Miniature Tools

[john k]

I knew they were small then I saw the penny!     That is a bunch of work, and something awful nice to show for it.   I got to ask, what kind of lighted magnifier do you use?

[Art Rafael]

Thanks John.  I appreciate your thoughts.  Any more I have to keep quite an assortment of magnifiers including reading glasses, jeweler's loupe, magnifying glass lamp and an assortment of lighting devices.  And I'm always looking for better ones.  Isn't that the way it goes?  I might have to start building full scale stuff soon.  Ralph

[turnnut]

thanks for the update to the question by John K.  I was thinking along the same line.

I have started keeping a magnifying glass in most rooms, at least two in the garage.

I have one of the older shop lighted magnifyer with the cast iron base, it seems like
everytime I check one of my wrenches, that light is turned on.

Frank 

[Art Rafael]

I have been pondering the idea to build a miniature model of an old timey car / wagon jack and have looked for a full scale model or suitable pictures for quite some time but have not yet found one like the one I remember from days gone by.  As I remember, it did ratchet up mechanically, and a small click lever held it up while the handle was lowered to ratchet up another stroke.  It worked similarly in the lowering mode.  But I have been unable to visualize the the relative components and mechanical interaction of that jack and decided to build a model of one that I could visualize and whose picture I found on the net.





I did not photo document the build process since its design is very straight forward as evidenced by the finished model.  And yet its operation is quite sophisticated in that the effort and resistance arms are configured on different planes and anchored on an elbowed fulcrum point allowing it to lock-over at the completion of the stroke.  I didn't invent this mechanical marvel - only learned to appreciate it more as I attempted to create a miniature version.





Since this model was built entirely from bar stock (brass), and no cast parts were used, it is noteworthy that it required some complicated and delicate silver soldering operations.  On various parts, several soldering operations were performed in sequence employing different solder hardness under carefully regulated temperatures so that one soldering operation would not cause prior joints to overheat and fall apart.  Several times I messed up and had to start over. 
This was a challenging project that helped me better appreciate mechanical relationships and learn torch temperature control.


Comparative scale:

[john k]

Dang, you needed a wagon jack photo?   Most people don't realize the early ones were wood, only do an inch lift, but with zero suspension and solid tire, it was enough.   A brass jack,  so like seeing things of brass. 

[rusty]

It does look really kewl in brass tho :)

[HeelSpur]

Holy cow, that is awesome.

[Papaw]

Another Art Rafael creation!

[turnnut]

Art Rafael, you did it again, just when I thought that I had seen everything. (I keep going back
to your other postings) you come up with another home run.  I kept studying the 1st picture of the jack, but when I got to the picture of it in your hand, it put a smile on my face, thank you.

did you do the castings like on your wrench & vise projects ?

thanks for sharing, have a good day, Frank

[Papaw]

No casting on that one, he said. Silver solder.

Since this model was built entirely from bar stock (brass), and no cast parts were used, it is noteworthy that it required some complicated and delicate silver soldering operations.  On various parts, several soldering operations were performed in sequence employing different solder hardness under carefully regulated temperatures so that one soldering operation would not cause prior joints to overheat and fall apart.  Several times I messed up and had to start over. 

[Art Rafael]

Thanks, Gents.

You are right, John.  One has to be of a certain vintage or culture to know what a wagon jack is and that earlier ones were primarily made of wood. And though they were simplistic in appearance, they employed some complex physics - pioneer ingenuity.  I had seen an iron model and just had to fabricate a miniature.

Thanks again Frank.  Your endorsement by the smile on your face and your kind words is gratifying and flattering.  After fabricating this model by cutting, filing, drilling, etc and by posing, arranging and "welding" that is - brazing called silver soldering the many small parts, I've come to the conclusion that it may have been easier to build  wax models, which is much easier to cut and form, and then cast the parts.  But the joy of doing it either way and the lessons learned were great. 

Thanks rusty, heelspur and Papaw for appreciating my work and for being always so encouraging.  I am working on a short video to demonstrate how these jacks operate and hope to post it soon.

Ralph

[bear_man]

Whew!  I QUIETLY went through this thread and I have nothing but admiration for someone who'd even begin such a master-work.  I've never seen anything like your work, Ralph.  Thank you for sharing it with us!

[Art Rafael]

Thank you, bear_man.  Sometimes I do think that some kind of insanity prevails, and other times - I'm sure it does.  But I've been this way since I was a kid, so I just roll with it.  Actually, when I post a finished piece like this jack it represents countless hours of visualizing, planning and execution and rethinking and execution and execution and execution before buffing and polishing if I don't have to start over, and sometimes an acceptable final product results.   Ralph

[Branson]

Art, I think I'm in love!  That jack is absolutely wonderful!

I think, too, that I might have some measured drawings of another jack you might find interesting.  It's the jack issued by the Ordnance Department during the Civil War.  It's a screw jack, and IIRC, made mostly of bronze.  I've never seen one in person, but if you made one, I could make the picture bigger and tell myself I have.  I'll dig around for the drawings.

[Chillylulu]

Very nice.  Did you color the solder joins?

Chilly