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Hello all,
Had the time and materials to make a bunch of example badges that I'll be sending out to a builder in the states. Three versions, aluminium, brass and copper with and aluminium surround. All use a bit of resin too.
Anyway, all the best and a Happy New Year - has to be better than the one we're seeing out, huh?
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As usual excellent work. :thumsup:
Happy new year Wal.
Cheers Dean,
Likewise, all the best..! 👍
I predict one very happy customer. Super work Wal.
Kit
As always... somewhat in awe!
You done these before?, worth figuring out a shake & bake test before shipping, though they look superb. You taken up macro photography as a hobby-sideline?
Hi Mike,Quote:
Originally Posted by Doddy
They're a freebie for a guy who I may or may not get to make some 'real' ones for. Only real cost to me is the time, but with Christmas etc. I thought why not - I enjoy making 'em and the pics are useful for a bit of self promotion down the line.
Heh, the macro photography is literally my dad's old loupe which I place in front of the little lens on my ageing HTC phone. A fair bit of distortion, but it gets the idea across..!
A Happy New Year to you.
Wal.
Wal,
Love the close-ups with the loupe, very artistic!
One thing that occurs to me is that many beginners, including me, must be asking the question "What sort of machine do I need to make work like this?" Was it your DIY mill? Obviously it takes more than mere hardware to produce such brilliant results but such info will help beginners get an idea of what can be done with a specific quality of build.
Kit
Hi Kit,
Yeah, the badges were cut on my DIY mini-mill. Nothing exotic (parallel port, analogue drives, TBR supported rails) - I guess the crucial thing is being realistic with feeds and speeds (you'd never make these things at scale using the gear I've got and expect to make any money...) and using sharp tools. I'm pretty sure that these could be made on a bigger router, provided that it's reasonably robust. The cutting forces aren't that great when using conservative feeds and fresh tools - problems usually stem from trying to do things too quick on gear that doesn't like to be pushed. Further to that there's the resin work and the polishing - both take a bit of time and effort to get right but it's not rocket science. Follow the instructions, be patient and take a bit of pride in what you're doing - usually pays off..!
Wal.
Thanks Wal,Quote:
Originally Posted by Wal
I think that kind of information is really useful. It's important to give beginners the right balance of understanding about what is possible on a limited budget and a machine which is clearly not built up to the standard of the best professional products but is still very capable. It's a difficult balance to put people off wasting their money without giving the impression that that you cannot make something usable for less than X,000 quid (dollars, yen, lire as appropriate).
You then need to learn how to drive your creation to the best of it's abilities.
As ever, nice work Wal.
I bought one of those cameras sold for picking your ears - it has a 20mm focal length and illumination https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-In-1-Ea...cAAOSwO0VeJ~E-
It produces reasonable images for £6 - This is inside a harmonica showing a faulty windsaver valve. The end of the valve is 2mm across.
Attachment 29323
The biggest problem is holding it steady enough as the depth of field is very poor. I can't use my dad's loupe as he was an accountant.
Happy New Year FWIW.
Rob
I have the same problem. Mine was an international drug dealer.Quote:
Originally Posted by cropwell
Kit
But I bet the accountant was good at finding loupe-holes?
Stunning work as usual Wal, very nice:yahoo:
I may have asked you before, but old age means I can't remember what I done yesterday so I'll ask again, what type of resin do you use for the infill ? or is it a trade secret:apologetic:
Super nice finished :thumsup:
Have you vacuum resign or just heat gun to get rid off bubbles?
Apologies, haven't been frequenting the forum last few days.
No, not a trade secret at all - I use the RF Bright resins available from either Cookson Gold or Cousins. Two part epoxy with a colourant that gets added to the resin before it gets mixed with the hardener.
It's quite pricey compared to the stuff you buy in gallons, but it's good stuff. I've had the odd issue with resin falling out of small pockets down the line - not quite sure what to make of that, I'm super fastidious when it comes to mixing, cleaning the metal etc. so it's left me scratching my head a bit. I'll put it down to user error, as this is a pro product that otherwise performs really well.
Tom, yep - I use a small blowtorch to flash off the air bubbles - only takes a couple of waves of the flame a couple of inches from the object being filled. Obviously, porous objects like wood need sealing before the resin gets poured, otherwise those bubbles just keep on rising (and what you pour will sink into the wood by a surprisingly large amount).
Wal.