Very interesting project.....

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Hey guys,The owner(Scott) of the sign shop that I weld for brought this homemade fixture(someone else made it) to my shop to see if I can fix/improve it. Scott related that they use this to sandblast the wooden sections of some of the wood signs they make to effect a grain pattern to enhance the appearance. The wires flex a bit during the sandblasting & allow the wires to move causing a "ripple" on the wood surface. This one just barely fits in his cabinet & he asked me if I could modify it a bit by cutting it down 3"(height), reinforcing the frame(it's bowed), & make changing & tensioning the wires easier. He wants to be able to change the wires individually instead of (3) at a time as configured.There are (64) wires of .032 dia. spaced .250(1/4") & each side(1" angle) has (64) holes drilled & spaced evenly. Hmmmmmmm......quite a challenge. After looking it over, I formulated a plan of attack to start with changing the wire attach setup. The optimum solution is to have each wire adjusting eye on alternate sides to allow room for tension adjustments & be able to change one wire at a time if necessary.I knew about "Alvin Eye Threaded Bolts" having used them many years ago, although the size would be the issue. I needed "small"......like nothing larger than 8-32 thd. After (2) hours searching on Google, I found them.......WHEW!!!! Went ahead & ordered them & hopefully will have by mid-week. Scott said he needs this ASAP......I told him simply that I will get it done & not to expect anytime less than a week as I have to get the parts. He agreed he can get by with a makeshift setup his pap made till I get this done. He, of course, asked: "How much?". I told him that I could only give a ballpark of time involved & would not exceed $300.....he was satisfied with that as a new one is $500 & was not able to change wires & a replacement wire unit was $300.Here's some pics. I'll photograph each progression of modification & post them when finished. BTW, how many of you know about or have used "Alvin Eye Thds."? Those with a boat may find them familiar.Denny Attached ImagesComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:you show the pic of the alvin eyes but not the pic containing the info on how you paid for them. The credit card number in particular would be helpful. Daddy needs a new weldin machine.. seriously looks interesting. A pic of the blasted wood would be helpful to see the effect (as it's hard to understand whatforyoumeanexactly)Miller thunderbolt 250Decastar 135ERecovering tool-o-holic ESAB OAI have been interested or involved in Electrical, Fire Alarm, Auto, Marine, Welding, Electronics ETC to name a just a few. So YES you can own too many tools.
Reply:Awesomely clever device and even more clever on how to cut it down..... what I would like to see is a piece of the wood and what it looks like after the wires do their thing.....
Reply:Reminds me of the inside of a piano. Interesting device, I look forward to seeing it completed. Do you think you could get a picture of some of the signs that it has been used on; I'm not quite picturing what it does exactly.HH 187Miller Bluestar1EAHP AlphaTig 200X
Reply:Interesting. However if you sand blast wood the actual wood grain will show up when painted because the grain is harder then the rest of the wood so it doesn't get worn away as fast as the rest when blasted.
Reply:Cool stuff Denny. I've used Alvin eye bolts before just didn't know what they were called. They really work great in tight places.X2 on seeing one of the wooden signs.Will you stagger the rows so you can fit all those wires in the same form factor? Staggering like they do on harps or pianos?Can't wait to see the progress on this one.....Cheers.Glenn.Sign on East Texas payphone: Calls to God 40 cents......it's a local call...
Reply:Subscribed, show us your magic Denny.If you don't want to stand behind our Troops, feel free to stand in front of them.
Reply:You going to use some kind of crimp on sleeve instead of tieing knots?"The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get rich quick theory of life." -Theodore Roosevelt
Reply:Hey guys,Finally had a chance to get back to this project. I couldn't find, anywhere, the exact size Alvin eye bolts I needed, so I found a company in Mass. that had nice, small std. thd. eye bolts(8X32). None of the local outlets had anything that small in a threaded bolt, just had those with wood screw shanks. I stripped the frame, cut 2" from each side, re-welded for the height reduction as requested, straightened the angle, & welded a 1.25" X 3/16" strap to the bottom of the angle where the eye bolts mount to reinforce it. I drilled a .157 hole in every other position so as to alternate the threaded eyes on each side.Now, I had to figger out how to maintain the wires above the angle........yup........1/2" solid rnd rod 1.25" from inside surface would do nicely & no strain on the wire. Started installing the eye bolts on each side & now had to figger how to bind the ends of the wires in the eyeless holes. Hmmmmmm........ lead split shot. Went to the local sport shop & got (3) bags(60/ea) of 1/8" size. I started to string the wire & could see that a bit of tension would pull the wire thru the s/shot.......sh1t!!!!!! Ok.....take needle nose, form a small circle, & bend a 90* wire end.......hey, the wire is .035/70S-6.......70K tensile strength, right? Worked perfectly.I could see that Scott had to do some manuevering with this to get it in place in his sandblast cabinet, so I decided to make it a bit easier for him......Yup!....Handles! Cut (2) pieces of 1" X 1/8" flat stock, bent them in the press, & welded them in place. Sure made it easier to move around. Ok.....here's the pics so far. I'll post the finished unit over the weekend...... Gonna need (2) posts for the pics.... WAIT a couple min.!!!!! Thanks.....Denny Attached ImagesComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:2nd Group.....I'll post some closeups to show more detail when finished....Denny Attached ImagesComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:Originally Posted by VPTInteresting. However if you sand blast wood the actual wood grain will show up when painted because the grain is harder then the rest of the wood so it doesn't get worn away as fast as the rest when blasted.
Reply:Hey guys,Scott stopped at the shop yesterday & pleased with the modification. I had about half of it re-wired & he said he would finish it to learn the techniques I used. I showed him how I did it & showed him the .035 MIG wire(70S-6) I used as the original wire on the unit was .034 for the hardware store. I told him that the MIG wire was much stronger & he would get much more usage with it. He asked me if he could buy a 2# spool of wire & make him a jig to unspool it without it going to birdnesting......yup.....can do.I made the spool jig in an hour & works great & made a 2nd one to put on my TIG table......for a just-in-case emergency. Here's the pics.Denny Attached ImagesComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:Pretty ...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Originally Posted by GBMThat is what I was thinking... would like to see the effect this apparatus has on the sandblasted wood...Was the guy that sold them this equipment named ' Starbuck' ?