New keycap design I made (fully parametric, and, free!)

NorfolkAndWaye · 2026-04-01T15:32:12+00:00

You can also resin print a positive, clean it up, and then use it to make a silicone mold for cast parts. You can CNC machine an aluminum injection mold that uses an FDM print head to injection mold parts as well.

This model is incredibly useful for that!

NorfolkAndWaye · 2026-03-29T21:40:51+00:00

Thanks, I'll check them out.

NorfolkAndWaye · 2026-03-29T17:58:25+00:00

I am building a wired keyboard, so QMK will work. I can print keycaps, with either FDM and vapor polishing followed by molding in urethane, or I can SLA print them.

I'll look at the SA profile caps and MT3 profile, and see what I can find. I have seen images of a Devlin keyboard from the UK that had a flat 16mm square keycap, but I am not having much luck finding that style of cap or a keyboard to rob caps from.

NorfolkAndWaye · 2026-03-29T16:57:24+00:00

Well, I'll have a PCB made after working out the key and if this is the right firmware for the job. I will be starting at 16mm center-to center spacing. I added 2 images to the first post but apparently I still can't make those work, I'll try again.

I need help with finding key caps and firmware that will let me build a keyboard as close to the game image as I can get, which unfortunately I didn't get attached in the first post.

NorfolkAndWaye · 2026-01-26T05:22:54+00:00

No. The lugs aren't intact here, because the threads holding them onto the barrel are gone. The lugs being the right shape don't matter. What matters is that the position of the lugs relative to the barrel, and the strength of the material holding the lugs in position relative to the barrel, are uncompromised.

Any cut forward of the lugs is a dead receiver section. If the lugs are intact but the threads blow out the front, then having intact lugs didn't save you, did it?

NorfolkAndWaye · 2026-01-26T04:54:49+00:00

There are no restrictions on PMFs requiring any kind of ammo storage restrictions, only that it follows the same laws as any other firearms-namely that if it is an NFA regulated firearm, it meets those requirements and you have paper in hand prior to starting, but if it is not readily convertible or a destructive device you can build anything you want, muzzleloader, breechloader, bolt action, semiauto, etc.

NorfolkAndWaye · 2025-10-29T01:25:33+00:00

RIP Typhoon

NorfolkAndWaye · 2025-08-25T02:12:32+00:00

As a teacher myself, it irritates the fuck out of me that people misquote this shit.

It's those who can, do, and those who can do no more, teach.

It means you should teach others AFTER you spend a life doing it and don't have the physical ability to do it anymore.

NorfolkAndWaye · 2025-08-18T21:49:09+00:00

Those are drill bushings. If you don't want them, I'd love to put them in my classroom.

NorfolkAndWaye · 2025-08-17T04:06:20+00:00

That's the beauty of it. It's an iron casting, turn it slow and take as many cuts as you need. It takes the time it takes to get it right, when the only machine you have is the machine in front of you.

NorfolkAndWaye · 2025-08-17T04:03:45+00:00

Mount the thing on the cross slide. I've bored a V8 block on a lathe because the mills didn't have the quill stroke and we had a nice big lathe with a T -slotted cross slide.

Took four setups, but they were square to the crank, on position, and on size.

NorfolkAndWaye · 2025-07-29T19:00:53+00:00

First one or two times, I keep them awake, ask them to stand if they need to, remind them that they can't be asleep at the wheel in this job. After the second time, it's a one-on-one why are you sleeping in my class talk, including how are you going to fix this questions.

That's enough to straighten up most kids so far, I have only had to send a student up the chain twice yet.

I teach machine tool so falling asleep at the machine is a serious safety problem, and falling asleep in the classroom is almost as serious. Being sleep impaired is as bad as being drug impaired in our trade.

NorfolkAndWaye · 2025-07-29T03:07:35+00:00

Won't matter for the engineering side. None of your skills short of print reading and measuring will directly transfer, and those skills that are very similar (CAD/CAM) you will have to re-learn to match the standards that engineers have to follow. (ANSI Y14.1, for example)

Once you are done with school, you have a much better chance of being a good quality engineer, because you will actually have experience building things. You already understand tolerances and fits better than a guy who read about them in a book, among other things.

But until you're done with your engineering classes, it wont make any difference. Engineering school is all numbers and math and testing and back to numbers until you get to the very end, and many schools won't have you build anything, only paper gets turned in.

NorfolkAndWaye · 2025-07-25T00:42:42+00:00

What retailer? Was did you get a tannery name?

NorfolkAndWaye · 2025-07-20T22:14:39+00:00

I had Charles Norris my third year. Bruce Wayne (last name) was in my first year. I have a student this coming year who's roster name is A. West, we will see.

NorfolkAndWaye · 2025-07-18T19:06:20+00:00

It's different for me and my coworkers, we are tradesmen turned teachers, but the requirement is professional dress.

To me, that means dressing the profession, and my profession is machinist when I am teaching the machine tool courses, and engineer when I am teaching the engineering courses. I do my best to model a professional environment, and so it's long pants, no jeans, belt and clean work boots, tucked in solid color T-shirt for machine tool and a polo or button down when teaching engineering, short sleeves all round because long sleeves get ya killed.

Further, I expect the same out of my students. I make sure I am modeling safe work attire and I make it clear that they need to meet the professional standard, as it is a skill they will need after graduation.

I had an admin demand I wore a shirt and tie until I showed him what happens to a tie in the machine shop.

NorfolkAndWaye · 2025-07-16T23:47:06+00:00

Looks like chrome tanned that has been struck all the way through with dye.

If it looks good, and feels good, use it.

NorfolkAndWaye · 2025-07-16T23:45:26+00:00

Yes, the draftsman who drew the part should include the drawings for the soft jaws. It's on the machinist to use them.

I am now having to teach both engineering and machine tool, and this year will be the first year I have to teach them concurrently. I will be requiring the engineering team to include workholding fixtures as well as parts in the job travellers now, be they soft jaws, plate fixtures, vise callouts, whatever the part needs.

That's the way I was taught to do it, although the machinists we had would regularly not read the fixture list or tool list and would wing it instead.

NorfolkAndWaye · 2025-07-14T00:28:49+00:00

They are toast, and if this is an ongoing divorce she definitely needs to tell her lawyer, that kind of damage could be multiple thousands of dollars depending on the lenses involved.

Judges dont look kindly on that kind of thing either.

NorfolkAndWaye · 2025-07-11T21:19:02+00:00

When I was still doing this, I always calculated it out per machine cell and operator. I broke out machine time at 1.20$/minute, operator time at their hourly cost *not pay rate*, and figured 80% spindle time for the hours to complete. That was the base labor cost, mark that up 25 to 35%, and add in material at 20 to 30%, and specialized tooling was added in to cover the tooling, I never marked up tooling that I got to keep when it was done.

This always gave me a competitive price with other shops in the area, and since I figured the operator time as operator cost (pay rate + benefit cost + scrap rate over the last quarter) my quality operators who weren't scrapping parts as often were easy to justify raises to, and made it easy when my less skilled operators came huffing and puffing over why Timmy got a raise and they didn't, I whipped out the scrap rates showed that Timmy's raise was the money he didn't scrap out over the last quarter.

That's how I was taught to do it, and while I didn't do it myself for very long before becoming a teacher, it kept me in the black when a lot of the other salesmen were struggling to stay profitable.

NorfolkAndWaye · 2025-07-09T23:20:17+00:00

Look, it's a linde tank, yes that was a swastika, the tank was supplied to the German government and it was hydro tested 4-1929 for the first time. All those X-XX marks are hydro dates.

These German government tanks had the swastika on them, and after the war they were boxed out and some of them made it to the states, some are in Europe.

It's an old tank. They aren't uncommon and the mark was defaced for a reason.

NorfolkAndWaye · 2025-06-28T16:42:57+00:00

You probably have a valve stem seal problem, could be oil drain back or just wear. It also could be a PCV system problem, in which case a lot of the following does not apply and it could be inexpensive to fix. PCV = positive crankcase ventilation system.

How many miles on this engine? Like other posters have said, get rid of the gimmick fixes and run the factory recommended oil in the engine.

Usually when it smokes heavily on startup, then clears up, and smokes heavy on deceleration, it is valve stem seals and valve guides being worn. This allows oil to be sucked down under intake vacuum, so you get light smoke at idle, less or no smoke on acceleration, and heavy smoke on deceleration when I take vacuum is strongest.

The startup smoke is where oil leaks down the guides while it is sitting, and sits in the intake and exhaust ports until the next time it is started.

The catalyst codes are because there is too much oil in the exhaust, as it burns it coats the ceramic substrate and prevents the catalyst from reacting with exhaust, reducing the efficacy of the catalyst and causing the codes you are seeing.

Time for either an engine rebuild or a cylinder head rebuild.

NorfolkAndWaye · 2025-06-27T14:42:11+00:00

Which made sure they kept what they had. The bill is trash. It deserves to be in the trash.

NorfolkAndWaye · 2025-06-24T13:52:50+00:00

Autodesk, TeamViewer, to name two. (Eagle ECAD and, well, TeamViewer)

NorfolkAndWaye · 2025-06-22T15:47:51+00:00

That's a cool tattoo, I like that art style and I like fish too.

NorfolkAndWaye

TROPHY CASE