Small Parcel Containing Joy
April 6th, 2009New Calipers!
I’m beside myself. My new dial caliper has arrived.
I guess it’s stupid. I already have two vernier calipers (is “vernier” supposed to be capitalized?) plus a Chicom dial caliper, but vernier calipers are a pain to read, and everyone says not to trust Chinese instruments for really precise work, so here I am with caliper #4.
I found a guy selling Mitutoyos for half price on Ebay, all fresh and new in the box. I already snatched it from the package and measured the only precisely made object within ten feet, which (because I was in the dining room) was a Cor-Bon .38 Super round. I got 0.356″, right on the button. As it should be. I guess I should compare the Chicom job and the vernier calipers.
Stuff I had to get in order to run a lathe is beginning to come in, and I am experiencing a form of glee I have not felt since I was finishing up my physics degree and I finally reached the point where I did not have to put any basket-weaving (liberal arts) courses on my schedule. I loaded up with quantum mechanics, optics, partial differential equations…I think that’s right. I can’t remember everything. I couldn’t believe I was free to do what I wanted, instead of babbling about whether we exist in philosophy class. I took five courses, and some were graduate courses, and others were top-level undergraduate courses. I found myself sitting in class beside the teaching assistant who taught my first year lab section.
I’ll never understand why physics didn’t work out. I just burned out, I think. You can’t do all that in three years, starting from scratch, without spraining your brains.
Now I’m about to start machining things! How on earth did I get here? How did this happen? I’ll bet I’m the only person in my law school class who is learning to use machine tools. If not, I’m the only one who is doing it by choice.
I love it. I feel like pouring assorted tools out on my bed and rolling around on them.
I’ll leave out the scribers and the scratch awl.
Yes, I have a scratch awl now. Sometimes I’ll be at a hardware store for something important, and I’ll look around, and I’ll say, “Oh, that looks useful.” And I’ll buy something. That’s how the scratch awl ended up in the car with me.
I need it! You don’t understand! My first machinist scribe is only steel–I’m pretty sure–and the other one, that goes in a shirt pocket, doesn’t have a cool wooden handle! I have to have all my bases covered. And it was only like six bucks.
Last night I watched the last ATI milling machine video. When Darrell Holland showed how the rotary table worked, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I have to have one of those things. Even if I never get a milling machine. I’ll put Marvin on it and rotate him to very precise angles, for no good reason at all. Chucking him may be a challenge, but there’s always duct tape.
I better go write up some notes on that video.
April 6th, 2009 at 4:52 PM
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008993697_webshooting06m.html
By The Associated Press
WENATCHEE — Police say a man used a sledgehammer to break into a house, shot the owner and was then shot to death in Wenatchee early this morning.
Police Chief Tom Robbins says neighbors reported shouting and gunshots at 1:28 a.m. Officers found 43-year-old Scott Bates had shot the homeowner with a .45-caliber pistol, after which the 25-year-old homeowner fatally shot Bates in the chest with an SKS rifle.
Robbins says the homeowner was taken to Central Washington Hospital for treatment of a flesh wound in the upper leg. After that, the police chief says, the man will be booked into jail for investigation of misdemeanor drug offenses.
Robbins says the episode is believed to be drug-related, although the motive for the break-in remains under investigation.
April 6th, 2009 at 7:25 PM
[quote]
Now I’m about to start machining things! How on earth did I get here? How did this happen? I’ll bet I’m the only person in my law school class who is learning to use machine tools. If not, I’m the only one who is doing it by choice.
[/quote]
You might be surprised. I follow the HSM BBS regularly, and am often amazed when folks reveal their Real Job (or what they retired from). See: http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/
April 6th, 2009 at 7:56 PM
Getcha self a chaiwanese digital. You can thank me later.
Nice thing about digitals, you can set zero anywhere.
Checking case length with dial:
“okay, that’s….. .896, and a 45 cartridge is supposed to be .898 max .895 min, so that’s…. Yeah, that’s ok.”
Checking case with digital that’s been set to zero on a perfect (reference) case:
“Okay, that’s perfect. That one is .001 under. That one is ,001 under. That one is .001 over”
Plus, a digital is a must for mill work, as you can set zero at the size of a hole and automatically measure center to center distance.
April 6th, 2009 at 7:58 PM
Og, how much is Harbor Freight paying you?
April 6th, 2009 at 8:25 PM
At the risk of becoming an enabler, let me just say-
grizzly.com
That should help.
April 6th, 2009 at 8:41 PM
I’m working a deal on some chinese bikes I intend to ship to africa.
April 6th, 2009 at 9:02 PM
I like my digital calipers, because I can convert mm to .001 without pulling out my calculator. And for the reasons Og gives also.
April 6th, 2009 at 10:10 PM
I’m thinking of making up some “I’m an Enabler of Steve” pin-on buttons on the Mill. Clear-coated 6063 should work okay. I’ll work on the pricing…
.
Og and Ritchie, how many can I put you down for?
April 7th, 2009 at 12:41 AM
My big thrill of a few months back was when those fractional display digital calipers went on sale. I bought three. One for me, one for my brother, and one for my drawer (I’m always breaking stuff by doing something stupid) ‘cuz if the deal is really good (it was), then you save a few bucks MORE buying multiples (in not paying additional shipping charges).
April 8th, 2009 at 3:45 AM
Just in case no one has mentioned it (I’ve been out of town and behind in my blog reading duties), get yourself a small gage block set to keep things accurate.