Upgraded CAT Bucket Pin
My housemate’s work CAT Excavator kept having issues with the bucket pin bending at the safety pin through hole (shown at left). After analyzing the design and material specifications of the pin, I determined that a smaller hole and higher yield strength steel would help the durability of this component.
The caveat was that the damage could get translated to a different part of the excavator if this pin was originally designed to yield under certain loading conditions, but my housemate acknowledged and accepted these risks
Not shown below was the tempering, quenching, and annealing process in a neighbor’s at-home forge
Original diameter was too large to feed through the headstock. The steady rest was more secure than the live center for turning
Added zerk fitting for joint lubrication
Damascus Steel Rings
This lathe probably didn't have the power or cutter quality to be cutting such a hard material, but I was too excited to stop
Heat treatment brought out some interesting purple and gold coloring from the secondary metals in the different banding
Hydrochloric acid etching brought out the familiar dark and light Damascus aesthetic
I played around with some grooving patterns and different heat exposure treatments to achieve varied surface coloring