TinkerJim

What a great application of your solar engine ! Those chimes have beautiful soothing tones !!

Very astute of you to notice that detail ! Ideally, the flange of the bushing should bear evenly against the wood to spread the loading against the wood and thus help prevent the start of a crack. I really do not know how important that is especially if the wood is good and strong. Be that as it may, a flat seating for the flange was cut with a jury rigged backface cutter in the mill ; this was done right after boring the hole for the bushing with the nutcracker body still in the vise. An easier alternative would be to apply enough epoxy under the flange upon assembly to fill in the otherwise void regions between the flange and the wood.

The brass bushings were machined from solid rod. First, the stepped outside was turned, then cut off, reversed in the chuck, and drilled and tapped for the screw.

Yes, I’ve cracked nuts by hand one against the other when I was younger. My grip was easily up to the task then, but now I am thankful for a good deal of mechanical advantage!

I used silicone sealer. Its water resistance is excellent and adheres well to the terra cotta, but not so well to the PVC fittings - letting go after a few seasons. I have limited experience with e6000.

My Grandmother had a treadle sewing machine, which I liked to play with whenever I could sneak into her sewing room - and Grandpa had a big treadle grindstone, which no one ever played with !

Thank you, nqtronix, for your kind comments !

Our Workmate 200 dates back to around 1994. When fully open, the jaw opening is 5-7/16”. When the sawbuck crosses are clamped tight, the jaws are 5-3/16” apart.Reducing the width of the crosspieces would do the trick for you, but it probably will not need a full 1” taken off. Try say 1/4” at first, or experiment on a few scraps. Alternately, you could trim 5/16” off of one of the Workmate jaws (assuming it will still close up) , or decrease the 85° angle a little.

Thank you, Bill ! You are very kind !!

Thank you so much for making this Instructablel! .Today, Palm Sunday 2017, as soon as we returned from Holy Mass, I opened up your Instructable and folded up five nice little palm crosses. May we all have a blessed Easter !

Clever design !

Спасибо ! Ваш комментарий очень ценится. С наилучшими пожеланиями.

Thanks !