GruffaloGriff 1,858 Posted October 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2015 Quick jig rattled together in 10 minutes to surface the chopping boards my lad made over on the other thread. Simple but effective. Work clamped to bench, jig slides on bench, router slides in jig. Take more or less off by adjusting height of router up & down. So as long as the work fits between the jig rails (make it any size you want) and on the bench then it can be surfaced as flat as the top of the bench you are working on. Use a large surfacing cutter in the router for best finish. Oh and a bonus, the router came off the skip at work. £38 posted for a new armature from China and it is as good as new! 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GruffaloGriff 1,858 Posted October 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2015 Slight diversion from making tools (although there will be lots of bodging and adapting and using re-claimed materials as per usual) anyway the latest project on the go is fitting a re-claimed stove in place of my fireplace which while well loved and used was needing some attention and to be honest is a drafty hole. Old fireplace has to go Ah the bodging commences............flexible conduit you say......no need i have an outlet pipe from a washing machine that will do nicely. Just need some clips to fix it in place then...........better still this cutting of copper water cylinder left over from the boys jewellery project is just the job! Conduit in place for LED's.........just need a bit of flex..........ah that scrapped hoover flex is in good order.....just the job! Built in the recycled gravity defying fire bricks to fill the void each side of the lum, just need to make an adapter pipe to go from the 7" flue to the 5" outlet on the stove............but that's a job for next weekend. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sussex 5,777 Posted October 26, 2015 Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 Waiting with baited breath for the end result Griff , somehow I just know it's going to be perfection! .... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
unicornleather 60 Posted October 26, 2015 Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 Have made a few saddlery tools in the past, when needs must and saving me lots of money 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GruffaloGriff 1,858 Posted October 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 Waiting with baited breath for the end result Griff , somehow I just know it's going to be perfection! .... Will try and not disappoint. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GruffaloGriff 1,858 Posted October 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 Have made a few saddlery tools in the past, when needs must and saving me lots of money Often better than the bought tools as can be made/ shaped for a specific application and more satisfaction in using a tool you have made, post up a pic if you have any. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
unlacedgecko 1,466 Posted October 26, 2015 Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 Very much enjoyed the thread, and the others you have put up. I feel inspired! Have been watching some YouTube videos about backyard aluminium casting. Certainly looks like fun... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
unicornleather 60 Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 Have made a few saddlery tools in the past, when needs must and saving me lots of money Often better than the bought tools as can be made/ shaped for a specific application and more satisfaction in using a tool you have made, post up a pic if you have any. I haven't any photos but will try to take some. The older tools you can still buy around antique shops are often prized over by Saddlers as the steel is often better than today's equivalent. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GruffaloGriff 1,858 Posted October 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 Very much enjoyed the thread, and the others you have put up. I feel inspired! Have been watching some YouTube videos about backyard aluminium casting. Certainly looks like fun... Glad you are enjoying the thread. If it inspires others to have a go at hacking things together from what is lying about then mission accomplished! YouTube definitely opens doors to a far wider catchment with it's step by step tutorials allowing people of all different abilities to have a go at making things for themselves. Always intended doing a bit of "back yard foundry" myself, just never got round to it. I have unintentionally melted aluminium in the shed stove (old door handles etc) so quite possible without fancy kit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Francie 6,368 Posted October 30, 2015 Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 Looking forward to the updates Griff, keep her lit mate Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GruffaloGriff 1,858 Posted November 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2015 As suspected a bit of chop & weld to get things positioned how i wanted, ok so could have bought fittings but where is the fun in that. Had a rake in the pille of discsrded flue bits i had saved from dumpster diving. First up an adapter from the 7" flue to the 5" stove outlet, then and off set atapter to get it to line up with the final stove position i want. Off-set bend. Not the neatest welding but functional. Motley assortment of adapted fittings prior to installation. Adapter and off-set in place. The grey putty looking stuff is a complete experiment. Mixed up a slurry of pure cement and water. Then cut strips of fiberglass insulation, gave them a good dipping and squeezed out then packed them in around the pipe. Ordinary sand cement tends to go powdery when in contact with heat so thought i would give this a go. If it it should fail which i doubt it will it isn't really structural as the adapter is actually screwed in place to the stonework with lugs welded to the adapter. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GruffaloGriff 1,858 Posted November 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2015 Been working away on this but not had time to put up pics. Also a bit of head scratching going on. I wanted natural stone surrounding the stove but the existing stone is shot, burnt/ cracked etc and it doesn't reach the front of the stud/drywall. If i build in new stone in the conventional way it will reduce the opening too much. After a bit of experimentation came up with thin layer of flag stones all recycled cuttings from work. The appearance strait off the grinder looked too artificial so have chipped out the edges to give a more realistic natural 3d stone look. First rough register plate in place cut out of a recycled 2mm steel shelf. Likely fire proof enough as it is but i plan to cut a hole in the plasterboard above the mantle and pour mortar in on top of the steel plate once complete. Started with a timber form to size of back & sides and drawing out a plan view on a piece of plywood. Pencil line drawn 12mm from front of stones then chipped/dressed- round edge of a claw hammer worked best. Stones are thin so need to grip the mortar fill behind therefore roughened up the back of them with the grinder. Just to keep it on topic i used the stone tools i made from coil spring. The scutch chisel was especially useful to dress the face of some of the stones. Well that's them all cut and ready to fit. Note the slots in the top stones for the recessed LED down lighters. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sussex 5,777 Posted November 18, 2015 Report Share Posted November 18, 2015 Just know this is going to kick in an inferiority complex session .....what ever you do please don't tell me the kids built it !!! Great thread Griff ... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GruffaloGriff 1,858 Posted November 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2015 Looking forward to getting them built in place at the weekend, sneak preview of how it will work. I cannibalized the old cast iron fire place with the angle grinder as i like the border frame and it will give a good stop to build the stone facing to. Stone comes right out to cover the timber studding/plasterboard to give maximum fire proofing. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GruffaloGriff 1,858 Posted November 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Timber form holds the stone in place while back-filled with good soupy mortar. Did over two days so as to re-use the timber forms higher up. 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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