This project took me about a week. I used 16g square steel tubing for the frame, and 1/8 thick steel for the tabletop. In total the table is about 200 pounds. I accidentally warped the table top during welding but was able to grind it down a little to make it relatively smooth again. All in all I feel like I learned a lot about what to do and what not to do. This table will definitely serve me well in the years to come.
I’ve never welded before, but I am tired of the wobbly table the lathe is on, and I want to try my hand at making a better one. To start though I am going to make a welding table, both to get some experience and to have a good surface to weld on for future projects.
After some minimal spine damage I decided that yes, maybe I should make the backpack lighter, so here we are. I’m making a new frame from some square dowels and thin basswood. It’s sooo much lighter than the last one. Less than one pound I’d guess.
I put together a simple PVC reservoir and a couple pumps, as well as a small microcontroller board for some rudimentary temperature control. That and a fancy new backpacking frame and we’re ready to rock! Oh, final weight? About 22lb. Yeah- this will definitely not work in the long term. As far as performance goes, it’s very good at keeping you as cool as you want to be, assuming you are properly insulated from the outside weather. Since this unit is for cosplaying, that should be no trouble, since costumes that necessitate cooling are thoroughly insulating. Battery life is about 3-4 hours.
Well, I’ve mocked up a frame for the backpack and it’s clear this is going to be a real monster. It’s fine because I’ll lighten the whole thing later. Looks good so far though. For safety I’m going to use a LiFePO4 battery since they don’t turn into a fireball when things go wrong like LiPo’s do.
A couple years ago I started a project for a Microclimate Backpack, essentially a wearable cooling vest powered by a reservoir of icewater. It worked but was uncomfortable and the wearer risked hypothermia. I found a company online, RigidHvac, that manufactures all-in-one refrigeration units. These only weigh about 10lb or so and can be battery powered. I’d like to convert this into a wearable backpack as a proof-of-concept.
Now that I’ve gotten the basics of lathe work (HAH) I’ve machined a pair of low voltage feedthroughs using copper for the conductor, PTFE for the insulator, and aluminum for the KF flange (threads are bad for high vacuum). Hopefully this will work and be a lot less leaky than the last ones.
I’ve been interested in machining and metalworking since childhood but with the exception of a REALLY old and unusable lathe I ran across in high school, I’ve never actually used any machine tools. That all changes now. I have just received a brand new Grizzly G0602, and will be putting this thing to work making proper high vacuum fittings ASAP- Once I figure out how to use it…
I found a local eBay seller with a well-used 10″x12″ bell jar, and I had to buy it. I have so much more room for activities now! Also, I’m no longer at risk of the salad bowl shattering. I honestly have no idea how close that thing was to giving out considering it was under at least a thousand pounds of stress when under vacuum.
I purchased a tungsten boat for metal evaporation and used some aluminum wire to try my hand at thermal evaporation in my high vacuum chamber. It works! I got a mirror finish on my first try.
