Good Deal: Starrett Heavy Duty Hacksaw Frame

Starrett Hacksaw Blade FrameHave you heard of the Armstrong Method?  It is what you’re using when you cut metal stock to length with a hacksaw.  It’s the method that I’m stuck with because I don’t have room for a 4×6 bandsaw and even if I did I couldn’t justify the cost.

I’ve managed to break at least a couple of inexpensive hacksaw frames. … Read the rest

Jan Ridders’ New LTD Stirling Engine

I am a big fan and admirer of Jan Ridders.  He is a talented and prolific designer of Stirling, flame-eater and internal combustion engines that are both beautiful to look at and fascinating to watch operate. Jan generously shares his plans for free and you can also frequently find him answering questions on the Yahoo Barstockengine discussion group, a group that I highly recommend if are interesting in building one of Jan’s designs or some other engine that doesn’t require castings.… Read the rest

How to Build a High Current Power Supply

The parts that are needed, except you might need a capacitor.Darren over at MadModder.com wrote a nice tutorial that will teach you how to build a high current variable power supply suitable for a CNC conversion or a home-made power feed. He and others on the forum will probably be able to answer any questions you might have.

I got excited when I saw his thread because I still need to build the power supply for my mini-mill CNC conversion. … Read the rest

How to Read a Micrometer

Inch-micrometerI want to tell you about an excellent tutorial that will teach you how to read a micrometer and give you some practice so you can be sure you are doing it right.  This is still an important skill even though it seems like everything has a digital readout nowadays.  Although it may seem like an inexpensive 6-inch digital caliper can be used to measure almost everything, especially in a home machine shop, a micrometer is often going to be more accurate and be the best or only tool for the job.… Read the rest

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