Shop Talk

If parts that don't quite fit are grinding you down, author Bob Fritz has a solution: Use a lathe to create a smooth finish on a precisely proportioned piece. While hes at it, hell demonstrate two ways to use the machines calipers to measure necessary offsets.

Columnist Jim Weir offers his annual awards for the best products or services seen at Oshkosh/AirVenture 2007.

In his continuing series, author Bob Fritz discusses the ins and outs of threads including how to avoid seizing, types of threads, sizing, drilling holes, using a tap-drill chart, and matching fastener dimensions.

In an ongoing attempt to update his shop and make it more energy efficient, Jim Weir puts together a winning compressor-generator combo to run the lights and whatever else needs juice.

This milling project offers home machinists a great way to get the feel of their equipment and gives them a plug protector for their in-cockpit iPaq as well; by Bob Fritz.

This article covers what you should have learned in your high school shop class, but didn't, and more. It discusses safety glasses, proper treatment of chisels, gloves, jewelry, shop coats, hand tools, urban myths, safe shoes, hardware, biomechanics, capturing wayward chips, machinery placement in the shop, air-powered tools, cleanup, pneumatic cutting tools, and other common sense advice; by Bob Fritz.

Author Jim Weir explains his preparation for the installation of an energy-efficient power system for a hangar or building shed-all on a shoestring budget. He explains how to choose equipment, calculate power needs, the right light fixtures, power generation, equipment suppliers and prices, and the basic legality of such systems;

Paying attention to the working environment and maintaining machining tools in tip-top shape can yield a more polished finished product, while also making the fabrication process easier.

Exhaust systems do more than just get air into and out of aircraft engines. Exhaust system design, in terms of exhaust pipe length, diameter and tuning, affect the efficiency and performance of the engine, for better or worse.

In Part 3 of this series about building an aircraft strobe, the author beefs up the project using off-the-shelf parts to provide a brighter, more frequent flash without running down the planes electrical system.