I shattered the sun visor bracket on my Jeep in the cold this winter, so I did the only sensible thing. I tried to machine a new one.

I started with a block of 2" by 4" aluminum stock. I cut 2" off of it with a band saw. The blade popped off of its guide with about 1/10" left to go, so fixing that was a fun diversion.

I finally got a piece mounted in the Bridgeport and milled a few reference surfaces. I sent this picture to my friend to ask about the finish on that side milling. He said it was normal, if a little fugly.

I call this picture, “Where the hell did I put my calipers?”

This is one of my favorite parts of machining. On the left, you can see the rough cut that’s out-of-square. On the right, the machined surface.

I took a bunch more cuts, and got here.

Then I messed up.

Notice the middle part? That would be perfect, if the sun visor stuck up. Of course, it hangs down, so this part is completely worthless. Fortunately, I have enough stock to make a second one.