A quick, fun project today, something I have wanted to make for a Co-Worker of mine for a while.
On an older vessel we sailed on, we were constantly failing the little, square cooling fans in the main control cabinet. I would leave them on my desk as they failed to remind me to order more. He had a bad habit of picking them up and spinning them when we were having meetings at my desk. It actually became a fun game to leave one out where he could find it, just to see how long it took before he picked it up and played with it.
I ordered some skate bearings (about $0.70 a piece) and looked for some scrap. I found a piece of Brazilian cherry stock and re-sawed it to just over the thickness of the bearing. I cut out 3 of the spinner bodies, only 2 survived well enough to continue. I think I need to re-design the piece and move the aluminum rod bits in about an 1/8 inch.
I chopped up a bunch of aluminum rod, epoxied it into the blanks, and waited for it to cure. I then hit the blanks on the belt sander until flush. Those aluminum dots transmit heat like nobody's business. After everything was flush, I sanded up to 320 by hand and finished with an oil and wax finish. The bearings are just pressed in by hand, so they can be removed to be cleaned and lubricated if needed in the future.
I now have to come up with some more Brazilian Cherry, because I have requests for 7 more...
Before you comment on the 'glittery' background, the wood looks so much richer on it than it did on the dark background I first photographed it on.
The Aspire file is attached, but I think the dots need to be moved closer to the hub bearing.
On an older vessel we sailed on, we were constantly failing the little, square cooling fans in the main control cabinet. I would leave them on my desk as they failed to remind me to order more. He had a bad habit of picking them up and spinning them when we were having meetings at my desk. It actually became a fun game to leave one out where he could find it, just to see how long it took before he picked it up and played with it.
I ordered some skate bearings (about $0.70 a piece) and looked for some scrap. I found a piece of Brazilian cherry stock and re-sawed it to just over the thickness of the bearing. I cut out 3 of the spinner bodies, only 2 survived well enough to continue. I think I need to re-design the piece and move the aluminum rod bits in about an 1/8 inch.
I chopped up a bunch of aluminum rod, epoxied it into the blanks, and waited for it to cure. I then hit the blanks on the belt sander until flush. Those aluminum dots transmit heat like nobody's business. After everything was flush, I sanded up to 320 by hand and finished with an oil and wax finish. The bearings are just pressed in by hand, so they can be removed to be cleaned and lubricated if needed in the future.
I now have to come up with some more Brazilian Cherry, because I have requests for 7 more...
Before you comment on the 'glittery' background, the wood looks so much richer on it than it did on the dark background I first photographed it on.
The Aspire file is attached, but I think the dots need to be moved closer to the hub bearing.
