Re: Foxy's Latest Project.

Todays job was to produce a MDF disc to fit inside the coil to give it some support and it will form part of the search head.
After roughly cutting out the disc with a fretsaw, I then mounted it onto a spigot on the table of a bench drill.
By rotating it against the rotating tool in the drill chuck, it was possible to create an accurate circle that just fit inside the coil.....This photo shows how it was done...



It was then positioned inside the coil like so.....

Re: Foxy's Latest Project.

I hope you had suitable PPE for cutting MDF. It's nasty stuff if you inhale it.
I'm impressed by your engineering-uity to make the disc circular. That's the sort of thing I would do.

That's one heck of a chuck-key you have on the bench. I've never seen one that big before. *Fnarr, fnarr*
Is it an adaptor that goes in a ratchet wrench? I've never seen one like it afore.

Is that an all steel hammer with rubber grip on the bench in front of the seat? It looks identical to the haft of the one I have had for decades.

Re: Foxy's Latest Project.

Never been good with Transition, Foxy.

Re: Foxy's Latest Project.

Well spotted Fruitcake...
My old chuck key was a bit worn and kept slipping on the teeth, so while visiting the tool shop I saw the ratchet one, it's actually a stand alone chuck key not an adaptor..... It's the best chuck key I've ever used. Plenty of leverage so you don't need to swing on it, and it's never slipped once.

You are right about the hammer also.....I found it broken in a skip twenty years ago (the head had come off) I glued it back on and it has been a very useful tool ever since, and it's kept his head.....I must point out that I don't make a habit of scrounging around in skips..... Although sometimes they are a proper treasure trove....

I was so absorbed in the job I never gave the MFD dust a thought , but I will now that you've mentioned it thanks. It's not like we are short of masks is it.....

Re: Foxy's Latest Project.

One of the first projects I undertook when I started doing electronics was to build a regulated power supply, and it's saved me pounds over the years.....



It delivers a range of DC voltages...0 - 9v 0 - 15v and 0 - 25v... It also trips out on three settings if the current exceeds 100mA - 1 amp and 2.5 amps. For most jobs the 100mA is ideal, tripping out before thermal runaway destroys a delicate component. The left panel meter reads Voltage, and the right panel meter reads Amperage. So a visual check on how a circuit is performing also helps to prevent damage. I would much rather read an analogue meter than a digital one, I think the analogue meter tells a far better story of what is going on inside the circuit.

Re: Foxy's Latest Project.

I don't want to hijack your thread, but I thought you might like to see my hammer that's the twin of yours.
It's the one on the left underneath and between the floorboard saw and Japanese pull-saw.



One of my friends had an all steel hammer when I was an apprentice in the seventies, but it had a habit of bending in use which put me off. Fifteen or so years later I was given this one and it is still as good as the day I got it.

As for skip diving, my Dad and Uncle/Fil had it down to a fine art.

Perhaps I should start a thread about the things they liberated from skips or hedgerows.

Re: Foxy's Latest Project.

Again, I'm impressed by your skill and ability. That looks like a professionally made stabilised power supply.

We used Farnell power supplies on the Tornado engine control system rigs, and Tektronic jobbies on the Beurofighter control system.
The former were so heavy they could cause back problems when we had to move them around, but the latter were lightweight.

Did you make the case and handle as well? That's some serious tin-bashing skills if you did.

Re: Foxy's Latest Project.

Your very kind Fruitcake, and thanks....


No tin bashing involved just alloy front panel and metal chassis, surrounded by a wooden enclosure. Boxes have always been my thing Fruitcake, I've made lots of them over the years, from speaker boxes to project enclosures. If you look carefully at the surround of the voltage stabiliser you will notice the joint holding it all together. All my boxes and enclosures are usually held together by proper joints.
And yes, the handle is home rolled....

That's an impressive wall of tools by the way Fruitcake and I love the horse....

Re: Foxy's Latest Project.

The voltage stabilizer looks well-made and handy. Good to see the detector project coming along.

Looking at the veroboard reminded me of one of our engineers. He was an amateur radio enthusiast who was always building his own circuits. He made the circuit boards using copper-clad Paxolin boards. Etched the tracks using wax and acid.

Things were quite relaxed in our workshop in those days. We were left alone providing all the work was getting done. This gave him a bit of time for doing his etchings. There were often a couple of dishes on the bench tops that we had to be careful of.

Thinking about home-made items, I say I've only ever built a guitar amplifier (valves) but there was also a 'tube (CRT) blaster'. I made my own using the mains transformer from power supply that was part of a Thorn 3000 television. Different blasting voltages were selectable using switches.

The blaster could rejuvenate a low-emission colour CRT. It didn't mean that a new tube wouldn't be needed in the near future but it gave a quick fix that lasted up to a few months. A bit of breathing space for customers and engineers.

A professionally made CRT tester-rejuvenator was available but the one I made myself served me well.

Re: Foxy's Latest Project.

Its all gobbledygook to me....looks good though