Well, I bought a sheet metal brake yesterday and I had to try it out. I started out by replicating the gear box that is part of the TV antenna. The box was made out of sheet metal and has been sanded and re-painted many times. I thought about getting a sand blaster and then prime and paint... instead I chose to reproduce it. The brake actually does a good job if you mark out the place you want the bend and then offset the clamping bar by that thickness. If you look in the back of this photo, you will see my first attempt. I am learning so many new skills through this process, perhaps the best skill is patience.
I did make a few changes to the design... I used rivets to put it together, and I used aluminum. No more painting...
See before:
And after:
I will still need to drill a hole for the antenna shaft to go through. I am waiting on this because (A) this is not really a necessary project. And (B) I need to figure out what to use to replace the plastic sleeves on the box and shaft. The plastic is toast after 45 years in the sun.
I know I am not supposed to be working on gear boxes, but I had to try out the new tool. The TremPro is on the counter thawing... just you wait till Sundays post, my goal is to finish all ALL the windows by dark time Sunday. NO MORE LEAKS... for now. Rob Baker tells me often "(laugh, laugh)... you know, they all (laugh) leak(laugh, laugh, laugh)..." and the sad thing is he is right. Well my hope is to stop them for a little while, BY DARK TIME SUNDAY.
No comments:
Post a Comment