War drums (the ultimate distraction), disHONESTY, and just another frelling bankrupt church...
The other day I bought an old (maybe 70's vintage?) Craftsmen 1/2 inch drill because I needed a 1/2 inch chuck drill to use as a poor-mans lathe to make some Dogbones for a variety of rigging projects. Sorta/kinda like these...
Why make my own dogbones you ask?
Let's just say at around $16 bucks a pop that's just a little more money than I want to spend me being Mr Cheapseats and all.
Anyway, popping over to my go-to purveyor of metal bits I find that a four foot length of 1/2 inch aluminum (6061 T6) rod cost all of $4 bucks. and which is enough to build twenty or so dogbones with. All I have to do is get out the hack saw, cut it up into 2 inch lengths, and then make in a bit narrower in the middle.
Hence the need for the 1/2 inch drill to use as a lathe.
On eBay I found just the sort of drill I wanted for $24 (which includes shipping to the Caribbean) and just a few days later I've got a new to me drill that works. Plus, as a bonus, I needed a drill to use with my ancient cheapo but oh-so-wonderful Craftsman drill press as new drills don't seem to fit it and this one works finestkind. Sure it is ugly and gnarly but it works so what's not to love?
So, for less than the price of two store dogbones, I got a new (to me) power tool and enough dogbones to last me for the foreseeable future and ,since I use a lot of dogbones, that's saying something.
The only downside of the exercise is having to clean up the incredible mess that turning aluminum rod bits into dogbones creates...
Listening to Tony Joe White
So it goes...
