Q: What did Tarzan say when he saw the elephants coming over the hill?

A: Here come the elephants.

Q: What did Tarzan say when he saw the elephants coming over the hill wearing sunglasses?

A: Nothing.  He didn't recognize them.

I tried two things in the shop this morning.  First I used a chop saw metal cutting wheel, kind of like a large Dremel cut-off disc.  That worked, but it was slow, generated a lot of heat, and the aluminum turned sort of "sticky", leaving a cut that would require a lot of cleanup before use.  Second I used a 200 tooth plywood blade.  That worked great, easily made the cut, good feed rate, not a lot of heat, and edges just need a little touch up to use (possibly none once there's a proper fixture in place to hold the rod during the cut).  Looks like I've got a solution, thanks for the help guys!

    -- Carl

Thanks for the input guys!  Eric's "the crappy blade you already have" suggestion has the right price-point for experimentation.  This weekend I'll try making smaller pieces of aluminum out of bigger pieces of aluminum and let you know how it goes.

    -- Carl

Hmmm, good point about where the shavings go.  See, that's the value of a forum discussion: we eliminate a bunch of potential disasters so that the one that eventually occurs is totally unexpected, and thus more entertaining...   

I've been off pricing aluminum blades and they're a couple hundred dollars!  I was just getting used to hundred dollar blades for wood.  Blade suggestions anyone?

    -- Carl

John: good suggestion on stabilizing the rod for cutting, I'll give it a try.

Kerry: I'm definitely thinking table saw, and thanks for pointing out the collateral heat-damage potential, I wouldn't have thought of that until I smelled smoke!   

Since Eric spent all that time getting the forum moved, the least I can do is ask a question to help "test" it!     

I need to make a few hundred cuts in 1/4" aluminum rod.  The ends won't be visible in the finished product, so finish is not critical, but they need to be clean enough to fit into 1/4" holes.  For prototyping I am using a hacksaw and cleaning up the ends with a belt sander, but need something more streamlined for production.  Suggestions?

    -- Carl

Yeah, I'm in the same Bobbing Bobcat boat.  I seem to do a little better with sound on than off, but not good enough to get into a lower category.  The background reminds me of a football field.  Those sheep they keep faking me out, I think some of them should be called for being offside.  Is there any medication that helps with premature tranquilization?

    -- Carl

Check your reaction time with this game:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sleep/sheep/reaction_version5.swf

Here's a good one:

    http://www.neatorama.com/2008/12/13/puzzle-game-toilet-paper-dispenser/

After all, where do you do some of your best thinking?

What lacquer finish do you guys like (gloss, satin, flat) and why?

    -- Carl

Thanks for the tip Kerry, fixed up my drill press this weekend.  I used a metal caliper, but am not sure I would do it again.  I'm pretty sure they make calipers out of the same stuff as armor plating, took me two hours to figure out how to drill two 3/16" holes!

Pics:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/cmorris32839/3068757106/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/cmorris32839/3068757224/


    -- Carl

Link to interesting wooden gears:

    http://www.stevengarrison.com/id5.html

Found this in the Make blog today:

    http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/11/trigears_3d_printed_puzzl.html

It's a geared puzzle that was printed with a 3D printer.

I'm sure many of you have had a pile of sawdust to dispose of at some time or another.  Here's an interesting way to get rid of it quickly:

    http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=42933

John,

I'd like to give this puzzle a try, how do I get queued up for it?

    -- Carl