I'm glad to see this thread

[kevin45]

I think this is the first Forum of all that I have been to, that addresses the problems of working with disabilities.

After having 10 failed surgeries on my left shoulder (5 total replacements, 4 revisions, and 1 scraping) I can no longer raise my left arm or crank a handle. When I was working, I modified my Bridgeport with the drop down on and off lever, and I made an extension for the brake. At that time I could raise my arm partially up.

When I took S.S.Disability and rolled my 401K over, I kept out enough to my a mill which is a belt speed Lagun. I have it right now on a rotary phase converter, but I am going to have to fit it with a VFD as I cannot change the speeds without help from my wife. It gets very frustrating at times when I can't do something by myself, but it also puts the mind to working on how to overcome some obstacles.

My BIL had an industrial accident when he was young and a piece came out of a lathe and hit him in the head. It took him a year just to learn to be able to speak again, but left him with a paralyzed left arm and also a bad limp. It affected him to the point that he gave up on a lot of things.

I haven't read every thread in this section yet, but I am looking forward to reading how some have overcome their obstacles. The biggest thing is to never give up. Although I get frustrated, I'll walk away and think about it a little while and I can usually come up with a solution. I do have to say though that my wife is a Godsend. She understands my frustrations and is not afraid to jump in and help me no matter how dirty a job might be.

 

[GailInNM]

Kevin35,
Welcome to HMEM.

HMEM's purpose is to help all of us to help each other to build model engines. This section is to help those of us who have special problems doing so.

Thanks for sharing the hint about stools in another thread. Every bit helps.
VFD conversions are popular on HMEM so if you have any problems or questions there is plenty of help available on the forum. If you don't find the inormation already posted then ask. You will be sure to at get some answers or at least some opinions.

Gail in NM

 

[Tin Falcon]

Kevin : Glad to help. when you get a chance post an introduction in the welcome area tel us a bit more about yourself your shop and your interests in model engine building. and we can give a proper welcome.

Tin

 

[aarggh]

I always think it's very inspiring when people such as yourself don't let any form of handicap stand in the way of life and having a good crack at stuff Kevin. Good on ya mate and welcome to the forums! Looking forward to seeing your work.

cheers, Ian

 

[goldstar31]

May I also comment and wish you and the rest of the disabled members here- more success!
I'm a few days off being 83, a bit forgetful and have problems with right hand which is getting worse with arthritis and stenosing tenosynovitis and- oh, yes, being a carer for a disabled wife.

Frankly, my problems are few in comparison with others who quite bluntly are being treated like third class animals here in the UK.

So Kevin- be thankful that you have someone who understands and helps and that you have found a forum which offers encouragement .

 

[MachineTom]

Welcome Kevin. Your idea of a VFD is the right one, set up with remote controls at the knee should give all the speed, direction, On/Off you need. I'd suggest a power drawbar as loosening the drawbar without the brake could be frustrating

I have photos on my install in this section.

 

[kevin45]

Welcome Kevin. Your idea of a VFD is the right one, set up with remote controls at the knee should give all the speed, direction, On/Off you need. I'd suggest a power drawbar as loosening the drawbar without the brake could be frustrating

I have photos on my install in this section.

I'd like to have a power drawbar. At work I had one on my Bridgeport. I had to mount it on the R.H. side though as I couldn't raise my left arm high enough for it mounted on that side. With the Lagun though, I am lucky in that the brake will lock when you push it back. You have to rotate the handle for the brake and then there is a vee on the handle that locks into teeth on the head. The big problem with that is that I forget to unlock it almost every time.

I will be looking to put a VFD on it though. The mill itself is real quiet, but the Rotary Phase Converter is setting on a sheetmetal cabinet, so it magnifies the noise of the RPC. That will be one of my summer projects as soon as I get a little bit of coin saved up. I'm slowly trying to get things situated on my garage, and get some much needed items to do some work.

One thing I need to start doing is taking a little time and go to the scrapyard and get some materials. One gets spoiled real easy when you work at a shop that the scrap they throw away is way more than one has at home. I also need to buy a few pieces of tooling, to replace what was stolen from me when I was off work for surgery. Once my disability went through and I was no longer going to be working, I went to the shop and picked up my toolbox. I got it home and went to get something, and found out I had a lot of pieces of equipment missing. Some precision tools that I had for years, then I found that I was missing toolholders, knurling tools, 12" scales, and on and on. I think it was close to 40 items I had missing. I sent an e-mail to my ex-boss and was basically lied to about my box being in a secure area where no one could get into it. There were a couple of coworkers who always bragged about being able to pick locks, so I have a fairly good idea who got my stuff.

I was slowly getting over the fact that I was stolen from, then yesterday, I went to get my Norton stone out of it's box, and lo and behold, someone replaced their POS stone with mine. I always took great care of my tools and the stone I pulled out was nicked and chipped everywhere.

I'll slowly get things where I want them and slowly get my tools replaced, then I have the rest of my life to machine things when I feel up to it. woohoo1

 

[MachineTom]

Sorry, to hear of your stuff being stolen. It always hurts more when its people you know.

Keep your eyes open on ebay for a Kurt Automatic drawbar, that model has buttons that control the powerhead, So they can be mounted wherever you want, 4 small air lines. No need to reach above your head. There are import versions of that power drawbar, I've no idea of quality though.

 

[goldstar31]

Back to a more constructive approach to disability- which if we are lucky- we will experience!

Happily there is now a guy on the Unimat site that seems capable of writing his approach to CNC on small machines in 'Simple English'