Patio's projects

The Photo Album is a place for "Shop Shots" as well as pictures and descriptions of projects that we are working on. Show off your Shops, Machines, and your Projects!

Moderator: Harold_V

Post Reply
Patio
Posts: 1369
Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2010 3:14 pm
Location: Centralia Wa

Patio's projects

Post by Patio »

Hello Everyone!

Well it has been 6 months now since I started to learn to do machine work. I am going to start this new tread to post all my new projects in. My original thread (http://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/vie ... =4&t=87984) does not apply anymore, as I am not new to machining, although very much still a beginner, and I have more than one post now. My original thread ended with me posting that I had to leave the shop as I was making to many mistakes. More on that in a moment.
Because I am such a beginner I am lacking in many of the tools and tooling to do some basic machine work, and because I am also lacking in money to just by tools and tooling I either make what I need or work my way around what I don't have. What I do have is basic tools, a couple of bench type drill presses, sanders, a wood cutting band saw that I may put a VFD on, a 7" Logan shaper and a Southbend 10L lathe. Both the lathe and shaper are well used but still usable.
The shaper has taken the longest to get to operating condition and for me to learn how to use. I have remade one part (in my other post) and probably will remake it later. I did find (after a lot of measuring) that the vice was out of kilter, and decided to use the shaper itself to correct the problem. It was during this process that I damn near ruined the vice. My intention was to take off about .005 to make the vice parallel with the table. Cause of my inexperience in machining I had gotten to much rake in my tooling, causing it to pull itself into the work. So before I new it, the tool had taken a .025 dive into the work, I reset it and damn if it didn't do it again and again. That is when I decided to take a break for the night. After contemplating on it for the night and next day, I came to the to much rake conclusion. I reground my tool and tried again, this time with great success. It is now within a couple of thousandths across the six inches, which is as good as the machine can do for itself, and much better than the .006 it use to be. I am happy with the results for now. I may have a friend do more with it later on his mill.

All this messing around started cause I thought it would be nice to make a unicorn log splitter (look it up on Youtube). To do that I need to have my taper attachment working, for that I need the bracket that connects it to the bed of the lathe. They are quite expensive, even on fleabay, so I thought I would make one. That is when I found out how hard it is to find a chunk of steel 3"X3"X6" in my neck of the woods. I did find a 2X3X6, but that will require me to lay out the part at an angle in the material......so....now I need a hold the work to a couple of particular angles, being 5 and 40 degrees. Back to that thing of no money and tooling. What to do? Make a sine bar, so I can make a couple of angle plates.
I had seen Glenn Wegmans post of his project (http://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/vie ... t=sine+bar) and decided to give that a try. Mine is not as near as nice as Glenns but came out well enough to do what I will need. Thanks Glenn for posting that, it helped a lot!
I started out to make a 5" sine bar and quickly realized it is to big to set in my vise. I started over making a 3"er. It is make of an aluminum bar with steel wheels.
I know it is soft and will not hold up in the long run, but this is as much practice of work as much as making something useful.

Here are the pictures of my process.
Practicing cutting the aluminum on the shaper. Real smooth finish, you can almost read "Staples" in the reflection.
P4090097.JPG
Layout of the 3" bar.
P4100102.JPG
Cut off excess on band saw, with wood blade in it, and running to fast. (More of that making do thing.)
P4100105.JPG
Turned some 12L14 on the lathe to .750 for wheels. I used the cross slide dial on the shaper to get my 3" measurement for the cuts in the bar. (More of that making do thing as I do not have any gauges.) Here are the parts all cut out.
P4100106.JPG
Now for the drilling of the wheels and plate. This was the most trying part of the process, as I don't have a mill or any counter boring drills. I set the wheels up in the drill press with a cheap cross sliding table and my little vise. I used the, lay the scale on the top of the wheel, run the center drill down on it to pinch it, them move table till scale is level, method of finding center. (No edger finders, or DROs). I do have a couple of pretty cool old clamps though. :)
P4110108.JPG
I can tell you that is was a real pain getting the wheels to set in the corners just right though, as the holes in the wheels did not come out on center and the holes tapped into the bar were not perfect either. The second one I drill was much easier than the first. After much fiddling I got it all together. Then I put it back in the shaper and planed both sides. Then I took careful measurements of the wheels to top of bar distance, set it back up in the shaper with some shimming, and on the second try got it within .0005 of each other, as measure with my chinese micrometers. Here it is in its done state setting on the block for the taper attachment bracket.
P4120110.JPG
Another view.
P4120117.JPG

Side view of layout drawing.
P4120119.JPG
Now to make some gauges blocks on the lathe (Using the carriage, dial indicator holder I made) to setup for the angle plates, and test them with my layout of the bracket.

I know this it simple stuff to some of you guys who have been at it awhile, but it is just my leaning process, and I would hope that some of you will find it to be at least and interesting read and maybe to inspire others that maybe just beginning, and be in the same boat as me, with little knowledge or resources.

“It's not that I'm so smart , it's just that I stay with problems longer .”
Albert Einstein

More to come later.
Live for the moment!
Prepare for tomorrow!
Forgive the past!
User avatar
GlennW
Posts: 7284
Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2007 9:23 am
Location: Florida

Re: Patio's projects

Post by GlennW »

Hey Pat,

Great stuff!! (as usual!)

I use stick wax on my band saw blade when sawing aluminum. You will be surprises at the difference it makes. Just rub some on the blade before you start sawing. Sides and teeth.

This stuff is a bit expensive, but you get the idea. Woodworking suppliers sell it as well. It's the size of a tube of caulking.
http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT2?P ... 2365533%3B

I've had a similar tube of Johnson stick wax since rocks were soft.

Works pretty good for drilling as well if you don't like some of the mess of metal working fluids.

Rubbing some on wooden drawer slides or wood screws is the ticket as well! (that's pretty much what it's for)

I have seen where some people use a wax candle, but this stuff it softer and much stickier.
Glenn

Operating machines is perfectly safe......until you forget how dangerous it really is!
Patio
Posts: 1369
Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2010 3:14 pm
Location: Centralia Wa

Re: Patio's projects

Post by Patio »

Thanks for the kind word and tips Glenn!

I decided to try to make some T-nuts.
This is where I am at for now.
P4180130.JPG
This is what happens when I took to large of a cut.
The nut that sets the length of throw for the ram slips a little each pass creating a shorter cut.
P4180129.JPG
I have another one just about done cutting also.

More to come.
Live for the moment!
Prepare for tomorrow!
Forgive the past!
Patio
Posts: 1369
Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2010 3:14 pm
Location: Centralia Wa

Re: Patio's projects

Post by Patio »

T- nuts are completed.
I could have gone out and bought these for cheaper than the time that it takes to make them, but what is the fun in that, and I would not have learned as much either. :) I am not retired yet, but the only thing this keeps me from is putting my chopper back together. Someday I will post pictures that process also.

Here are the pics! Everybody loves pictures, me included.
Finished products.
P4210135.JPG
P4210134.JPG
As soon as I had the first two done, I used them to hold down the vice that I was working with, to tap the remaining holes. I will need to shave them down a little bit to make them thinner, as they are a little proud of the table, hence the washers under the vice. I have two tables, and they fit the other one just fine. :o
P4210132.JPG
Now I am able to mount my vice to the cross slide table on the drill press.
P4210133.JPG
I used a porta band to cut the long bars into shorter ones, (see previous post) which is the reason they are not all the same length. Then I put them back into the Shaper to clean up the ends. Over to the drill press for some holes and used the drill press to tap the holes straight. I did not tap the holes all the way through as mentioned in another post. A little clean up with a file and I am done. Took some all thread, cut it with the porta band, then to the lathe to face and chamfer the ends, for studs.
Later I will give a go at making the step blocks, and what ever you call the bars, on the shaper.
I think I might have a line on a VFD and motor for the band saw. That would make things easier.

Thats it for now. More to come.
Live for the moment!
Prepare for tomorrow!
Forgive the past!
User avatar
alphawolf45
Posts: 110
Joined: Sun Sep 21, 2003 8:57 am
Location: South Central Arkansas

Re: Patio's projects

Post by alphawolf45 »

While youre making the little stuff , make some washers... I see you using thin washers to hold down the vise... After years that I did the same thing I finally took about an hour or two and made some thick steel washers and hardened them and am amazed how often I am reaching for them..I made some in 3/8 dia and some 1/2 inch dia by 1/4 inch thick and whatever dia rod I made them from.. inch and a half dia or thereabouts......beats the bejeezuz outta thin washers..
User avatar
GlennW
Posts: 7284
Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2007 9:23 am
Location: Florida

Re: Patio's projects

Post by GlennW »

I just bought more of these.

http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT2?P ... 2365533%3B

They are great!

Different sizes available as well.
Glenn

Operating machines is perfectly safe......until you forget how dangerous it really is!
Patio
Posts: 1369
Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2010 3:14 pm
Location: Centralia Wa

Re: Patio's projects

Post by Patio »

Todays projects

Made a step block and a hold down bar, just for fun today.
This was practice of making a slot in metal with the Shaper, and using the dials for the steps, also chamfered the edges, for fun.
The slot will need more practice and experiments on getting the slotting tool ground right.
I will make more when I need them.
P4240020.JPG
P4240022.JPG
These were made from hot rolled steel, my understanding is that these will not harden very well, and that I need some steel that has a higher carbon content to start with.

What do you guys use to make tooling that you want to harden, in a home shop with a propane torch?

Thats it for this weekend.
More to come!
Live for the moment!
Prepare for tomorrow!
Forgive the past!
User avatar
Harold_V
Posts: 20231
Joined: Fri Dec 20, 2002 11:02 pm
Location: Onalaska, WA USA

Re: Patio's projects

Post by Harold_V »

Beautiful job on the clamp and step block.

Mild steel (low carbon) can still be heat treated by the pack hardening process, or by using one of the prepared hardening compounds (Kasenit is one of them, if memory serves). Commercial heat treaters can harden with a controlled atmosphere furnace, too. All is not lost.

You might consider looking for some 1045 steel---which is hardened by conventional heating and quenching. It's best done by furnace, but can be done by torch.

Harold
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
Patio
Posts: 1369
Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2010 3:14 pm
Location: Centralia Wa

Re: Patio's projects

Post by Patio »

Tonight I made some arms for my small drill press.
Nothing more that threading the ends of some stainless steel round stock. What was new for me is threading stainless and threading with out a groove at the end to run into, kind of a bit of practice of threading to a shoulder. I only messed one of them up, cause I did not get the collet tight enough and the stock spun, messing up the alignment.

Here are the pics.
Top shaft is the original. Second from the top is the one I messed up, other three are ok.
P4260043.JPG
Installed on the old, small, drill press.
P4260030.JPG
Next to make some knobs, for the ends.

As I look at my pictures I realize that a lot of my machines have rust all over them. This is the condition in which I have acquired them. One of these day I may need to remedy that too. Lots of little things to make and do.
More later.
Live for the moment!
Prepare for tomorrow!
Forgive the past!
Patio
Posts: 1369
Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2010 3:14 pm
Location: Centralia Wa

Re: Patio's projects

Post by Patio »

Not much time in the shop tonight, but I did get enough time to get one knob for the drill press handles done. Now to see if I can make the other two the same as the first. I didn't plan the size, just kinda go after it and see what happens.

Here is the pic of the first one.
P4270056.JPG
More to come.
Live for the moment!
Prepare for tomorrow!
Forgive the past!
Patio
Posts: 1369
Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2010 3:14 pm
Location: Centralia Wa

Re: Patio's projects

Post by Patio »

Knobs are done!

So I finished the other two knobs for the small drill press tonight. They came out well enough, hell they are now the nicest part of the drill press. :)
Here are the pics.
P4280002.JPG
P4280003.JPG
Installed.
P4280008.JPG
After looking at it for a bit I may have figured out why there was only one on the drill press when I acquired it. The drill press is very small and the arms may get in the way of work placed upon the table. I will have to wait and see. I only use it for little messing around stuff, other wise I use the Walker Turner in the other shop.
P4280007.JPG
More to come, I am not sure what I am doing next. Weather is getting nice, I should put my other bike back together. We'll see.

All comments welcomed, good or bad. I have broad shoulders. Hi Hi
Live for the moment!
Prepare for tomorrow!
Forgive the past!
User avatar
alphawolf45
Posts: 110
Joined: Sun Sep 21, 2003 8:57 am
Location: South Central Arkansas

Re: Patio's projects

Post by alphawolf45 »

Slick work..You might use some loc-tite on the knob ends to keep them from backing off..I keep a bit of the green loctite around for such work and for glueing liners in gun barrels and its fantastic stuff. When I had the same project I merely made loose hole in the knob and glued it onto the shaft with JBweld..

I dont use a drill press anymore since I have multiple vertical milling machines but I find times I could use one if there was one in the room with me .I could go for a tabletop version like that one...... But I'd scrub the rust off it :lol:
Post Reply