New Use For An Old Case

[Banjoza]

Did that case ever get made or did everyone just get cross and go away?

[shtoink]

I was actually working on cutting out the pieces for it just the other day. Between finals for school, family, and holiday related stuff, I just didn't have much in the way of spare time. I'm also one who likes to analyze several possibilities at each step before committing to the next one.

I don't have pictures just yet, but should have some as soon as I have the bulk of the parts cut out. I opted for 0.25" thick oak and printed out diagrams with all the measurements required.

I am pleasantly surprised that this was inquired about.

[shtoink]

I'm not a fan of replying to my own posts, but since there is a limited window to edit posts, I have no other choice.

I have almost all of the pieces cut out and started to mock up the final form. A few test fits and fine tuning. Still no pictures, but I didn't think a bundle cut up wood chunks was very interesting. I need to locate my 90 degree angle clamps so I can have nice and square sides while waiting for the glue to dry. I also need to cut out my template for drilling the holes into the front of the block that'll hold all the punches. That should prove very fun and serious test of my patience and sanity.

I need to ponder bit more on the final choices for the bearings and how the lift mechanism will work. I'm leaning more towards using 2 instead of 4 bearings and finding a simpler way to get the punch holder to lock in the open position.

So far, the mockup with the wood I cut out has highlighted only one error. Fingers are crossed that it stays that way.

[shtoink]

A few shots of test fits and such

A quick mock up with freshly cut pieces

A couple shots of gluing parts together. I love these 90 degree clamps!

[shtoink]

There has been progress on this thing, I promise...

With school, it just hasn't a priority.

I got the axle the bearings ride on in place and placed a pair of flanged bearings on each end. It's a simple flared end type of retention for the bearings. Since the rod was brass and I wanted a low profile retaining method, it seemed to most straight forward way to do it. I ended up dropping the second set of bearings due to the risk of breaking in the area between the bearings in the images in my previous posts. I wanted to use them. but the grain of the oak I used made that too risky. I did end up shaping the top of the channels so that the whole thing dropeed into place more easily.

The tubes are getting affixed to the front panel for the part that will be holding all of the punches. Some slight modifications had to be made due to an oversight on my part in the initial design. I accidentally made a couple of the plastic tubes overlap the side panels, so the next size down tubes needed to be used. It worked out in my favor, since cutting the plastic tubing revealed that the precut lengths did not yield enough sections of tubing for the number I had intended. It would have meant going back to purchase another 3 foot section for roughly 6 inches of tubing and I didn't really want that and that was the shortest the big-box hardware store sold them.

There were a couple challenges along the way with the tubes. One was cutting them all with as little waste as possible and the other was getting them all the same length. While there are a ton a of different ways to go about this, and plenty that I wold have rather used over the way it ended up happening. In the end, I used a hobby razor saw and jig. Despite all the careful planning and setting up, I still ended up with crooked cuts due to a poorly designed miter.

The next step was to find a way to make all these tubes stay together and get that mess to stay attached to the front panel. Looking back on that now, I should have gotten some of that purple glue meant for PVC pipes instead of a boat-load of CA glue.

Still up is making the tubes part of the front panel, which is the phase I am in now.

Here are a few shots on the progress and a video of the tool block motion being tested

And the video...

Edited March 23, 2014 by shtoink

[shtoink]

This is mainly an update for those of you who might be playing along at home or intend on playing along in the future.

CA glue is not the glue you want to use to stick these PVC tubes together. I knew going into it that CA glue wasn't ideal for the job, but figured that it should be a reasonable glue to use. I was very wrong! The big thing is that it's a brittle glue and doesn't really do much more than sit on the surface. I should have just avoided being lazy and gotten that purple stuff meant for PVC. A quick couple swipes with the dauber, align, and wait. Then it would have become one rigid piece without the fear of accidentally knocking them apart while I figure out how to a bunch of wood and plastic parts become one solid piece.

After quite a few, post accidental tube separation, choice words and phrases, I decided to set things down for a bit wait until I have the proper adhesive for PVC before I makes things worse.

[Basically Bob]

Wow! Awesome project ... looking forward to more progress reports!

[shtoink]

Good news!

I had to back-burner the project due to school, frustration, and incorrect adhesives, but things a getting back under way. I got myself some PVC glue so that I could convince about 50 individual tubes to become a single piece. The hard part was getting off copious amounts of CA glue that I slathered all over the tubes in hopes that it would have been good enough. Please note that is was not the correct glue to use, is brittle, sharp, and presents a real eye hazard when trying to scrape it all off. In the process, I managed to give my hand a minor laceration. Not something I'd have expected, so anyone reading along, store that one away for later referencing.

I'll post up some progress pictures once I have a bunch of tubes all glued up. I really set myself back by not getting the right stuff for the job in the first place, but at least I didn't have to cut another 50 or so tubes sections to length.

Before I'd dropped my bundle of tubes that were held together with CA glue, I was able to test fit them to the face plate and make sure that my holes lined up well enough. Using that template I made and taking my time with drilling out those holes really paid off. The biggest issue I had with that thing was keeping a scrap piece as a backing to prevent tear out.

Up next will be joining the tubes to the face plate and making the rest of it all one piece. I'm thinking that I should find away to fill any voids in between the tubes and the side panels for the punch block.

[WScott]

Keep plugging away at it, I am still watching!

[shtoink]

One thing that has proven to be a far bigger challenge than I anticipated has been these tubes. I'm really thinking that a couple chunks cut from a 4x4, glued up and cut to desired dimensions would have been far easier. Lay down a nice veneer for the face, fit into place, and call it done.

There's a total of 43 tubes, which means that there are 43 holes cut in the face plate and 43 sections of PVC of appropriate diameter mitered, deburred, filed, and checked for consistency.

I have 25 glued up and feeling pretty solid, but there are still 18 more that need to be affixed and still line up with the holes. Gluing up stages helps, but keeping things lined up correctly while waiting for adhesives to cure isn't exactly pleasant. Especially when you were hoping that the expanding foam properties would help fill voids between the banks of tubes being glued together without pushing things out of position.

The solid chunk direction is feeling like a much better idea, but I'm pretty well committed at this point. I guess if I ever attempt another one, or if you are following along with your own, tubes are frustrating and not worth the extra headache. Most drill bits should be long enough to reach the ~3.5 inches needed for each hole and using a template increases the odds of getting those holes in the right place.

Next up should some pictures and showing some of the progress.

[shtoink]

It's starting to come together.

It's a huge relief, too. Especially after such much frustration with being setback and having to start a few steps over again. As I am writing this, I am waiting for epoxy to cure with my fingers crossed that I don't need to do this yet another time. There's some areas that need to be cleaned up and some minor cosmetic mistakes that I can't exactly hide, but think that it's turning out pretty well. I just wish I hadn't had CA glue spill out on the front and has been paying closer attention to the drill bit placement, but those were minor compared to tubes not staying together.

[shtoink]

One more thing that I didn't account for when dealing with tubes was the variation in wall thickness. This translated into the tubes stacking a bit wider than what I anticipated for and I ended up needing to gouge grooves into the side sections to allow the bundle to slide int place. Did I mention that the I don't like the tubes yet?

The good news is that they fit now and I can start filling the voids along the sides and top to create a more solid structure. I'm just disappointed in myself for overlooking that detail as well as finding a few more spots where my lack of skills with a saw can been seen more clearly that I like.

I also ended up reaming out each of the holes with a drill bit to make sure that the handles of the punches actually fit. The minor offset of the holes and tubes coupled with epoxy that may have oozed in made that a necessary step. That whole "solid block" is sounding so much better each time I run into a new obstacle to overcome. It'd also be quite a bit lighter, too.

On to the pictures...

This is just showing the parts dry fitted and the grooves that had to be cut.

[immiketoo]

I love the idea of this as a project, and I can't wait to see it finished. I hear you on the solid block idea. Seems like it would be a lot less work, even if it lacks some of the cool factor.

[shtoink]

It's beginning to look more like my original mockup and is nearing completion. A few minor details here and there and it should be ready.

I'm convinced that the guy at the hardware store had no clue as to what material the tubing was that I purchased as it was claimed to be PVC, but I have never run across PVC that felt this "slippery" and had such a high resistance to adhesives sticking to it. I'm thinking that it's more likely that I ran across something that had Teflon in it.

Either way, it's almost finished, just not without a healthy share of frustrations and snags along the way. While trimming up the edges on the epoxy filling, a tube popped loose and I poked the side of my thumb with the chisel I was using. Fortunately it wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it isn't a real project unless blood was drawn.

Still left to do is a kickstand for the punch holder, cutting slots for securing straps on the right half, sanding, finishing, and securing it its final position inside the case. It's still free floating inside there so adjustments and corrections are still possible along the way.

Now, on with the progress pictures...

[shtoink]

I've been busy cleaning glue the squirted up a couple of the tubes and sanding.

I also figured it'd be an opportune time to take a couple pictures of the punch holder with punches in it. There was a temporary kickstand holding it in that position, but that's about the location I want it to sit while propped up with the kickstand I plan on making for it. I still plan on having it be removable, but that's one of the last hurdles to overcome.

My apologies for the blur. My phone is terrible for picture taking in low lighting and I've been lazy about using the nicer camera.

[immiketoo]

Thats looking really sweet. How many holes do you have in that ?

[billybopp]

This is going to be a really nice piece when you get it done. I love seeing things re-purposed and reused rather than being disposed of.

[MattTheHat]

Cool idea. I haven't read every single post, so maybe it's already been asked, but why not use a sold piece of wood with holes drilled instead of all the tubes?

-Matt

[shtoink]

Cool idea. I haven't read every single post, so maybe it's already been asked, but why not use a sold piece of wood with holes drilled instead of all the tubes?

-Matt

I did state in some of the earlier posts I made that, with hindsight being 20/20, a solid block would have been much better in every possible way.

I thought that a block made from tube sections would have been easier, but I could not have been more wrong about that. Either way, I was already invested in the direction I chose, didn't have a way to cut a block to shape, or even a drill press to bore holes if I did have an appropriately shaped block. Knowing what I know now, I'd have begged or borrowed the required materials and tools to use a solid block.

I cannot stress this enough... Tubes BAD! Solid block GOOD!

(imagine that in the voice of the monster from Young Frankenstein)

Truly a faceplam moment for myself, but you learn more from you mistakes than you do from your successes.

[MattTheHat]

Well, if you don't have the means to deal with a solid block, you kind of have to do what you can deal with. But yes, I could see how they would really complicate things.

Still a very cool idea!

-Matt

[shtoink]

Well, now that I don't have school stuff that requires all of my attention, I have been able to work through my backlog of projects. This case is one of those projects.

I was unable to sleep recently and couldn't stop thinking about how to work that concept of a kickstand to prop the tool block up I really wanted. I kept working on how the block pivots, available room, complexity of the design. This came after talking some of the folks in the chat and realizing that I was trying to make the kickstand far too complicated. All I really needed to have something pivot into position, fit neatly out of the way when not in use, and possibly use magnets to hold its position.

The magnets might not be necessary, but could be a fun addition. I have a couple parts mocked up and started to test fit them. So far, keeping it simple has made a huge difference.

I hope to have a few pictures soon.