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From: "Jim Wilkins" <muratlanne@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.metalworking
Subject: Re: Outdoor Welding
Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2025 08:07:50 -0400
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In-Reply-To: <10405tk$2o56m$1@dont-email.me>

"Jim Wilkins"  wrote in message news:10405tk$2o56m$1@dont-email.me...

I would have loved to own a Bridgeport or clone like that, but couldn't
justify the cost or space in my garage. The work I've done at home and been
paid for barely covered the cost of the moderate sized machines I have,
instead they gave me full control of building the projects at work and my
ideas at home, the bucket loader, gantry and sawmill etc.

--------------------------------

The common hobby project my machines are too small for is automotive mods, I 
can't turn brake drums or rotors on the 10" lathe or easily machine an 
engine to transmission adapter plate. The mill is barely tall enough to face 
or rebore an air compressor cylinder block. I found that precision reboring 
requires the knee feed, using the quill feed gives a taper as lateral play 
increases with extension. It was a challenge to bore identically spaced and 
parallel bearing holes in the ends of the four foot long lift arms for the 
bucket loader on a mill with a two foot long table. My machines are large 
enough to make special tools, flywheel wrenches for the Ford and Honda and 
parts for lawn and garden equipment.

After replacing the prematurely rust pitted rotors on the Honda I took the 
old ones to a brake shop to be turned, as an experiment, and watched him 
mount them crookedly on his brake lathe. That and a few other incidents like 
loose lug nuts are why I continue to do the work. I keep reminding myself 
that my time under the car is worth $160 an hour.

I asked about prices at a nearby custom automotive shop. If you want a 
decent restoration of a classic just give him $25,000 for a start. There are 
some rat rods around that made me feel better about my welding skill.