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Ep. 19: From Hot to Not: The Rise and Fall of Heat Shrink Holders
94 Plays2 days ago
Join Curt and Jamie as they discuss their week, including topics such as the 2-day work week, heat shrink holders, click mechanisms, and journaling.
Links Discussed:
The Lone Machinist:
- Website: https://thelonemachinists.com/
- Merch: https://www.jspeceng.com/online-store
- Patreon: https://patreon.com/TheLoneMachinists
Jamie:
Curt:
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Morning Catch-Up
00:00:49
jspec_engineering
How's Kurt? How are you doing this morning?
00:00:50
Curt
I'm doing fantastic, Jamie. how are you doing this evening?
00:00:54
jspec_engineering
I'm doing well. I had a productive day.
00:00:58
Curt
Awesome. Making
Grinder Setup and Troubleshooting
00:01:00
Curt
a...
00:01:00
jspec_engineering
Yeah, I'm making all sorts. But I got the grinder running somewhat reliably. um ChatGPT and I had a bit of an argument about what I wanted to do.
00:01:13
jspec_engineering
But eventually, I got it figured out. The problem is I've got, I was lazy and I've only got one switch. So I've got two magnets on the grinder, switch in the middle.
00:01:19
Curt
Right.
00:01:21
jspec_engineering
When it over travels, when it triggers the read switch, it needs to change direction.
00:01:25
Curt
Right.
00:01:26
jspec_engineering
But it's overshot the switch. So then it triggers it and then rams itself off the end.
00:01:29
Curt
Oh, I see. Okay. Yeah.
00:01:30
jspec_engineering
So yeah.
00:01:30
Curt
Oh. Okay.
00:01:32
jspec_engineering
had to get the logic in there. Yeah, that it would ignore it would only trigger on every on the odd numbers.
00:01:38
Curt
oh
00:01:39
jspec_engineering
So it would trigger the reverse slow down reverse, go past it, then when it hits the other limits, and then every now and again, it would freak out.
00:01:44
Curt
okay
00:01:45
jspec_engineering
But yeah, got that working because I was busy grinding more, more anchor point pads, because some smart illiterate left half a millimeter on them.
00:01:53
Curt
on
00:01:54
jspec_engineering
So yeah.
00:01:54
Curt
On your grinder, why do you have a big C-clamp on it? Like, I noticed you have some Allen-keyed bolts.
00:01:58
jspec_engineering
Oh, that? Yes.
00:01:59
Curt
Like...
00:02:00
jspec_engineering
So the C-clamp is to hold the dressing, the little dressing stick.
00:02:03
Curt
Oh, gotcha. Okay, okay.
00:02:05
jspec_engineering
Because I haven't made a thing to hold it, so I just clamped it to the side. It was one of the first things I did was grind a flat on it so I could hold it in a vase, and now the flat is against the the fixture.
00:02:14
Curt
Okay, because was looking, like, it looks like the fixture's bolted down, but I'm like, is the clamp just for mass or like, what's going on here?
00:02:16
jspec_engineering
yeah
00:02:19
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:02:19
Curt
i'm like, I'll bug him about it. So.
00:02:21
jspec_engineering
Yeah. Yeah, no, I'm just being lazy. I need to just knock something up quickly on the mill and then that'll be fixed.
Efficiency and Precision in Machining
00:02:28
jspec_engineering
But as I'm going to finish the pads that I'm busy with now, and then that grinder is going to get left alone until I need it for the next batch.
00:02:34
Curt
Nice.
00:02:35
jspec_engineering
like And the next batch, I'm going to leave comma one in total to be ground off.
00:02:39
Curt
So you don't have to spend 19 years grinding.
00:02:41
jspec_engineering
So I can touch it, clean it.
00:02:41
Curt
Yeah. Yeah.
00:02:44
jspec_engineering
Yeah, like it's literally taking me like 15 minutes to grind those parts at this point. And it should be like a two or three minute job. So but we live and we learn, like improvements for next batch.
00:02:54
Curt
Yeah, exactly.
00:02:55
jspec_engineering
So yeah, that's constant improvements.
00:02:58
Curt
Yeah, that's the name of the game.
00:03:00
jspec_engineering
But yeah, I got that all running. I'm going to need to put all the electronics in a box. I kicked the one wire and broke all the wires off from my little Arduino.
00:03:07
Curt
Sick.
00:03:09
jspec_engineering
So I need to actually put it in an enclosure because right now it's still plugged into my laptop.
00:03:12
Curt
Sick.
00:03:13
jspec_engineering
That's how the controller is getting power. So I need to neaten that up just a little bit. And then I'm thinking of buying a mag chuck, even though I don't need one for what that grinder is for. But yeah, I'll just pick one up and then I can use it for odds and ends when not grinding anchor points.
00:03:28
Curt
Right, yeah. ah Grinders are always useful, so.
00:03:31
jspec_engineering
No.
00:03:31
Curt
Nice.
00:03:32
jspec_engineering
Oh, no, super useful. Just not having a magnet makes it a lot less useful.
00:03:35
Curt
Yeah, I suppose you then you're manually making every single fixture for, yeah, that's tedious.
00:03:38
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:03:41
jspec_engineering
Yeah, and for the anchor point, it's fine. Like, I've got a fixture for it.
00:03:44
Curt
Right.
00:03:44
jspec_engineering
But I think I'm gonna buy even i think I'm just gonna buy small magnets, like 150 by 70.
00:03:49
Curt
Mm-hmm.
Challenges in Screw Production
00:03:50
jspec_engineering
So quite small, but enough for odds and ends that I needed for.
00:03:53
Curt
Right, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that makes sense.
00:03:56
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:03:57
Curt
Sick.
00:03:58
jspec_engineering
Yeah, and ah yeah I was watching your stories this week, I saw you were making screws.
00:04:06
Curt
Oh man, those stupid screws are just going to be the death. I mean, there's no reason, like I don't have to make them right now. So it's actually not that big a deal. Um, but I've, I've wasted hundreds and hundreds dollars in tools because it's a problem is like, you don't really know until you're like, okay, well I think this tool path will work better.
00:04:16
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:04:21
Curt
And I've talked to you, like, I've talked to a ton of people running Kearns.
00:04:22
jspec_engineering
yeah
00:04:24
Curt
that's the cool thing about like Instagram and the instant machinist community is like, everybody's willing to chime in and, uh, So some people have been super helpful and been like, hey, you know, you might have this issue.
00:04:32
jspec_engineering
yeah
00:04:33
Curt
you might be having this issue. you might be having this issue. And some people that have machine screws are like, oh, yeah this is what you should do. This isn't what you should do. And so I basically tried everything that everyone suggested. And my ah yeah my initial my initial toolpath is still is still the best one, but it still blows up after like almost exactly 11, 12 tools.
00:04:48
jspec_engineering
You still.
00:04:52
jspec_engineering
Oh, OK.
00:04:52
Curt
It blows up, which is technically fine.
00:04:56
jspec_engineering
Yeah, that's a bit annoying.
00:04:57
Curt
Yeah, it's super annoying, but it's like, it's still cost effective in my land, but like, that's just tedious to blow up a tool every, you know, 12 parts.
00:05:00
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:05:04
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:05:06
Curt
It's just like, I don't want to constantly, and with the heat shrink, it's super annoying because like, it's not just a quick swap. and I mean, it is a quick swap of tools because I have two of them, but like, yeah, it's just, uh, I don't want to be cycling that.
00:05:15
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:05:18
Curt
if Yeah.
00:05:18
jspec_engineering
That's not ideal.
00:05:18
Curt
So I will figure it out. Um, but, uh,
00:05:22
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:05:22
Curt
Thankfully, I have enough screws now that I don't have to think about it for like another month or so. So I'll just keep kicking that can down the road. Yeah, exactly.
00:05:29
jspec_engineering
For a little while.
00:05:30
Curt
Yeah, pour some money into it.
00:05:30
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:05:32
Curt
And then once I kind of get.
00:05:34
jspec_engineering
Yeah, technically. Yeah.
00:05:37
Curt
Yeah, so.
00:05:39
jspec_engineering
Technically correct is the best kind of correct, but technically.
00:05:42
Curt
Yeah.
00:05:43
jspec_engineering
It's the only time that technically is nice.
00:05:45
Curt
Well, and the thing is like, I.
00:05:46
jspec_engineering
It's technically correct. um Yeah, and you're saying you had like a 10th of runouts on those?
00:05:51
Curt
Yeah, like I cooked, I mean, the one tool holder, like I cooked the shit out of it trying to get like tools in and out. So that one I was like, you know what? I probably, I like, I might've tweaked this one, but I had a brand new one I hadn't touched yet.
00:05:57
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:06:00
Curt
So I just warmed it up enough to get a tool in. That's always super easy. um And then I immediately put it in the machine or not immediately, let it cool down.
00:06:04
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:06:06
Curt
Then I put it in the machine and yeah, it' I'm seeing like a 10th of run out, which in the grand scheme of things, a 10th is super tiny and it's a hundred millimeter stick out tool. So it's it's got a long gauge length, but a 10th on like a, on a shrink tool.
00:06:17
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:06:18
Curt
I'm like, well, I could,
00:06:21
jspec_engineering
And when your chip load is a tenth, that's a problem.
00:06:23
Curt
Ooh, you're robot mode right now.
00:06:27
jspec_engineering
Oh, fun.
00:06:27
Curt
Oh, yeah. You sound 100% like a robot.
00:06:30
jspec_engineering
Am I still robot mode?
00:06:30
Curt
You're 100% like a robot right now. maybe not tell Maybe not to other people.
00:06:34
jspec_engineering
Oh, no.
00:06:35
Curt
ah I don't know.
00:06:38
jspec_engineering
It shouldn't be to other people, but this is a bit annoying. I'm trying what to do here.
00:06:42
Curt
yeah
00:06:45
jspec_engineering
Okay.
00:06:46
Curt
All right.
00:06:47
jspec_engineering
Okay, Mr. Roboto is back. um
00:06:50
Curt
You guys might not have experienced it.
00:06:51
jspec_engineering
I forgot what were talking about now.
00:06:52
Curt
ah Well, they might not have experienced it.
00:06:54
jspec_engineering
Yeah, you guys might might have been flying. It probably will be because it's recording on my side.
00:06:56
Curt
Yeah.
00:06:58
Curt
Right.
00:06:59
jspec_engineering
What are we talking about when I went full robot mode?
00:07:01
Curt
The heat shrink holders and them not being very...
00:07:02
jspec_engineering
Oh, yes. when ah Yeah, when a tenth of runouts is a problem when your shipload is a tenth.
00:07:07
Curt
Yeah, well, like the chip load on some of those tools is like, it's not even, it's what, what it would be? 30 millions? Like it's it's one step below a 10th yet, which is insane.
00:07:15
jspec_engineering
Yeah, so yeah.
00:07:15
Curt
Like that's so tiny. That's lower than the machine's going to be positionally accurate, which brings a whole host of other issues. But like, yeah, just like, ah no.
00:07:22
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:07:23
Curt
No.
00:07:24
jspec_engineering
Well, you should be should be close to that, actually, because ah zero. Sorry, we're doing imperializer things here. 002. Oh, no, no. 0,0001.
00:07:35
jspec_engineering
andon zero comma zerora zero zero one Yeah, that's three microns is a tenth.
00:07:42
Curt
yeah
00:07:43
jspec_engineering
So a third of that is basically on the limit of what the machine's alleged accuracy is.
00:07:47
Curt
Right, yeah. so like And you're moving just
Tool Holder Preferences and Cost-Effectiveness
00:07:50
Curt
super, super, super tiny amounts.
00:07:50
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:07:53
jspec_engineering
Super small amounts, here
00:07:53
Curt
so I'm just like... I'll figure it out. I'm not i not too concerned yet, but there's a lot of other things I can still try.
00:07:58
jspec_engineering
yeah.
00:08:01
jspec_engineering
Yeah. Yeah, you sent me that link to those Hydro holders, and I'd seen them a few years ago.
00:08:05
Curt
Yeah.
00:08:08
jspec_engineering
They look really interesting.
00:08:09
Curt
Yeah, for... ah for
00:08:10
jspec_engineering
Like I'd seen them and I totally forgot that they existed like but that
00:08:13
Curt
Yeah, for people that are listening, they're called like eco, what the hell they called? Eco something. I should pull it up. I should have been more prepared.
00:08:20
jspec_engineering
I will make sure there is a link.
00:08:21
Curt
Yeah, we'll put a link in the... There we go. um And therere they're little yeah ah ER adapters that go on to...
00:08:23
jspec_engineering
It's fine. Yeah. Link.
00:08:25
Curt
Well, they go into any ER call it. And they go down to ER 16, which is really cool. And they convert it to a hydraulic. But the thing I wanted them for is not only do they convert them to a hydraulic, they convert them to a hydraulic with screws that you can adjust for run out.
00:08:32
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:08:39
Curt
So that you can tighten them up. And then if you have a 10th run out on one side, you can just tweak them. And then you have the the center board tweaked. um So it should repeat every time then.
00:08:46
jspec_engineering
Yeah, it's
00:08:47
Curt
So... The satellite...
00:08:51
jspec_engineering
Yeah, it looks like a really, really sweet system.
00:08:53
Curt
Yeah, I don't know what the price is. I mean, I think they were listed in, they're not from here. I forgot where they're from. um It was a currency I wasn't ah can or familiar with. I don't think they're cheap.
00:09:04
Curt
And they only go down to 6 millimeters. So I basically contacted them to see if they'll leave it sleeve it down to like a 3 millimeter like a 1 eighth, because that's most of my tooling.
00:09:09
jspec_engineering
Ooh.
00:09:14
Curt
But we'll see.
00:09:14
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:09:16
Curt
We shall see.
00:09:18
jspec_engineering
You can always put a ER8 extension into that and then adjust your tool.
00:09:25
Curt
i said
00:09:26
jspec_engineering
good I mean, it's an option.
00:09:27
Curt
It is an option. You're right. Like if I can adjust it, it's just, yeah, it's like a chuck and a chuck and a chuck and a chuck.
00:09:31
jspec_engineering
a stupid option, but an option.
00:09:36
jspec_engineering
Yeah, 100%. Well, you don't need rigidity. The tool's tiny.
00:09:40
Curt
Yeah. You're kind of right. Honestly, like, yeah, rigidity is not my, I mean, it could be my holdback, but it's not
00:09:42
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
Drone Machining Collaboration
00:09:46
Curt
in this case.
00:09:46
jspec_engineering
It's not the limiting factor.
00:09:46
Curt
Yeah. In this case is just, yeah.
00:09:49
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:09:50
Curt
So yeah.
00:09:51
jspec_engineering
Yeah, I don't think that's your limiting factor.
00:09:53
Curt
Yeah.
00:09:54
jspec_engineering
So yeah, you made a bunch of, you made some, some more of your screws. I was making screws this morning. It was great fun.
00:10:01
Curt
Yeah, yeah saw I saw those coming off a little Emco.
00:10:03
jspec_engineering
For someone who does, yeah, for Dave, who doesn't listen to the podcast. We're chatting today and he was asking how the podcast is going. It's one of my mates. We used to fish together a lot, but then he got a job and now all of a sudden doesn't have time to go fishing.
00:10:16
jspec_engineering
Kind of ridiculous.
00:10:16
Curt
Boo.
00:10:18
jspec_engineering
So yeah, we were catching up today. been made I was making all the drone bits and pieces for him, for his his new craft that he's building. So we made all the parts for his previous craft.
00:10:29
jspec_engineering
We're actually discussing this today and there's something I meant to tell him about it. ah But he was saying he, before he started the previous venture, we built this really awesome craft, really good range, really good flight time, all weather, like really good thermal package on the um the drone.
00:10:46
jspec_engineering
He built, before he built it, he did his research. He spoke to all the local guys. They're like, no, we're looking for something to replace DGR because, well, DGR, DGR. um And everyone everyone was like, yeah, no, your price point's good. Yeah, no, no, we're keen, we're keen. Build it, we'll buy it.
00:11:00
jspec_engineering
He built it and then couldn't sell it because all the guys are like, oh no, but you're a one-man band. What happens if you get hit by bus? Now this product has no support.
00:11:06
Curt
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:11:07
jspec_engineering
And he couldn't grow because he couldn't sell the print he couldn't grow to have staff and build that redundancy and because he couldn't sell the craft.
00:11:18
jspec_engineering
So he ended up in like a catch 22 situation. So now he's building another crafter. He's like South Africa can go suck the hole. He's buying overseas and going to sell it somewhere else. else He's going to go to the UK and sell the craft there. So he's busy assembling this thing, but it's it's tiny.
00:11:34
jspec_engineering
He made the heatsink bigger because it looked tiny against the against the battery pack. So he made it bigger.
00:11:40
Curt
and
00:11:41
jspec_engineering
Doesn't need the space. He just made it bigger so it look less dumb.
00:11:43
Curt
right yeah yeah that more but doubled up like that they look good i like the look of them they look pretty
00:11:44
jspec_engineering
But yeah, that's what I was machining. was machining that last night on the first ever Mooring Point pallet.
00:11:53
jspec_engineering
Yeah, I need to, I'm waiting for my ball marks to come in so that I can actually make a proper linking plate with really, really tight balls for getting the alignment.
00:12:02
Curt
okay
00:12:03
jspec_engineering
Because turns out that 20 microns of clearance means by the time you're on the second anchor point, you're a way off.
00:12:09
Curt
Oh, okay.
00:12:10
jspec_engineering
You're like a good two thou off. um Because I probed the the but the pin on the first one, then I probed the pin on the second one, and they're 70 microns off in X.
00:12:22
Curt
Oh, okay. Okay.
00:12:24
jspec_engineering
And I didn't feel like fixing it So they are what they are for now.
00:12:27
Curt
I see.
00:12:28
jspec_engineering
They're each on their own coordinate for now. But yeah, I'll make another fixture and when I need to make more of those.
00:12:30
Curt
Oh, and I see when you put your palette on, it tweaks, and then that's your tooth out, essentially.
00:12:33
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:12:36
Curt
of I gotcha. I gotcha.
00:12:37
jspec_engineering
Yeah. Essentially, because I made a linking plate with in theory tight balls, but I'm having a bit of trouble measuring. My inside mark decided it was 40 microns off. So it got yeeted straight into the bin.
00:12:50
jspec_engineering
I'm using a snap gauge or a ball gauge and ah outside mark to measure them which I can get repeatable measurements on, but it's very much by feel. So I picked up two inside marks, three point inside marks, are eight to 10 and a 14 to 17.
00:13:05
jspec_engineering
fourteen to seventeen for doing the anchor points so that I can accurately measure bores because that has become a little bit of a ah challenge.
00:13:12
Curt
Yeah, it seems like your world's starting to revolve yeah around that.
00:13:14
jspec_engineering
So then I can go. Yeah, around those stupid measurements. um So I'll make a new link plate and then I'll just loosen up the anchor points, slap the link plates on, tighten it down, clock the link or clock the link plate, tighten it down.
00:13:28
jspec_engineering
And then there we go, sorted back right within the tolerance range we're looking for.
00:13:29
Curt
Gotcha.
00:13:32
Curt
Nice.
00:13:33
jspec_engineering
But for now, it works. Yeah, we'll see how it ah how it handles making the the bodies of the anchor points two at a time, because I think there'll be a significant increase in rigidity.
00:13:43
Curt
ando Are you going to like?
00:13:45
jspec_engineering
Yeah, the shunk guys actually phoned me today.
00:13:47
Curt
Oh, yeah.
00:13:48
jspec_engineering
They're like, hey, did you have a look at those tool holders that we sent you quotes on? I'm like, yes, I did. i need to come visit you so i can convince you to bring one in for me. So when I give you money, you can just give it to me. I don't have to wait three days.
00:13:59
Curt
Right.
00:13:59
jspec_engineering
um So I'll go visit them and be nice, show them the anchor point, convince them to bring it in for me because PayPal is doing the PayPal thing.
00:14:09
Curt
Ah, yeah. Yeah, that is, that can be tedious.
00:14:12
jspec_engineering
Yes. Tedious. Yeah, especially when I wasn't expecting it. But anyway, it is what it is.
Shipping and Export Logistics
00:14:18
jspec_engineering
Anchor points shipped this afternoon. Try to ship them last week. But since we had a two day work week last week, Monday's public holiday was a public holiday for Freedom Day.
00:14:24
Curt
Oh.
00:14:30
jspec_engineering
Then Thursday was the first of May, which a public holiday. So basically the entire country took Friday off. My friend put in leave on his leave form. He wrote there because everyone else took the day off.
00:14:40
Curt
Hmm.
00:14:41
jspec_engineering
He was going to be the only person at work. So he was kind of forced to take the leave. Um, so like the, the shipping agent were closed on Friday.
00:14:48
Curt
Hmm.
00:14:48
jspec_engineering
They put out a thing, they closed Thursday, Friday. So then I try to book shipments on Friday. And when I put in, uh, an address in California for someone who listens to the podcast, um, hello, EJ.
00:15:01
jspec_engineering
Um, I try to put in this address. I put in the, the name, the number, the street name and the car city. And it auto populates, says, oh, cool, California selected it.
00:15:13
jspec_engineering
Then it wouldn't give me any option except the economy shipping. Messaged them this morning, eventually got an answer back at like 11 o'clock because they were inundated this morning because now everyone's troubleshooting.
00:15:23
Curt
Right, right.
00:15:26
jspec_engineering
um they're like oh no just type in California and it'll give you the options instead of CA typed in California there we go options done booked four shipments out with FedEx this morning got another two leaving tomorrow and then that's all the anchor points well the first six of the anchor points out the door yeah and then i might need to hold back another two of them to put two mooring points on my machine
00:15:40
Curt
Nice. That's awesome. Yay.
00:15:49
Curt
Oh, I see. Okay. Just to speed up production or...
00:15:53
jspec_engineering
Because I got, oh, no, I've got a job that's going to use the whole span of my machine.
00:15:57
Curt
Ah, I see.
00:15:58
jspec_engineering
um I need to go through a big-ass Tufnel job. So then I'll make a palette that spans both of them, that I can drop it in and out as needed.
00:16:07
Curt
Oh, cool. Yeah.
00:16:09
jspec_engineering
Because i can't reach the I can't reach the table, so I'm kind of screwed.
00:16:11
Curt
Right.
00:16:13
jspec_engineering
I've got to make a riser of some sorts, so I'll see what's going to be the best option there.
00:16:15
Curt
Yeah.
00:16:18
Curt
Yeah. I guess you either take all the anchor points off, bolt the riser on machine, the riser, or just put two more anchor points on it and be done with it. Yeah. I see that.
00:16:25
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:16:25
Curt
I see that. That makes sense.
00:16:27
jspec_engineering
So i'll probably I'll probably throw another two anchor points on on a mooring. I'll probably make two mooring points, two more mooring points, um throw one of them on for now, and then plan to put a second one on down the line closer so that I can span them with my vases.
00:16:42
Curt
Right.
00:16:43
jspec_engineering
That way I can have my vases on a harbor pallet with four anchor points below it, so it's a little bit rigid. Because that's the thing, like it's never going to be as rigid as bolting a vase to the table.
00:16:53
Curt
Right. Yeah, of course. Yeah. yeah
00:16:54
jspec_engineering
Never ever. Like, I know this. But it'll probably be rigid enough for 95% of what I need to do.
00:16:59
Curt
Right. Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
00:17:02
jspec_engineering
Yeah. Yeah, we're having a discussion today on how to achieve accuracy on a water-jetted pot. Because... The guy had samples at a couple different vendors so we can see where we need to put the bores to push drill bushes into, what kind of tolerance or range we need.
00:17:19
Curt
Right.
00:17:20
jspec_engineering
So we're trying to figure out how to measure this. like, dude, just get in your car and come visit me. We'll throw it in the LK, drop the probe in, a manual probe, but we can touch, touch, touch, do a... um
Machining Accuracy and Supplier Challenges
00:17:32
jspec_engineering
Effectively measure the ball, take notes of the location of the center, measure another ball, and we can figure out what their linearity is like on their machine.
00:17:40
Curt
right
00:17:41
jspec_engineering
Because I don't know how accurate that's going to be. Either that or we make a drilling jig that there's a bunch of holes that we pin to two holes, and then everything is established from that point forward.
00:17:54
jspec_engineering
ah where we make a really as accurate as we can master and then try and keep the temperature controlled, although they're not trying to hold, like they'll be happy if it's within 50 microns.
00:18:04
Curt
I say 50 is still tight for ah a water jet parts, but she was sizable.
00:18:04
jspec_engineering
But that's 50 microns over a long distance.
00:18:10
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:18:14
jspec_engineering
Yeah, considering the...
00:18:18
jspec_engineering
Yeah. Yeah. So the issue there is the samples, like he sent out samples to two people. The drill bush fits in the one and doesn't fit in the other, and the difference is comma one five on the feature.
00:18:30
Curt
Hmm.
00:18:31
jspec_engineering
Like, yeah, the one's got, he reckons the one, it looks almost like the wall is curved, like not tapered, but curved.
00:18:43
jspec_engineering
So like yeah, that's probably the they're using a five-axis head and it's not properly calibrated.
00:18:48
Curt
Right. Yeah.
00:18:49
jspec_engineering
or it's not properly set up for the material they're cutting.
00:18:52
Curt
Right.
00:18:53
jspec_engineering
So yeah sending things out to other people is a problem.
00:18:55
Curt
Yeah. Yeah.
00:18:58
jspec_engineering
I don't like sending things out. Like, I hate it. Because every time it's just problems.
00:19:03
Curt
yeah Yeah. No, ah get that world. Yep.
00:19:07
jspec_engineering
That's why we vertically integrate everything.
00:19:08
Curt
I know you end up doing everything and then you're hosed.
00:19:10
jspec_engineering
But yeah, so yeah, that's
00:19:12
Curt
Yep.
00:19:13
jspec_engineering
Yeah, that's a problem. Like, now we're making pins and all sorts of fun stuff because suppliers are useless.
00:19:21
jspec_engineering
Yeah, I actually need to go pick up more pins because I only have enough for the current batch of anchor points.
00:19:26
Curt
Cool.
00:19:28
jspec_engineering
Which hopefully will be out of stock soon. So I can justify doing another batch.
00:19:32
Curt
Nice. Yeah.
00:19:33
jspec_engineering
I think as soon as these first ones hit, we're going to we'll get a bit of a spark.
00:19:36
Curt
Yeah, exactly, once people get in their hands and able to test it and see.
00:19:39
jspec_engineering
Because once people realize that they're actually being delivered, um they will they'll hopefully place some orders.
00:19:39
Curt
yeah
00:19:43
Curt
Yeah.
00:19:47
jspec_engineering
Because there are only another seven available in this batch.
00:19:50
Curt
Gotcha.
00:19:50
jspec_engineering
ah well I thought there would be eight, but there's seven. I scrapped one of the pads when we were making them. So there's only seven pads. So when those are done, that is this batch finished.
00:19:57
Curt
OK.
00:20:01
jspec_engineering
And then we're on to the next batch. Waiting on tool holders and bits and bobs in the interim.
00:20:04
Curt
Nice.
00:20:07
jspec_engineering
Yeah. So I ordered a few more.
00:20:09
Curt
Yeah, I see that. How many did you order?
00:20:12
jspec_engineering
Yeah. I ordered another 10. and Actually, how many did I order? I think ordered another, it's either 10 or 12 that ordered because having a, currently I have 27 tools outside the machine and 16 in the machine.
00:20:25
Curt
Right. That's a lot of toe holders.
00:20:28
jspec_engineering
That's going to go up to least, that's going to go up to at least 37 outside the machine and 16 in the machine at any given time.
00:20:34
Curt
Okay, so all the profits for anything you've made now have gone into holders.
00:20:40
jspec_engineering
$25 a tool holder, so no.
00:20:41
Curt
Oh, that's that's insane. That's so... Oh,
00:20:46
jspec_engineering
China, number one. you got i only get that price if I order 10 at a time, but those are the ones I've been running since I put the BT30 spindle in the Slowio.
00:20:49
Curt
okay.
00:20:56
Curt
Wow. That is a...
00:20:59
jspec_engineering
Yeah, I ordered 10 of them. Like they okay, so mar my heavy roughing tools, anything like that that gets a good quality holder. But my six millimeter animals, let's face it, if that thing gets to 50%, I'm still welding.
00:21:11
Curt
Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:21:12
jspec_engineering
Like, if it gets to 50, it doesn't need a super rigid, magical healing holder. And these things run out good enough that it's never been an issue. So like all my thread mills live in a holder in three, four, five, six, eight, 10, they all dedicated to a holder and they've never come out of their holders.
00:21:23
Curt
me
00:21:30
jspec_engineering
Same thing with all my standard drills. They live in their holders. When I need to run the job, I put the thing in, type in the tool number, and it's already set up in the machine. ah Today, I was setting tools up to run steel. I want to now set up a set of dedicated steel tools that I'm not stuffing around when I need to switch to steel. I
Tool Cost Management and Purchases from China
00:21:48
jspec_engineering
just load the tools. I'm not having to break down my core tools to be able to be able to run again.
00:21:55
jspec_engineering
Because yeah that gets that gets old, breaking down your core tools. Like I had to break down tool number five, my rougher, to put in my tool 405, my steel rougher.
00:21:59
Curt
Right.
00:22:03
Curt
Right. Yeah, no.
00:22:05
jspec_engineering
Yeah, so that was getting old.
00:22:06
Curt
I get that. I know. I took one of those shrinks and I just put a thread mill into it because I'm like, I don't need two of these shrink holders.
00:22:09
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:22:12
Curt
like, you know what?
00:22:12
jspec_engineering
Yes.
00:22:12
Curt
My thread mills last a thousand million years. so I'm like, I'll put one in here then I have to think about it. And same thing. I never have to like, because I needed one more tool for a drill. Same thing. I don't want it's easy to swap a drill out, but I'm like, I don't want to like swap.
00:22:23
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:22:24
Curt
I'd rather swap just the tool holder. And yeah, exactly.
00:22:26
jspec_engineering
You don't want to.
00:22:26
Curt
Why? So, although I did take it,
00:22:28
jspec_engineering
Yeah. That's what tool tags are for.
00:22:30
Curt
And that's why I took a page out of your book and I went to the magical land of cheap and bought myself some of those DC holders.
00:22:33
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:22:37
Curt
um But even then, yeah, those are, they're 50 bucks a pop plus a $20 call it.
00:22:39
jspec_engineering
I'm very curious to see how those work.
00:22:43
Curt
as so I mean, they're very cheap, but like they're not $25 cheap. Nice.
00:22:47
jspec_engineering
Yeah. listen Well, I've heard about collets, but I buy collets from the 3D printing place locally.
00:22:55
Curt
nice
00:22:57
jspec_engineering
Because for drills, they they sell in half millimeter increments. So for all my drills, I buy from there because then it's right on diameter.
00:23:04
Curt
Nice.
00:23:06
jspec_engineering
It's not like you're going from a 10 down to a 9.5. You're going a 9.5 to a 9.5. So it's a little bit... Although, who knows how concentric they are. They are literally still in the China box when they arrive here.
00:23:19
jspec_engineering
But any of the... Unless you like yeah unless you're buying from one of the really high end places and specifying that you want rego or a shunk a brand name call it you're getting a china call it from any of the places like they'll charge you rego price but give you china call it yeah yeah it's a you can buy expensive things but uh if cheap ones work especially for holding drills like i can't see it being that much better
00:23:31
Curt
Right, yeah, yeah.
00:23:38
Curt
Yeah, that's a bummer.
00:23:45
Curt
Yeah, yeah, no, exactly. Well,
00:23:49
Curt
I know, I'm super curious to see how these how these DC holders work. um I mean, if they if they repeat well, that's great. If they don't, like you said, i'll just throw drills into them, whatever, not a big deal.
00:23:55
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:23:58
Curt
um But...
00:23:59
jspec_engineering
Yeah, but drills are things you don't really care about into them.
00:24:01
Curt
Totally, and I also bought...
00:24:03
jspec_engineering
Because I'm now Yeah.
00:24:04
Curt
Oh, go ahead.
00:24:07
jspec_engineering
ah So I've now changed the way that I'm doing the blank palettes and the anchor point bodies. They now run with where comp in my machine. I'm not one for where comp, but it's magical.
00:24:15
Curt
Oh, okay. It's wonderful, isn't it?
00:24:19
jspec_engineering
So I actually heard something. Yeah, I heard something on a podcast. do You make all your toolpaths except your finishing toolpath, like for reboring a ball.
00:24:25
Curt
Yep.
00:24:26
jspec_engineering
ah Everything else, else make it optional. I just need to actually go read what the block delete function, how it actually works on the Siemens because I haven't played with it.
00:24:32
Curt
Mm-mm. Mm-mm.
00:24:34
jspec_engineering
ah Then you literally hit block delete on. It just runs your bore and then it's done. so i need to I need to just look at that. um But yeah, I'm running everything now that I can dial in that fit at the machine. I don't have to post code and post code.
00:24:49
jspec_engineering
And then I need to order purple PETG because all the anchor point tags are going to be purple for the tools dedicated to that.
00:24:53
Curt
Oh, smart. Yeah. Nice.
00:24:56
jspec_engineering
Yeah, then they're all purple tools. Purple tools go in the machine. I run anchor points. Purple tools come out the machine.
00:25:00
Curt
nice
00:25:01
jspec_engineering
And then I'll just dedicate... a Because the machine's holding amazingly tight tolerance because, again, cutting aluminum, so tools don't wear out. um Once I dial in the tolerance on the bores for the pallets, it holds it perfectly.
00:25:15
jspec_engineering
I machined 50 pallets on Sunday last week, Sunday night. Didn't have an issue. Held tolerance perfectly. It's just dialing it in and then keeping there.
00:25:23
Curt
Right. Right, yeah, yeah.
00:25:25
jspec_engineering
So, yeah. Going to get my processes dialed for that now.
00:25:29
Curt
Cool. Yeah, that's the way.
00:25:31
jspec_engineering
But, yeah. know, you were... Yeah, I am.
00:25:34
Curt
i know, speaking of the... ah
00:25:36
jspec_engineering
Yeah. Okay.
00:25:36
Curt
I said, speaking of the inexpensive tooling, I also tried a like when I was ordering those DC collets, I'm like, you know what? I'm going order just a gang of inexpensive end mills too. Cause I'm breaking them left, right and center.
00:25:47
Curt
I'm like, I wonder how, if the cheap ones are going to break left, right and center. So I ordered everything from like, I think about a $7, like they're all about 0.3 millimeter end mill.
00:25:50
jspec_engineering
yeah
00:25:57
Curt
So kind of tiny. Um, Everything from ones that are like seven bucks up to like, I don't know, 20 ish bucks, just order like a whole suite of them.
00:25:59
jspec_engineering
ah
00:26:04
Curt
So I'm curious to see ah how those perform.
00:26:04
jspec_engineering
Okay.
00:26:07
jspec_engineering
See how they work, yeah.
00:26:07
Curt
Yeah. Cause I mean, if we'll see.
00:26:09
jspec_engineering
Well, I was running a 2mm end mill, 22mm stick out. So it's a reduced neck, 22mm depth of cut for doing fins in injection molds.
00:26:16
Curt
Hmm.
00:26:21
Curt
Hmm.
00:26:22
jspec_engineering
That's what they're actually for. And those were a couple dollars in end mill.
00:26:25
Curt
yeah
00:26:26
jspec_engineering
I bought two or three of the one and offs the 2s and the 3s. I ran that thing. I was boring on the side of a round pot, boring 3mm bores.
00:26:36
Curt
Yeah.
00:26:37
jspec_engineering
Worked beautifully.
00:26:37
Curt
Nice.
00:26:38
jspec_engineering
Like, yeah, I've got a bunch. All my threadmills are straight out of China.
00:26:41
Curt
Mm.
00:26:43
jspec_engineering
Because what I can get for, hang on, imperializer time, what I can get from China, excluding shipping, um for $13, locally the guys want, last time I got a price on an threadmill, wanted $140. literally the price, yeah.
00:27:00
Curt
Ooh.
00:27:01
jspec_engineering
so literally ten x the cross yeah
00:27:02
Curt
Yeah.
00:27:04
jspec_engineering
because it's fancy and expensive and not common because yeah, we all run bridge ports here.
00:27:08
Curt
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. yeah how That makes a big difference.
00:27:13
jspec_engineering
But I now need to buy M2 threadmills for the drone for the drone heatsink so that I don't have to tap them by hand because M2 by hand is flipping terrifying.
00:27:20
Curt
Right. Yeah.
00:27:23
Curt
Yeah. Yeah. A little scary, especially on a finished part. Yeah.
00:27:26
jspec_engineering
Yeah. yeah, and I wasn't going to rigid tap it. That's, I think, a bit fucking stupid. I'm going to rigid tap 1000 M1.6s in brass.
00:27:35
Curt
Oh yeah. Brass. No deal.
00:27:36
jspec_engineering
But aluminium, aluminium scares me, because it galls and then yeah shit goes south very, very quickly.
00:27:36
Curt
Yeah. Yeah.
00:27:41
Curt
Yeah. Now, you could you could probably form tap it pretty easily.
00:27:44
jspec_engineering
So, picking...
00:27:46
Curt
Like form rigid tap and
00:27:49
jspec_engineering
Yeah, I've never form tapped anything.
00:27:50
Curt
it. I started form tapping titanium when I was breaking titanium taps left, right, and center.
00:27:54
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:27:55
Curt
And it works remarkably well. It's just the thread isn't super pretty. But i mean, it's a strong thread because it like it's work hardening the threads that's making it. um And the tools are really robust.
00:28:04
jspec_engineering
yeah because i've been rigid tapping i've been rigid tapping m12 i rigid tapped uh yeah like a hundred uh 50 something holes over the last week doing the all i've got a program set up for making blank pallets including tool 48 which is tap
00:28:09
Curt
Okay, yeah. Big boy stuff. Yeah.
00:28:16
Curt
Hmm.
00:28:23
jspec_engineering
tap And it just, yeah, don't go deeper than 25 mils and it's fine.
00:28:26
Curt
Hmm.
00:28:26
jspec_engineering
You go deeper than that, it starts to get stuck.
00:28:28
Curt
Hmm.
00:28:29
jspec_engineering
And then you've got to loosen the vase, jog the machine up and then turn your pallets off your spindle. It's less than ideal. Had to do that once. And then after that, it ran fine.
00:28:39
Curt
Nice.
Packaging Strategies and Export Challenges
00:28:40
jspec_engineering
that job we Yeah, I got a frigging stack of pallets. It's great. I have a stack of pallets and I don't think I have enough because people are buying pallets for some reason.
00:28:46
Curt
Oh, I mean.
00:28:50
jspec_engineering
Apparently they're cheap.
00:28:50
Curt
Yeah, yeah, they're really cheap.
00:28:54
jspec_engineering
Yeah, need to actually revise how many can be purchased with an anchor point to keep it as one box. But yeah, and how many can be purchased on their own?
00:29:03
Curt
Nice.
00:29:04
jspec_engineering
Because I think that number might need to go down just a little bit.
00:29:06
Curt
No, whatever. People can still order two two boxes and it's probably still cheaper than buying it where they're from.
00:29:10
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:29:13
jspec_engineering
Well, I hope Danik updated the website because someone bought one and they got a free pallet because they're packed in boxes of two.
00:29:17
Curt
Oh, nice.
00:29:19
jspec_engineering
So was like, screw this shit, free pallets.
00:29:20
Curt
Oh, that's...
00:29:21
jspec_engineering
I could not be bothered to pack one in a box. Like, complimentary pallets.
00:29:25
Curt
Oh, be a nice little surprise for them.
00:29:28
jspec_engineering
Yeah, like I draw, I'm not really unpacking shit. And then Danica made thank you cards for the boxes.
00:29:34
Curt
Aww.
00:29:35
jspec_engineering
But she personalized them.
00:29:36
Curt
Aww.
00:29:37
jspec_engineering
And she showed me this at some point. I'm like, okay, cool, please unpersonalize it. And then she reprinted them personalized still. And I put the wrong one in the wrong box. So I had to cut the box open.
00:29:46
Curt
Yeah.
00:29:48
jspec_engineering
And then I realized I forgot to pack the pallets in the box. So I had to cut the box open again.
00:29:52
Curt
yeah
00:29:54
jspec_engineering
um i was like, let's just make it generic because the the potential upside is way lower than the potential downside.
00:30:00
Curt
Yeah.
00:30:01
jspec_engineering
Because if you get a box and it's got your name in it, awesome.
00:30:04
Curt
Yeah.
00:30:05
jspec_engineering
If you get a box or some other decades name in it, you're going to be upset.
00:30:06
Curt
yeah yeah
00:30:08
jspec_engineering
So like, take the names off. Like it's cool, but take the names off.
00:30:12
Curt
yeah
00:30:13
jspec_engineering
So she did that.
00:30:13
Curt
I know i I personalize all my boxes and it is super tedious.
00:30:15
jspec_engineering
Okay.
00:30:18
Curt
Like, I don't know why I started doing it, but I mean, for the price I'm charging, it's it's fine.
00:30:20
jspec_engineering
yeah
00:30:22
Curt
it's It's workable. I have a system now, but it's just like, oh man, like if you ever mess this up, it's a big mess up.
00:30:23
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:30:28
Curt
because Someone's going to be like, hey, my name's not Dave. And you're like, oh no.
00:30:32
jspec_engineering
Yeah, exactly.
00:30:32
Curt
Yeah, it's
00:30:34
jspec_engineering
Yeah, no, that's the thing. Like the potential downside is way higher than the potential upside, like way, way higher.
00:30:37
Curt
totally. Yeah. Yeah. Yep.
00:30:40
jspec_engineering
So I was like, nope. too risky, take it out. um But yeah, we got the packaging pretty sorted, got the gun tape dispenser working, got the shipping agent kind of sorted out now, not excited to get that bill.
00:30:52
Curt
isn
00:30:52
jspec_engineering
um But yeah, at least so paid for by the sales of the anchor points, it's not the end of the world. But yeah. that I've now made friends with the FedEx driver. I know how he wants the stuff when he pitches up, so it's sweet.
00:31:04
Curt
nice
00:31:06
jspec_engineering
He pitches up, everything's all, he's going to bring me envelopes tomorrow that I can literally put the paperwork in the envelope, slap it on the box that it's ready to go, that he doesn't have to do, he needs to do as little as possible when he gets here.
00:31:13
Curt
yeah yep that is the way
00:31:19
jspec_engineering
Try and make his life easier.
00:31:20
Curt
Oh, totally. Try not to lose packages.
00:31:21
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:31:22
Curt
Yeah, um I do the exact same thing.
00:31:22
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:31:24
Curt
I'm like, how do you want it? DHL wants it a specific way. FedEx wants it a specific way.
00:31:27
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:31:28
Curt
UPS, they're all different. so
00:31:31
jspec_engineering
Yeah, so I've found out what FedEx want from me, and that is how they will get it.
00:31:36
Curt
Yeah.
00:31:37
jspec_engineering
With all the required paperwork and a pretty picture of me because it needs to go with my ID because I don't have exporter's code yet. That is something I need to jump on top of Danica with tomorrow. She was meant to make paperwork for me because i need affidavits or some cuck.
00:31:51
jspec_engineering
So I sent her the email she needs to sort out the paperwork for me, then I'll phone the bean counter and shout at him until I get exporter's code because I can't actually export the next batch until I have exporter's code. because you can only export a certain amount on your ID number in South Africa.
00:32:10
jspec_engineering
And we are rapidly approaching that number.
00:32:11
Curt
Yeah.
00:32:14
jspec_engineering
it looks like my tunnel accounts name will move to Danica Peacock.
00:32:16
Curt
Yeah. and cycle through names until you get it sorted Yeah.
00:32:18
jspec_engineering
Because, yeah, 100% different fucking family members keep exporting things.
00:32:23
Curt
yeah
00:32:24
jspec_engineering
I've got I've got a customer offered to let me use the exporter code um if I get stuck. Because they during COVID, they started making the hand sanitizer things and were shipping them ah sheping somewhere weird, somewhere in Africa.
00:32:33
Curt
oh
00:32:39
jspec_engineering
ah i printed a bunch of money with that.
00:32:40
Curt
Wow. Yeah.
00:32:43
jspec_engineering
Yeah, that was just case of be quick on it and you can make a killing.
00:32:46
Curt
Totally. Yeah, no doubt. I know I'm kind of, I'm kind of apprehensive because our, our postal, like we had a postal strike a few months ago and then they had, they basically signed terms, um, with the government saying like government forced him back to work.
00:32:58
Curt
Cause it's, it's private, but it's government. It's weird here.
00:33:00
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:33:01
Curt
Um, But they're coming up on that deadline so they can strike again. So I'm kind of and I think it's end of this month that it elapsed. I mean, thankfully I have like a billion other carriers that I set up for it, but it's still not super fun to be like, ah, crap.
00:33:12
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:33:14
Curt
And I have to drop all these carriers. Yeah.
00:33:15
jspec_engineering
So. We used to, we used to order from Hobby King. Well, used to order from Hobby King. Basically, I'd get paid my salary, I'd pay my rent, I would buy some groceries, whatever was left in my account, that was model money.
00:33:23
Curt
Yeah.
00:33:30
Curt
Yeah.
00:33:31
jspec_engineering
And used to do Hobby King orders. And in 2015, our postal guys went on strike. There's probably still a pilot or a Tambor airport. Like, stuff never arrived, like, at all.
00:33:43
Curt
Yeah.
00:33:44
jspec_engineering
It's now working again, kind of. EJ sent me a parcel. It took four weeks to get you um because I didn't put my cell phone number on it. So they don't come and drop a slip in your post box.
00:33:55
jspec_engineering
They send you an SMS.
00:33:56
Curt
and
00:33:57
jspec_engineering
So i actually went down there. like, hey, can you please just check if there's any parcel with my name on it here? I'm expecting something, and I don't know my cell phone number. And the guys phoned me, like, a little bit late, saying, no, your parcel's here.
00:34:08
jspec_engineering
And so was my smart everyday baseball, which was cool.
00:34:10
Curt
Cool.
00:34:13
jspec_engineering
so Yeah, joined as Patreon so I could get a baseball.
00:34:15
Curt
Nice.
00:34:16
jspec_engineering
um But yeah, our postal service, like I won't Danica said to me, why don't we look at sending with post? Like not a chance. I don't trust our post. And I sure as hell don't trust USPS.
00:34:24
Curt
Yeah. Yeah.
00:34:27
jspec_engineering
Like they look, there's I shipped a knife out a while ago. It's sitting in customs with USPS still. After like two months, I had to send a replacement. Replacement arrived, but that one just got sucked up by customs.
00:34:36
Curt
Yeah.
00:34:40
Curt
Yeah.
00:34:41
jspec_engineering
So I'm curious to see what's going to happen with everyone's favorite topic, the tariffs, because parcels are going to hit the US tomorrow, like they shipped today.
00:34:45
Curt
Oh, yeah. The big old terrorists.
00:34:51
Curt
Yep.
00:34:53
jspec_engineering
So we will know tomorrow what the situation there is.
00:34:56
Curt
Yeah. i
00:35:00
jspec_engineering
Hopefully not entirely stupid.
00:35:00
Curt
Yeah, I don't know.
00:35:03
jspec_engineering
The nice thing is even with the 30% tariff, I'm still cheaper than the competition.
00:35:06
Curt
I know that's kind of the same boat I'm in. People are like, what are you are you worried? I'm like, not really. Cause I'm kind of, I'm kind of underpriced. And so it's like, it's not, hasn't been a big issue for me.
00:35:12
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:35:15
Curt
And I mean, my, thankfully like my market is worldwide too.
00:35:17
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:35:19
Curt
So that, that sucks up a lot of it and it's actually getting bigger, which is lovely. My U S is still my biggest market, but it is also nice to see the other markets catching up.
00:35:25
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:35:26
Curt
So kind of just,
00:35:29
jspec_engineering
Yeah, so far, all the orders that I've got have come from the US.
00:35:31
Curt
yeah, yeah, I would imagine. So yeah.
00:35:34
jspec_engineering
So... Yeah, kind of makes sense. We did get one en inquiry from someone in the EU. We emailed them back and haven't heard anything from them. They wanted buy four, and I'm like, sorry, we've limited it to two per person ah for this first batch, just so that it doesn't all go to one person um and haven't heard back from them.
00:35:50
Curt
Yeah.
00:35:54
jspec_engineering
Or from the guy who did a pre-order for the for batch two.
00:35:57
Curt
Oh.
00:35:58
jspec_engineering
because he couldn't buy batch one.
00:36:00
Curt
Yeah.
00:36:01
jspec_engineering
So he bought two spots in the pre order for batch two. So we emailed him with coupons today. Here's your coupons. ah Feel free to grab out of batch one if you want.
00:36:08
Curt
Yeah.
00:36:08
jspec_engineering
So yeah, I need to harass him and see what's happening there.
00:36:13
Curt
I know. People are people are strange. like Even for this like the lotto pen that it just couldn't couldn't get it
00:36:20
jspec_engineering
is the best.
00:36:20
Curt
I was just going to go to the park and just bury it in the sand be like, okay, whoever wants it, it's in the park by my house, come find it.
00:36:21
jspec_engineering
yeah
00:36:26
Curt
because i was just like and like I set up a deliberate lottery this time.
00:36:28
jspec_engineering
ah
00:36:29
Curt
i was like, you
Marketing and Customer Engagement
00:36:30
Curt
know what? Okay, deliberate lottery starts on Monday, draws on Wednesday.
00:36:32
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:36:33
Curt
I told everybody that. I'm like, anybody that signs up is probably going to be like, okay, I'll check back on Wednesday. and I think I had, I forgot how many duds that I pulled.
00:36:40
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:36:41
Curt
I'm like, you just signed up. You knew the price. You knew everything about it. I'm like, this is madness. but
00:36:46
jspec_engineering
Yeah, that's weird.
00:36:46
Curt
And that's a problem. is like like There's a ton of people are just like, yeah, I kind of want this.
00:36:50
jspec_engineering
Well...
00:36:50
Curt
and then just like, it goes out of their mind. Then it comes around. And I even saw them.
00:36:54
jspec_engineering
Well, that...
00:36:55
Curt
like I could see them. They logged in. They saw the email.
00:36:56
jspec_engineering
That's what Yeah.
00:36:57
Curt
They saw the password. They linked in.
00:36:58
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:36:58
Curt
They're nah, don't want it. It was like, oh, okay. like Just let me know and we can move along.
Personal Organization Techniques
00:37:03
Curt
But whatever.
00:37:04
jspec_engineering
Yeah. No, that that's like Dave with chatting to everyone. You know, your price is good. Crafts good. Yeah, talk is cheap.
00:37:10
Curt
Talk is cheap.
00:37:12
jspec_engineering
Like everyone wants everything. Put your money where your mouth is like like getting paid in promises.
00:37:16
Curt
Yep. Yep. Yeah. yep
00:37:19
jspec_engineering
Shit gets old very quickly.
00:37:19
Curt
yeah
00:37:21
jspec_engineering
So yeah, I see. Tell me about your two journals or dual journals.
00:37:25
Curt
Oh, okay. Dual journals. Okay. So I, um, I mean, obviously I sell pens.
00:37:28
jspec_engineering
I'm curious.
00:37:30
Curt
I do a lot of writing, but one thing I've done, like I've done this for the last forever. Um, I always have like a journal, like I just, I write the date in there and then just, I write like to do, to to do lists or like, you know, just what I'm doing during the day.
00:37:42
jspec_engineering
yeah that doesn't seem like you at all kurt
00:37:42
Curt
And then usually by the end of the month, I do a month summary. But the problem is I'm a little bit particular and a little bit compulsive. So, uh, a while, uh, No. no So i like I like neat things.
00:37:56
Curt
i like I like a journal to look really nice, which means I don't want to put like... I won't like just scribble down something. like I'll write it really nicely, which slows things down and kind of defeats the purpose of having something that I can just scribble down into.
00:38:06
Curt
So I have two journals.
00:38:06
jspec_engineering
yeah
00:38:07
Curt
I have one journal that I carry every day that's like a pocket notebook and a leather carrier. And it's got like my... I use that my wallet. like It's got my money in there and everything. um So that one is just my my throwaway. It uses like those little disposable...
00:38:18
Curt
like um whatever they're called, like a field note kind of books. Um, and I write, I write whatever I want in there.
00:38:23
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:38:23
Curt
I have like kind of my month summary, what I got to do on certain days to do lists, whatever that thing is just like, I don't have to worry about keeping that thing pretty. And then I have a nice big journal that I do. Like I, I literally just sit down like at night and we'll write, well, like what I did for the day, I track a bunch of weird stuff. Cause I like data.
00:38:38
Curt
Um, and And that one, i i like I put effort in and I make it pretty and I use colors. And like I'm like one of those like girls on Instagram that have like you know like the ah pretty titles on things.
00:38:50
Curt
The bullet journal kind of dealio.
00:38:50
jspec_engineering
The bullet journal ones, yes. I'm aware of those because my wife has had like 15 bullet journals.
00:38:54
Curt
Oh, I love it. I'm so...
00:38:57
jspec_engineering
Turns out that having another notebook doesn't fix ADHD.
00:39:01
Curt
It does. No, you can buy as many notebooks as you want.
00:39:01
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:39:03
Curt
You can buy a hundred of them. I'm, yeah, I'm addicted to journals. I'll i'll like me and my wife, both will go to like to the stationary store and she's like, look at how pretty this one is. I'm like, I should buy it. She's like, we already have like nine ready to go.
00:39:13
Curt
i'm like, I know, but this one's pretty too. Anyways, so I've standardized it. I've made it nice and I use the same one every time. And like, I write this. at Yeah, it just, it helps me.
00:39:23
jspec_engineering
look There's my notebook. I've been looking for it.
00:39:25
Curt
Nice. Nice.
00:39:28
jspec_engineering
Yeah, my, my, I've got a green one as well.
00:39:32
Curt
Yeah, well, it just...
00:39:33
jspec_engineering
That are exactly the same, but bright green that we use for notes, but like I lose them.
00:39:37
Curt
Yeah, and I mean, I don't because I'm particular. That's the nice word for it. But like, I'm using it all the time and it lives in my pocket and the other one lives on my desk.
00:39:42
jspec_engineering
You're using it all the time.
00:39:45
Curt
But it's just like, if you don't if you're not tracking it, you're not...
00:39:45
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:39:48
Curt
Like, if you don't measure it, you don't manage it. Like we've said a million times. So like... Like dumb things. Like how much sleep am I getting?
00:39:53
jspec_engineering
That's it.
00:39:54
Curt
I like to, I like to chat that or like track that. Cause be like, how do I feel that day? i'm like, Oh, I feel like shit. I'm like, Oh, the two days prior to that, I got four hours of sleep. It's like, okay, wise guy. That's maybe why you feel like shit.
00:40:04
Curt
Like maybe you should focus on that. So it just, don't know.
00:40:06
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:40:07
Curt
It keeps me honest.
00:40:10
jspec_engineering
Yeah. What's measured is managed is a very powerful statement.
00:40:12
Curt
Totally.
00:40:13
jspec_engineering
Like, yeah.
00:40:14
Curt
Yeah.
00:40:15
jspec_engineering
That's why i log the uptime on the LK.
00:40:17
Curt
Yep.
00:40:18
jspec_engineering
Not because I really care about how much uptime I get, but it's interesting to go back and look at it historically. The other day, it was on my LK was on for five hours. I ran 40 minutes of cycles.
00:40:27
Curt
Right. Yeah.
00:40:29
jspec_engineering
It ran for 40 minutes. like It was sad. today Today was not bad. We got 65%. We were on for five hours, and we ran for just over three.
00:40:38
Curt
Nice.
00:40:40
jspec_engineering
But I was running and I was running that Emco and grinding and doing paperwork and all sorts of crap while while I was setting up and running the LK.
00:40:51
Curt
Yeah, well, it's like that stuff, like you said, it's it's easy too it's easy to lie to yourself and be like, oh, I was super productive today. And then look back at the stats and be like, oh, the machine was on for eight hours, but I only used it for two.
00:40:59
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:41:01
Curt
It's like you weren't really that productive.
00:41:03
jspec_engineering
Yeah, no, that's I switch.
00:41:03
Curt
You're running around the whole time.
00:41:07
jspec_engineering
I finished running the parts I was running today. switched the machine off because it eats air and it eats electricity. And I went
Community Collaboration and Business Updates
00:41:12
jspec_engineering
and had lunch and I don't think I turned it back on in the afternoon. I was busy with other stuff.
00:41:15
Curt
Right. Yeah,
00:41:16
jspec_engineering
I was busy. There's no point in it being on and sitting, just eating electricity.
00:41:20
Curt
Right, yeah, totally.
00:41:23
jspec_engineering
Like, go.
00:41:23
Curt
Yeah.
00:41:25
jspec_engineering
Okay, before we continue, let's quickly shout out our Patreons. So, thank you to all our Patreons who make the show happen. We got Jade at Benchmark20 and Fabtastic.
00:41:36
jspec_engineering
Pretty sure there's meant to be more to that, but Danica made the note, so I'll harass her. Danica also asked me to please ah let everyone know that the shirts on the JSPEC Engineering Store are going to be there till the end of the month.
00:41:50
jspec_engineering
At the end of the month, the only one that will remain is the ChipFans shirt, because that's a newish one.
00:41:52
Curt
oh good Good.
00:41:54
jspec_engineering
And there will be new designs coming.
00:41:55
Curt
Yay. Ooh.
00:41:56
jspec_engineering
So if you want to pick up some of these designs, now is your chance. You've got till the end of the month. And then, yeah, last day of the month, she's going to drop some new designs.
00:42:03
Curt
ah oo
00:42:04
jspec_engineering
on the store uh speaking of the store if you want to support the podcast you can head over to the website thelearnmachinist.com and on there there will be a link through to the merch which is on the jspec store uh that all supports the podcast and making my wife tolerate editing it for us so kurt yes to everyone listening as well yes ah was chatting to jacob from uh
00:42:23
Curt
Thank you. Thank you to everybody. Thank you to the Patreons and thank you to your lovely wife for putting up with us. ah
00:42:34
jspec_engineering
The Taps and Patience, ah he's the guy, the producer of Taps and Patience's podcast now with AJ and Harrison.
00:42:41
Curt
ah Gotcha. Yeah. Yep.
00:42:43
jspec_engineering
Yeah, he's the yeah the behind the scenes guy. Chatting to him this morning. He's like, do you want to trade some services, podcast editing for an anchor point? Yeah.
00:42:56
jspec_engineering
He's like, no, he's like, there's nothing you're saying. There's not much he can really add to the podcast because we've got Danica handling it for us.
00:43:02
Curt
right oh cool ah
00:43:02
jspec_engineering
So, but yeah, we're chatting about anchor points this morning. Yeah. He's doing geometry work and geometry is now 40 days out on payments.
00:43:06
Curt
god check gotcha gotcha
00:43:10
Curt
oh that's rough
00:43:13
jspec_engineering
Yeah. They've pushed it and pushed it. So it used to be as far as I know, I'm not a geometry vendor, but as far as I know, it used to be that the geometry credit card story where you got half the job on the card instantly.
00:43:23
Curt
Right. Yeah.
00:43:25
jspec_engineering
And then they pushed, they got rid of that. Then it was 30 days. And now it's been pushed out to 40 days from delivery.
00:43:30
Curt
Yeah. It's greasy. It's gross. Everybody should push back. Everybody should push back.
00:43:33
jspec_engineering
It's freaking nuts.
00:43:34
Curt
Yeah. Because ah if every single vendor pushed back, they would collapse.
00:43:36
jspec_engineering
Yeah. Well, I mean, yeah.
00:43:37
Curt
Like they would, they would cater. They would cave. They wouldn't just corporate-y greed their way through it.
00:43:41
jspec_engineering
So the next, the next Haps and Patients episode, uh, in the last episode aj mentioned something about another venture and apparently they had jacob on on this last episode the one they filmed or they recorded last night uh going into a bit of detail on that so i'm looking forward to that i've got early access to it so i should know in the next day or two and then uh he said i think coming out in the next week so yeah i'm very very curious to hear what that's what that's all about
00:44:01
Curt
Cool.
00:44:07
Curt
Nice.
00:44:12
Curt
Yeah, yeah. i'll have to
00:44:13
jspec_engineering
But yeah, I don't know. Did you see, uh, oh, actually, did you, I'm to think how to word this to be a deck. Um, Justin from Toolpath posted a story last night.
00:44:23
Curt
yep
00:44:25
jspec_engineering
Did you see the story?
00:44:27
Curt
ah
00:44:27
jspec_engineering
Got very similar results to you.
00:44:29
Curt
Oh, with yeah yeah with his anchor point? yeah Yeah, I think he made it as a post.
00:44:30
jspec_engineering
Testing his anchor points.
00:44:32
Curt
Yeah, I watched all them.
00:44:32
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:44:33
Curt
yeah
00:44:33
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:44:33
Curt
Yeah, no, I'm glad.
00:44:34
jspec_engineering
Yeah, made it as post. He shared it. That thing's got, like, a lot of views. Yeah.
00:44:38
Curt
Oh, nice. That's good.
00:44:40
jspec_engineering
um Yeah, like, so he did it as a collaborative post with the toolpath accounts, his account, his personal account and my account.
00:44:47
Curt
cool. Oh, sick.
00:44:50
jspec_engineering
um and Yeah, it's on eight and half a thousand views.
00:44:53
Curt
Oh, that's awesome.
00:44:56
jspec_engineering
Yeah, so yeah, my phone has been blowing up.
00:44:56
Curt
What a gentleman. ah
00:44:59
jspec_engineering
Oh, yes. Also, I put out a, hang on, trying to navigate my phone here. I put out call earlier today for questions for the podcast.
00:45:08
Curt
Yes.
00:45:09
jspec_engineering
And I did get one.
00:45:10
Curt
Ooh.
00:45:12
jspec_engineering
I just now can't find it because that's how I roll. Oh, OK. It was just Joshua Furman from ah Firmworks.
00:45:21
Curt
Frameworks, nice.
00:45:23
jspec_engineering
He was asking for an update on Anchor Points. Anchor Points sale update, please. So they are for sale still. There are still units available. for now There'll be another seven units in batch one. We're just waiting on springs. We actually only have one that can ship really rapidly.
00:45:39
jspec_engineering
So yeah, just thought I'd have a quick update there.
00:45:41
Curt
Nice.
00:45:42
jspec_engineering
Grab one now while they're hot.
00:45:43
Curt
Nice.
00:45:44
jspec_engineering
um Yeah, they'll all I'm waiting on springs. The springs
Machining Processes and Equipment Improvements
00:45:47
jspec_engineering
supplier said this week, so will harass them and go fetch my springs so that I can assemble the rest of the units and then start rolling into batch two.
00:45:56
Curt
Sick. Yeah, went I went and checked out that. I went out and checked his vices at Firmworks Vices.
00:45:59
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:46:01
Curt
they're pretty They're pretty slick. I do like those. I see why you want them.
00:46:04
jspec_engineering
yeah i kind of need some yes they big they 150 mil which is awesome because the anchor point material comes in just over 120 then perfect can hold it can hold the the blank pallets um yeah the saw cutting on the blank pallets was a little bit all over the freaking show um
00:46:04
Curt
i was like, ooh, those are pretty.
00:46:08
Curt
Yeah. Right.
00:46:25
jspec_engineering
But yeah, that's what it is. I've made a note in the some way. um Just saying, listen, it's saw cut expected to be kind of all over the show. They vary quite a bit and I'm not going to put them into the machine and machine up to like rather leave as much material for the guys as possible.
00:46:40
Curt
Totally. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:46:43
jspec_engineering
Also, it keeps the price down.
00:46:44
Curt
Yeah, yeah, no, exactly.
00:46:46
jspec_engineering
Not that they take very long to machine. I've got that process pretty dialed. I run both my vases, run two pallets at time. I mean, I blasted through 50 of them in an evening.
00:46:54
Curt
Nice.
00:46:57
jspec_engineering
While I made 300 of something else on the lathe. It was great. Although I had chip in aluminum, had chip breaking issues. Well, not chip breaking, insert breaking or insert chipping and issues.
00:47:09
Curt
Weird.
00:47:09
jspec_engineering
Using a WNM-G08.
00:47:12
Curt
Hmm.
00:47:13
jspec_engineering
I think it was because my my spinning stops I'm feeding the bar at 2000 RPM, because my legs takes forever to come up to speed.
00:47:20
Curt
OK.
00:47:23
jspec_engineering
And I think it's knocking the stopper deeper and deeper into the ball.
00:47:28
Curt
OK.
00:47:28
jspec_engineering
So I need to just make a new one with a step that it cannot go anywhere.
00:47:31
Curt
Gotcha.
00:47:32
jspec_engineering
um so I think I was taking like a two millimeter facing cut. or four millimeter facing cut. And it didn't appreciate that.
00:47:38
Curt
Yeah.
00:47:39
jspec_engineering
And as usual, this customer is supplied enough material to make 299 parts out of 300.
00:47:44
Curt
Nice.
00:47:45
jspec_engineering
He never supplies spare material. It's frigging infuriating.
00:47:49
Curt
Stomach.
00:47:50
jspec_engineering
And then I rigid tapped those on Monday, Tuesday, Tuesday morning. Uh...
00:47:56
Curt
Nice.
00:47:56
jspec_engineering
uh tap those that was great fun jamie's normal story put a guard put a piece of uh coroplast between me and the coolant door open part in every like five and half seconds so i literally i think that's all i ran on that day the machine had 40 minutes of cycle time and i tapped 300 parts yeah it's super quick like it's a drill tap center that's at full rapid as it's like zooms over threads it comes out zooms back yeah unlock the vast drop another one in
00:48:03
Curt
Yeah.
00:48:12
Curt
Nice.
00:48:21
Curt
Yeah.
00:48:25
Curt
Yeah, that's awesome.
00:48:26
jspec_engineering
but yeah I ended up putting new lights, new lights in my machine today because the one died.
00:48:30
Curt
I saw that, yeah.
00:48:30
jspec_engineering
It was very annoying.
00:48:31
Curt
It also pleased me that you were you were angry that the color temp was wrong.
00:48:33
jspec_engineering
Yeah, I did.
00:48:35
Curt
i was like, ah, good. This is this is proper.
00:48:37
jspec_engineering
Yes, it's been, no, no, it's been driving me mad since I put them in.
00:48:37
Curt
Yeah. Oh,
00:48:41
jspec_engineering
Because I was at the China shop and I'm like, eh, I'll just buy these, they're fine. And then they were the wrong colour and like, ooh.
00:48:48
Curt
yeah, oh yeah.
00:48:49
jspec_engineering
So yeah, I use those ah those stupid heat shrink things with solder in them, where you put the two wires in, heats it up.
00:48:53
Curt
Yeah,
00:48:55
jspec_engineering
Yeah, never used them before. They're quite sweet.
00:48:57
Curt
yeah they look cool.
00:48:58
jspec_engineering
um
00:48:58
Curt
Yeah.
00:48:58
jspec_engineering
So I use those to swap over to the new LEDs.
00:49:00
Curt
Sick.
00:49:01
jspec_engineering
I also put 30 watts in.
00:49:02
Curt
Nice.
00:49:05
jspec_engineering
Yeah, because I mean, the Emco has got a 10 watt LED. The Big Bertha has got a 20 and a 10. So and you it's got 20 always.
00:49:15
jspec_engineering
You open the door and then a 10 turns on shining into the truck.
00:49:18
Curt
Nice.
00:49:19
jspec_engineering
So you can actually see what you're doing.
00:49:20
Curt
Right, yeah, yeah.
00:49:21
jspec_engineering
Yeah. Even the Slowio has got two 10 watts.
00:49:23
Curt
Ooh.
00:49:24
jspec_engineering
It's like, I'm not yet to be working in the dark.
00:49:26
Curt
Yeah, no doubt. Yeah.
00:49:29
jspec_engineering
Yeah, it must be bright. Otherwise, you're straining your eyes for nothing.
00:49:32
Curt
Yeah.
00:49:33
jspec_engineering
So I see you have got another fun topic there.
00:49:36
Curt
ah Oh, yes. Click mechanism. Yeah. So I have been...
00:49:41
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:49:42
Curt
Everyone... like ah Every... i don't know. A few times a week, people always ask me about a click mechanism. And what you don't know is like for the last year, i've many years, I've been banging my head against a wall with click mechanisms because I have a very particular set of of things I wanted to do.
00:49:57
Curt
um There's basically... like I wanted to...
00:49:59
jspec_engineering
You want it to click.
00:49:59
Curt
i want A, I do want it to click. I want it to feel like it clicks. I want the button to return to the same height, no matter if it's like out or in, because I don't like like a wobbly button.
00:50:06
jspec_engineering
Yeah. Yeah.
00:50:09
Curt
I want it just to be the same. and like There's just a bunch of little stupid things. I want it to fit inside a 3-8's body.
00:50:13
jspec_engineering
okay
00:50:14
Curt
I want it to be short. um Yeah, I don't want it to be bearing-based, because a lot of these... like mechanisms there's like a little bearing rolling around in a track which is fine but they don't make any kind of audible click or they don't feel good and they're kind of they're fighting themselves so they just they wear really funny and then ah other other people design really nice ones with cams and that's one i had designed but it's completely silent which is like well that defeats a point in my opinion or like if you press it and it it works perfectly yeah you want like tick tick tick
00:50:21
jspec_engineering
yeah
00:50:27
jspec_engineering
yeah
00:50:40
jspec_engineering
ah yeah you want to annoy the people in your office
00:50:44
Curt
So anyways, I finally figured out a method that works.
00:50:46
jspec_engineering
yeah
00:50:47
Curt
I can machine it I think it's all basically three axis. I can do almost all of it three axis. um my Might be some broaching involved. um But yeah, i'm super I'm super pleased with it. So I have the design finished. I'm going to throw it on the little resin printer. I'm going print it to see exactly how it feels and looks like.
00:51:03
Curt
And then I'm going to start machining one. Say I'm super jazzed. Oh, I also want the pocket clip to be like super deep carry, which just complicates everything because now you have like a cross hole or Yeah, so it's just, yeah, it's ah it's been a cluster for a long time.
00:51:11
jspec_engineering
ah Yes.
00:51:14
Curt
But I think I finally have something I'm happy with. So I'm pretty pleased about that because that's going to be the next, like, and I know that'll sell really, really well.
00:51:17
jspec_engineering
Okay.
00:51:21
jspec_engineering
Interesting. The next.
00:51:22
Curt
So.
00:51:24
jspec_engineering
As if your pens don't sell really, really well already.
00:51:26
Curt
Right. But I mean, a bolt action is just, it's, I mean, the nice thing is like when the world ends and you need a a function, like a something to work, a bolt action is going to work like that.
00:51:29
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:51:34
Curt
There's a reason people use them in like rifles and stuff is because there's, there's not a lot to break.
00:51:35
jspec_engineering
yeah
00:51:40
Curt
But a click is click is cool.
00:51:41
jspec_engineering
Yeah, actually need to buy refill for your for the pen of yours alive.
00:51:44
Curt
Oh, just hold up. I'll send you a better one.
00:51:46
jspec_engineering
And that one always works.
00:51:47
Curt
Yeah. Oh yeah. That one. Nothing's going to break.
00:51:49
jspec_engineering
Okay.
00:51:49
Curt
But yeah, I,
00:51:50
jspec_engineering
Yeah, do you know what the problem with that one is the biggest issue? It's friggin heavy.
00:51:55
Curt
yeah.
00:51:55
jspec_engineering
So if you drop it, the pen stops working.
00:51:57
Curt
Yeah, it's like, yeah, it's all solid brass.
00:51:58
jspec_engineering
It smushes the ball.
00:52:01
Curt
amount of The amount of refills I've lost from those stupid pens, dropping it just, boom, there goes the tip.
00:52:02
jspec_engineering
Yeah. Yeah, it's great.
00:52:05
Curt
Yeah.
00:52:06
jspec_engineering
I did the other day, literally happened the other day, tip doesn't write anymore, landed on the tip.
00:52:08
Curt
Yeah. Yep. Yeah.
00:52:12
jspec_engineering
I think it landed on the tip on a rubber mat, and it still doesn't write.
00:52:15
Curt
Yeah, those are heavy little bitches. Yeah. Yeah.
00:52:17
jspec_engineering
Yeah. Yeah. That thing's heavy as hell. It's in my office, I think. It's not here, so it must be in my office.
00:52:22
Curt
Yeah.
00:52:23
jspec_engineering
But yeah, that thing's still kicking her around.
00:52:25
Curt
Nice. Nice.
00:52:26
jspec_engineering
Oh, sweet. I'm glad you finally got a mechanism you're somewhat happy with.
00:52:28
Curt
I think I am. I think I'm happy with it. Like once I print it and then once I machine it, I think ah I'll be able to see some, sometimes I printed or sometimes like, and you're like, oh shit, this isn't going to work at all.
00:52:32
jspec_engineering
Okay.
00:52:34
jspec_engineering
Yeah. Okay.
00:52:37
Curt
I, I over, I didn't look at this, but this one, i don't think there's anything wrong with it. I've kind of cycled it in CAD as much as I can. I'm like, I can't see what's going
AI Tools and Content Consumption
00:52:44
Curt
to break on this. Like it seems stupid robust and it should click, click like a proper, like the, I've read the stupid Parker patent so many times.
00:52:46
jspec_engineering
yeah yeah
00:52:52
Curt
It'll make you sick. um But like, yeah, there's a reason. Yeah, it's, it's, it's fun. I'm excited. So.
00:52:59
jspec_engineering
oh danica wait let me find this thing she found a thing today i'm buying a sorai tech blue onyx black all right the black blue resin because i need to print followers for sdr magazines um
00:53:05
Curt
Okay.
00:53:08
Curt
Right. Yeah.
00:53:14
jspec_engineering
So I'm going to pick up a roll of that when I pick up the purple filament this week. And then I will be fancy.
00:53:19
Curt
Yeah.
00:53:20
jspec_engineering
I just want to find this thing down. So this this might be interesting to some of our some of our listeners. She put it in my family group, which is muted because those people are noisy.
00:53:31
jspec_engineering
She put it her family group. Sorry, this is super interesting to listen to me scroll through my WhatsApp. No, it's not my family group.
00:53:40
Curt
You could sing while you do it.
00:53:40
jspec_engineering
It's her family group.
00:53:41
Curt
That would help.
00:53:43
jspec_engineering
No, then I'll forget what I'm doing. Okay, she says, for anyone who is studying, ah Notebook LM, so Notebook Large Model, I would assume, or Language Model by Google, allows you to provide source materials in PDF form and interact with the AR contents of those sources.
00:54:01
Curt
Sick.
00:54:02
jspec_engineering
She literally put something in there and said, please summarize this as if it was a podcast.
00:54:06
Curt
Oh, cool.
00:54:07
jspec_engineering
I have, she sent me the podcast. It was a book she's been wanting to read, a business book, summarized it into a 17-minute podcast-style video or audio.
00:54:16
Curt
Oh, cool. I like this.
00:54:19
jspec_engineering
And then, because it's in the language model, if you've a question, you ask it and interacts with you, answering your questions.
00:54:25
Curt
I like this.
00:54:26
jspec_engineering
Yeah, so i might need to, yeah, i'm might ask her tomorrow to just ah do a quick thing for the, to shove up on the Patreon explaining it.
00:54:34
Curt
Oh, that's a cool
00:54:35
jspec_engineering
Actually, that's what I will do. I'll ask you to record a video tomorrow just explaining how to use it, and we can put it on our Patreon for free. So anyone who wants it can just hop onto to our Patreon and just have a look at it quickly.
00:54:45
Curt
Oh, that's cool. I like this idea.
00:54:48
jspec_engineering
Because, yeah, I think that would be yeah super useful because a lot of people like their content in podcasty form, and this way you can like pull in things you don't really want to sit and read.
00:54:52
Curt
Absolutely. Nice. Oh, I like this.
00:55:00
jspec_engineering
So yeah, I thought it was an interesting, very interesting thing. I'll look more it because couple books I want to read, but I don't want to read them.
00:55:06
Curt
Right.
00:55:07
jspec_engineering
um Yeah, like I prefer the podcast format quite honestly. Like today was Lean Built and PFG Live.
00:55:15
Curt
Yeah.
00:55:16
jspec_engineering
And then tomorrow, someone else drops a podcast on a Tuesday. can't remember who, but I know we do. So that's what I'm listening to tomorrow.
00:55:21
Curt
Nice.
00:55:22
jspec_engineering
um And then, yeah, Thursday, Friday, like there's a whole bunch. Also, the Ardicards guys, they are cunning as hell.
00:55:30
Curt
OK.
00:55:31
jspec_engineering
So i was listening to Continual Improvements or Incremental, sorry, Incremental, yeah.
00:55:33
Curt
Yep.
00:55:36
jspec_engineering
um And they were saying, no, if you want to make a sample of our podcast, Kanban cards, head on to our website, fill it out and we'll generate a card for you.
00:55:47
Curt
OK.
00:55:48
jspec_engineering
You ought to put your business name, email address and email address and to get the card.
00:55:51
Curt
Oh, of course. Yeah.
00:55:52
jspec_engineering
I'm like that is so cunning.
00:55:54
Curt
Yeah.
00:55:55
jspec_engineering
Because i want to see what the card what the cards gonna look like. So there go have my information.
00:55:58
Curt
Right. Yeah. Yeah.
00:55:59
jspec_engineering
But yeah, they started following me on Instagram as well, which was quite
00:56:01
Curt
Cool. Yeah. Those guys are cool. I like, I like the work both those, those guys are doing and
Shop Organization and Tool Management
00:56:06
Curt
yeah.
00:56:06
jspec_engineering
cool.
00:56:06
jspec_engineering
Yeah. 100%.
00:56:07
Curt
I mean, I love their podcast.
00:56:07
jspec_engineering
Yeah, it's really.
00:56:08
Curt
It's fantastic. And it's cool hearing like Ariel progress with the, ah with the whole art system.
00:56:10
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
00:56:12
Curt
And then yeah. Devin with his shop and yeah.
00:56:15
jspec_engineering
Yeah, the order system is quite sweet. Like, we're now looking at building out the one bedroom to be the packaging and assembly room.
00:56:22
Curt
Mm-hmm.
00:56:23
jspec_engineering
And that's, okay, cool. Then we're going to have to Kanban cards because we ah order screws per batch. Like, okay, cool. We're doing 20 of the thing. I order enough for 25 units that we've got a little bit of headroom.
00:56:36
jspec_engineering
But at some point, I'm going to end up with 1,000 spare screws.
00:56:38
Curt
Mm-hmm.
00:56:39
jspec_engineering
So we kind of need to know what's there. So at some point, we can order to have our numbers correct.
00:56:44
Curt
Mm-hmm.
00:56:46
jspec_engineering
So yeah, that that's something down the line. Also, I bought an impact driver.
00:56:52
Curt
Ooh, ooh, fancy, fancy.
00:56:53
jspec_engineering
Another one. I bought a 12 volt one.
00:56:55
Curt
Oh.
00:56:56
jspec_engineering
No, so I bought a 12 volt one because it's only 100 news in meters.
00:56:58
Curt
Right, and that's all, yeah that's probably all you want.
00:57:00
jspec_engineering
which is a stupid number of newton meters, but you can thwack a thwacker an M5 bolt and it's not going to rip the threads right out.
00:57:01
Curt
Right.
00:57:06
Curt
Right, yeah, yeah.
00:57:07
jspec_engineering
So I use it for assembling the the anchor points for all It's all fucking tight.
00:57:12
Curt
Nice.
00:57:13
jspec_engineering
It doesn't tighten M8s very well, hence my stopper moving back in the lathe, because I thwack a thwack at that thing and it really did not help.
00:57:22
Curt
Mm.
00:57:23
jspec_engineering
um But yeah, cute little cuteal thing. Charges with USB-C.
00:57:27
Curt
Aw.
00:57:28
jspec_engineering
So it's 12 volts. plug in on usbc and it's obviously got some magical healing stuff on the chip there that charges one cell at a time but yeah very clever yeah cheap as well it was uh it was silly cheap actually and then i got it so bought off lot which was our knockoff amazon um ordered it and then i got advert for it like 100 rand cheaper the next day it was 75 dollars with uh same day delivery
00:57:34
Curt
Oh, cool. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:57:45
Curt
Mm.
00:57:55
Curt
Wow.
00:57:58
jspec_engineering
Yeah, super cheap. And it's the same family of drills that I have, just different battery different battery size, which is a bit dumb, but it's fine. It's also, the ergonomics are weird. Because the battery's in the handle, not on the bottom, the the ergonomics are weird.
00:58:10
Curt
oh
00:58:13
jspec_engineering
It's not as balanced.
00:58:13
Curt
Right. Yeah.
00:58:15
jspec_engineering
Because the weight is in your hand, hanging below. Yeah, kind of weird. But it works.
00:58:19
Curt
Yeah.
00:58:21
jspec_engineering
I was using it stuff on the grinder today.
00:58:22
Curt
Nice.
00:58:23
jspec_engineering
Let's put parts on and off the grinder. Yeah, I like the thwack thwackers.
00:58:27
Curt
That's Right.
00:58:27
jspec_engineering
They're great. yeah i'm actually that's one thing i'm speaking of thwackers um when i ran the access control mounts did a little while ago i was using the my battery drill with a clutch set right down to tighten the mighty bite the 500 size mighty bites and then using the thwack thwacker to loosen the bolts because the clutch is not the same in both directions um
00:58:48
Curt
right
00:58:54
jspec_engineering
And I was chatting to EJ this week. I'm going to be putting on my websites in the next yeah give me a few days all my negative volumes for the all the mighty bike clamps that I've used.
00:59:04
Curt
Oh, nice. Yeah. Yep.
00:59:06
jspec_engineering
So it's basically pulling that negative volume, you joint it to the side of your part, and then you Boolean it from the from the fixture.
00:59:11
Curt
Hmm.
00:59:14
jspec_engineering
It puts in all the clearances to use like a normal end mill, a six mill end mill to make the pockets, the chamfer, the hole size for threading, the depth that's required, all that stuff just by a simple Boolean operation.
00:59:27
jspec_engineering
So I've got a bunch of those that I want to upload, all the stuff that I use regularly. And then also the Carline clamps, which are patented by Carline. So I'm not selling them. The files will be available, though.
00:59:37
Curt
Nice. Yeah, that's cool.
00:59:41
jspec_engineering
I can't sell the things. I make them for myself all the time. So the files will be available for anyone who wants to wants to make them. Carline, I'm in South Africa. Your patent means nothing to me.
00:59:52
Curt
Well, it's like, it's not that like ridiculously complicated, but like anybody worth their salt is going to be able to look at and be like, oh, I can just, I can hammer something up my own.
00:59:59
jspec_engineering
No.
01:00:02
Curt
Like, yeah, yeah.
01:00:02
jspec_engineering
I have two brain cells. Let me rub them together.
01:00:04
Curt
Yeah, exactly. I don't think anybody...
01:00:06
jspec_engineering
I'm assuming, I'm assuming, yeah, you're never going to make money selling them.
01:00:06
Curt
And nobody wants to sell them. like You'd probably much rather buy them if you could. Yeah, yeah exactly.
01:00:14
jspec_engineering
I assume Sanders licenses, licensed that from them on their mod vases.
01:00:16
Curt
Oh, maybe. I wonder or wonder if it...
01:00:20
jspec_engineering
ah be No, their patent, no, their patent is thorough. It's a patent on using the screws countersink to actuate the clamp. Like, it's very thorough because I read through it a while ago, like seven, eight years ago, and either it lapsed or they, I don't think it lapsed.
01:00:31
Curt
yeah
01:00:37
jspec_engineering
As far as I know, it's still held.
01:00:38
Curt
Yeah.
01:00:39
jspec_engineering
um I think they might have licensed it from them, but that's just speculation.
01:00:42
Curt
Yeah. Or just got fancy with like, I was like, I know it's it's very easy to get around those by just being like, oh, I use this because it's for this.
01:00:46
jspec_engineering
Mm-mm.
01:00:49
jspec_engineering
No. No, that patent is really, really well executed. Like as far as protecting, it it covers the use of clamp or moving jaw actuated by the countersink on a bolt.
01:01:04
jspec_engineering
like it's really It was really, really well worded that you're going to battle to get around it.
01:01:07
Curt
i don't... I don't even know how you could like how you can patent something that's just so bait. It's like me patenting like a lever. being like yeah like I'm to patent the lever because that's no one else has thought of this.
01:01:14
jspec_engineering
It's in patenting an application. No.
01:01:19
Curt
It's not that complicated.
01:01:20
jspec_engineering
Yeah, sure. If there's no pre-existing art, no problem. If you're the first right to think of a lever, then sure, they were the first guys to come up with this idea.
01:01:24
Curt
Yeah. Yeah.
01:01:28
Curt
Yeah.
01:01:29
jspec_engineering
I know my dad had a patent on stuff for gardening accessories. Basically, his patent was an application patent covering anything you use to extend your hands to be able to grab more stuff than would fit in your hands.
01:01:42
jspec_engineering
It was like super broad and he got away with it.
01:01:43
Curt
but
01:01:46
jspec_engineering
Like it meant nobody could rip him off. Like you could take two pieces of cardboard, but you're infringing on his patent at that point.
01:01:52
Curt
No, no, scratch that.
01:01:53
jspec_engineering
too
01:01:53
Curt
Anybody anybody could do it.
01:01:54
jspec_engineering
So Yeah.
01:01:55
Curt
You just have to defend it. That's the only difference. You got be able to pay to defend it.
01:01:57
jspec_engineering
Well, that's the thing.
01:01:59
Curt
yeah
01:01:59
jspec_engineering
Yeah, that's the difference. you have You have to pay to defend it. And yeah, like, and it's not really a thing unless you're selling it. Like they're not going to go after you unless you're making money doing it.
01:02:07
Curt
Totally. Yeah, totally. Yeah, yeah.
01:02:09
jspec_engineering
So Yeah, i made I've got M8 car lines. I made a whole bunch a little while ago. i made cheese grabbers as well, which had a serrated jaw ah for gripping plastics.
01:02:17
Curt
Nice.
01:02:19
jspec_engineering
And then I've had M4s. I used M4s. I've got M6s. I've got M8s. So I'm going to throw those all up on just on the on a resources page on the website. If people want them, go grab them.
01:02:32
jspec_engineering
I run them with a slitting saw. So I've got them set up that I can run off. I think I ran off seven of the M6 ones out of one block of material.
01:02:40
Curt
nice
01:02:41
jspec_engineering
one little stick 25 or one inch by one inch by like hang on imperializer um one inch by one inch by two and a half inches long piece of material i made seven of these little clamps and i made them longer so that i could try and get the allen wrench into tighten against the heat sink was making i didn't make them quite long enough so ended up having to file away some of the top hats to be able to actually get the wrench and to tighten it down but i managed to tighten the down at least
01:02:53
Curt
Nice.
01:03:10
Curt
Coco. OK, well, I see you have 4,200 is greater than 3,000.
01:03:11
jspec_engineering
So, and then there are, I have one more.
01:03:14
Curt
OK. ah four thousand two hundred is greater than three thousand
01:03:19
jspec_engineering
Yes, significantly greater. So I put, so after Danica broke my lathe last week, I put in the new, the new closed loop stepper, and I went from seven and half newton meters to 12, which is a fair step up.
01:03:30
Curt
bra
01:03:33
jspec_engineering
And I put the rapids to match the Z axis. So 4.2 meters minute.
01:03:37
Curt
okay
01:03:39
jspec_engineering
it's a hell of a lot faster than three meters a minute.
01:03:41
Curt
Oh, OK.
01:03:42
jspec_engineering
Like a hell of a lot faster. Like noticeably when I'm du going from like my grooving tool all the way to other the other end of the table on a 300-0 travel, it's noticeably faster. Like guess yeah it's, you know, it's 25% faster, but holy cow, it's terrifying.
01:03:57
jspec_engineering
Like when you're moving short distances and going between tools, at yeah it is terrifying.
01:04:05
jspec_engineering
Like yeah, my good old lathe, old big birther.
01:04:06
Curt
Nice. Yeah, that that that little stuff adds up, right?
01:04:08
jspec_engineering
Yeah, ah that adds up so quickly.
01:04:09
Curt
like it's
01:04:12
jspec_engineering
Like, I would like to put a servo server motor on the spindle, but I can't justify wasting money on that because in reality, the gains we will get from that will never we probably will never recoup in what's left of that machine's lifespan.
01:04:30
Curt
Sure. Yeah. Fair enough. Fair enough.
01:04:33
jspec_engineering
like Are we spinning up a couple hundred kilos to 2,000 RPM? It's going to take some time.
01:04:39
Curt
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
01:04:41
jspec_engineering
like Even if I put a six-pole motor in, it's still going to take some time to spin up because we're only putting 2.2 kilowatts into the system.
01:04:47
Curt
Right. Yeah. Yeah.
01:04:49
jspec_engineering
So, yeah, 2.2 kilowatts is still 2.2 kilowatts. Okay.
01:04:52
Curt
Yeah. no I play the same game with my lathe. I'm like, I should put a big spindle motor in there. Or I should put faster like servos on the axes. And I'm like, you know what? It's sitting here, not running right now. So I'm like, yeah, I could, but like I still have so all much headroom that I'm not using.
01:05:04
jspec_engineering
Yes.
01:05:07
jspec_engineering
It's not.
01:05:08
Curt
It's just like, yeah, it's like, let's focus on other things there, Mr.
01:05:09
jspec_engineering
Yeah, it's not the bottleneck.
01:05:12
Curt
Flupchuck. Yeah.
01:05:15
jspec_engineering
Or even even the EMCO like I'm like, oh, I could put Foster Motors or this. It's like, nah, it works.
01:05:20
Curt
Yeah.
01:05:22
jspec_engineering
It sits most of the time. It's got its product lines that it runs.
01:05:24
Curt
Totally.
01:05:25
jspec_engineering
That's what it does.
01:05:26
Curt
Yep.
01:05:27
jspec_engineering
And then it sits the rest of the time. doesn't mean It would be nice if it was faster, but do I need to make 500 parts a day or do I need to make 250 parts a day?
01:05:34
Curt
Right. Yeah. Yeah.
01:05:36
jspec_engineering
250 parts a day, that's not the limiting factor. Even if the customer is replacing the orders they promised, it's still not the limiting factor.
01:05:43
Curt
yeah Yeah.
01:05:46
jspec_engineering
yeah I'm curious to see what's going to
Client Relations and Order Management
01:05:47
jspec_engineering
come of those clowns this month because they were told in no uncertain terms that they order 500 or they don't order again.
01:05:47
Curt
Mm.
01:05:52
Curt
Mm.
01:05:54
jspec_engineering
knock I'm tired of this 100, 100, 100 story. like Just order proper quantities. and Stop screwing me around, please. So we'll see what what comes of that.
01:06:04
Curt
Nice. Right. Well,
01:06:06
jspec_engineering
to So, Kurt, what have you been Googling?
01:06:11
Curt
I have been Googling all kinds a very interesting things. um I mainly Googled a bunch of stuff because I have that printer up and running now, which I...
01:06:22
Curt
If you talk about it in a time sense, I was better off to just go buy the $400 bamboo printer and not worry about it.
01:06:22
jspec_engineering
Yes.
01:06:29
Curt
But if you talk about ah what brings me joy, I am so happy that that printer is all dialed in now because it prints so well and it is so reliable again. So yeah, I'm super pleased with that. um I was just Googling a bunch of Trinamic driver stuff because they're all like digitally set now in firmware.
01:06:43
Curt
You don't like you don't set screws anymore.
01:06:44
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
01:06:45
Curt
like That's my old ones. We're all like the A, whatever,
01:06:49
jspec_engineering
Dude, that's been like that for the last five years.
01:06:50
Curt
Yeah, well, I'm a thousand years behind.
01:06:52
jspec_engineering
from when I built my printer.
01:06:52
Curt
Yeah, I'm like a million years behind. Mine were still like set with screws.
01:06:54
jspec_engineering
Yep.
01:06:56
Curt
So i was like, okay, well, these are all digitally set now.
01:06:58
jspec_engineering
yeah
01:06:58
Curt
And just, anyway, so Googling a bunch of that jazz and i just kind of coming up to speed in that whole world. um So yeah, a bunch of that stuff, bunch of, like said, just tooling stuff in super cheap Jamie land of tooling.
01:07:11
Curt
I was just, I just go and buck wild and be like, I'm going to buy this. going to buy this. I'm like, calm down, calm down, tough guy. Like you don't have to buy so much junk, but, um, I'll ship too. So I'm, it should be here in like the next week, which is insane when you consider how far it's coming from.
01:07:25
jspec_engineering
Oh, nice.
01:07:25
Curt
So.
01:07:26
jspec_engineering
Yeah. My tool holders say they ship, but the tracking number hasn't been active for nearly a week.
01:07:31
Curt
Oh.
01:07:31
jspec_engineering
So I'll chase them up and find out. They like to mark stuff shipped. And then like a week later, they'll give you ah through the the chat, they'll give you an updated tracking number.
01:07:39
Curt
Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just to get y'all. Yeah. Excited.
01:07:42
jspec_engineering
no
01:07:43
Curt
um Yeah.
01:07:44
jspec_engineering
Yeah. So sorry I just opened my phone and speak of the AutoCards guys. They've just liked a bunch of my stories.
01:07:49
Curt
Oh, cool.
01:07:50
jspec_engineering
um And then Sean Conner. know if you've seen Conner Manufacturing.
01:07:53
Curt
Oh, a hundred percent. Yeah. Yeah. He's, he's.
01:07:56
jspec_engineering
Yeah, bought the Habbily and whatnot.
01:07:57
Curt
Yep.
01:07:58
jspec_engineering
I was re-watching one of his videos like a day or two ago. He's paying property tax on his machine in California.
01:08:09
Curt
Oh, okay. California. That explains a lot, but why? Okay.
01:08:13
jspec_engineering
Yeah, I assume because it's an asset, so he's having to pay tax on it.
01:08:15
Curt
Yeah.
01:08:18
jspec_engineering
I'm like, what now?
01:08:19
Curt
hu
01:08:20
jspec_engineering
I would burn my government down.
01:08:23
Curt
yeah
01:08:23
jspec_engineering
Like, get knotted. I paid sale tax.
01:08:25
Curt
ha
01:08:25
jspec_engineering
Go f***ing die. Like, sorry, what die? You want me to pay tax on a thing that I own? No, thank you.
01:08:30
Curt
and
01:08:31
jspec_engineering
Like, it's bad enough that I'm going to pay tax on the freaking house that we own.
01:08:34
Curt
yeah
01:08:35
jspec_engineering
Like, yeah, apparently all that shit's going up, but no, no. Okay, back to your Googling endeavors.
01:08:39
Curt
Googling. Yeah. And, uh, no,
01:08:40
jspec_engineering
but yeah Sorry, that that took me by surprise when he had to pay tax on a machine he was buying. Like, property tax. Or, yeah, property tax is what he called it.
01:08:47
Curt
well, and speaking of tax, uh, I mean, we just did our taxes were due years a while ago. So did all that world, but I started to realize the insane power of buying equipment.
01:08:52
jspec_engineering
Hmm.
01:08:57
Curt
Um, so like I understand why people do it all the time. Cause like my taxes this year were this big machine. And then I bought the lathe and I bought the big mill here.
01:09:02
jspec_engineering
yeah
01:09:04
Curt
Um, and even if you, A, I should preface this. Don't listen to me. I'm not like a tax advisor. I don't know what I'm talking about. But if you buy machines, even if they're on loan, they're considered like they're considered purchased and you just, that's how they work.
01:09:17
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
01:09:17
Curt
um
01:09:18
jspec_engineering
Appreciate them.
01:09:18
Curt
You depreciate them as they go, but I didn't have to depreciate a ton because I didn't make a ton this year.
01:09:19
jspec_engineering
Yeah. Yeah.
01:09:22
Curt
So I have a ton of tax credit, but like I a hundred percent get why people are like, Oh, it's the end of the year. Like I'm just going to buy equipment. Cause yeah, you don't, it it offsets your income in massively.
01:09:29
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
01:09:30
Curt
And like, especially manufacturing equipment, like the, the ratio at which you can write off is super, super high.
01:09:32
jspec_engineering
That is, that is my plan.
01:09:36
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
01:09:37
Curt
So yeah, I was, I was like, Oh, this is why people get all testy at like, you know, December be like, I need this on my floor.
01:09:42
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
01:09:44
Curt
It's like, Oh, I see why this makes so much more sense when you're on the receiving side of it. So yeah.
01:09:50
jspec_engineering
Yeah, that's my plan for this year. I'm going sell a bunch of anchor points and then build my new workshop, mostly so that I can have a clean slate.
01:09:55
Curt
Very, yeah.
01:09:58
Curt
Hmm.
01:09:59
jspec_engineering
Then maybe I'll have a workshop that looks something like yours, not the chaos that is mine, because I'll go in with the clean slate and shit that doesn't need to be there is not going to be there. It can stay in this garage.
01:10:08
Curt
Eh, there.
01:10:09
jspec_engineering
Like it'll be the machine shop and the crap garage.
01:10:12
Curt
It is easier to start from like ah like, even starting this place, like paint it.
01:10:14
jspec_engineering
Yeah. yeah
01:10:16
Curt
Like I painted it and I'm like, okay, now I can start putting crap in there. It makes it a lot easier to not just like, yeah, have a million things.
01:10:22
jspec_engineering
Yeah, I moved in with a bunch of shit that still had to be in there.
01:10:25
Curt
Right.
01:10:26
jspec_engineering
And that has never really gone away.
01:10:26
Curt
Yeah, I get that.
01:10:29
Curt
Cool. What have you been Googling?
01:10:30
jspec_engineering
But yeah,
Searches and Leisure Activities
01:10:31
jspec_engineering
so what else have you been googling?
01:10:31
Curt
Oh, I say that's mainly, mainly that tax crap and rest is just nothing of all that interest.
01:10:32
jspec_engineering
Okay, on me. Yeah. Yeah. And printer stuff.
01:10:38
Curt
printer tax and then a bunch of Harvey stuff for stupid small tools.
01:10:39
jspec_engineering
ah Yeah, I've been
01:10:44
jspec_engineering
tiny tools uh yeah i was as usual wordle 32 street currently uh looking for a new radiator cap for my bucky because turns out that's what was overheating um and then i was looking up o codes because on my auto feeding program i like to run an if statement at the feed section so when it gets to the last part it doesn't try feed
01:10:50
Curt
Doesn't count.
01:10:54
Curt
Ah.
01:11:05
Curt
Mm hmm.
01:11:10
Curt
Okay.
01:11:11
jspec_engineering
then you can have a shorter remnant because it doesn't yeet it out at 2000 RPM.
01:11:14
Curt
ah Right. Yeah.
01:11:16
jspec_engineering
Because that's, yeah, super exciting when that happens. um Yeah, then I was looking up Z's knife supplies because I went to go get some EDM stones and some work. He needs me to machine some stuff.
01:11:26
jspec_engineering
Looking at a table for my assembly slash packing room.
01:11:33
jspec_engineering
Looking for a DIY automatic gum tape dispenser. There are no projects that I can find. because I don't want to spend no they're freaking silly expensive.
01:11:43
Curt
Really?
01:11:44
jspec_engineering
um Yeah, they are that's millimeters. ah Yeah, they're like eight $900 for the for the nice fancy ones you just push button and it spits up tight.
01:11:54
Curt
I'll see what they are here just for shits and giggles.
01:11:55
jspec_engineering
um Looking at order cards.
01:11:58
Curt
Yes.
01:12:00
jspec_engineering
Looking at the anchor point, which is on sale, and there are seven units available.
01:12:03
Curt
Hmm.
01:12:04
jspec_engineering
um Looking at dial indicators for the grinder, I ended up just making a plan with my finger the indicator to set my Z. Shit, I was meant to send my uncle a video a picture of that. He's got the same grinder as me.
01:12:17
jspec_engineering
And I was the dial is not accurate. i'm like, no, shit, it's not accurate. Put an indicator, and then you can actually measure measure the physical movements of the Z slide. He's like, ah, okay.
01:12:27
jspec_engineering
So I was meant to send a picture. And then i was seeing if they still stock the car the compressor I use. They do. I need to go buy another one before they stop stocking it.
01:12:35
Curt
Okay. Okay.
01:12:37
jspec_engineering
Because my one is running longer and longer and longer in the day.
01:12:39
Curt
e
01:12:40
jspec_engineering
Which is less than ideal. Yeah.
01:12:43
Curt
Cool.
01:12:44
jspec_engineering
I have two. One is just a tank.
01:12:46
Curt
Right, yeah, yeah.
01:12:46
jspec_engineering
um But yeah, sorry. Just seeing... ah things went away on my screen now but yeah that's that's what I've been googling i I've now just closed ah out most of my tabs I've left open Wordle Spangled and Connections all the New York Times games and yeah Strands sorry Strands yeah that I can at least practice doing word things and I was looking at shelves again for the assembly room
01:13:04
Curt
Spangled? Oh, OK, OK. I guess I'm behind the... OK, OK.
01:13:16
Curt
Oh, and my wife said you should do the, what is it called? The mini or something. It's like a mini crossword. It comes out every day. She said it's fun too. she's like She's like, if you do if you're doing Wordle, you'll probably like that one too.
01:13:25
jspec_engineering
Yes. Okay.
01:13:27
Curt
So she does all those as well.
01:13:29
jspec_engineering
Yeah, Wordle. I love Wordle. I've got a system that works pretty freaking well.
01:13:33
Curt
Nice.
01:13:35
jspec_engineering
So, yeah, like it's it's really hard to stuff it up. And then if you get to the last and you haven't got it yet, you open an incognito tab and you go and do until you get it there. And then you come back and finish it so you don't lose your count.
01:13:45
Curt
Nice.
01:13:47
jspec_engineering
I have systems in place to make sure that I don't lose. he's Actually, Danik and I were chatting about this on on Sunday morning. We went for in for breakfast. we were chatting about that. like Neither of us really like to be in the middle of the pack. like We do the quiz nights on a Wednesday.
01:14:03
jspec_engineering
We like winning. I'm there to win. I'm not there to be in the middle of the pack. I'm there to freaking win. The robot stuff, I'm there to win.
01:14:08
Curt
Right.
01:14:09
jspec_engineering
like I'm either podiuming or I'm winning.
01:14:10
Curt
Yeah.
01:14:12
jspec_engineering
I'm not there to to come last.
01:14:13
Curt
Right.
01:14:14
jspec_engineering
And I tend to get very competitive with things that I do.
01:14:17
Curt
So in Jamie's world, it's it's not about the friends you meet along the way.
01:14:19
jspec_engineering
I like that.
01:14:21
Curt
It's about the people that you crush.
01:14:24
jspec_engineering
exactly 100 i'm there to win otherwise why are you there like yeah i tend i tend to be a little bit competitive just a little a job winning winning is fun oh yeah right cool so uh okay from oh okay i'm scrolled down a little bit here okay cool so where can people find you
01:14:28
Curt
this
01:14:34
Curt
Fair enough.
Pen Sales and Production Updates
01:14:49
Curt
People can find me at confoundedmachine.com. I think the next drop of pens coming out is going to be a bushel of Canada pens because I kind of want to finish those while the timing is fun. Although the timing might last for a very long time. We'll see how that goes.
01:15:02
Curt
ah So that should be open. i think it's going
01:15:04
jspec_engineering
I'm sorry.
01:15:05
Curt
I think it's going to be open to the world, but I think I'm going to, I think I'm going to put some things in place, um, to basically still incentivize Canadians. Cause it is a Canadian pen. It's a bunch of Canadian shit all over it. Like I gotta, I gotta, I gotta give these, uh, my, my local friends a little bit of a little bit of a leg up. So I think i'm going to work some magic into it. I'll have more information coming up, but yeah, all my information's on there. You can sign up on newsletter stuff on the contact page or poke around on the media page. And it links back to here if you don't know how to get here because you're already here listening.
01:15:36
Curt
Anyways, how about you, Jamie? How can people find out about your wares?
01:15:39
jspec_engineering
Nice. Yeah, you can find us at jspeceng.com or jspec underscore engineering, I believe, on Instagram. um Yeah, you can find out more about the Anchor Point. There will be some more resources going up, including blank palette models and a dummy model for you to print if you want to see what it's going to look like in your machine.
01:16:00
jspec_engineering
Because someone asked me for that.
01:16:00
Curt
That's good idea.
01:16:01
jspec_engineering
Yeah, I put out a Q&A for Anchor Point questions, and that was one of the questions. Is there a 3D printed model available? So I made a dummy model. um Yes, it is jspec underscore engineering.
01:16:12
jspec_engineering
Just wanted to make sure of that for the Instagram. ah But yeah, we've got anchor points for sale on the on the website currently. We also have a pre-order for batch two, but please buy batch one first. um And then there's also shirts that are designed by my lovely wife, Danica.
01:16:26
jspec_engineering
Those will be there till the end of the month. And then there will be new designs. Chip fans will still be there, but there'll be new designs to replace the other shirts that are available now. So...
01:16:37
jspec_engineering
You have until the end of the month, and then they're gone for a while, or probably ever. Who knows? You never know with my lovely wife, who is our podcast producer, just for some context.
01:16:42
Curt
Yeah.
01:16:48
jspec_engineering
So yeah, what what are you up to today, Kurt?
01:16:50
Curt
Today is going to be a fun-filled day ah where I'm going to put headphones on and I'm going to blank out a whole wackadoo of pen bodies. And as they're blanking, I throw them into the hard engine. It does all the internal work.
01:17:00
Curt
So it's just a super tedious day.
01:17:03
jspec_engineering
Nice.
01:17:03
Curt
It's nice. It's a productive day, but it's a very boring day. It's one of my least favorite things to do, but it's also super nice feeling because it's the most like annoying part of the pen to machine.
01:17:08
jspec_engineering
luck Yeah.
01:17:12
Curt
um And then just having them just like come out as I'm doing other things. It's just, it's kind of, it's kind of pleasing. So.
01:17:20
jspec_engineering
Yeah, you're putting in the legwork up front.
01:17:20
Curt
Totally. Yeah, exactly. Once this is all done after this, it's all just kind of fun, like machine work where I can be doing higher level stuff as opposed to this pure grunt slave work, which today is going to be.
01:17:23
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
01:17:27
jspec_engineering
Yeah.
01:17:30
Curt
So, yeah.
01:17:31
jspec_engineering
It's like grinding, grinding anchor point pads.
01:17:33
Curt
Totally.
01:17:34
jspec_engineering
Super fun to spend 15 minutes on each one.
01:17:35
Curt
Right. Yeah.
01:17:37
jspec_engineering
It's the best.
01:17:37
Curt
Right. Yeah, exactly. So how about you?
01:17:39
jspec_engineering
ah yeah um
01:17:40
Curt
What's your what's your good?
01:17:41
jspec_engineering
So you now ask you about it off the podcast, it's fun. No, no, I was curious about your process there with you blanking up the OD on the big lathe. And then are you drilling the drilling and reaming in the hard inch?
01:17:53
Curt
Yeah, basically, i yeah I put the whole stick into the the manual lathe because it has tailstock.
01:17:55
jspec_engineering
Or what are you doing? in the
01:17:59
Curt
And then I i rough it, finish it, just so I get a really nice outside, very consistent um diameter, part it.
01:18:00
jspec_engineering
yeah
01:18:05
Curt
And then that that blank goes into the hard edge.
01:18:06
jspec_engineering
yeah
01:18:07
Curt
The hard edge drills it, reams it, threads the ends, chamfers it, makes it all pretty, spits it out. um Yeah, so it does all the internal work.
01:18:14
jspec_engineering
Okay.
01:18:14
Curt
I do all the external work.
01:18:16
jspec_engineering
Oh, you're drilling and reaming. Is that all in one operation or is the reaming still a separate operation?
01:18:18
Curt
No, no, no, no. The reaming is technically like after everything is done because then I do a through spindle coolant.
01:18:21
jspec_engineering
Okay.
01:18:25
Curt
Yeah.
01:18:26
jspec_engineering
Yeah, i was going to say because it seems like that might require more setup.
01:18:29
Curt
Yeah, yeah.
01:18:30
jspec_engineering
ah Okay. and was just curious.
01:18:31
Curt
Yeah, if i was I was...
01:18:32
jspec_engineering
Okay. And does your manual lathe have a name?
01:18:34
Curt
It doesn't. No, it definitely doesn't have a name. It should have a name. i don't know what I should call it.
01:18:38
jspec_engineering
Okay. Yeah, we'll fix that. Emmanuel.
01:18:40
Curt
Emmanuel.
01:18:44
Curt
I do like that.
01:18:46
jspec_engineering
yeah after the podcast I'll tell you why that's so funny but yeah that's a brilliant name ah yeah I'm gonna I'm gonna go sleep and then tomorrow morning I've got to set up to run some tool steel in the LK some setup for steel currently and ship out another two anchor points tomorrow because I'll split the orders so that we can try and avoid tariffs but who knows we're gonna find out
01:18:48
Curt
ah
01:19:03
Curt
do
01:19:09
Curt
Yeah, every day is a surprise. Mm-hmm.
01:19:12
jspec_engineering
Yeah, well, because exactly. it It changes on a day-to-day basis.
01:19:15
Curt
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Conclusion and Listener Engagement
01:19:17
jspec_engineering
ah john Anyway, guys, thank you very much for listening. Please consider sharing this with someone who you think might also enjoy our antics. ah Give us a five-star review and like and subscribe on YouTube.
01:19:30
jspec_engineering
For those on YouTube, we're on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. And for the people over there, we're on YouTube. Thank you very much for listening, and we will see you next week.
01:19:38
Curt
Take care all.