Compressor Confusion

Figure this out for me. I’m elaborating on an earlier post.

The classic air dryer for cheap metalworkers is the Maxhootue/Harbor Freight job. Same compressor, different sellers. “Maxhootue” is an Ebay user who sells them. They are rated up to about 21 CFM @ 140 psi. I keep my compressor’s pressure switch set at 175, and I never raise the output pressure above 125, although I suppose there is no reason why it couldn’t pump more than 21 CFM at the lower pressure. It’s probably at 90, now that I think about it.

I don’t really know how much it blows. It does 17.4 at 175. Presumably, the pressure and volume relationships are linear and so on (Ideal Gas Law), so you would think it would go up to maybe 25 CFM at 125 psi, with nothing connected. I am too lazy to use “calc.”

These things are made in China, but everyone, without exception, seems to like them.

Right now–do not ask me why–Grainger is selling a bigger drying machine for the same price as the Ebay job. It’s a Speedaire. Probably also made in China, but somewhat more reputable, and there is a local dealer I can raise hell with if it craps out. The Speedaire will do 40 CFM at 175 psi.

The odd thing about these machines is that they seem to work better at higher volume rates. It’s as if the big thing limiting the capacity is the compressor, not the dryer. Jack up the psi, and you get more CFM, and the dew point remains the same.

Okay, wait. If that’s how it works, then either compressor is fine for my needs. The figures must describe the unit’s ability to pass air, not its cooling ability. That would explain why more pressure gives more dry air, with no penalty for shoving more molecules through the system.

Now my head hurts. What if my compressor blows LESS air at 125? If it works the same way as the dryer, that’s what you’d expect.

Maybe I need to put bigger fittings and a bigger hose on this thing. Curtis recommends 3/4″ pipe for 20 cfm.

The Curtis materials say this thing blows over 16 cfm pretty much regardless of pressure, so I guess the 125 psi figure (assuming I’m not choking the machine) is about 16. How can that be? You would think it would suck matter in at the same rate, all the time, so it should also blow it out at the same rate, so you would think lower psi would equal more CFM. BUT APPARENTLY NOT.

Hmm…if they’re measuring at the inlet into the tank, it would make sense. No, it wouldn’t. Geez.

I am going to go dig out my diploma and confirm that I really have a degree in physics. Maybe I imagined it. I can’t believe I’m confused by this crap.

Anyway, I’m wondering if there is any point in getting the Grainger machine. The cost is the same, and it will be murderously effective even if I upgrade to a bigger compressor some day, and it probably has a warranty that actually functions. And resale should be high. On the down side, it weighs twice as much and is about the size of a 15,000 btu unit air conditioner. The Ebay thing appears to be roughly the size of a PC tower case.

How Low?

Here’s a tool question.

Sooner or later, I want to get an air dryer for my compressor. It will blow up to something like 17 SCFM at 175 psi. I keep the output at 125 psi or lower. It rarely goes above 95 degrees here, and it is extremely unlikely that I would trouble myself to work at that temperature anyway. The lowest temperature I am likely to put up with is probably 60 degrees, although it’s possible that I will move farther north, and that there may be times when I would want to use the compressor at lower temperatures. I very much doubt it, though, because I’d probably put a heater in the shop.

What dew point do I need? It looks like the choices are 38 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit. I don’t see myself doing any painting, but plasma cutting and sandblasting are likely to happen.

I think the little Harbor Freight machines are probably good enough. Everyone seems to like them. But sometimes you see something really nice on Ebay or Craigslist, for less money.

Polite Dissent

The Jews often use the phrase “cheap grace” to describe the salvation Christians receive through faith. And it is completely understandable. Many Christians believe that once you ask for salvation, you can pretty much do as you please in this life. It’s all forgiven, in advance. That’s not a hard bar to clear, especially when you compare it to the obligations observant Jews deal with. Six hundred and thirteen commandments. Kashrut. Ritual bathing. A dress code. A single day to prepare for funerals. The Jewish path is clearly harder.

As far as I know, it’s true that a Christian receives salvation upon asking and believing, and I think it’s very hard–maybe even impossible–to lose it. So maybe you can get away with your worldly, underdeveloped lifestyle. At the same time, it’s no way to live, and there is a huge cost. The Bible says over and over that you can’t enter the kingdom of God if you don’t live right. Does that mean heaven? I don’t think so. I think it means you can’t experience God’s presence and protection and guidance in this life. You can’t have his power in your life. And the Bible mentions two books kept by God. One is a list of people who are saved, and the other is a list of people’s deeds. So while you may enter paradise, there will still be some sort of cost for your sins, and it will not be trivial.

That’s the best interpretation I have come up with.

I believe–and Aaron says observant Jews believe the same thing–that when you pray, you don’t just ask for things. You search yourself. You look for things you may have done wrong, and attitudes you have that may be counterproductive. Aaron says that one of the Hebrew verbs translated “pray” is reflexive, because it’s a self-directed process. Look at the Psalms, most of which are prayers. They ask things of God, but they’re full of confession, contrition, and repentance.

I think God often answers prayer, even when people’s hearts and deeds are not quite right with him. But I also believe that bad acts and attitudes can prevent prayers from being answered, whether you pray for yourself or for others.

The Bible seems to confirm this. Over and over, the prophets tell us we can’t expect God to be good to us, if we have not been good to him and to other people. Malachi tells the Jews their prosperity will be ruined because they don’t tithe and they cheat God with flawed sacrifices. The Babylonian captivity resulted from idolatry. Paul said that a man who slept with his father’s former wife was to be turned over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh. The things we do in this life matter.

My mother died from cancer. Naturally, I prayed for her. And she had a fairly encouraging prognosis. I had experienced healing in my own life, so I believed she could receive it, too. I believed, as hard as I could.

I flew to Miami to visit her. She seemed to be doing fairly well. There was still hope. I got on a plane and flew back to Texas. And I kept praying. And then I committed a sin. I’m not going to say what it was. It doesn’t matter. But it was a bad thing for a man in my position to do. Here I was, believing for a miracle. Yet I acted like someone who didn’t believe in consequences.

I lost contact with my mother during this time. They moved her to a new hospital room without telling me. I wasn’t too worried. I had my faith. But after I had been in Texas a couple of days, I got a call. My mother was dying. Fast. I had to fly back to Miami. When I arrived, she was unconscious.

I believed and believed and believed. I believed so hard, I didn’t really feel it when she died. It didn’t seem real to me. But it was real. She was gone.

Ever since then, I have wondered. Would she have received a miracle, had my life been right?

With this in mind, I visited Mish Weiss’s blog last night and posted a comment, in an effort to help. It looks like her bone marrow graft did not work, and she is trying to decide whether to try a new chemotherapy drug or to take a cruise and die. I put a prayer request on my blog, and I posted a comment, asking if there might be anything going on in her life that might hinder the effort. I specifically stated that I was not blaming her for her illness. But I was concerned about Mish, who continues to have problems in spite of a veritable prayer army, and I felt that I had to ask the question.

Someone I will not name came here and found a post about Mish, and here is the comment she left:

How can you be so cruel or ignorant to suggest Mish is somehow responsible for her own illness? As a Christian you should have read Job (the chapter) at least once in your life. God plainly tells us Job wasn’t responsible for the things that came upon him. If you really want to do something for her why not be a real witness to her? Because true Christians know the only way anyone can EVER get their prayers answered is through JESUS CHRIST yet you conveniently left that out!!! No, all you care to comment about is how good looking she is, and how she maybe needs to repent in order to not be sick. What about her soul??? With milk toast Christians like you, no wonder our Earth is fast going to Hell in a handbasket. If you feel bad, you should with ignorant comments such as yours.

This must be that agape love we Christians are always bragging about.

Let’s see. First, I take issue with the claim that Job wasn’t responsible for the things that came upon him. Job claimed he could defend himself before God, and that was a big mistake. No one can claim righteousness before God, and in his answer to Job, God made that clear. And when did God restore Job’s family and possessions? After Job repented of this attitude.

Do I think every bad thing that happens to a person is caused by that person’s sins? No. But some things are.

Second, I do not believe that “the only way anyone can EVER get their prayers answered is through JESUS CHRIST.” The Bible says God is near to all who call upon him. I think it’s better to believe in Jesus, but I would never claim that God doesn’t hear the prayers of Jews and other non-Christians. The book of Acts says the alms and prayers of Cornelius (a Roman official) had come up before God as a memorial, and this was after the crucifixion and the miracle in the upper room, at a time when Christianity was already in existence. And God transported Philip across the country to help the Ethiopian eunuch receive salvation; clearly God was concerned about this man, even though he was not a Christian. Furthermore, I believe that the Jews are still the apple of God’s eye, as did Paul. They have not been discarded or replaced, and they are central to God’s plans.

I don’t think Mish would benefit much from a comment screeching at her to accept Jesus. I have been around Jews all my life, and I don’t think this is the way to win them over. Jews are like big fish. Big fish are big because they have seen the bait before, and they have turned it down. You can’t convert them by hammering on them like a drill sergeant. I pray for my Jewish friends, and I try to keep a dialogue open and lead a good life that will draw their interest. I don’t know what I can do, beyond that. Fire and brimstone have been tried, and so has the Inquisition. They didn’t work too well.

Third, regarding the part about how all I care about is to comment about how good-looking Mish is, here is what I said: “You are a beautiful girl with a wonderful spirit, and I cannot believe this is what God has planned for you.” It seemed to me that reminding a sick person of her good qualities and her potential might encourage her to try to beat her illness.

I was afraid Mish would be offended by my comment, but I never dreamed it would make another Christian furious. Aren’t we supposed to be the patient and forgiving ones? Let me check my notes. I think it’s in there somewhere.

I truly believe my good and bad actions have observable effects in my life. A while back, someone criticized me for opining that my problems raising fruit had something to do with my nature. A fruit is pleasant, and often my own fruit–my deeds and words and thoughts–were on the sour or bitter side. It made sense to me that I had great success growing sour things like limes and caustic things like peppers, while my tangerines fell off the tree and my papayas tasted funky. I still think I’m right about that. Over and over the Bible refers to crops and fruit failing, and the references are literal as well as figurative. Why shouldn’t my failings be reflected in the condition of the things I try to grow? It happened to the ancient Jews time and time again. Am I somehow exempt from the principle?

By the way, the papayas are all better now, and my citrus trees are doing better and better. In fact, my cara cara tree has so many blossoms I don’t see how it can carry the fruit. I’ll post a photo. It’s amazing. I’ll probably have to cull a lot of the fruit to keep the tree alive. Crazy.

All those little white things are blossoms.

Anyway, I am no authority, but I recommend you not be satisfied with “cheap grace.” In reality, it’s not cheap at all.

Mish Weiss Setback

Mish Weiss has put up a very upsetting blog post. She says her doctor believes her bone marrow graft has not worked, and that she now has a choice between resuming chemotherapy or giving up.

Please pray for her. I have experienced healing, and so have others.

Problems

Wow, am I a bad welder.

I watched my MIG video again, and I got my metal ready, and I turned on the welder…and I made a disgusting mess. Spatter was all over the place. I ruined a tip right away. Then I realized I hadn’t turned the gas on.

Okay, new tip.

I started over. Not much better. I couldn’t see a thing. Very frustrating. When I stopped welding, the second tip was ruined, and there were big gloppy hunks of metal on the weld.

Evidently when I set the voltage and wire feed, I got my fractions mixed up in my head. I set it for 3/16″ instead of 1/8″, so the voltage was too high.

I turned everything down to what appeared to be the 1/8″ settings. Still couldn’t see diddly. Ruined a tip. Wandered around the joint.

Since then, I’ve been getting a lot of grinder practice. My theory: if you can grind really well, it doesn’t matter if you can weld.

Bad theory, I guess. Although adequate for a crappy mobile base.

I don’t know what’s going on. Maybe I have the helmet adjusted wrong. Maybe I read the wrong scale on the gas regulator.

I’m going to look the welder manual over, and then I’m headed to Home Depot for more nozzles and maybe even some overpriced metal to play with. The truth is out there.

More

Turns out the wire feed was too slow. Because I weld about once every eighteen months, I had forgotten how fast you’re supposed to go, and I was sure I was flying, so I slowed the wire feed down and moved the gun slowly. This caused the wire to melt back into the contact tip. This is known as “burnback.”

Bummer.

Web Phenom Keeps on Delivering

You have to see the new Rick Astley video. Click to play.

Not on North River Drive

I had a wonderful adventure today. I wandered up by the Miami River and got me some metal for a bandsaw base. On a reader’s recommendation, I went to a place on 20th street. Man, do they have a lot of metal up there. Seems like every business in the neighborhood sells metal and/or buys scrap. There are giant piles of rusty ferrous stuff and aluminum all over the place. It’s not far from the general area where one would look for machine tools, so I may go back next week.

I got myself some angle iron. Shouldn’t they call it “angle steel”? Anyway, I got some. I got 64″ plus 40″ of 2″ by 1/8″, and I got 13″ of 2″ by 3/16″. I think. Total cost? Under $26.00. Home Depot cost? I don’t know. But let’s put it this way: MORE. If they had what I wanted. And they would not.

I’m planning to miter-cut this stuff and make a box about 32″ by 19″, and then I’m going to use the heavier piece to make four tabs which will serve as attachment for casters. I’m a little nervous, because I’m wondering if I have this right. If I miter the cuts, I’ll be doing a butt weld on each corner. I hope that will be strong enough. Maybe I could weld a piece of scrap across each butt weld on the bottom.

I’m also wondering if 1/8″ will be rigid enough. I figured it would be, because the steel on my mobile saw base is very thin, and it’s not even angled, and it works.

We’ll find out, I guess.

It didn’t occur to me until I had bought the metal that mitering might be a problem. I can put it in the dry-cut saw at an angle, no problem. But to get a 45-degree miter, I have to set it on its base, with one wall sticking up perpendicular to the saw blade. This is a no-no for dry-cut saws. You’re supposed to lay the angle iron down so the V-shape is upside-down. This makes it more stable as the saw cuts.

I suppose a jig is the answer. HA. More fun for me.

I almost don’t care if it works. If the metal is too flimsy or whatever, it will give me an excuse to get welding practice, and I didn’t pay much for the material.

More

Working with tools is full of surprises.

I was trying to figure out how to cut a 45-degree miter in angle iron, without situating the iron improperly in my dry cut saw. It turns out there is no reason to try. The correct way to weld a 90-degree turn in angle iron is to cope it.

I don’t have a picture, but it’s easy to describe. Hold two pieces of angle iron at 90 degrees, in the position they would be in if you made a joint. You can’t do it, because the bottom parts collide, and even if they didn’t, the end of the vertical part on one would butt up against the side of the vertical part of the other. So you remove the parts that get in the way; take out the redundant metal. Remove a square piece from the horizontal part of one piece, equal in width to the total width of the angle iron. Then trim the vertical part of the piece you took the square out of, so it will fit inside the angle of the other pieces. You only cut one of the pieces of angle iron. Weld and pray.

Oh, forget it. Here’s a Youtube:

I Must Own All Tools

Is this a beautiful day, or what? It’s too cold to sweat, it’s too dry for the mildew to grow, and the sun is out.

I appreciate the information people have sent me on milling machines.

It’s funny how my “needs” have changed. First, I thought I needed a drill press. Then I learned that a mill would do 98% of what a drill press would do, plus a whole lot more. And I learned what a good drill press costs; if you don’t spend at least $600, you are not buying a lifetime machine that will do metal and wood well. And $1000 is more realistic. That’s a lot, just for holes and sanding.

So I started looking at mills. I was pretty excited about small “mill drills.” Then I learned that they cost roughly the same amount of money as huge mills that will do almost anything, because there are lots of used industrial milling machines out there. And I’d be willing to bet that a 40-year-old industrial mill will outlast a brand new Chaiwanese mill/drill, and I know it has a better resale value.

I thought a Millrite would be a good choice, because it’s big enough to do a lot, but you can fit it in a garage fairly easily. But then I learned that they don’t cost much less than Bridgeport Series I mills, which are better and probably easier to get parts for.

It looks like there is a price envelope, including shipping and taxes, of $1500-$2500, no matter what I buy. You can spend more, but this seems to be what you should pay for a good used machine, if you’re willing to fix it up a little.

One big problem: I am incompetent to evaluate a used milling machine. Jdunmyer sent a link to a helpful site, but even if I applied the information, I would probably make mistakes. Also, a lot of the deals out there are beyond my normal driving range, so I can’t really get to them to look them over.

I keep reading about backlash. I’m not totally positive what this is, except that it introduces error into table movements. It sounds like you crank the table to a certain position, and then it backs up on its own. It’s supposed to be a problem on old machines. Can you correct it? I do not know. Can you work around it? I do not know.

Maybe the best thing is to get a cheesy drill press and use it until I get a deal in which I can have confidence.

Here’s an interesting buy. Someone in the Tampa area has a Bridgeport mill which can be had for $1250, meaning it can be in my garage for maybe $1700. The ad has expired, but I have a feeling they would relist it. It’s 3-phase, which is good, but it has a 3-phase feed motor, too, which means I’d have to replace it and use 2 cords, or I would have to find a way to run both motors from a VFD, or I would need a VFD plus a converter for the feed motor. I guess that would be a problem with any 3-phase mill that has a second motor. Do I even want a feed motor? Can you use a mill as a drill press when it has a feed motor?

There is a local dealer with a Millrite, but they want $1950, which seems very high. A lot of people pay two grand for these machines, but many people pay half of that, and the economy is not good, and it’s not going to get better for a very long time, if ever. Prices on used industrial equipment should be plummeting, unless the Chicoms and Indians are buying it for export. I very much doubt that they have any interest in it. They make their own equipment much cheaper.

A guy in Texas has one for a grand, but when you add the other expenses, it’s $1700, and it appears to be pretty old, and I can’t inspect it.

The nice thing about a mill is that it should be the last really big tool I’ll ever need. I could always add a lathe eventually, but I should be able to get by without it very well.

I think I’m finally in a position to make a few things, or at least I will be when my bandsaw table pin arrives. I have been occupied with other stuff this week. I may run over to Shell Lumber and see what they charge for hardwood boards. I really need some metal for a bandsaw base. I think I’ll just make a frame with 2″ angle iron (not perforated) and then cut small pieces of angle iron for tabs through which I can run the bolts for casters. I assume angle iron this big would be sturdy enough. Each tab would have to support about 110 pounds, even with work on the table.

I don’t understand how the stabilizing doodads on my table saw’s HTC3000 mobile base work. They are supposed to rotate little feet down onto the concrete to stabilize the saw, but when I screw the feet up as high as they will go, they are still so low they would raise the saw quite a bit if they were lowered. And that means there is tremendous resistance when I try to use them, so it appears to be impossible to make them work. The plastic levers that operate them would snap. I don’t really need them. The saw’s four other feet have brakes. But I wish they worked.

A guy with a welder and some cutting tools (i.e. me) can make a nice mobile base with locking feet. A guy with a welder and some cutting tools and a mill can make little cammed things that lower the saw and stabilize it. Unfortunately, that guy is not me.

Not sure how I’m supposed to get the saw off the ground to lower it onto the base. I think my hoist will do it, but there is always a possibility that 367 pounds will pull the garage roof down. Probably not. The saw has a weird eye in the top of it. Is that for lifting? I don’t know what else it could be for.

My Incra V27 miter gauges arrived. My bandsaw had no gauge when I bought it, and the table saw had two really bad ones. These look good. They’re supposed to be very precise, and you can adjust the slop with a hex wrench. I can save the old ones for permanent jigs or something. The one on my portable saw is okay, but I don’t believe in moving accessories from one tool to another when it’s avoidable.

Lots of stuff to think about today. Lots to do. But it sure beats thinking about how I can’t do anything because all of my tools are Chinese junk in a little Rubbermaid toolbox.

Also, I have a great idea for a new book.

More Mill Thoughts

I keep staring at the garage, while a little voice in the back of my head whispers “Bridgeport…Bridgeport…Bridgeport.”

Fortunately, I came up with a good answer. The tooling and accessories for these things are probably insanely expensive. Yes…yes…they have to be. They’re BIG. Don’t contradict me. Besides, a Bridgeport takes up like 6.5 by 5 feet, whereas a Millrite is more like 4 by 5.

It seems like all good milling machines cost between $1000 and $2000 dollars, so it’s irritating to think that I’ll end up with a small one.

Pray for Relief

I just found out that an old friend of the family has died from a heart attack. Ordinarily I would not mention something like this here, but she and her husband and his kids have had so much pain, I would like to ask you to pray for them. Nothing goes right for them.

Her husband’s first wife lost her mind and eventually died, after driving her car into part of an underpass. He remarried, and a son was born. In 1995, at the age of nine, the son was murdered by a sex offender. Now this happens. In all likelihood, it was due in large part to the lingering stress caused by her son’s death.

Please say a prayer for her husband and his son and daughter. Thanks for your consideration.

Googling Pays

I think I have finally found the answer to the drill press/milling machine conundrum: the Powermatic (Burke) Millrite. This is a full-blown milling machine that is small enough to put in a garage, yet big enough to be hard to outgrow. If you have more room than you need for a drill press, but not enough for a Bridgeport, this is your machine. And another bonus: because these machines were not generally used for production work, they tend to have relatively few hours on them.

The mill/drills I was looking at have a lot to recommend them, but as good as they are, they are Chiwanese hobby machines, and they are limited. And they cost as much or more than a used Millrite. And they will not hold their value the way a used American mill will. Millrites have a relatively short quill travel, which is bad, but I guess you can’t have everything.

As luck would have it, a Millrite is available here in Miami. But they are not selling it cheap. It would cost as much as a new mill/drill. I’ve read about people buying them for $400, but I don’t know what the going rate is. Ebay indicates about two grand.

I got a quote on the machine. Now I have to sit here and talk myself out of going to look at it. As if I would know what to look for when checking out an old mill.

You Know the Drill

I resent people saying I have a tool addiction. I can stop any time I want. But first I have to find out which expensive tools I need in order to do that.

I continued Googling milling machines last night. I blame reader Jdunmyer. He posted a comment linking to some photos of beautiful machinery a guy made on a Harbor Freight combination machine. Here’s the link. Look, and weep.

A combination machine performs functions that would ordinarily require several machines. People buy them to save money, and because they take up less room. These machines are often criticized because they don’t do everything well. But this guy’s work seems to demonstrate that the man running the machine is a bigger factor.

Anyway, I looked at that stuff and got all excited. He made little engines, mainly. I can’t really see myself making those. But the quality of his work and the relative cheapness of the machine he used made me realize you can do a lot with small machinery that doesn’t break the bank. You can do more than enough to make the expense and effort worth it.

I don’t think I’d buy one of these things. The man who made those little machines says the milling part is very, very cramped. That’s bad. But you can get other machines that save space and money, without losing so much functionality.

One type of machine that interests me is the mill/drill. This is a milling machine that also functions as a drill press. They make them big enough to do respectable milling jobs, and they’re excellent drills with deep strokes and a wide range of speeds. Some people buy them and use them for both metalworking and woodworking. Obviously, that appeals to me. A good drill press–good enough so I’ll never have to replace it–will run me at least nine hundred dollars. A mill/drill that will do nearly everything the drill press will, plus much more, will cost twice that much. And it will take up roughly the same amount of space as the drill press.

The obvious difference is that the mill has a short column, so there is a limit to the distance you can put between the work and the spindle. I think. Maybe you can spin the head around and drill on the other side, with only the floor below the spindle. I don’t know. If you did that, you’d have to come up with some kind of rigid substitute for a drill press table.

Another concern: to do woodworking on a drill press, you need a suitable table. How do you manage that on a milling machine? And if you do manage to attach it, how do you swivel it and rotate it in the small space between the drill spindle and the bed?

Still, neat idea. I have read that you can do a fair amount of metal turning on these things, so presumably, a mill/drill would–to some degree–be a full-blown combination machine.

Here’s a link to a guy who uses a mill/drill primarily for woodworking. Looks like he has no real problems. He has a pretty expensive machine; it doesn’t have a round column. Machines with round columns are cheaper. Grizzly makes a similar machine (G519) for about half of that price. Whoops…the Grizzly is 3-phase. And it looks like they came out with a single-phase version. People are 3-phase is better, because you can put a $200 VFD on it, and it has a tapping function, which somehow relies on the ability to reverse the motor. Refresh my memory…will a VFD reduce the power of the machine?

Anyway, it’s all very interesting. And I am not addicted to tools.

I hope my miter gauges arrive today.

Wabeco?

I am sitting here listening to CLE and resisting the urge to suck on a pistol with my head in the oven and chewing cyanide. Hopefully I will have the strength to get this done today.

While I listen, I can’t keep myself from Googling machine tools.

People keep telling me small machines are stupid, and I suppose that is true, for a person who has space. Space will eventually be a problem for me. A real milling machine takes up something like 4′ by 6′ of floor space, and you have to pay someone to bring it to you, because it will weigh a ton or so. And a mill isn’t a lathe. So even after you stuff your garage with a mill, you have to look for a lathe which takes up nearly as much room.

Cost is another issue. I keep reading about “cheap” used full-size machines, but it appears that “cheap” means two grand for a mill and fifteen hundred for a lathe. Before tooling. Ouch.

I have also read that combination machines are bad news, because they don’t do anything well.

Nonetheless, my interest has been captured by a small combination machine. Some guy is selling a Wabeco 7.5″ by 16″ lathe with a milling attachment. Wabeco is supposed to be just about the best small machine tool manufacturer in the universe. They’re Germans, so they’re insane about quality. Supposedly their machines are more precise than the ones made by Sherline and Taig, and they’re somewhat bigger and more versatile. And you can put one on a card table.

Okay, a really sturdy card table. Made by Germans. Or, of course, a Workmate. The universal machining platform for all purposes.

This thing retails for…wow…about seven grand. Dude wants fifteen hundred. Hard to see myself losing money on that buy, unless he has replaced the inner workings with oatmeal.

Might be fun. I don’t see myself living in Miami forever; sooner or later I’ll have a workshop where I can park a mill, a lathe, and an Abrams tank if I want. But while I’m here, maybe I could learn a little machining on an item like this, without ruining the garage.

More

The more I think about it, the more I think this is a good idea. I’ve read that many people like to have small machine tools in addition to their big ones, for little jobs. So presumably, if I outgrow this, it will still be a good thing to have around.

Get These Precious Materials Back to the Courthouse…for the Children!

I have been listening to CLE (continuing legal education) CDs my dad checked out from the courthouse library. Here is what I have learned. Apparently, there is a law called the Unified Premarital Agreement Act. I think they also said something about child support, but I’m not sure. Wow, how much I have learned from this fine material which the bar has forced me to obtain. I really do play the CDs, and I exaggerate when I talk about how little I’ve learned, but most of this stuff is pretty dull, and there is no possibility that I will ever use it in practice, and it’s not very easy to focus on. Why on earth am I listening to material on family law? Why would I practice family law, when there are so many fine bridges I could jump off instead?

This stuff has to go back tomorrow. I was worried about it. I realized this meant I had to listen to two CDs per day for the remainder of the time period. Yech. Then this morning I remembered…I can rip CDs.

So I am now turning these materials into MP3s which I can enjoy listening to over and over. Oh, rapture. I can return them to the courthouse at my convenience, and when I’m done, I can delete the files.

I heartily advise all attorneys who read this blog to check their local law libraries for materials that can be checked out. I’m saving like $600 by not buying the garbage the approved CLE providers sell. Why pay to participate in a farce?

I have to wonder. Why don’t CLE providers sell books instead of useless CDs? If I had a book, I could read it and absorb at least some of it, and I would have the book to refer to later, if–crazy as it sounds–I found it useful. Also, I read much faster than most people, so I could get my CLE done faster.

I am sure the do-bees and hypocrites would send me emails full of pretend outrage, if they knew I was criticizing our near-holy obligation to do CLE. It’s amazing how righteous lawyers get, when they have an opportunity to grandstand. If you’ve never seen it, you really need to. We make Torquemada look like Larry Flynt. “The sacred halls of justice.” “I am enraged and disgusted as an officer of the court.” “Duty.” “Honor.” “Apple pie.” “Hopey-changiness.” “For the children.”

Funny talk, from people who only practice law because it pays well. Tell these guys they have to work for thirty grand a year from now on, and then see how many of them are excited about law and the sanctity of our professional obligations.

The truth is, I think CLE is wonderful. I mean REAL CLE, though, not this junk. I mean the research lawyers do when they prepare cases, and I also refer to things like printed treatises, which are invaluable. But listening to some self-promoting doofus tell bad lawyer jokes while getting credit for his own CLE? No thanks.

Buy Gold, Seeds, and Ammunition

Today Barack Obama becomes the President. I don’t have a whole lot to say about it.

1. As convinced as I am that this man will be incompetent, weak, unprincipled, hostile to Israel and Christianity, and extremely corrosive to capitalism and our prosperity, I can’t help feeling some excitement over the inauguration of a black President. I just wish it were someone else.

2. I am afraid his wife will continue to embarrass us, or worse, that we will come to accept her unpatriotic, divisive antics and decide that first ladies don’t have to be classy.

3. He has floundered badly in choosing subordinates, demonstrating that he was not prepared to win the Presidency. For all his talk about change, he made desperation picks, reaching for the worn-out journeymen of an earlier regime. I expect him to continue to fail in his efforts to staff his administration. Look for future screwups and near-scandals.

4. I think the US is completely finished as the world’s leading power and economy. George Bush ended his Presidency by forcing socialism on us through the back door, with incredibly shortsighted and malignant government bailouts. I expected to criticize Obama for his mindless, regressive leftism, but incredibly, George Bush has already done more evil than I anticipated from Obama. Nonetheless, I think Obama will continue in the same vein, and that it won’t be long until we’re about as prosperous as the French. I think we are being taken down because of our rebellion and idolatry, and that the bad things that are happening to us have more to do with God than with the bad judgment of George Bush and Barack Obama.

5. I believe God permitted us to choose this arrogant weakling in order to show us what happens when we rely on our own tiny intellects instead of his guidance. Americans have the ridiculous idea that we are superior to other people, and that this is the reason we have done so well. In fact, we have done well because God has protected and guided us. That protection is probably greatly weakened now, and I expect us to be swallowed economically by the Chinese and the Indians. They work harder than we do, they are just as smart (IQ tests suggest the Chinese are actually much smarter), they work for nothing, and unlike us, they don’t feel entitled to wealth. They know they have to earn it. And both countries have internal markets and manpower resources that dwarf ours. Americans are no better than anyone else, and we can fail, and we almost surely will.

6. I think it will be about a year before most Americans realize they elected a very ordinary political hack who only succeeded in life because he never questioned the corrupt Illinois machinery that supported him. “Change”? It is anathema to Obama. If he had worked for change in Chicago, he would have been expelled from the power structure, and he would now be teaching at a university.

America didn’t want a leader who believed in tried and true ideas (not that John McCain fit this description well). America wanted a flashy rock star. And that’s what we got. We got a young man who thinks the young have all the answers and that the old are stupid. He’s wrong, and unless he changes his philosophy, we are going to reap a harvest of misery from the implementation of his bad, discredited leftist ideas.

I plan to avoid criticizing him excessively in the future, because I think Christians have an obligation to support their leaders. I plan to pray that he changes his ways, and that our country turns back to God. But my hopes are not high. Regardless of what happens to the US, I plan to work and pray for prosperity and protection for me and my family, and I suggest you do the same. When a country goes to hell, you have to have an edge in order to do well. In the past, merely working hard and being an American would get you to the top. That probably won’t be true after our economic decline enters its fullness.

That’s it.