Giles' misc. Work bench.

[spikey faz]

Tungsten to the rescue...???

...or depleted uranium?

 

[Tim Watson]

You can purchase tungsten on line (from China).
Tim

 

[alastairq]

China Tungsten, Tungsten Wholesale, Manufacturers, Price | Made-in-China.com

??

Are not special permits required?

 

[garethashenden]

Just be aware that the price of tungsten has skyrocketed in the past year and a half as a result of Chinese export limits. It may still be worthwhile for this project, but it might not be.

My employer, a maker of tungsten carbide cutting tools, has had for it five price increases in the past year, just to cover the rising material costs.

 

[Tim Watson]

Copper tungsten is easier to machine and is pretty dense.

Tim

 

[Giles]

Jib is made up apart from pulleys sheaves, which I hope I may get to do tomorrow

https://flic.kr/p/2smJkWZ

 

[Boyblunder]

Tungsten TIG electrodes are easy to buy, although not sure if they are useful for this project. A standard 150mm 1.5 tip appears to weigh 13g.

 

[bambuko]

In the past I have bought tungsten rivet blocks from the usual auction site, but when I check today... the price has gone crazy

 

[Fitzroy]

Haven't bought any for a while- glad I did when I did.

 

[Giles]

I've managed to buy a set of second hand darts dirt cheap so that will do. I will now proceed to ruin my best tools cutting them.....

 

[garethashenden]

I would recommend grinding…

 

[Giles]

Indeed - though I may see what my laser cutter might do - at least with pre-scoring...

 

[Giles]

Jib now has all 3 pulleys made and installed. For a change, and to see how they went, these pulleys are built up from 3 lasercut discs silver-soldered onto 1.5mm OD tube, rather than my normal turning them up on my Unimat 3.

https://flic.kr/p/2smUKkj

 

[bambuko]

I would recommend grinding…

It was tough but not impossible to mill and turn in my workshop.
It all depends on the kit you have ...