Got to play with a Harbor Freight benchtop...

[Missourian]

...wood lathe today...

Got a 25% off coupon last month and ordered this of HF's website.

Ended up at $195 + tax and $7 shipping.

I have no idea what I'm doing, but I can see this becoming addictive.

Made a couple tool handles to start off...

 

[fncceo]

Been working on a project for some months now ... I basically just sign my pay checks over to Harbor Freight ...

 

[Missourian]

Been working on a project for some months now ... I basically just sign my pay checks over to Harbor Freight ...

View attachment 661997

That is impressive.

I have no idea what it is (a wing?) and it's still fricken impressive...

 

[fncceo]

That is impressive.

I have no idea what it is (a wing?) and it's still fricken impressive...

Two wings, actually.

If I ever finish it ... it's supposed to look something like this ...

 

[Missourian]

Two wings, actually.

That's awesome. Incredible workmanship.

 

[Missourian]

Been working on a project for some months now ... I basically just sign my pay checks over to Harbor Freight ...

View attachment 661997

Are those pins rivets...or something else?

 

[fncceo]

That's awesome. Incredible workmanship.

To be fair, most of the workmanship comes from the kit builder ... "Van's Aircraft".

They have sold thousands of kits over the past 50 years, nearly 12,000 of those kids were finished and flying.

They do most of the really critical alignment work, I just cut, drill, dimple, and rivet.

 

[fncceo]

Are those pins rivets...or something else?

The Van's uses mostly solid A/N rivets countersunk to be flush. For interior rivets, with no airflow, they use blind or pop rivets.

 

[Missourian]

To be fair, most of the workmanship comes from the kit builder ... "Van's Aircraft".

They have sold thousands of kits over the past 50 years, nearly 12,000 of those kids were finished and flying.

They do most of the really critical alignment work, I just cut, drill, dimple, and rivet.

Looks amazing.

That is a super cool project.

 

[fncceo]

Looks amazing.

That is a super cool project.

It's an expensive project. But ... if I finish it ... I'll have spent about $100K for a plane that, if I could buy one with the same performance, would cost me 5 to 10 times that.

A few of these have even been flown around the world solo. One guy in Australia flew his around the world solo four times.

 

[toobfreak]

...wood lathe today...
Got a 25% off coupon last month and ordered this of HF's website.
Ended up at $195 + tax and $7 shipping.
I have no idea what I'm doing, but I can see this becoming addictive.
Made a couple tool handles to start off...

It'll last you just long enough to get a feel for what you are doing enough to want a good lathe after this one falls apart prematurely from cheap foreign steel and poor tolerances.

 

[jackflash]

Been working on a project for some months now ... I basically just sign my pay checks over to Harbor Freight ...

View attachment 661997

I hear ya on that one!

 

[westwall]

Been working on a project for some months now ... I basically just sign my pay checks over to Harbor Freight ...

View attachment 661997

Other than the obvious, what are you building?

 

[fncceo]

Other than the obvious, what are you building?

Van's RV-7 with, ultimately, a Superior XP IO-360 180HP engine and Dynon Skyview HDX avionics.

 

[westwall]

It's an expensive project. But ... if I finish it ... I'll have spent about $100K for a plane that, if I could buy one with the same performance, would cost me 5 to 10 times that.

A few of these have even been flown around the world solo. One guy in Australia flew his around the world solo four times.

Which powerplant are you planning on using?

 

[westwall]

Van's RV-7 with, ultimately, a Superior XP IO-360 180HP engine and Dynon Skyview HDX avionics.

Very nice package. You might want to consider upgrading to Garmin. I hear the Dynon is hard to get support for.

Excellent choice the engine.

 

[fncceo]

Which powerplant are you planning on using?

Superior XP (a non-certified Lycoming clone) IO-360 (180HP) with a 3-blade composite variable pitch prop.

However, the first flight will most likely be with any mid-time IO-360 I can lay my hands on.

 

[fncceo]

Very nice package. You might want to consider upgrading to Garmin. I hear the Dynon is hard to get support for.

Excellent choice the engine.

Yes, I'm really all looking into that. It's a decision that is still a couple years away. I like the fact that Dynon integrates the glass cockpit with NAV/COM, xponder, auto pilot, and engine management. All you really need to upgrade to IFR is a Garmin GNS and an VOR / ILS indicator.

Right now, my instrument panel consists of many full-scale pics of the avionics pinned to a corkboard. shaped like my panel.

 

[westwall]

Yes, I'm really all looking into that. It's a decision that is still a couple years away. I like the fact that Dynon integrates the glass cockpit with NAV/COM, xponder, auto pilot, and engine management. All you really need to upgrade to IFR is a Garmin GNS and an VOR / ILS indicator.

Right now, my instrument panel consists of many full-scale pics of the avionics pinned to a corkboard. shaped like my panel.

Garmin does all of that too. I used to run Aspen, but they had some serious delivery problems.

What does a new Superior 360 run, about 30K?

 

[fncceo]

Garmin does all of that too. I used to run Aspen, but they had some serious delivery problems.

What does a new Superior 360 run, about 30K?

32K as a kit. I'm still trying to get an assembled price from the manufacturer or Aircraft Spruce.