Skeeters contracting services

[skeeter]

Knowing that the dozer needed more weight added to it, I undertook that task tonight. I added approximately 3/4 of a pound to it tonight. The process I undertook I call the Skeeter special. Cut lead to fit where it's going, mix epoxy, & enshrine the lead in an epoxy coat to eliminate lead exposure(s).
unnamed (83) by Anthony Kalnoski, on Flickr

unnamed (84) by Anthony Kalnoski, on Flickr

I sure hope this will be enough weight for it, as it's getting hard to find places to sneak more lead into

unnamed (85) by Anthony Kalnoski, on Flickr

[skeeter]

The video I was trying to post earlier. I called my brother, he's the smart one with computers. When I told him the problem he started laughing hysterically. He then told me I was a dumb@ss, & inquired why I didn't just upload the video DIRECTLY yo Youtube from the phone. He thought it was super funny that I had been Emailing the vids to myself, then uploading them to Youtube from the computer. I told him that NOT EVERYONE is as computer smart as him. without further adieu, here's the vid. Like I said before, it DON'T push well, as I HAVEN'T yet installed the metal wear plate on the blade.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YChiFPc-yEE

The New BIGGER batteries made a HUGE difference in this thing. I forgot to time them, but I'm sure I can live with these batteries.

[frizzen]

Glad the real batteries finally showed up.

Looks like it pushes pretty well. Do you know anybody who reloads for shotgun, or is into muzzleloading shotguns? Lead shot can pack weird areas much easier than rod.
Also once you run out of lead hiding places, think about brass plates glued to flat surfaces.
--

Put away the servos, The delta loader conversions seem to all use the dual-output tamiya gearbox that use the 280-ish motors.

[skeeter]

I LOVE the idea for the plates. If/when I run out of room, & need to pack more, I'll be employing that method!

Unfortunately, I do not know anyone that reloads. I do, however know of an outdoors store near me, that has said re-loading supplies. Perhaps Monday I'll head there & see if I can acquire some of them lead BB's. I've got the copper BB gun type BB's but I don't think they are as dense as the lead ones are.

No more Tamiya gearbox's here! I still have 3 in the parts bin. I don't like how fast they break. I've ordered a couple motors from the interwebs, as the servo idea WON'T be an option on the Delta loader. Found these on Evilbay, & decided I'll try to fit them in it. SOMEWHERE?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-3-6v-Gea...72.m2749.l2649
IDK if they will fit in it, or not, or how well. Once that SLOW boat from China carrying them arrives me, I'll find out if they will work.

[skeeter]

Today, I lost a dear friend. A friend that's been there for me through thick, AND thin. A friend like no other. We thought you were a goner before, but you pulled yourself together, & soldiered on.

20171125_145000 by Anthony Kalnoski, on Flickr

Today when your tails shaft disintegrated, I knew it was the end. Rest In Pieces my friend, you'll truely be missed by me!
20171125_144943 by Anthony Kalnoski, on Flickr

Today at 3:15Pm, while I was attempting to craft a part for the Bruder skidsteer conversion my lil buddy, the flex shaft for my immitation dremel tool had the BIG one. The shaft that goes into the colette snapped off. It was a good run of 2+years. I suppose it is time to close this chapter, & start anew with a Dremel tool, The REAL brand name one!

[frizzen]

Alas, poor flex-shaft, taken before its time. Hopefully you new fast-tool replacement lasts longer.

Hey what kinda height, width, and length do you have on that Fire Ladder? Not counting the search light, since i'd knock that off first thing. Uh, for research purposes...

[skeeter]

Originally Posted by frizzen

Hey what kinda height, width, and length do you have on that Fire Ladder? Not counting the search light, since i'd knock that off first thing. Uh, for research purposes...

Frizz, the firetruck is 26 inches long from bumper to bumper. From the ground to the tallest part of the truck with the ladder stored for transit is 8.25 inches tall. The ladder from base to the end of the basket is 19 inches long while stored for transit. The truck measures 5.5 inches wide from side to side.

Since I have that d@m Skidsteer apart today, here's a couple pics of the custom fabricated mount I made to hold the servo that operates the boom lift. There's already a few sanps posted of it, but they are with it installed in the machine.
unnamed (90) by Anthony Kalnoski, on Flickr

unnamed (91) by Anthony Kalnoski, on Flickr

[frizzen]

Originally Posted by skeeter

Frizz, the firetruck is 26 inches long from bumper to bumper. From the ground to the tallest part of the truck with the ladder stored for transit is 8.25 inches tall. The ladder from base to the end of the basket is 19 inches long while stored for transit. The truck measures 5.5 inches wide from side to side.

Wow, i figured it was a little bigger. My fire chief is 8 1/4" tall to the light, 7 7/8" wide at the rub rail, and 26" long at bumpers.

[tc1cat]

I really cannot praise the Sherline machines enough for a beginner. Easy to assemble and easy to use. This was my first small mill and lathe which I still have after 25 years of use. Both have been upgraded many times and very few parts replaced. While they do seem pricey at first, they are worth every penny. Size is an issue with them thou. You can just make wheels for the semis over the saddle on the lathe without some mods but the accuracy of the machines is much more than needed for this hobby. The many available options are one of the big plus' for me.

Must add that I have 6 of the Sherline machines- 3 lathes and 3 mills!

[skeeter]

I'lll have to take some measurements of the ladder, tomorrow fir ya.

HOPEFULLY Santa got the hint, & will be placing a new Dremel tool under the tree for me

[skeeter]

Today I made a lil more progress on the Bruder Skidsteer conversion. I fabbed an aluminum box to hold my Savox servo that I want to use for the boom lift. Since I had to cut the mounting tabs off to make it fit inside the model, I had to get creative with how to mount the servo. Then I used some old Traxxas parts to make a connecting rod for it. The servo horn (You guessed it) it's left over Traxxas too. A while back I'd ordered a beacon light for a different project. That light DIDN'T work well scale wise for that project, & sat in the parts bin for a lengthy period of time. Today it gained a purpose in life!

20171125_152912 by Anthony Kalnoski, on Flickr

20171125_152925 by Anthony Kalnoski, on Flickr

unnamed (86) by Anthony Kalnoski, on Flickr

unnamed (87) by Anthony Kalnoski, on Flickr

unnamed (88) by Anthony Kalnoski, on Flickr

[skeeter]

Now lets test things out!

Testing the programmable beacon lamp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EuY1RwZ4qA

Testing the boom lift
https://youtu.be/toAzzow-0nc

Um,....yeah, there's a problem here! I knew I SHOULD have tested that Savox servo PRIOR to installing it in the model! It glitches REALLY bad. Reminds me why I pulled it from the crawler to begin with! Well.............I guess tomorrow can be spent undoing what I did today, so I can change that servo to a different one. HOPEFULLY that one DOESN'T glitch like this one does! I think I will test it BEFORE installation

[skeeter]

Since our little case dozer at the house is dead, we rented a D4 to finish up a lil work. I snapped some pics of the Bruder conversion with it's 1:1 likeness. After seeing the Bruder perched upon the Cat D4, I am more sure than ever that the Bruder is modeled after the D4! You take a look at pics, & decide fir yourself.

20171125_125535 by Anthony Kalnoski, on Flickr

20171125_125334 by Anthony Kalnoski, on Flickr

20171125_125517 by Anthony Kalnoski, on Flickr

20171125_125250 by Anthony Kalnoski, on Flickr

[skeeter]

Well...................poop! I just it ate at me WHY would I put a servo into the misc parts bin, if it wasn't any good. I just had to do something about it, so I went out tested OVER a dozen servo's with the servo tester. ALL of them glitched. EVEN the brand new hitech micro servo that I just got. I think my servo tester is boogered up! Tomorrow, I'll have to make a trip to the LHS, & see if I can acquire a new servo tester, as well as a new servo. I just want to make sure that when I return home with the new tester, IF in the event all them servo's went bad (I CAN'T imagine why they would) that I have a brand new one that I can place into the skidsteer to get 'er working...........WELL, as working as can be, until the Sabertooth 2X5 gets here to make the wheels drive.

[Hofabooz]

Hi Skeeter

It all looking good congratulations on your excavator purchase.
Will be looking forwards to seeing it and the skid steer in action soon.

[skeeter]

Thank-you, sir! IDK if the excavator will be used until the weather dries things out a bit. It's too wet here now. I have rocky ground, but it got clay like properties to it, if that makes any sense.

HOPEFULLY tomorrow, or day after at the latest, the Sabertooth will be in my hot lil hand. Soon as that thing gets here, Skidsteer will be running.

[skeeter]

I've REALLY been wanting a CNC machine, & a lathe. I've found a lathe at Hazardous Freight (Harbor Freight) although small, it'll work for what I do, IF I can find a spot for it in the garage. ?

I've found this CNC on Evilbay. Is it any good? will it work? Is it any good? Will it have longevity, or die within a couple projects?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/4Axis-VFD-3...19.m1438.l2649

[tc1cat]

Machine would be fine for light milling in plastic only or engraving. I would not use it for much of anything other than plastic. No telling what kind of bearings are in it. Milling machines need bearings that can take a side load. Engravers and drill press' do not have bearings made for side loading. That is why a drill press will start making oval holes besides bad drill bits.

I would get a regular milling machine and convert to CNC. Need to go slow and learn process as you go. I speak from 30 years of machining experience- both manual and CNC.

[skeeter]

Originally Posted by tc1cat

Machine would be fine for light milling in plastic only or engraving. I would not use it for much of anything other than plastic. No telling what kind of bearings are in it. Milling machines need bearings that can take a side load. Engravers and drill press' do not have bearings made for side loading. That is why a drill press will start making oval holes besides bad drill bits.

I would get a regular milling machine and convert to CNC. Need to go slow and learn process as you go. I speak from 30 years of machining experience- both manual and CNC.

Thank-you, sir for the info. I will NOT be acquiring that machine!
I plan to take it slow, starting with a small machine, & eventually, HOPEFULLY get into bigger machines.

[skeeter]

Today, I installed the new Traxxas 2075 servo into the skidsteer conversion. The Traxxas servo is shorter then the Savox SC-0251MG. Since the two are different size, I had to modify the box that I fabricated to hold the servo in place.
unnamed (92) by Anthony Kalnoski, on Flickr
The gears from the Savox DO, however fit the Traxxas 2075 servo's. Since they fit, I gutted the bad Savox servo, & installed the METAL gears into the Traxxas servo. Now I still have a metal gear servo in this thang, even if it is a slightly weaker servo than I originally wanted to use.