The day was forecast to be 60% rain so I didn't expect to do much of anything on the bus. I have several other projects on the go including some computer programming, putting some electronics together etc. As it looked decent I did do some work outside. Nothing under the bus however.
This miserable brake line "forming" tool came from Harbor Freight. Thus should be given a great big miss as it doesn't form brake lines. First the 1/4 inch gripper is way too small. Second all it can do is fold brake lines, not bend them.That was my attempt at a 90 degree bend using the Harbor Freight brake line forming tool. It is a 90 degree bend but the tube is narrowed to the point of it ceasing to have any viable function. I'll go back to the old tube bender that I've used before. That, surprisingly enough, was cheaper and also from Harbor Freight but cruically - it works.Motorhome self build project. Built and designed by one person over the course of about 36 months. The base is a 1994 Carpenter school bus. The end result will be a low energy consumption motorhome.
Friday, February 18, 2022
Yay brakelines.
Sunday, February 13, 2022
Yay and whoops.
While I was hunting for my drill bits I took a step forward and put all my spanners (wrenches) into a big plastic ammunition box then I took the screwdrivers out of my drill bits box and put them in the now empty box. Now I have separate boxes for drill bits/taps and screwdrivers. Given the bulky nature of screwdrivers, if I buy more, they might end up in a bigger box too.
Having cut the steel, drilled, tapped and spray painted it, I put it in place.
I looked at the timer relay and other relay that I had to work out how to wire so that the light would go off after a minute or so and really didn't feel like working it all out. What I had in place - an on-off pushbutton switch works. The relay thing would be a great idea but I just didn't feel like working on it. While I have the relays and spent money on them, I probably will just keep them to one side and proceed on with just the switch. There's a lot to be said for KISS (keep it stupid simple).
After that I found out again why I rarely work on two projects in a day. I found some wood to cut to make a baffle around the back of the switch. The plan was to glue it around the switch and screw a metal plate over it so the back of the switch is protected from things banging around as they're thrown in the closet.
My 45 degree cut wasn't quite 45 degrees. That was the first clue that it was time to finish for the day. Still, it could have been used. I sprayed the wood white and the spray just didn't dry like it did on the metal - possibly because the temperature had dropped some.The groove looks great but should have been in the other piece of wood.
Saturday, February 12, 2022
Success with the wire welder
A long time ago, not quite before the dawn of man, I bought a Harbor Freight 125A flux-core welder. I never had any luck with it but today I pulled it out to have another go. The results were way better than I had anticipated.
Though I have burned through the thin sheet metal (taken from an old fridge) a few times, the beads have gone on. I really needed to put a faster wire speed. The power is set to low and though I have not made good beads, I have achieved something. As I said, the wire speed needed to be faster. The steel measures at 1mm thick so, quite thin.Here I've welded some 2mm thick steel bracket to a 3mm thick steel bar. The bracket was found lying in the road after having been run over along with a few others. The brackets looked interesting so I'd picked them up. The 3mm steel was part of an old project on the bus that has been eliminated.Saturday, February 5, 2022
New door lock controller and entryway light installed