killforfood Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 I haven’t posted much lately but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been lurking in the shadows. Basically I decided to stay away from mixing any chemicals but instead, read the forum, study and learn for awhile. I have been making tools and that’s what I wanted to share with you all. This is my Black Match drying rack. The guide screws are 1/2:” on center and the rack will hold 260 feet of match. The stub end inserts into a larger pipe and provides a spinning axis while the match is guided on with the other hand. The 2 longer screws are for tieing off the loose ends. This design is simpler, cheaper and faster to build than any other design I’ve seen. Photobucket refused to display this photo right side up so just tip your head. It works for me http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/killforfood/Pyro/TOOLS020.jpg Here are my screens; I bought the screen from McMaster Carr and the 1 by 4’s from Home Depot. I gave them three coats of Spar Varnish so that I can spray them off with water to clean them. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/killforfood/Pyro/TOOLS018.jpg I’ve been making rocket tooling without a lathe. These spindles were all cut on a drill press with files and sandpaper. As you can see from the The Saxon spindle on the far left, these all started life as brass bolts. It’s slow tedious work but with patience and a good set of calipers and Rocket Sketcher, it’s doable. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/killforfood/Pyro/TOOLS015.jpg This is my new Harbor Freight 1 Ton Arbor Press. And NO that breaker bar is not overkill! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/killforfood/Pyro/TOOLS009.jpg I mounted it on a 3/8” thick base plate and used four pieces of water pipe as stand-offs to bolt through. It now has a 10.5” working height which is plenty for my needs. It my be too short for a 1 pounder though. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/killforfood/Pyro/TOOLS011.jpg I cut the driver end off of a 1” socket and welded it on to the end of the pinion shaft. Can someone tell me how to convert foot pounds of torque to PSI (this press has a 20 to 1 power ratio)? I would like to use a click stop torque wrench in some applications and if I know the math, I won’t need to build a pressure gage. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/killforfood/Pyro/TOOLS013.jpg This is my version of a Stinger launcher. Just a chunk of scrap metal that was laying around. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/killforfood/Pyro/TOOLS006.jpg I built this Star Gun with the idea that pairs of similar stars could be launched simultaneously and observed for superior qualities. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/killforfood/Pyro/TOOLS003.jpg I slightly angled the tubes away from each other so that the stars would not cross paths and cause confusion as to which was which. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/killforfood/Pyro/TOOLS002.jpg. That’s all for now.KFF PS Dag, I’m still praying for you. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leedrill Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 (edited) absolutely beautiful spindles this is the kind of ingenuity that i think all us pyros would give you a big hand shake for, all good ideas there kill but is easy to see how much love you put into those very impressed ps should make us peeps that buy tooling feel inadequate and it does haha but i dont have a drill press that will fit 1" bar stock so o well Edited June 27, 2013 by leedrill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyrokid Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Those screens look great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobosan Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 Very nice work Kill. A lot of the fun in pyro is making tooling if you are mechanically inclined, and you seem to be! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFeve81 Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 Everything looks nice. What size are those screens? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killforfood Posted June 28, 2013 Author Share Posted June 28, 2013 (edited) Thanks for the kind words everyone. Leedrill,I don’t blame you for buying the 1” tooling. A spindle that large would take me hours to complete. I wouldn’t mind a ¾” drill chuck but ½” is my limit. 1” rockets must really ROAR! Bobosan,I get a lot of satisfaction building from scratch. It can be a curse though. I can get all wrapped up in a fun project and spend a boatload of time and money when I could just buy it. Where’s the fun in that? JFeve81,The screens are 11” square. The mesh are 22, 42, 60, 80, 100, 160, 200, and 325..I also have 4, 8 and 16 mesh screens that are quite useful. I broke the press in on some Gold Twinkler and Buttered Popcorn Glitter tonight. It worked like a champ. KFF. Edited June 28, 2013 by killforfood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PyroPadawan Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 Thanks to you, I'll be buying a arbor press from HB when it opens in a few weeks here in my town. Thank you for all the calculations you went through. oh! And by the way, I agree, amazing Shake Boxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gltruett Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 I like the breaker bar on the press, do you think a 1/2" ratchet would be strong enough in its place? I'm going to buy some steel plate tomorrow to make a base like yours, thanks for the idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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