In the November/December issue 105 of The Shed, our cover story is on a Kiwi legend of metal shaping and motorbikes, Steve Roberts.
If you enjoyed that article here is a link to a website that has even more of Steve’s story as well as videos of the cars and bikes he has constructed and inside info from chats with Steve.
Damaged and pulled threads can be an annoying inconvenience, especially a stripped spark plug thread. They can also be expensive if the equipment you are working on is vital or difficult to replace. But there are now systems with which you can repair even completely destroyed threads quickly and at a reasonable cost, so saving time and money.
Existing undamaged threads can also be significantly strengthened using these types of repair systems.
Selecting the correct air compressor for a particular job should be a relatively painless exercise. The right choice will provide you with a useful machine that can last for many years, provided you maintain it well.
But far too often, choosing a compressor can come down to a random weighing-up of price, cosmetic appearance, or misinformation about the compressor’s specification. In fact, the most important thing to consider is the air consumption of any tool to be used with the compressor.
The saying, “You wouldn’t buy a Mini to tow a boat,” holds true. If the compressor is too small for the job, either the tool won’t work or the tool will work below an acceptable level
One of our favourite sheddies here at the magazine is Rudi Buchanan Strewe whose engineering shed we featured in issue 102. When we visited Rudi, he was restoring a 1910 Atlas power hammer. Here it is, restored, and up and running as good as new.
Once your component is securely clamped (see “Showing restraint” Part 2, www.the-shed.nz), ensure the cutting tool is held correctly in its chuck or collet holder, keeping tool overhang or stick-out to a minimum. Being rigid and stable applies as much to tooling as it does to the workpiece. Drill chucks are NOT designed to take side loads induced by milling and are exclusively for drills. Milling cutters should be held in a collet chuck or other suitable holder.
Legendary panel maker
The unassuming Steve Roberts has been called everything from artist and magician to guru of alloy; he himself is more comfortable with the handle ‘tin basher’
Our cover story this issue is on a legend of metal shaping and motorbikes, Steve Roberts. Steve is one of this country’s most respected and admired craftsmen in these fields, and we made the journey to Whanganui to catch up with him.
His output has been prodigious; his innovations groundbreaking; his production values and eye for detail next level. Incredibly, most of his work has been conjured, beaten, and bent with ‘basic tools’ — an indispensable 1920s lathe, a homebuilt press, and an ancient wheeling machine — from a modest shed he once shared with his family’s horses
Enjoy smooth, flawless performance with the wide range of anti-vibration mounts from Hi-Q Components. Manufactured from rubber and zinc-plated steel, the quality range includes male and female threaded mounts in a variety of metric thread sizes, from M4 to M16. The female and male anti-vibration mount sizes…
In Part One of this series on the milling machine we put the milling machine in the workshop and had it levelled. Before you use the machine, it is important to check the alignment of the spindle. Then comes understanding the importance of preparing the workpiece. Work to be milled or drilled on the milling machine has to be set up so that it does not move during the job. This is one of the most important things you can do if you don’t want an important component or workpiece to end up as scrap because it moved.
In a typical home engineering workshop progression, you buy a bench vise, some hand tools, and possibly a bench grinder. After you buy a small pillar drill then comes a big leap — buying a centre lathe.
Along the way you acquire more small tooling, drills, turning tools, etc. You make many useful items and produce a fair bit of scrap.
But then you find the lovely pieces you are turning out on your lathe require other features, especially holes more accurately positioned than you can mark out and drill on your pillar drill. As good as you have become with a file, that flat section needed on the shaft really needs to be machined. And how are you going to make a slot for that keyway?
Making an item of furniture does not have to be the daunting task it can seem. If you look closely at commercial pieces, you’ll notice that they share common concepts, and they are simple concepts at that. I’m not suggesting you suddenly choose to give away purchasing furniture and make all your own but making one or two items can become real statement pieces. Perhaps a hall table, or in this case, a small coffee table.
For this project, instead of choosing a basic option of joining a few narrow boards side-by-side to create a solid top, I chose to try a technique I haven’t used before – using wedges of timber to create a radial effect. For your top, you certainly do not have to go this far, and you can choose to have a solid top (these can even be purchased pre-made), or even a solid slab (with or without a natural edge)
At home, I have a big barbecue in the backyard and a little barbecue upstairs on the balcony that I use when there are just two of us. This hibachi or portable barbecue would be ideal for just two although the grill rack is big enough for four or five steaks or chops and sausages. It can be made with scrap mild steel and a piece of cut pipe. You will find scrap bins at your local engineering works. Most pieces of metal under a metre seem to go in there. You could ask and many companies would be happy to help out, perhaps for a couple of beers.
A new global survey on the development of the Internet of Things (IoT) across a wide range of industries has revealed some interesting new trends, including a surge in willingness to use AI in some form, increasing concern about connectivity options, and a willingness to establish partnerships to accelerate the delivery of new IoT solutions.
The Global IoT Survey 2022 was conducted by element14,an Avnet company that specialises in the global distribution of electronic components, products, and solutions — and analysed 2263 qualified responses received between January and March 2022 with the aim of gaining a better understanding of technologies, challenges, and opportunities faced by designers and system integrators of IoT solutions.
Long before MIG welders or fancy plasmas came onto the scene, the art of welding, cutting, and brazing was to work with gas. The hire or exchange cylinders used by sheddies invariably were oxy/acetylene as this was one of the most common processes for welding, cutting, or brazing.
But there is an alternative–liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and oxygen. This combination can be used for heating, bending, brazing, soldering, silver soldering, and flame gouging to name just a few applications.
The September/October 2022 issue of The Shed, No. 104, has something in it for every sheddie.
Our cover story this issue is on a couple of blokes who are collectors and restorers of stationary engines of all different types and sizes. Tom Gregory and Gary Norton have got the bug bad and both find it hard to go past a stationary engine of any era and any fuel type. Spending time with Tom and Gary as they describe their addiction to these soldiers of past years will surely convert many readers to the joys of stationary engine ownership.
“There is something endearing, almost comical, about the chugging, spinning, and belching machinations of vintage stationary engines.
While we are rather spoilt these days for ready sources of energy, it was once a matter of harvesting what was available in the local environment. More often than not, what was available was a stream or river, and so the workshop was built on the riverbank and the harvesting was achieved by a water wheel.
I’ve always been rather taken by the concept of water wheels (and other mechanical devices that harvest energy from nature), and have been intending to make a small one of my own, even if it was just to be a garden ornamental feature.
The Shed magazine is eclectic, informed, and always fascinating. Aimed at those with a few tools and perhaps a few clues: this is the magazine for real sheddies.
Packed with ideas, projects, advice, and peeks into other people’s sheds providing inspiration, ideas, and techniques, or just for the sheer enjoyment of the sheddie’s endless inventiveness, The Shed is the project enthusiast’s bible.
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