DIY Hot Box for Drying Leather

I decided to build a hot box to speed up the drying time between processes during leatherwork.

Dwight and some other kindly leather working souls are engaged in a thread over at the leatherworkers.net forum and it finally inspired me to research and create one of these little time saving devices of my own.

The following will provide you my results and insights into the process.  Bear in mind that this is a work in progress and things are subject to change as the hot box moves from concept to reality.

I'll update photos as construction proceeds.

Enerlites HET06-4H-W or Defiant 460-974 (6.4-Amp 4-Hour Timer) 

LED Digital 110V Temperature Controller MH1210F

150W 110V Ceramic Heat Emitter

110v AC to 12v DC Transformer (5 Amp)

Pulse Width Modulators (Fan Speed Control)

120x120mm CPU Cooling Fan

Plaskolite Panel1199233A

Hot Box Wiring Schematic w/MH1210F Thermostat and Optional PWM Fan Controls

Hot Box Dimensions Front
Note: Width dimensions of opening are to accommodate lighting panel grid.

Hot Box Dimensions Back

Cut sheet for a 24" x 90 panel (modified cabinet depth to 11 3/4" to use what I had on hand)

The following photos show the plywood assembly.  Note the holes cut into the face panel for the controls.

Used a length of 1/4" Pex toilet fill line cut into 2" lengths as stand-offs.  Tapped the plywood and mounted the CPU fans with 4" 8-32 round head screws.  Had a couple of old porcelain medium base lamp holders.  Ceramic heat lamps installed.

View of the sub-top with holes cut for wiring.

110V AC to 12V DC transformer wired up.

Doors cut and mounted.

3/8" plywood back panel glued and nailed.  Note access cut-out in panel for wiring.

Pulse Width Modulators installed and tested with fan... works like a charm.  Here you can see the thermostat being wired.  I used 18 gauge stranded wire throughout.

Single gange cut-in box installed which will house the timer.  Colored tape was used to mark the hots, neutrals, and grounds.

Here, 10-24 tee nuts are epoxied, then screwed onto the back of the cabinet.

Came up with an idea for my pegs using 10-24 all thread cut to 6" lengths, covered them in heat shrink tubing, then installed brake bleeder caps on the ends.  NOTE: I had tried to epoxy wood dowels sections to the heads of flat head screws, but the glue failed.

Shelves cut to size... Can't remove without flexing the shelf or removing the door.  I may add some extensions to the shelf cleats to solve this problem.

 The holy grail has been reached... 140º F...!!!

Some testing results:

• Changed to all-thread pegs... working great now.
• Shelves can't be removed without flexing or removing doors.  Will glue some extensions to the shelf cleats.
• Thermostat read out is consistent with oven thermometer.
• 120º F - 15 minutes
• 130º F - 22 minutes
• 140º F - 30 minutes
• Thermostat interval 140º to 137º - 2 minutes
• Reheat to 140º cut off - 3 minutes

I may change the cycle interval from 2 degrees to 5 degrees to reduce wear and tear on the thermostat.

Hope this helps,

Mike

CB3200 Machine Labels - Cheat Sheets

Now that I am old, it has become easier and easier to forget some of my machine settings between uses.  I find myself wasting time looking things up that I should remember and I don't see the situation getting any better.

I created these labels from the Cowboy CB3200 manual, tips I have learned over time on setting thread tension, and some needle/thread/thickness recommendations from WizCrafts over at leatherworker.net, printed them on a clear inkjet label sheet, and affixed them to my machine.  

Now all of the information needed to match the needle and thread to the material thickness, to determine which direction in which to insert and thread the needle and bobbin, and to adjust the tension is right on the sewing machine.

Following are a couple of pictures of the labels on the machine and here is a pdf file of the labels that you can download and use to print your own.

Hope this helps.

Michael

Black Pipe Pendant Lamp

I needed a new lamp over my drafting table and decided to come up with an industrial looking black pipe design.

Parts are mostly generic and available from home improvement stores and plumbing/electrical houses.  I found the best prices were Value Brand black pipe fittings at zoro.com plus free shipping.

Deciding upon 3/4" pipe for a beefier look, the next thing was to think forward about mounting the fixture to a standard electrical box for safety and code compliance.  The mounting holes on the 3/4" flange did not match up with anything I could find.  However, the 1" flange mounts pefectly to what they call an "old work octagon metal box".  The flange also completely covers the electrical box so there will be no need to use some sort of intermediate plastic or wood ceiling plate.  The 1" flange is stepped down to 3/4" by using a bushing... problem solved.

All of the parts come either very oily or covered with an anti-rust coating.  Kerosene cleaned off the coating on the pipe and soaking the parts in a solution of Dawn dishwashing soap removed the oily residue.  After drying the parts with a compressor, they were sealed with Minwax Wipe On Poly.  After assembly they will get a second coat.  Be sure to plan enough time to clean, dry, and coat the parts at the same time because rust will form very quickly.

SPT-1 two conductor 18 gauge lamp wire is sufficient for the two 80 watt lamps planned.

Lay out the parts and run the wire through them before assembly.

This photo above shows the 1" flange, the reducing bushing, the 3/4" pipe, and the 3 1/2" old work octagon electrical box.  The box will be secured to a wood brace between the ceiling trusses.

During assembly, use a square on the work surface to insure that the vertical pipe is aligned correctly with the lamp couplings.

It worked well to begin at the bottom and work up to the mounting flange.

This lamp will use two each of this phenolic lamp socket and ring.

Satco 80-1077 - 801077

Sand the bottom of the socket ring.

Mix up some 5-minute epoxy and coat the bottom of the socket ring and the bottom surface of the reducing coupling at the bottom of the lamp.

The socket ring and the outside diameter of the reducing coupling were exactly the same size.  Sometimes things just work out.

Hold the ring against the coupling until the epoxy begins to set up.  Before the epoxy sets up completely, it is possible to wipe off any excess epoxy with rubbing alcohol.

Run the wire through the socket mounting bracket, split and strip a couple of inches of insulation from the wire.  Twist the exposed wire.

I like to tin the wires to keep them from breaking when attaching to the socket screws.

Run the ribbed wire to the neutral (silver) screw and the non-ribbed wire to the hot (brass) screw.  It is a good practice to always run the hot wire through the switch.  The ribbed wire is typically used as the neutral.

Before inserting the socket into the socket ring, rotate it counter-clockwise about 10 times so that after screwing the socket into the ring, the wire won't be twisted inside the pipe.  You can add some Shoe-Goo or silicone to the threads before installing the socket to "glue" them together.  I chose not to in the end.  I'll just hold the socket to keep it from twisting while screwing in a lamp.

Here is the finished pendant lamp still laying on the workbench.  Using a continuity tester, all connections were checked.

Hope this helped.

Mike

Sig Sauer 522 Front QD Push Button Sling Swivel

Attaching a front sling mount to the Sig 522 has been causing quite a bit of confusion for some time now.  This blog entry is to answer some questions and give at least one solution.  I wanted a swivel QD (quick detach) mount to accommodate a 1.25" sling width. 

First off, some technical info:

• The faux gas block on the 522 is outfitted with 10-32 threaded holes on both sides.
• The depth of these holes is .4575 inches deep.

Source:

DoubleStar UMPB A202 QD Push Button Sling Swivel & Mount 

Price: $15.99

10-32 QD Mount Only

Price: $9.99

The faux gas block as the rifle comes from the factory.

A closer view of the faux gas block.

Ace model UMPB-A202 package contents.


Ace model UMPB-A202 comes complete with the QD for 1.25 inch strap, a 10-32 flat head screw, and a 10-32 nut.

The threaded holes are .4575 inches deep and, fortunately, the flat head screw is short enough not to bottom out in the hole.

Insert the screw through the bottom of the QD mount, add some blue loctite...

... and screw it down tight into the faux gas block threaded hole.

Snapping in the QD swivel, there is full 360º rotation and the mechanism engages and releases cleanly.  The nut was not used.

With the 1.25 inch strap attached to the swivel.

Side view of swivel.

Side view of rifle with swivel and strap attached.

1.25 inch strap.

Top view of QD swivel and strap installed.

Hope you found this information helpful.
Mike