A Beautiful Spring Day in the Shop

Today, I finally had some time to spend out in the shop.  So, I tackled a few projects.  I have a neighbor who is a machinist, and a few days ago, he caught me and asked if I'd be interested in any of his cut-offs.  So, I ran over today to go pick them up :

In that pile of great stuff was some 303 and 304 stainless, brass, bronze, aluminum, steel, and even some Delrin.  I had a colleague asking if I'd be able to machine him some shock pistons for his RC cars.  They are supposedly 12mm across, with a 1.6mm hole in the middle.  I measured it up and threw down a quick drawing :

So, that 12mm is actually 11.80mm, or 0.465".  That hole in the middle which should be 1.6mm is actually 2.54mm, or 0.10".  It means I have some really good leeway when it comes to machining them.  I chucked up some Delrin, and cut five pistons (because one was a little too think).  They didn't turn out too badly!

Next up, I dropped the starter.  I needed to know how large of a fly wheel I have on the Corvette.  I couldn't find the receipt, so I had to do it.  But, I was having problems turning the crankshaft and also counting teeth while I was at it.  I remembered I had an old Harbor Freight composite camera system, so I grabbed the camera, build a frame to hold it, and placed it pointing at the hole through the scatter shield where the starter connects to the fly wheel.  That allowed me to count teeth :

I have a 168-tooth flywheel. I ordered a 2.5HP adjustable starter from eBay, so when it comes, I'll get it installed and running.  Then, I thought I'd finish a brass pen while I was at it.  It came out not too badly :

It was a good day today!