Author Archives: dave49

San Juan River

Posted on August 31, 2018 by dave49

Was at the San Juan yesterday for the first time, did a float trip from Texas Hole to Crusher Hole. That must be the standard route, as there is even a shuttle service to spot the guides’ vehicles and trailers … Continue reading →

Posted in Fishing | 1 Comment

Alaska

Posted on August 28, 2018 by dave49

My family took an Inner Passage cruise. Son-in-Law and I used the Juneau day to go fishing. I did not research what to do ahead of time, we just signed up with the Cruise Line standard. Bear Creek Outfitters and … Continue reading →

Posted in Fishing | Leave a comment

Ball Turning

Posted on July 20, 2018 by dave49

My “standard” bronze frame reel has two surfaces that are cut to a spherical shape, one is the spool retaining screw head (convex) and the other is the waist on the knob (concave; at least, concave motion of the cutter). … Continue reading →

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Tool Post Grinding

Posted on January 2, 2018 by dave49

I have been selling “Ferrule Shrinking Tools” again; they are used by bamboo rod makers to reduce the diameter of a female nickel silver ferrule and improve the fit. Since I have pretty well satisfied the total rodmaker demand for … Continue reading →

Posted in Abrading | 2 Comments

New Band Saw

Posted on December 11, 2017 by dave49

This has been my cutoff saw ever since I started metal working. It is just a handheld bandsaw lashed to a homemade plywood frame. It has been quite satisfactory on flat bar stock and rod stock less than 1.5 inch … Continue reading →

Posted in Cutting | 3 Comments

Using the Ferrule Shrink Tool

Posted on November 25, 2017 by dave49

I have started selling the ferrule shrinking tool again. If you are interested, see my blog page: Ferrule Shrinking My experience with the tool is recorded in two blog posts: Ferrule Shrinking Ferrule Tool Article Recently Chris purchased a tool … Continue reading →

Posted in Ferrules, Forming | Leave a comment

Leo’s Foot Fixtures

Posted on November 11, 2017 by dave49

Below is some correspondence from Leo. When I have needed to make curved surfaces on reel feet, I have used my mill with either a rotary table fixture or a ball end mill. Leo shows how to do the same … Continue reading →

Posted in Fixtures, Foot, Turning, Work Holding | Leave a comment

Ratchet Cutting

Posted on October 21, 2017 by dave49

This blog post records my setup for cutting ratchet teeth. I having been building reels one at a time, so this setup is needed for each reel. The bushing/ratchet blank is held on a mandrel in a 4 jaw chuck … Continue reading →

Posted in Milling, Ratchet/Gear | Leave a comment

Compliance Reduction

Posted on October 17, 2017 by dave49

The problem that I am having with my MiniLathe is that the support of the cutting tool is too compliant. It is really disconcerting when a cut-off blade dives under the workpiece. Chatter is a problem with all types of … Continue reading →

Posted in Fixtures, Turning | 1 Comment

Cutting a Steep Taper

Posted on September 27, 2017 by dave49

I want to make a special brass washer, flat on one side and conical on the other. The stock is 7/16 inch diameter brass, and the cone angle is 60 degrees from parallel to the stock rod axis. It is … Continue reading →

Posted in Turning | 4 Comments