Tag Archives: featured
The Backhoe gets a Claw
Millions of years ago, seeds of Petram immobilem var. murus were planted in New England. Since this is a hardy perennial here in Zones 4 & 5 we are blessed with a bumper crop each and every year.
In order to harvest our yearly crop of P. immobilem (Common name: New England wall stone) , I needed to add a grapple to my backhoe which involved a little reverse engineering for the attachment.
Accurate Involute Gears in SolidWorks
While there are a lot of shared 3D CAD models on the internet, sometime you really need to know that the model is accurate. The only sure way to do this it to create it yourself. This post will help you create accurate involute gears in SolidWorks. Continue reading
Atmel AT90USBKey Headers and Squid Cables
I’ve got a little fun project where I need to create a USB HID keyboard device. I searched high and low for an STK526 mezzanine board for my STK500 development platform so I could work with the ATmega32U2 chip. Failing to find one, I purchased an Atmel AT90USBKey. It seems like a decent, inexpensive little development platform except for one thing. Continue reading
TIG Torch Flow Alarm
My TIG welder has a water-cooled torch. Being water-cooled, it is lighter and easier to maneuver than an air-cooled torch because a much smaller water-jacketed welding lead can be used to carry the welding current. The downside is without cooling water flow, the smaller welding lead will overheat and melt the cooling water hose. This can be an expensive problem as I discovered while welding the radiator shroud for my backhoe.
Radiator Mods
Another big fabrication effort was due to the fact that the water pump on the Perkins sat about 2¾” higher than the previous IVECO pump. Luckily, both were on the crank centerline so all that needed to be done was raise the radiator cowling to match the new fan location.
Understanding Crankshaft Counterweights
I’ve been thinking recently about the crankshaft construction on the Hodgson Radial. I’ve never really been happy with the 5-piece construction and I’m thinking of changing it to a 3-piece crank where the crank cheeks (counterweights) are integral with the front and rear crankshaft sections. The main journal would then be clamped by splitting the upper portion of the crank cheek and using a compression bolt to retain the journal.
Garden Shed
I built this garden shed over 3 weekends one November, taking advantage of the Thanksgiving holiday. It was a toss up for my wife whether she most wanted to take her kitchen with her, or this shed, when we moved! I had to promise her to build another just like it at our next house. I haven’t done that yet, but I’m betting she hasn’t forgotten the promise. The shed is based on plans that appeared in The Family Handyman, Jul/Aug 2003. Plans are available online from Readers Digest.
My shed differs from the plans with a larger storage area, and upgraded exterior finishes. Unfortunately I didn’t think to get any pictures of this under construction, which is too bad since it snowed right after I put in the foundation! These photos are from the following summer.