Fun in the Workshop

The Duke’s been running pretty well recently, so there’s not much to report on the blog.  I’ve been spending my time in the workshop instead, making bits and bobs on the lathe and mill.

Last night, Dr J came round to make a dog to connect his capstan winch to his engine.  They cost about £50 each on eBay - even for a copy - so we made one out of a chunk of 45mm bar scrounged from the offcuts bin at a local engineering firm.

First job was to drill an 18mm hole all the way through.  Slightly smaller than the 3/4" bolt that will hold it to the front of the crankshaft.  We then bored the hole out to exactly the right diameter. Boring out the “dog end”.  This didn’t leave a massive thickness of metal round the edges (~4mm) so I’d recommend getting 50mm diameter bar if available. Milling out the slots was very boring but went without a hitch. Perfect fit! I’ve also been working on The Duke’s NATO hitch recently, so here’s a couple of pictures of that.  The packing plates are all home made (only two shown) and the swivel pin was made on the lathe out of silver steel.  Not exactly the cheapest option, but it does mean it should be rust free for some time.

The hitch itself The DIY swivel pin.  I spent some time polishing it!  I couldn’t find the split pin for the end for a reasonable price, so I’ve threaded the hole to take a 3mm screw as an interim measure! So it cost very little to make the dog (wear and tear on the tools being the biggest cost) but it did take the two of us six hours, so I can see why these things cost as much as they do!  I think it’s safe to say though, Dr J and I would much rather spend six hours using a lathe and drinking beer than paying somebody else £50 to do the same!