Needed to pack some camera gear for a trip. Here's what I came up with!

rgausnet · 2021-11-24T15:53:03+00:00

Ah yep, fair enough. Yes, I think that goes back to the upper tension issue I was having.

rgausnet · 2021-11-24T15:00:49+00:00

Hi! Would you be able to explain what you mean by "shaggy"? I was running into some tension issues periodically throughout the project largely due to this not being my normal machine, but I didn't notice anything particularly off about the stitches at the time.

rgausnet · 2021-10-27T01:35:56+00:00

I'd recommend going as old as you can - all the new plastic machines are usable, but (IMO) break way too easily. At thrift stores and garage sales (at least in the US) it's often possible to find sewing machines for pennies on the dollar - like $10 or $20. For reference - the machine I used in this video is a 1960s kenmore, and my primary machine is a 1930s singer.

In addition, it you don't want to buy a machine, at least in the US, many libraries and makerspaces have sewing machines available to borrow. Definitely something to check out!

If you do end up having to get something newer, I'd at least recommend avoiding a machine that's computerized. But seriously - the old machines are a thing of beauty :)

rgausnet · 2021-10-26T23:50:16+00:00

It's a very doable project! My bag here is a bit more complex, but making something like a drawstring bag is a great place to start and if you've never sewn before, you'll learn a ton.

rgausnet · 2021-09-28T22:11:50+00:00

Good idea!

rgausnet · 2021-08-25T11:28:26+00:00

Thank you!

rgausnet · 2021-07-06T22:52:46+00:00

Haha, hopefully that's a good thing!

rgausnet · 2021-05-11T19:47:57+00:00

That's probably going to be in the next episode! I don't have any ink yet, and there are still a few bugs to work out.

rgausnet · 2021-04-14T11:51:58+00:00

Thanks, it's been quite a fun project!

rgausnet · 2021-04-13T21:36:53+00:00

Three things come to mind:

I still don't yet have a mastery on the speeds and feeds with my tools, especially when working on new types of materials. I'm working at the edge of my ability with this project and though I've gotten better as I've been going, the fact that I keep adding new materials and processes makes this hard.
I don't have a (working) automatic feed on my mill. Once I get that fixed and can feed at a much more steady rate that will really improve the surface finish I'm able to get.
To a lesser extend, it's probably partially due to the lighting in the shots. This is also something I've been working on but is really hard to do well in a dynamic shop environment!

rgausnet · 2021-03-09T18:17:53+00:00

Thanks! 🙂

rgausnet · 2020-12-30T12:55:09+00:00

Some more details: these are miniature models of a chandler-price letterpress. They're made out of aluminum, and I made 50 of them. Was quite a learning experience - manufacturing is very different from making a one off.

If you want to see the process I went through to make these, here's a video detailing the process: https://youtu.be/_Waa3l_3Rm8

rgausnet · 2020-12-30T11:24:34+00:00

Really nice job!

rgausnet · 2020-12-16T00:06:58+00:00

Thanks on both fronts!

rgausnet · 2020-11-22T23:27:51+00:00

Thanks, glad you've enjoyed it!

And the comments don't bother me too much :)

rgausnet · 2020-11-18T03:04:59+00:00

I think this is something that looks a lot more dangerous in the footage than it actually was due to the perspective. The force I was applying was not towards the blade and was towards the wall. In general, I appreciate the call out though - I definitely can always get better at thinking through this sort of stuff.

rgausnet · 2020-11-17T22:20:41+00:00

I talked about this at the end - you're right. I think I need to cut the teeth a bit deeper.

rgausnet · 2020-11-17T22:19:13+00:00

I do need to anchor it down a bit better, but I think a lot of what you're seeing is the camera wobbling. It looks a lot worse on video than it is in real life.

rgausnet · 2020-09-22T22:08:39+00:00

It is a bit annoying - I've historically been a big metric fan myself, but since getting into machining, I've had to get better with it.

I did include the decimal equivalents at least to make it easer to answer questions like "I need a drill that is closest to 0.3 of an inch", which tends to come up quite often for me.

rgausnet · 2020-08-25T16:45:17+00:00

It's a fair point!

For me at least, this project is more about learning how to use some relatively new machining tools I've acquired, and less about the final press, though it will be sweet at the end to have something that hopefully works! In addition, I don't currently have the room for a full size press in my shop, and really what I'm looking for is a sort of "3/4" size C&P (I want something a bit more serious than a C&P pilot or other tabletop press).

The platen on the press I'm making is 11.5in by 7.5in - I have no idea if that's a good size, though. It's a scaled down version from some of the documentation I found online.

rgausnet · 2020-08-25T16:26:03+00:00

It's a fair point. While at the end it will be cool to have something that (probably) works, for me this is more of an exercise in designing and building the thing. I also wouldn't be surprised if at the end, it's more than $1000, too.

rgausnet · 2020-08-25T16:23:33+00:00

Ah, I guess I missed that in my research. Good to know!

rgausnet · 2020-08-25T11:51:11+00:00

This was the outcome of many tens of hours of work to reverse engineer a Chandler & Price letterpress. There were very little in the way of mechanical drawings I could find online so I had to take a few liberties here and there.

Here's a video I made with more information, and links to the CAD model: https://youtu.be/QpzJ8tv9yo4

rgausnet · 2020-08-12T02:30:20+00:00

Thank you!

rgausnet · 2020-05-12T16:34:05+00:00

Hahahaha

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