Conundrum Curiosity Complex.
How MaCGyver would spend his time after retiring. If Rube Goldberg was just a bit more to the point. If Tim Taylor were less well-equipped, and had spent time in the U.S.M.C. ("adapt & overcome!"). Or maybe just the b@$tard child of all of the above!
This, in a nutshell, is what has become a hobby of its own for myself. It is a mental exercise, in the same sense as when SWMBO & I pause "The Walking Dead" to discuss how WE would handle a dire scenario. With the difference of there being no zombies, and I'm basically trying to "make do" with scrap and/or trash. Most of the time, I find it both entertaining and rewarding, mentally.
There have been a few challenges in this hobby that basically snowballed into existence out of what started as an avalanche called "self reliance". Self reliance -> self educate about various prepping topics -> "What about shaving?... Is there a way to shave without throwing away money (cartridges) every month??" = straight razors etc. -> the current topic of indulging my curiosity*. One such challenge is pacing myself in order to not agitate my wife too severely.
With every year, the words of my father ring louder in my head: "If it's worth doing once, it's worth doing right the first time." I am also never afraid to ask a stupid question or four! I openly admit that I am strange and/or odd. I down right love thinking outside the box! And when one of my hair-brained ideas works out, or proves true a solution, I feel a sense of pride, and sometimes a bit exhilarated. But enough about me!
Many of my obstacles during these endeavors stem from a lack of knowledge of materials, not knowing how to proceed or what technique is needed, or a general lack of funds.
So I have spawned this thread to implore you to assist my mental exercises. I would greatly appreciate any help you can lend me, as I reason & logic my way through a metaphorical labyrinth I generously call "possible solutions". Comments, questions, and criticisms are also welcome (as long as you aren't flagrantly insulting :tu).
Some ideas will be for/shared with razor restoration. Some ideas will not. A couple examples: human powered table saw could get some use during a razor restoration; the dinosaur I am gonna make from "bread factory trench art" is a gift for my wife. IMO, this thread would be best served in "The Workshop", but won't put up a fight if a Mod were to move it.
Also, those of you that get a kick out of my whackadoodle experiments ("Crawler and His ERN", "Brush Uniform Metrics & Measurements System, or B.U.M.M.S."), you may want to outright subscribe to this thread now :D.
I encourage anyone else with likewise curiosities to post them here as well! Let's get brainstorming. This is gonna be fun (preferably no "blasts" stronger than a firecracker...:gth)!
*= No small thanks to "Star Trek", and the way it openly embraced the natural curiosity we have as a species!!!
2 Attachment(s)
Doodle Time! Can't Touch This...
So here is a very rough, first draft, sketch for the concept of the of the drive system. Also, a quick reference key for the "brainstorming level" quality of drawing.
Attachment 230325
Sorry for my handwriting; it was done between machinery jams at work...
The above inventory was assembled from the pics I took & posted here, of the pulley wheels. Took a couple quick measurements tonight. They all seem to have a groove of a half-inch, give or take 1/16th". Also, diameter of the largest is 7".
Attachment 230326
The letters all over it was me attempting to keep track of wheel size stepping up or down :shrug:. It's rough. It's not a complete blueprint. But it does feel better to get some of this clutter out of my brain... sort of.
Got a couple pieces of plywood that I'll spray with clear sealer (for slickness) for the tabletop. Junked pallets for the pusher block on the "mule". I've got an idea for... braces? They would be wood with plastic runners, hold down the workpiece from above, parallel to the blade, anchored off the sides, and adjustable both vertically & laterally. More sketches to come...
As always: question or comments are more than welcome!!
Slightly random, related thoughts.
One website that I dug up some info on...
900mpg : Building an Electric Bike
It really helped with some curiosities I had about RPMs in regards to bicycles. It also explained the math behind it good 'n proper.
Again, I was at work, but I crunched some quick numbers after reading that article. It's entirely possible that I'm wrong, and my wheel diameters were estimates. Based on a bike's wheel RPM at the wheel for 20 mph (a sustainable pace for me on level terrain & light winds), rounded down to 250 RPM, putting in the number of steps (belts), I came to an RPM of over 5,000 at the saw. Again... that's if my slap-dash math was in the neighborhood.
Did some self education on flywheels.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flyw...rial_selection
Which brings me to my next question! Anyone happen to know the "burst velocity" of a regular steel, or carbide toothed circular saw blades (the usual 9-10 inch size)??!? I extremely doubt that I will reach the blade's burst velocity. But when "Tim Taylor-izing" a bicycle to rip through lumber, with little safety precautions beyond common sense, I'd rather be safe than sorry! I wonder how an email posing such a question would be received by the likes of Black and Decker, or Skil? I expect a response full of "...due to patents, etc...".