An Inventor's Quest for the NHL Pt. 30
A Straightforward Update
This series follows my attempt to develop a product that I dream of getting into the elite levels of hockey. Previously on the Quest: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Concept Launch, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25, Part 26, Part 27, Part 28, Part 29
I don’t have an interesting angle for the update this week, so if it’s alright with you, I’ll keep it simple and straightforward.
As you might remember, I had made the crossbar – the floating metal bar going across the face – extraordinarily thick during testing, so that I could focus on the ropes. Now that I have (some) confidence in the ropes after additional testing, I thought it was time to thin out the crossbar.
I bent some 4140 steel rod into shape and used a spot welder to add on the little posts that the rope wraps around.
![[video-to-gif output image]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffa71dfe4-f403-490e-93fe-51dc06a11837_600x338.gif "[video-to-gif output image]")
By the way, how cool is it that you can just buy a thing that shoots electricity through metal until it melts for $150? I imagine the low voltage means that more of the rod is heat-affected than would be ideal but seems fine for now.
I did that a few times, spot-welding and trimming to come up with my new crossbar.
A drop test promptly bent the bar
Of course, I do want the crossbar to bend to act as a safety valve, but this happened a little earlier than I’d like. A more gradual arc with fewer flat sections might work. Or worst case, a slightly thicker diameter.
Happy holidays and thanks as always for reading,
Surjan
If you need parts welded, your local muffler repair shop will have mechanics who weld 4 hours a day for the past 40 years, and can usually perform minor welding work for very reasonable rates. Ie they can take your spot welds and run a bead around the joint leaving a smooth surface where the weld is no longer the weak point.
I just found this, but a few ideas came to mind after watching your youtube.
Bar stock is much stronger than tube stock, but is heavier. On way to address this is to work with stainless steel tube, then fill it with molten aluminum, this also removes the problem of the inner edge when you drill it abrading the edges of your string.
I assume that you have discovered cobalt drill bits and using oil when drilling, any oil works, be it 5w-30 or canola, certain oils have different benefits.
To remove all of the rough bits after working on your piece. toss it in a "vibratory tumbler". That may remove the need of having inserts.
Check out boafit.com They have a micro adjustment locking kevlar gizmo which is very compact, and may make you knot tying less annoying.
Also, tying knots is annoying, try crimping, maybe in addition to knots. It works wonders with steel cable.
Also in relation to this page, heat treating steel is much easier than you may imagine. It doesn't need to be perfect the first time. When I was 10, 3 hours a week for 2 years I helped out in a blacksmith shop. One day he made a forge in about 10 minutes with 5 fire bricks, a tank of propane and a weed burner. We then used that (low temp) forge to harden some chisels that we would use when making scroll work using the coal forge.