Comments by "SeanBZA" (@SeanBZA) on "Machine Thinking" channel.

  1. You had me subscribe right when you made that worm gear!
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  2. Even just a canvas cloth ( old pair of jeans material) will work well there, and as a bonus just keep it oiled, with a blend of engine oil and a little wax, and it provides a bed lube and rust protection at the same time.
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  3. I found with plastic carbide inserts work really well, just have to use them as brand new for plastic, and then later on you can use them for anything else. Works well with PTFE, which needs that really sharp edge to get any sort of stability in the part. Same for drilling it, brand new cobalt steel bits are perfect, later on you still get good results on steel, though I found that 316 stainless I just budget one drill bit per hole hand held, especially using HSS ones. Work hardening on stainless can be a real PITA, especially if you are doing repairs and cannot detemper the part.
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  4. With aluminium I did use drain cleaner ( sodium hydroxide) to get a thick oxide film, and to strip off worn colour coats. Then just a wash in weak organic acid ( I used ascorbic acid as I could get it in a pure form) to grow a new thick oxide layer. Never did a dye on it, but I suppose I could use Azo dye with it as well during the acid wash stage.
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  5. Just how traceable is that 5kg tensioning masspiece. Has it been verified against any of the standard kilograms, which are obsolete, but which are very small due to their density. I have some masspieces that are traceable to it with only a few steps. Verified against a balance, that was in turn verified by a replica masspiece, which in turn was referenced against one of the prototype kilogram units that were sent all over the world. 1g, to the milligram though you can measure the mass change that occurs due to corrosion from the atmosphere, and the tiny mass lost due to handling.
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