a photoblog of what i did today.....

[Cyber Wolf]

The IT tech in me said: "Why on earth would someone need to build a whole table for one router?"

Then I saw the last photo and, after 10 seconds on Google, said: "Oh."

Nice handiwork.

[classicman]

Very nice work, Chris.

A friend sent me some drawings for one he built (about a year ago)
I am yet to build mine. Now seeing what you've done, I may incorporate some of what you've done into the plans.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Nice, they are very handy.

[plthijinx]

today i went and flew bobby's new plane. A Vans RV-6A. it's an experimental kit plane available that you put together (just over half) yourself then once completed it goes through the rigamaroo of getting certified by the FAA. it's an extensive process.

this plane was already built and bobby bought it off of a dude that didn't fly it very much. i believe it has under 800 total hours on it. it is a dream to fly and fairly easy. after watching him land a few times i took the last landing back at our new home airport north of houston, and aside from the final approach speed being just a little faster than i'm accustomed to, it was real easy to land.

[plthijinx]

.

[plthijinx]

only one of the 3 vids i took of rolling the aircraft came out....here it is....

[plthijinx]

and nice work Chris!! that will come in very handy indeed!!

[chrisinhouston]

Well the router table is officially completed. I added a safety type power switch that can be turned off with my knee and the router is attached to an outlet that can also have the shop vac attached to so both are turned on and off simultaneously. I also added a wheel package so the table can be moved and the wheels retracted.

[chrisinhouston]

I built a fairly heavy duty fence that clamps to the table and did not require slots that can fill up with debris. The front of the fence has a fixed upper section made of particle board coated with laminate and the lower section is adjustable and can be opened or closed around the router bit to control dust buildup and keep the fence from being damaged by the cutting edge of the bit. The fence also has a T-track for attaching a feather board to keep the stock in place. And I added a combination T-Track and miter slot. The miter gauge shown is off of my table saw. I may eventually build a coping sled which is a much more secure way to move some stock through the cutting bit. Also need to add a vacuum port behind the fence and under the table to collect dust. Maybe next week!

[chrisinhouston]

May as well add these 2 other shots of recent projects I completed.

1 is an extended work table for the band saw with an adjustable fence and miter gauge.

2 is also an extended table for the drill press with an adjustable fence and 2 lock down jigs to hold work in place. This is the old Delta drill press I got for $50 and rebuilt. It is solid as a tank!

[glatt]

I love that old drill press.

Good work on all those table tops and fences, etc. They are all going to make work much more pleasant.

[classicman]

Very nice work Chris.

I'm envious of your drill press. I couldn't afford (space nor room) a stand alone, so I bought a tabletop model. Its great and all, but too many times I find I cannot use it on certain things as the distance between the bit and the shelf is too limiting.

[glatt]

We bought a used car a couple weeks ago, and knew when we got it that the brakes were pretty worn and would need to be replaced soon. So at around 2PM Saturday, I realized I had a beautiful 4.5 hour empty window until we were meeting friends for dinner. I stopped in the auto parts store and bought new brake pads.

I got home and switched the cars in the driveway and my son and I proceeded to take the front wheel off the driver's side. I went to install the new pads, but they didn't fit! So back to the store to exchange them. This time with an old pad in hand to make sure I had the right ones before I left. I got a knowledgeable clerk this time and everyone was extremely apologetic that they gave me the wrong part initially.

Now I was feeling a little pressure, somehow I had only 2 hours now, and still needed to take a shower. I did the driver's side brakes with no problem, and figured the passenger's side would be even faster. Except I couldn't get two of the five lug nuts off. I sprayed them several times with WD40 and then got cleaned up and went to dinner with the friends.

So Sunday morning, I went out there and tried again. The lug nuts wouldn't budge. So I heated them with a propane torch, and they still wouldn't budge. Finally, I decided to use more muscle than I thought I should. And I snapped them both clean off! I would have been pissed if I was on the side of the road, but this was a controlled environment and I was happy to get the wheel off.

So my photoblog begins with this picture.

See the three nice wheel stud bolts and the two broken ones? This will not do. Let's fix it.

First we remove the brake caliper piston assembly thing and hang it by a bent coat hanger from one of the giant springs holding up the car. We're hanging it because the line full of brake fluid is too weak to hold up this big and heavy hunk of metal and I don't want to have to mess with replacing brake fluid and bleeding air out of the system, so I just leave the whole thing attached to the brake fluid lines. But I want it out of the way, so I hang it up.


Next comes the pads. They are old and worn, so I pull them out of the brake mount assembly. I want to save them for now because I'll need to reuse the shims in a bit.



The old pads next to the new ones.

[glatt]

Next I want to take the brake assembly thing off. It's in the way of getting the brake disk (or brake rotor) off. There are two huge bolts in the back that I have to remove to get this off. They were pretty tight, so I got a mallet to bang on the wrench handle to get those bolts out. Off it came. This one we can just set aside.


Now we can remove the brake rotor easily. It just falls right off.


Here's the wheel hub with the two broken studs. I want to pound them out with a hammer, but there's not much sticking out to hit. I need a nail set or something. Also, look at that thin sheet metal splash guard thing behind the wheel hub. It's so close to the hub, the only way I can get a new wheel stud bolt in there is to line each hole up with that little notch.


And after digging through a junk drawer, I found the perfect thing to pound these old broken studs out. An old door hinge pin. It has a nice large head that I can't miss with my hammer blows, and it's nice and strong.


I couldn't take a picture while swinging the hammer, but the broken studs came out easily.

[glatt]

I couldn't rotate the wheel stud to get those holes to line up with the notch in the sheet metal splash guard so I could get the new stud bolts in, so I put the transmission into neutral.

Now I can easily rotate the hub by hand, and lined the first hole up with the notch.


This is one of the new wheel stud bolts. Some guy in a Youtube video said that putting them in the freezer would shrink them very slightly and make it just a little easier to install them. I figured it couldn't hurt, so that was the first thing I had done in the morning. Notice how the bolt gets fatter and is ridged just before you get to the head. The hole is smaller than those ridges, and when you pull or hit the bolt into place it just jams into the hole and is held there by the friction in that ridged area.


And this is the bolt inserted partway into the hole. I still need to get it in another half inch.