posted
I have mentioned occasionally about our equipment that we have made. Here are a few pictures. Let the smart remarks begin!!
This is a hot wire table built out of an old shelled out table saw. I'm sorry I didn't have good lighting for the pics. The old table guide works good for cutting foam into strips or down to a certain size.
Another view showing how we built the wire holder.
A little better view from of the arm and table.
This is the end of the wire holder arm. It is made of wood and inserted into the end of square tubing so that the wire is insulated from the frame work. The wood block has a slot in it so that the wire can be adjusted to be level.
The wire is also attached to a piece of wood underneath the table.
We have a rolling Craftsman battery charger that we use to power this. You attach one clamp to the bottom of the wire under the table and run the other clamp along the arm and clip it on the bolt sticking up, or the eyelet underneath the wood block... it has various settings of volts/amps that will make the wire hotter or cooler, depending on how thick and how fast you want to cut...
One more view of the table. We haven't used it in a few months, and the shop we keep it in still has hurricane damage and gets damp inside. That's why the table has become rusted. I need to brush it down and spray paint it, I guess.
[ December 19, 2006, 04:33 PM: Message edited by: Jon Jantz ]
-------------------- Jon Jantz Snappysign.com jjantz21@gmail.com http://www.allcw.com Posts: 3395 | From: Atmore, AL | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
Also I have a few pics of the lifts some of you have asked about.
Here are several different ones that have gotten built over the years. They all work good and get used on a regular basis.
This the latest one. It has an aluminum platform that can slide out on rails a couple of feet to extend over an object. It is also removable so the lift can be used as a forklift.
A pic with the hoods up. Not very pretty but it works nicely. This one we put dual relays on all the controls to provide a safety mechanism in case one sticks while running a control. On this side you also see the hydraulic pump for the lift and steering and on the other side is the electric drive motor.
A close view of the batteries. The sealed compartment on the bottom houses the chargers, and the chrome nuts you see are actually attached to rods that allow you to push the "Start Charge" buttons on the chargers.
The controls are from an old rail hoist and is on a cable so you can actually be anywhere in the basket or even on the ground.
Just another pic from the side of the machine.
My brother-in-law Chris doing a lift demo. Again, I'm sorry about the quality of the pictures, it was almost starting to rain when I took them.
Chris driving it back to shop, partially extended.
This one is fairly nice because it has 4 wheel steering. You can select 2-wheel, crab or opposite steering mode from in the basket. The mast also has tilt so you can move closer or further away while you're up in the air.
Hey, like I said, it ain't purty, but it werks real good.
-------------------- Jon Jantz Snappysign.com jjantz21@gmail.com http://www.allcw.com Posts: 3395 | From: Atmore, AL | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
These are great Jon. Probably better engineered than an Iranian nuclear weapons facility too. That's some very well thought out stuff there bro.
-------------------- Ricky Jackson Signs Now 614 Russell Parkway Warner Robins, GA (478) 923-7722 signpimp50@hotmail.com
"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Sir Issac Newton Posts: 3528 | From: Warner Robins, GA | Registered: Oct 2004
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Your equipment looks very cool and functional. I doubt worker's health & safty would let us build our own lift... I can onlu imagine the fines if we tried it here!
The hotwire table looks great too! I build a similar setup by tacking components to our welding table when needed. I don't have any room to store a big setup like you have. Same principle though. I also have a hand held loom for doing freeform stuff.
Thanks for sharing the pics!
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Thanks, Jon, you kept your word and posted the hot wire tool. It really looks like it can put out stuff....I would never make smart remarks about that...really nice.
I see that when you make something it's in a big way.
posted
Thank You, Jon.....I just happen to have a defunct table saw in back. Neat lifts too.
-------------------- “Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” -Winnie the Pooh & A.A. Milne
Kelly Thorson Kel-T-Grafix 801 Main St. Holdfast, SK S0G 2H0 ktg@sasktel.net Posts: 5496 | From: Penzance, Saskatchewan | Registered: May 2002
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John that is way cool on both items.. You just gave me an Idea for our old Forklift. The 4 popper propane motor is on its way out. (An older hyster model)
posted
Thanks all... the lift was actually built by one of our workers who builds all kinds of contraptions. He did all the welding. All I did was help 'engineer'(lol) and do some of the wiring, chargers and hydraulics...
Dan, OSHA has been on our jobsites a couple times, and but has not given us too hard a time yet... **fingers crossed**
Next up: I'll show you pictures of a flounder boat he built.
-------------------- Jon Jantz Snappysign.com jjantz21@gmail.com http://www.allcw.com Posts: 3395 | From: Atmore, AL | Registered: Nov 2005
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I can think of several applications for one of them and none of them are interlinked...pretty cool Jon...
-------------------- Frank Magoo, Magoo's-Las Vegas; fmagoo@netzero.com "the only easy day was yesterday" Posts: 2365 | From: Las Vegas, Nv. | Registered: Jun 2003
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