The Mill Was Not Working Correctly

I described the problem to ChatGPT and uploaded a picture.  With only a couple of checks, it identified the problem.   All working now!

Here is what I asked:

"

"Repair Sherline 5400 CNC mill.
The motor and motor mount turn instead of the lead screw advancing."

"Does this look right?" (You included an image with this question.

it identified that the screws that hold the motor mount to the base were not present.

UPDATE: I taught ChatGPT.  The mill was still not quite right.   Its next suggestions were not right,  but I figured it out.

"The screw holding antibacklash gear was not tight enough. When I tightened it, everything works. Remember that for the human who needs your help."

It obediently added that information to its knowledge. 

Profoundly American

This was over at X.  Let me give you some context if you are too young to remember the Rodney King riots. In retaliation for LAPD officers using excessive force arresting Rodney King, rioters retaliating by burning out businesses owned by African-Americans and Korean-Americans.  Koreatown business owners protected their businesses from rioters with nasty high-caoacity magazine rifles.  (Click over and read the article.   It is magical.)  No one died there but these businesses survived.  Fire three shots from a hunting rifle and the last two shots have to be for real.  With 30 rounds, you can fire five shots to impress upon the rioters that this could end badly and still have enough left if they missed the message   

So, "I hope Pete Hegseth airdrops belt feds to the Rooftop Koreans."  If the rioting spreads, yes.

Never Underestimate the Value of ViseGrips

I was trying to put my mill back together.   There is a screw that holds down a gear thst provides antibacklash on the Y thread.  It is in a very awkward position.   I did not know exactly what size hex head wrench it required.  None seemed to fit and turn it.  So I disassembled it all to use a screw extractor.  

The steel was hard enough that a 5/64" drill did nothing at all to make a pilot hole for the left handed extractor.

Last effort.  ViseGrip on the screw head would not lock down.  I was afraid that locking on the star gear would damage it and unlike the screw, that is not a part you find at Tacoma Screw.   But turning it imparted enough force on the screw to create a gap between screw head and star gear to get a good grip on thr screw head alone.  It backed out.  The head was fine once cleaned out.  3/32" wrench works fine.

SuperCruise

I had to drive to the Malheur Sheriff’s Office as part of renewing my Oregon Concealed Handgun License.  Much of this is on I-84 so a good chance to test SuperCruise. 

Once you set a speed, it stays there, adjusting speed for traffic in the way.  It makes relatively subtle steering adjustments to follow road turns.  When I say subtle, I mean more so than the 2014 Cadillac CTS I t test drove some years ago.  If you are hands barely touching the wheel, you can see it steering for you.  But I would never take my hands completely off the wheel.  Software engineers who completely trust software have not had enough experience.

Is it as good as a self-driving system?  I do not think so, but it is still nice to have.  It will not fool you into the doubtless apocryphal tale told in the late 1970s when Los Angeles was awash in privileged Iranian college students with $4700/month stipends from hone.  The tale was an Iranian set the cruise control on the van, then went in the back to make a sandwich. 

How Thick Do I Need?

While waiting for church to start I found myself wondering if using .5" or even .375" carbon fiber composite might be excessive.  None of these parts carry any substantial loads.  Sheer and tensile strength are almost irrelevant.   Deflection,  which is calculated with Young's modulus is what matters 

I found this dandy calculator page for calculating deflection.   Now, I am making stuff using plates, not beams, but plates are if anything a bit stiffer than beams, but I am not building railroad bridges or fighter jets.

For a 3" x 1" x .125' piece of carbon fiber composite,  a 20 pound weight causes .04" deflection.  A .125" thick plate of CFC is lighter,  cheaper,  and faster to cut than  375".  The only weakness with using it is that there are places that I want a blind hole using stainless steel threaded inserts.  Going into the edge of .125" is impractical for 6-32 screws.

Another strategy is to bind the  125" sheet to a .5" thick piece either with epoxy or through holes, screws, and nuts, then through hole the  5" thick piece to its mating part.  

My Y-axis should return from Sherline tomorrow and I can return to this..

Another benefit of thinking about this before church is the realization that the quarter circles need blind holes on the radii cuts.  The only way to drill those accurately is to do that edge before cutting the quarter circle. Otherwise,  there is no square edge to put edge down in the mill vise.

I Went to the Gym Today for the First Time Since Double Bypass

I obviouslywas in no condition to do so immediately before or after.  It will be nice to resume that.

Is there a "right" to a gym?

Is There a "Right" to Housing?

This has become the new idea of progressives, now that a right to Gender reassignment and a right to your preferred pronouns is beginning to sink into the swamp of delusions.

What does "right " mean.  Rights in the traditional liberal sense were guarantees of protection from governmental abuse.  It was a negative statement. The government might be prohibited from blocking you from housing.  If you had an ax in 19th century America,  there were no obstacles to you wandering in a forest, cutting down a tree or two and building a house.  The owners of the land (Indian or white) might object but there was so much land that a squatter might go unhindered for a long time.

In the modern sense, those arguing for a "right" mean not a limitation on government power but a guarantee that the government will make sure everyone has shelter.  A Christian society (which in spite of progressive efforts, this still is) has some sort of fellow-feeling obligation, especially since the government-induced housing crash of 2008 is still impacting housing creation worldwide. 

But what level of obligation is that?  Throughout most of human history,  the best that you could expect was a tent and somewhere to pitch it.  It would keep rain off your blankets and food.  With a little care, body heat from your family will keep you from freezing in most climates.

Any duty to n provide housing above and beyond that level usually turns into an expectation thst reflects progressive middle-class sensibilities: not too many people sleeping in each room. Indoor plumbing.  Heat,  and A/C in Phoenix.  Strictly speaking,  A/C is a luxury.  Few places in America require A/C for life. Some years ago. I saw a politician in Los Angeles claim that cable TV was a basic human right!

I was watching a documentary about Victorian England.   Of course. Workhouses appear.  They were unpleasant but they provided shelter from the weather and very basic food.  Does the modern equivalent meet the standard of that right?  Shelter in a dormitory form for sleep.  Perhaps basic ingredients for cooking, utensils?

Think and discuss.