Update for Metal Shop Update

Space Teams Metal Shop
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The short, free Metal Shop Safety Update class will be available for a while longer. It is required to use the brake-shear-roller and the cold saw.

But the shop continues to evolve, so here are further updates for those who’ve taken the update class (or the full safety class in the same time period):

We have found springs to fix the shear clamp! This vastly simplifies using the shear, as it should hold your piece securely automatically. But you should always check that this is working correctly; if your piece pivots when sheared, it can damage the piece and the shear.

We are also asking that you leave the machine with the shear raised so that there is little or no spring compression. We think long term compression may have played a role in damaging the original springs. This also corresponds roughly to a vertical handle position, which keeps them more out of the way of people passing near the machine.

For the cold saw, please note that it has a maximum piece depth of around 4 inches. (The exact specifications are online; we may post these near the saw as well.) But there is no stop on the vise, so you can (and someone did) screw it until the vise comes right off. And putting it back on is non-trivial.

And while we may still mark a general position for the forward-back motion of the vise, I have come to believe that when you make adjustments, you simply have to check the relative position of everything: the front and back of the vise, the cut line and axis of the blade, the depth of the cut, and the lock when you are done. It’s not complicated but you can’t make any assumptions.

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Many thanks to @JoeN and @jamesfreeman for finding working spring options. Thanks also to @Camryn27 for earlier efforts to track down information from the manufacturer.

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And thanks to you Ethan for taking the time to write this update

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Did my name get added to the list of people who have taken the class?

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I’m confused by this question. If you signed up for the class through Neon, then took it, then you’re automatically on the list of people who’ve taken it.

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I didn’t sign up for it. I just was giving it in passing because someone was there. Kind of a grandfather sort of thing. It was a quick one-on-one thing. That’s why I ask.