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I'm feeling a bit Blue Peter this xmas. I've got access to some odd
bits of steel, ali & brass. And maybe some small bits of copper* &
titanium, but I don't feel very confident to machine those!
Is there anything that you peeps like to knock up as cheepo presents
for fambly and friend? I've only got a lathe & a drill press, so
anything that involves milling would have to be filed out by hand. Or
made from wood & routed?
I thought about key-fobs (small roundy bits with, like, shapes lathed
in) or book-marks (sheet ali with shapes sand-blasted on).
Not looking for anyone's secrets & specialities, just some ideas &
discussion. |
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-If I come across a nice bit of wood I often knock up a candlestick or
two ( making a hand-turned matched pair is fun ).
An oil or wax finish looks best ( I think ), as long as you make a
proper job of the surface.
Small wooden place mats are simple to make, and easy enough to turn up
a matching set. An oil based finish will keep them clean.
Custom torches make for a nice, personal pressie...get a small, cheapo
ali torch and make a replacement body ( titanium sounds cool ).
Fridge magnets are always handy - and the trick here is to make sure
you use quite a powerful magnet ( I'm always cursing the ones that
drop off, usually depositing whatever was held on by them into the
dogs' water bowl ). The magnets can be Araldited into a custom-made
case.
Best one I ever made is about 3" diameter, using the coil magnet from
a small speaker. Turned up a lovely Rosewood case for it. It's that
powerful it's a bit like Arkwright's till in 'Open All Hours'...you
have to be a bit nimble when sticking new bits of paper under it! -The magnets from old hard disc drives are extraordinarily strong.
If you drop them down an aluminium channel they'll fall slowly
due to eddy-current damping. -Indeed! but how do you get them off their backing plates? (actually - how do you seperate them once they have met ....
The magnets in the doohickey of a microwave oven are quite strong too (though not by comparison to hard drive magnets).
I did hear of some super-strong magnets wich would explode if left to come
together, but I can't find a ref. |
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