* GadgetBuilder.com * © 2008-2018 John Moran
Last Modified:
April 2010 Group Picture
There are hobby machinist groups scattered around the USA including a small HSM group in Connecticut. Our CTHSM group is congenial and freewheeling:
no rules, no dues, just people getting together to learn new techniques plus share thoughts on machining and other topics that arise. Meetings are held in
member shops, nominally on the second Sunday of the month at 2pm. Anyone interested in attending a meeting please contact me
(via the link below on this page)for more info and travel directions.
The February 10th meeting was at my shop in Newtown, CT. There was a short presentation on lathe bit sharpening and the angles involved.
This is a tool for safely winding or un-winding clock springs. It uses a sturdy ratchet and pawl mechanism to ensure the spring doesn't unwind inadvertently. The pawl can be switched to handle clockwise or anti-clockwise wound springs. The bottom bar is held in a vise while winding springs.
At lower left is a pendulum made from two domed brass pieces silver soldered together and filled with lead. At lower right is the form used to dome the brass pieces; at center is the tool used hold the brass piece against the form using pressure from the tailstock. At upper right is a practice piece used to learn about metal spinning, the lesson being to make each pass extend the full diameter of the part - it wasn't possible to finish the outer section as a final operation.
Below are the tools used to apply pressure to the work for spinning the brass into a dome. The handles are 1" diameter.
This attachment for Frank's ornamental turning lathe produces the 4 loop pattern shown. Lots of variations to the pattern are possible with the adjustments on the attachment.
The March 10th meeting will be at Frank's shop in Plainville.
As usual, bring items for demonstration and/or discussion. Plus items for the sale/swap/free table.
Home shop machining is often a solitary hobby, as are most hobbies now according to "Bowling Alone".
The CTHSM group is an attempt to get area HSM's to know one another and thus make our hobby a little less solitary.
The much larger NEMES HSM group is 2-3 hours away so we share some members and occasionally have visitors from that group.
The CTHSM group has been meeting since November 2008, mostly on the 2nd Sunday of the month at 2pm, but we deviate from this with some regularity. The January meeting is not held since Cabin Fever conflicts, February has seen a couple meetings cancelled due to weather, the May meeting is on the 3rd Sunday to avoid a conflict with Mother's Day, and we don't meet in July because many members are on vacation. Over time our meeting schedule has become predictably irregular...
This page was last modified .
If you have a comment on my site or its
contents, click here scroll down and
click again.
Pictures from our unusual "Music Machine Meetings"
.jpg)
