Here a couple of hot taping/spade pilot drills, inserts/spades can be interchanged when dull. These are 1 1/4" in diameter in various length, the cutouts with holes on the shanks are for 1/8" wire put into place and bend on both sides 90 degree folded into pockets, these wires will pivot, fall outward when the pipe is drilled through and retrieving the larger piece, anywhere from around 4 inches to 16 inches or more.

Upper drill shows the insert/spade put in, [without the screw holding it]

Before major pipelines go into the ground vigorous test's are sometimes done like here, a test laboratory had me making test strips from pipes, every 90 or 180 degree, 2 thin strips were needed about 7 inches long, one near the outside of pipe, one near the inside, two strips in one section, saw cut first, bent flat, saw cut in half, then machined and ground surface for analyzing corrosion under chemical etc. also chemical composition for wear etc.

Looks good Konrad. If I hadn't injured my hand ten years back I'd still be in the trade. You've done a good job promoting the trade!

Interesting reading, Konrad, but could you explain in more detail what you meant by "and retrieving the larger piece, anywhere from around 4 inches to 16 inches or more"?

I couldn't quite visualize what was going on here.

I've been fortunate to make a bunch of tool holders with different angles, used in pipe facing before welding.

Since no odd ball size in rectangle bar stock is available, I got slabs of rounds, faced in lathe, cut strips, then cut to length in vertical saw, milled the two saw cut to about .010" over size, then ground, squared, within .001" to size, then milled.

Taped two slabs together before saw cut.

Ground to size, this will be a 30 degree style.

Here a finished product 45 degree style.

Had fun with some flying very hot metal chips coming off a hardened thread gauge, had to take off 3/8" in length, using ceramic insert.

It looks more dramatic in this picture because of low shutter speed on my little camera made the red strings allot wider then they really are.

Latest creation...
these metal strips, about 1/8 thick, ..had to cut out two window and insert, [sliver solder] HSS pieces into. These two spots had a wear spot from rollers running back and force under high pressure,..they called it pressure plates. They needed in a emergency basis, 2 day's. I'll be making a bunch of new one's from better material, [O1] then heat treat.

For the machine shop

To speed things up in the shop I've made nuts with the same hex size of 7/8", this is standard for 1/2 NC thread which I use most of the time, some nuts are 3/8 and 5/8 NC thread but I maintain the hex size of 7/8, this way, only one wrench size of 7/8 is needed throughout the shop.

As you see,.. no washer needed on these nuts.

Some fun parts made the other day using stainless 17- 4 PH, cut from solid block, used for fingers, a industrial fortune cookie baking machine holding the hot dough and dropping into a folding apparatus when inserting labels.

12 pieces, 7/8" deep cut

Then cut off in the bandsaw, I only needed one piece for a new holding unit, rest is spare parts for future orders, [ hopefully ? ]

Sliver soldered onto a long tubing, 1/4x1/2" which has a 1/8" rod through, supported with bearings on ends, soldered another finger, [machined similar] this is the center piece, [opposite finger] which can rotate, holding and releasing the baked dough.

Gorgeous.

Manufactured some small hex screws which couldn't be bought.

1/4" - 28NF x 1/4" long with 5/16 hex ..hardened for holding planer blades in place. Made of D2 material. Done on manual machine.

Here I came up with my own design in making a inspection stand for checking engine valve stems for concentricity before grinding,.. for a diesel engine rebuilder.

Looks great!

And...you can do a little of your own repair, ...Hydrostatic Transmission rebuild.

Hydrostatic transmission rebuild

Made some tapered Ring & Plug gauges, 1 degree inclusive taper, .20939" taper per foot.

Showing more detailed, step by step on these tool holders.

Turning sides on 14" diameter material.

Then grinding

Band saw cutting/milling sides and grinding

Milling

Going out for heat treatment.

Beautiful work and welds. I wish I could TIG like that.

Thanks, that's all Mig by the way!

Wow....even better then. TIG is much more "dialable" when comes to heat and making a good pool. If that was MIG, I am impressed even more.

I'll probably never do this myself but it looks impressed nontheless. Thanks for sharing.

Great craftsmanship on these gates!

Made a grafting tool....

Grafting

The time has come...retirement coming up..really? By next year around this time the machine shop be either sold or auctioned off.

Any interest please contact @ Horst's Quality Grinding & Machining in Edmonton

I'd be willing to work with the potential buyer to get familiar with customers & products...especially tool holders and molds.

Made up some hot tapping drills...longest 22 inches.

Made this face driver for lathe work when turning between centers, could be used for wood also. Morse 5 taper, hardened and ground including I.D. for center piece which under load transfers force onto the driver plate over 3 dowel pins.

Built a T handle on a tap for a guy this week that needed to get into a difficult spot. The wall thickness of the socket for the tap was too thick so the T handle worked well. I used my TIG machine for this

That's a interesting tap! Got a little hot and in the danger zone of loosing hardness, cooling the threads in water before the heat travels down would have helped.

Made a grinding fixture for grinding/sharpening 3/8" square HSS tools, 32 at the time, 7 degree angle on top, [rake]. Picture showing cutting V grooves on a ring using a vertical slotter.

Here showing 32 tools, two pieces held with one screw and flat bar from the side, finished ground on top using a rotary Blanchard type grinder...about 1/16 to 1/8" needs to be taken off.

More close up...

Have 2 - about 20 year old worn out drill chuck key repaired..I find the pin on the key engaging the chuck hole is too short when new...thus tilting too much when tightening the chuck and wearing out the teeth, I drilled out and reamed in lathe and installed a hardened dowel pin, should have a few more years life in them.

Oil field is getting busy again, been manufacturing some tooling/tool holders for cutting welding bevels on pipelines out in the field for welding, some going to Huston.

Single insert..

double insert and one prototype on the side.

A grinding fixture for internal grinding carbide sleeves..

Manufactured some meat grinding plates..