Next step to learn wheel cutting

Discussion on all milling machines vertical & horizontal, including but not limited to Bridgeports, Hardinge, South Bend, Clausing, Van Norman, including imports.

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chriscam
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun Feb 17, 2019 11:41 am

Next step to learn wheel cutting

Post by chriscam »

hi, i have a Sherline 5400 mill and an indexer with rotary table. I know little about cutting a clock wheel can anyone give me a few pointers like what cutters etc to buy and where from...I realise this is a difficult area but any help appreciated.
regards
Chris
earlgo
Posts: 1794
Joined: Sat Jan 29, 2011 11:38 am
Location: NE Ohio

Re: Next step to learn wheel cutting

Post by earlgo »

Let me be perfectly clear, I know nothing about making clocks. Having said that, you might investigate the WORSHOP PRACTICE SERIES of books available on AMAZON. #17 is Ivan Law's book on Gears and Gear Cutting and #33 is a book on Making Clocks. A guy on Utube called ClickSpring has a bunch of videos.
You will need patience and time and a bit of cash in reserve to do this. But first....
--earlgo
Before you do anything, you must do something else first. - Washington's principle.
SteveM
Posts: 7763
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2005 6:18 pm
Location: Wisconsin

Re: Next step to learn wheel cutting

Post by SteveM »

If you are doing clockmaking on a Sherline, the first thing you should do is watch Chris from Clickspring:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCworsK ... 2MA/videos

He does amazing work with small machines, including a Sherline.

He makes a lot of gears in the process.

Watch the series on the mantle clock.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8Y146v ... 0Ryx-beOli

Steve
chriscam
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun Feb 17, 2019 11:41 am

Re: Next step to learn wheel cutting

Post by chriscam »

Hi, as always I don't sit on my arse expecting everyone else to do everything so I now know even though you can buy commercial cutters it is better to make your own single point cutter. so I am looking for any help making such a cutter for a clock wheel which is a cycloid gear. I think as again say think you use an existing wheel to get the profile from the gear flank and then transfer this to a mill. There is one video online using a CNC but nothing else I can find.
regards
Chris
Russ Hanscom
Posts: 1955
Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2006 11:10 pm
Location: Farmington, NM

Re: Next step to learn wheel cutting

Post by Russ Hanscom »

The workbooks mentioned show how to make your own cutters, very little use of commercial cutters. You can make either fly cutters or regular multi tooth cutters.
SteveM
Posts: 7763
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2005 6:18 pm
Location: Wisconsin

Re: Next step to learn wheel cutting

Post by SteveM »

The clickspring series shows Chris making a cutter for the gear teeth.

He makes the gears on an ordinary mill / drill using a homemade single-tooth cutter. Can't get any simpler.

You'll have to comb thru the videos to find it, but there's probably one with "gears" in the title.

Steve
pete
Posts: 2518
Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2009 6:04 am

Re: Next step to learn wheel cutting

Post by pete »

As Earl pointed out that Ivan Law book would be first on my list before attempting any gear cutting. And watch / clock gears have there own complexity's as well as for some of them quite specialized tooth forms. I really know just about nothing about watch or clock making, but I'd also suggest your going to need to do a whole lot more further research. John Wilding and the many books he's written might be about the best references I can think of although there's apparently many other books. There may be specialized horology suppliers in North America that I don't know of. Apparently from bit's n pieces I've picked up over the years most of the better suppliers for just about anything you'd need seem to be in the U.K. Just doing a simple search on Google for Clock Making Tools got almost 25 million hits. I can say while home cutting of gears is completely possible, it's a whole lot more complex subject than it would seem. And even more so for those watches and clocks.Just having a mill and method of dividing is still only the first and by far the easiest step. Clicksprings videos about making and using a proper wheel depthing tool would be another set of videos I'd be watching.
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