Made my own Quadrant Targets!
Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 8:24 pm
First off, don't do what I did. Please go ahead and buy the actual, original Quadrant Targets here:
http://www.steelplinkers.com/Quadrant.html
Why? Because it was a huge amount of work, and although they work great, it is impossible for me to do as good job as the original item, and for the price he charges, they are a bargain - trust me!
Any way, since you are here, might as well show you how I made mine - I borrowed an older Quadrant Target as my guide. My goal was to make a smaller, lighter version for use at closer distances in my backyard:
Since this was my winter welding project, I decided to build it as much as possible out of scrap metal, buying as little as possible:
And then I cut, and cut some more ...
To make it a little but unique, for the bottom two swing plates, instead of the counter weight being just a counter weight, I made them into actual circular targets as well:
I also wanted thin washers in between all moving parts (just because), so I ended making some custom copper spacers on my lathe:
I also turned smooth the inside of the bubing I used (it was not seamless to start with):
After many tweaks, I then started preparing the metal/cleaning/etc., to start welding:
Almost ready:
Applied Molyresin (thermally cured finish - similar to temp cured Cerakote):
Once I adjusted the weight some more on the bottom spinners, then welded pins in place:
Finished product (plain black paint to cover last welds):
They work great as I hoped, but the bottom plates are still not quite "perfect" in that I think I needed a little bit more weight on the bottom. Otherwise I have tested from 12 to 20ftp and they are indeed fun!
But the amount of work, fitting, cutting, prep, welding, alignment, etc.. - way, way too much work. Much more than I anticipated. Yes, it was fun to make my own, but next time I will simply buy the real ones and use that time to shot at the targets instead!
Will
http://www.steelplinkers.com/Quadrant.html
Why? Because it was a huge amount of work, and although they work great, it is impossible for me to do as good job as the original item, and for the price he charges, they are a bargain - trust me!
Any way, since you are here, might as well show you how I made mine - I borrowed an older Quadrant Target as my guide. My goal was to make a smaller, lighter version for use at closer distances in my backyard:
Since this was my winter welding project, I decided to build it as much as possible out of scrap metal, buying as little as possible:
And then I cut, and cut some more ...
To make it a little but unique, for the bottom two swing plates, instead of the counter weight being just a counter weight, I made them into actual circular targets as well:
I also wanted thin washers in between all moving parts (just because), so I ended making some custom copper spacers on my lathe:
I also turned smooth the inside of the bubing I used (it was not seamless to start with):
After many tweaks, I then started preparing the metal/cleaning/etc., to start welding:
Almost ready:
Applied Molyresin (thermally cured finish - similar to temp cured Cerakote):
Once I adjusted the weight some more on the bottom spinners, then welded pins in place:
Finished product (plain black paint to cover last welds):
They work great as I hoped, but the bottom plates are still not quite "perfect" in that I think I needed a little bit more weight on the bottom. Otherwise I have tested from 12 to 20ftp and they are indeed fun!
But the amount of work, fitting, cutting, prep, welding, alignment, etc.. - way, way too much work. Much more than I anticipated. Yes, it was fun to make my own, but next time I will simply buy the real ones and use that time to shot at the targets instead!
Will