milling a wedge

[SteveM]

While my Pratt & Whitney 3C has a right-angle head that can bend into more directions than Mary Lou Retton, I need to take it apart and clean it out, as there is dried grease and other gunk in it.



The head in the picture is my dad's which was sold with his mill, so I no longer have it.

Right now I am restricted to horizontal milling on an arbor or using an end mill in the spindle.

I got a video doorbell and because the doorbell is in a corner, almost half the picture is going to be the wall.

I figure I might need an angle of 15-30 degrees on a baseplate to get the wall to the edge of the frame.

Largest vise I can install is a 4" South Bend shaper vise. I have a 3" Kurt, but because the bolt holes are on the side, it limits how much workspace I have, as the fixed jaw end would hit the column. I do have a swivel base for it.

The piece needs to be 1-1/2" wide and 4-1/2" tall. I'll make it out of aluminum.

I have some angled milling cutters, at least one double angle 60 degree (30 on each side).

I have one of those v-blocks that has a protracter on it and slides in a circular channel, but I don't have a tilting table. I have v-blocks and 90 degree angle plates, plus various milling clamps.

What are my options to mill this?

Steve

[whateg0]

What are you starting with? can you clamp a larger piece to the table, mill what you need to, then lop off the usable piece?

Dave

[John Evans]

Well first determine the angle needed. Do you have a set of angle blocks? If not use the adjustable v block to find the angle needed. Use that V block with a over length piece of material so you have area to clamp to. Mill the angle needed and saw off the excess material .Even if you had a tilting table you would still need excess material to clamp to.

[SteveM]

I haven't hooked up the camera yet, so I don't know the exact angle.

Just looked up the specs on the camera angle it says about 160 degrees. 30 degrees will almost have it looking across the door.

The adjustable v-block I have is one of these:


How do you clamp with that?

I'm thinking I have some plastic I could use. The mounting screws will go all the way thru, so I'm not relying on the strength of the material. Cutting plastic will be a lot less stress and maybe I can hold it with my tilting Palmgren drill press vise, which would not be strong enough for milling aluminum.

Steve

[John Evans]

Simple ,over length material clamp on area not to be cut. support under clamped area with what ever is at hand ,wood -mill step blocks etc. All the angle v block is doing is setting the angle. Light cuts in AL should do it. I have a similar v block ,wider, plus angle table,and sine table. This machining deal is all about the set up with what you have .LOL

[earlgo]

Steve, have you considered buying a large door hinge https://www.mscdirect.com/product/detai ... drsrh=true and mounting that and then adding "shims" to get the correct angle of view? Just another way of looking at things, as it were.
--earlgo

[whateg0]

I think you need to buy a 3D printer and grow the wedge! Could be done with no excess needed. Easy to re-do if the first one doesn't work out. Resins come in a variety of colors. Seems a no-brainer!

Dave

[SteveM]

I ended up using a piece of plastic.

I clamped the drill press vise onto the bed tilted to 30 degrees.

Ran a slitting saw thru it.

After it had gotten a ways thru, it was starting to bind up, I think from the heat generated, so I took it out, used the angle v-block to hold it and finished the rest of the cut on the bandsaw.

Steve

[NP317]

Of course Amazon sells an adjustable angle mount for the RING video door bell.

https://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Doorb ... 320&sr=8-1

$18.00 US might save you some time...
Russ

[whateg0]

Of course Amazon sells an adjustable angle mount for the RING video door bell.

https://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Doorb ... 320&sr=8-1

$18.00 US might save you some time...
Russ

That's an expensive piece of plastic. Besides, who would spend $18 on something that can be made for $1 in parts and $120 in labor? Maybe just me.

Dave

[SteveM]

That's an expensive piece of plastic. Besides, who would spend $18 on something that can be made for $1 in parts and $120 in labor? Maybe just me.

I get to use it to justify having a machine shop

Steve

[NP317]

Life is a balance: Time vs $$.
Everyone has their own balance.
I'm at the stage where time is more important...
RussN