correct locations, tilt the drill press table to the correct angle , and redrill with a tapered reamer. At 35 degrees it seems to be a reasonable procedure. Any suggestions? Thanks.

I want to cut oval holes in the top and bottom channel rails for my pickets to go into. I usually plug weld them inside the channel so it will be hidden. The holes are 1/2" and the angle is shallow enough that I cannot drill two side by side holes to create the oval. I am thinking about trying to drill at the proper angle with an end mill in my drill press. The cutting will be straight down and I will not be doing any side cutting but the end mill corner will contact the metal at an angle and I am not sure how that will go. Any alternatives or suggestions? Thanks,

thanks I am going to switch to A2 which is much more forgiving

I am replacing one of the ram rollers on my 5# Beaudry Utility Hammer. I was told to use 2" round D2 for the rollers and a machinist is turning them for me. I only have a gas forge for tempering. I do have access to stainless foil heat treat bags and an infrared temperature gun. The instructions for heat treating D2 may be more specific than I can manage. Do I need to send it out or is this something I can do myself. It is holding the heat for a consistent temperature over an hour that has me concerned. Any suggestions.

I have a 50# Beaudry that gets used every day. The Drive Pulley slides on the Clutch Sleeve to engage the Drive Shaft. The pulley moves back and forth over the same section of the clutch sleeve and it has become worn so it is wobbling enough that is not engaging with the clutch plates smoothly. I would like to build up and turn the two surfaces so that it runs correctly. Does anyone know of the original specs for the parts. Or has anyone dealt with this before. Any help would be appreciate. Thanks.

I haven't been able to find the pics from GiFerro's post at the beginning of this thread. Any suggestions? maybe i am entering the query incorrectly.....

The perspective was great. I totally got the humongous Bear and the fearless/foolish hunter. I recently went to an Inuit Art Gallery in Quebec City and your piece would have fit right in. Their work seems less interested in being anatomically correct and more focused on the feelings you get when you see it. Totally works.

Here is a pic of the buffalo. In between the two bodies is a 10" version completed. The larger pieces still need the head and horns. When finished it should be the size of a big Newfoundland. Frosty, Your Polar Bear and Hunter are fantastic. Well Done! Steven

Here is a report of my progress. I used a flat nose tool with a 3/8" radius. I was easily able to texture the surface of cold 16 gauge making dimples that added, I think, a lot. Here is a video of my buffalo maquette and the body parts nearly completed. The head and horn are to come IMG_1159.MOV

Has anyone recovered the images. It sounds like GiFerro had a great hands on method and I was hoping to use it. The best I can come up with now is to locate a center axis pole and measure to each of the tread noses. Then measure each rise and run and I should be able to recreate the stair treads in my shop and use that as my template for the handrail curve. If anyone has pictures that would be helpful. Thanks.

Th

Good points: My helper will be holding the steel and it will be set into depressions in the dirt so it should locate reasonably well. His job will be more to stop if from bouncing, rather than horizontal control. I will be working cold so I am hoping that the small electric hammer I am looking at wont be too aggressive. It weighs 45# so should be pretty manageable. The Buffalo head and shoulders need to be highly texture so i think it will work. If it is too fast, I can make wider and textured heads for the hammer bits so the forces get distributed and be less aggressive. I will let you know. Thanks.