Worked on the base today. DeltaCad to the rescue. I took it all apart and spent 1.5 hours with my mic and caliper measuring and laying out for SIX freekin' holes. But they have to be close to perfect to line up everything and cut down on friction. This is the result:
I printed it out to scale and lined up the parts just to make sure:
Time for the base itself. 6" x 3-1/4"--roughly. Stock was too long for my 4x6 bandsaw so a little enjunearing was needed:
Squaring everything up. Saw this trick of using 1-2-3 blocks to support parts too big for the vise:
Flycut, dykem, scribed, then drilling:
Polished the base with some wet-dry on the surface-plate. The mirror finish looks better on film than up close. There are still lots of scratches--some from my heavy-handed scribing.
Looks good don't it?
I need to make a burner. Nothing handy--I scrounged everywhere around the house. It's almost done. I couldn't resist--I had to try something. So I got one of my wife's alcohol room-freshener lamps. It's the size of a grapefruit and way too unwieldy to get the flame close enough. BUT...it did show signs of life once. I was stoked...And now it smells nice too.
Then while talking to my brother on the phone--he suggested a butane lighter--like for starting
up the fireplace. Well, I just happened to have one handy...AND GUESS WHAT? It's a RUNNER!!!
Absolutely amazing. I cannot be happier. Click below for video:
SAAAAA-WEEEEEETTTTT! It's gonna be so much better with a real burner and some polishing here and there!