Archive for November, 2006
November 29th, 2006
As you may have noticed, in the past few posts I have been talking about the advent of harder non sulphur based automotive clays because of recent changes to solders used in computer circuitry. This change in direction is extremely important because of the reliance on computer hardware and milling machines in most major OEM studios. With this type of clay you will find that the advantage for the milling machine is the lack of oils that cause major sticking to the cutters being used but what it also means is the added abrasion to the cutting edge.
The bottom line is, the cutters are going to be changed more frequently than before and the cutting feed will have to be that much slower to avoid cutter bounce especially with any cut that is on the deep side. That being said, what does it mean for hand tools that are being used on this hard clay.
During my time using this clay I am finding that the tools are being sharpened more frequently than before and for me the best sharpening medium so far is by DMT®, Diamond Machining Technology.
Previously, before I had diamond stones I use to rely on Swiss files, oil stones and wet and dry paper to produce the edge that I needed. These methods are still valid but as far as being convenient the diamond stone is far less messy. Admittedly you still need to file in the teeth on your steels and rakes, be it more often now but using an oil stone requires oil to prevent the stone from clogging from the filings. With DMT® the steels are sharpened dry and to remove clogging to the fine diamond coating it is a simple case of washing with water and removing the clogged area with a stiff brush.
One of my favorite diamond sharpening stones is a folding file that comes as a single faced or double faced blade called the Diafold®. This is a great little tool for resharpening wire tools, finishers and rakes giving you complete control over the cutting edge when sharpening. The dual colored handle tells exactly the coarseness of the diamond plate with red being fine and blue being coarse. This double sided sharpening system comes in three configurations, making it an easy solution for every day sharpening.
Another small diamond stone that is particularly good on wire tools is the 4″ Machinist Diamond Whetstone® and this has the addition of a solid 1″ of diamonds at the end for an uninterrupted sharpening surface. This four inch blade comes in two grades, coarse and fine.
With the DMT®s lighter weight and smaller size, it will takes up minimal room in your tool box or traveling case which is an important aspect for contract modelers. The weight of both the DuoSharp® and the Diafold® will probably weigh the same as a small oilstone but giving the advantage of sharpening everything from steels to finishers, certainly beneficial when weight consideration is a major factor with the plus factor of no mess from oil.
I myself was quite skeptical about using the diamond stone after so many years using various other methods but I have found that this method tends to be my normal course of action when I need to sharpen my tools. This is a case of grab the stone, sharpen and carry on with the job especially in times when there is a tight schedule.
What is your take on sharpening preferences, do you think this is the best method at present?
November 26th, 2006
The launch of 2007 model year vehicles is upon us and the buzz is about the slew of 30 mpg cars and trucks that are available. The record gas prices of the summer has seen a change of heart for many people and the misconception that certain automotive companies only produce gas guzzlers is about to change. Predictably the Toyota Prius is the most fuel economical vehicle available now touting an impressive 51 mpg on the highway, 5 mpg less than the Honda Insight which ceases production for the 2007 model year.
General Motors has improved its position with numerous vehicles from its Chevrolet brand breaking the 30 mpg threshhold. Vehicles such as the Aveo 37 mpg, Cobalt 34 mpg, HHR 30 mpg, Impala 31 mpg, Malibu 34 mpg and the Monte Carlo 31 mpg all hit that 30 mpg threshhold.
That being said both Honda and Toyota have their thoroughbreds. With Honda, the Accord 34 mpg, Civic 40 mpg, CRV 40 mpg and the Fit new to the market with 38 mpg. Toyota not to be outdone provide you with the Rav4 30 mpg, Matrix 36 mpg, Corolla 41 mpg, Yaris 40 mpg and the Camry 34 mpg.
The one thing that the Asian companies have going for them is their already established hydrid technology which they have in place. This coupled with high gas prices helps them to enjoy record sales at this moment in time. Since General Motors has iced the Impact electric vehicle because of costs in producing each unit their energy has been channeled into Hydrogen fuel cell technology but this technology is still aways off for general transportation.
The saving grace for a company such as General Motors is the choice of vehicle, if Chevrolet is not your taste then there are still brands such as Pontiac, Saturn, SAAB and Buick with fuel efficient vehicles. Let’s take Pontiac for instance, the Solstice with sales outpacing the production quota boasts 31 mpg. Other Pontiacs such as the Vibe 36 mpg, G5 34mpg, G6 33 mpg and the Grand Prix 30 mpg. These vehicles aim for the youth in you bringing a little verve to an otherwise mundane day.
With quality assurance between companies now being negligible the only differentiating statement that can be had is the styling of each individual vehicle. Companies are vying for the consumers attention with innovative design and luxury appointment that would have been non existent on the lower end vehicles of 20 years ago. That being said, the best place to check out what all manufacturers have to offer is to attend an up and coming International Auto Show.
This years LA Auto Show commences for the public from December 1st through December 10th at the Los Angeles Convention Center marking its 100 year anniversary. Those who are fortunate enough to work within the auto industry will be able to attend press days, November 29th through November 30th providing preregistration had been done to obtain ones credentials. This years press days will be opened by General Motors Chairman and CEO Mr. Rick Wagoner on Wednesday November 29th, followed by numerous press conferences throughout Wednesday and Thursday by all major motor manufacturers.
Once the press days is finished, the 10 day public opening will reveal the latest in fuel economical vehicles. Maybe this is the time to check out your next vehicle before putting down your hard earned cash.
November 3rd, 2006
Today I received an email from the webmasters at BlogTopSites, Ahmed and Jacob, as I suspected, due to the popularity of this site it had outgrown the server capabilities and started to create unreliability for its members. The whole system has now been upgraded to allow for the continual growth and optimized to allow additional servers to be added when needed.
As far as I’m concerned it’s great to have the site back on line, the incentive is back to climb up the ranks. Don’t forget to check you’re emails for login reset then you’ll be back in business.
Ahhh! the beauty of being popular!
