by GroundquestMSA » May 26, 2014 5:24 pm
A friend of mine is a machinist, and he built me a set of brake bars. I bought a long frame for my micro-rack and wanted to play with the old frame. They are possibly the heaviest set of bars in history, being made from deep-well impact sockets, molybdenum steel, I think. The friction is a little greater, but I don't know if this is because the bars are softer than stainless or because they're a tiny fraction larger. I didn't offset the bars like BMS does.
These are just a novelty (I'm thinking about welding on a ratchet hyperbar) and there's an obvious weight issue, but I'm wondering if there is any reason big fat sockets will make an unsafe descender?
I also built a set of wooden brake bars today, which was interesting. I don't think I would ever use them in a cave or on a cliff, but they worked well, especially after I work-hardened them. Wood being an insulator, I wonder how fast they would reach harmful temperatures? I wonder if I could wad some tinder between the top two bars and start a fire...
I really like seeing and hearing about homemade gear. What have you made, did it work, and what brilliant ideas have you been unable to fabricate due to a lack of resources?