Thread: 1930 Ford Model A Roadster - Slow WIP

Originally Posted by crowie

G'Day Steve,
Now that Yonnee's on to your project, may I make a suggestion please.
Could between the two of you sort out an ebonising processes thread for posting in the "Toymaking" "Best of the Best" similar to Bret's "Wheel Making" thread which was posted earlier, thank you.
I realise it'd be a little extra work but Steve you've done such a lot of work sussing it all out, it'd be great to see it recorded on the forum.
Cheers, crowie

I'm sure I could find time to do that, if it's going to be useful.
I'll leave it up to Yonnee to sing out if he thinks it's a good idea.

I was already planning to post the results of my tests in this thread, when I get a chance.
I've got about 8-10 samples I've tested, along with Jim's method for making the solution and my method of making the ebonising powder, both of which I've already described, but only properly in this thread.

Well I can tell you that redgum goes black as the ace of spades.
And Qld Maple goes motled.

Originally Posted by _fly_

Well I can tell you that redgum goes black as the ace of spades.
And Qld Maple goes motled.

Since Redgum, Jarrah and Blackbutt all ebonise well, all eucalypts might darken easily.
A pity they're so hard to work, though, especially Red Gum, with a hardness of about 11.
I think Jarrah and Blackbutt are nearer 8 or 9, but still hard.

Originally Posted by Hermit

I'm sure I could find time to do that, if it's going to be useful.
I'll leave it up to Yonnee to sing out if he thinks it's a good idea.

I was already planning to post the results of my tests in this thread, when I get a chance.
I've got about 8-10 samples I've tested, along with Jim's method for making the solution and my method of making the ebonising powder, both of which I've already described, but only properly in this thread.

Start a new thread just for the ebonising, I'll slot it into the Library and put some links in this thread too.

Originally Posted by Yonnee

Start a new thread just for the ebonising, I'll slot it into the Library and put some links in this thread too.

No worries.
I'll put something together over the next day or two, then start the thread.

I fell asleep on the couch earlier for a few hours, so I'm making a late night of it now and have the rim production line in full swing. I've already patted myself on the back for taking the time to make the jigs a couple of weeks ago. It's making it easy now.

Edit: Boy, machinery must hate me. After the bandsaw and Dremel MultiMax hassles, my vacuum cleaner blew up in a cloud of smoke the other day, from overwork on the spindle sander etc. I went to Godfreys for a new one, but while there bought a 2nd hand one instead, a trade-in I think, for $30. A cheap Pirhana bagless 2400W.
It just died too. Won't switch on. No smoke or anything, so it's probably an electronic fault. No more work tonight. I'll have to pull it apart tomorrow and see what's going on. Often, the triac fails in these things. The speed control on my last one died years ago, so I wired the motor direct from the switch, rather than bother repairing it. Hopefully I can get away with the same again. I only need 2 speeds - off and on.

Originally Posted by Hermit

I fell asleep on the couch earlier for a few hours, so I'm making a late night of it now and have the rim production line in full swing. I've already patted myself on the back for taking the time to make the jigs a couple of weeks ago. It's making it easy now.

Edit: Boy, machinery must hate me. After the bandsaw and Dremel MultiMax hassles, my vacuum cleaner blew up in a cloud of smoke the other day, from overwork on the spindle sander etc. I went to Godfreys for a new one, but while there bought a 2nd hand one instead, a trade-in I think, for $30. A cheap Pirhana bagless 2400W.
It just died too. Won't switch on. No smoke or anything, so it's probably an electronic fault. No more work tonight. I'll have to pull it apart tomorrow and see what's going on. Often, the triac fails in these things. The speed control on my last one died years ago, so I wired the motor direct from the switch, rather than bother repairing it. Hopefully I can get away with the same again. I only need 2 speeds - off and on.

You're a jack of all trades Steve, I love it; a bloke who repairs & makes things work rather than just dump & buy new..
You might need to make yourself a mini cyclonic dust collector to protect your vacuum cleaners from any dust carry over.
Cheers, crowie

I made one and it works well. Now I need to get a mate who sells ducted to get me a LONG LONG hose.

Originally Posted by crowie

You're a jack of all trades Steve, I love it; a bloke who repairs & makes things work rather than just dump & buy new..

Jack of all trades, master of none?
Actually, for a change, I'm qualified for this. I spent much of my working life doing electronic design and repairs.

You might need to make yourself a mini cyclonic dust collector to protect your vacuum cleaners from any dust carry over.
Cheers, crowie

Good idea, I should do that, although this vac does have a pretty good HEPA filter. (It's a cyclonic vac.)
Dust wasn't the cause of the problem. I just got it going again. It was a dead triac. Luckily, I had a 16A one here.
The cause was bad design - too small a heatsink on the triac, allowing it to overheat if run for too long. Pretty common. It'll happen again, too, unless I can fit a bigger heatsink or get some air flowing past it.

Originally Posted by _fly_

I made one and it works well. Now I need to get a mate who sells ducted to get me a LONG LONG hose.

I was lucky, the new vac's hose connects straight to the old one, so now I have double the length.
I can't use the large dust extractor for the spindle sander or belt/disc sander, they provide too much restriction, so a household vac works best.

I started the ebonising thread, Yonnee. It's called https://www.woodworkforums.com/f201/e...basics-154691/ .
It was a little rushed, so please let me know if I've forgotten anything.

I finally got back on track today and finished the outside of the rims, to 45.0mm dia. I still need to take a fraction more off the inside of most of them, but will do that after drilling the spoke holes. The ID will be 40.0mm, making the rim thickness 2.5mm.
Attachment 215777

Also just finished cutting out the rough blanks for the tyres. In the end I decided to use Jarrah instead of Blackbutt. (It ebonises well and is already just the right thickness.)
I cut the insides with a holesaw, (still need reaming out a few mm), but to get the higher tyre profile I didn't have a holesaw large enough for the outsides, so I'll have to round them on one of my jigs with the Dremel and a sanding drum. Slower, but I'll get there.
Attachment 215778

Just don't mess up that beaut new bench.....lol

Originally Posted by crowie

Just don't mess up that beaut new bench.....lol

Ha. No, I'm being gentle with her for the moment. At least until the poly has had a couple of days to set rock hard.
For now I'm putting paper under everything sharp, but that won't continue for long. It is supposedly a sacrificial top, though I'm not looking forward to replacing it and will look after it to prolong it's life. A hardwood top would have been nice, but too many $$$.