Post by jkendall on May 13, 2017 3:57:00 GMT
So I was dinking-around in the shop last week, trying to solve the world's problems like we all do, when it occurred to me that I had lithium batteries just rolling around free on my desk.
The fear came over me. I didn't want to wake up dead some morning due to a fire or worse - a lithium fire in my office!
So I found some scrap pine and drilled some holes with a 5/8" spade bit (pine hates that). I then cut out the rough shape and rounded the profile on the belt sander.
A ton of tear-out, but functional. Not a bad start.
So tonight I set to work in Easel. They definitely don't make it easy to get an exact hole size. Something about bit size compensation or something like that. It took me 5 tries to get a hole that fit a 18650 lithium battery like a glove.
Anyway, instead of going full depth like I kinda had to with the bit, I only went in about half the depth of the stock. This would provide an insulating layer so nothing can short these batteries.
The end result had zero tear-out and is a more complex pattern than the straight holes of the good ol college try. And with my playing around with the size, I got it so that the batteries would be friction seated without any play. I can turn this thing upside down and none of the batteries will fall out.
If you want to try this yourself, the sketch is available here -> easel.inventables.com/projects/hQcxB1BfLEnpsw-xOetcfw
The fear came over me. I didn't want to wake up dead some morning due to a fire or worse - a lithium fire in my office!
So I found some scrap pine and drilled some holes with a 5/8" spade bit (pine hates that). I then cut out the rough shape and rounded the profile on the belt sander.
A ton of tear-out, but functional. Not a bad start.
So tonight I set to work in Easel. They definitely don't make it easy to get an exact hole size. Something about bit size compensation or something like that. It took me 5 tries to get a hole that fit a 18650 lithium battery like a glove.
Anyway, instead of going full depth like I kinda had to with the bit, I only went in about half the depth of the stock. This would provide an insulating layer so nothing can short these batteries.
The end result had zero tear-out and is a more complex pattern than the straight holes of the good ol college try. And with my playing around with the size, I got it so that the batteries would be friction seated without any play. I can turn this thing upside down and none of the batteries will fall out.
If you want to try this yourself, the sketch is available here -> easel.inventables.com/projects/hQcxB1BfLEnpsw-xOetcfw
