Monday, August 27, 2007
Lathe Bits
They come in a little wooden box with some extra screws and 2 small wrenches. I have to say I'm happy with this purchase. Again, sorry about the picture quality. It'll be a little longer before I get a new camera. Priorities, you know :>)
Getting Cranky
The spinner handle was made out of aluminum, the rest of the assembly is free machining steel (12L14). It took me a few days to make as I was working without drawings, and basically making it up as I went. Really turned out nice and is so more much comfortable to use. I can even tighten up the crosslide gibs a little more as I now have more leverage to turn the crosslide screw. I really want to get working on my first model, but I want to get all my mods done before I do. My next step is a milling column arrangement with the milling adapter which will mimic a 3 in 1 type machine. Also a leadscrew is in the works. Hope to get this done over the next week.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Tools To Make Tools, To Make Tools, etc.
Threaded end of both adapters
Tailstock die holder without die
On both adapters you can see holes drilled across the bodies. This is to facilitate tightening and removing the adapters. Just insert a tommy bar and turn. The tailstock die holder is made out of a piece of 1-1/2" 6061 aluminum, bored through 3/8" to accomodate a length of stock to thread and with a 10-32 set screw to secure the die. The spindle adapter is made out of one of the pre-threaded blank arbors bought from Taig for $2.60, made from free machining steel. I had to make the die holder first, so I could thread the spindle adapter 3/8"-24 for the chuck to screw on. Both work great. It's a great feeling of accomplishment, and I'm looking forward to new projects in the near future. Please bear with me on the pictures as I'm using a borrowed camera which is older and not as high resolution as I'd like. I didn't take pictures of the making of the adapters because my access to the camera is limited, but hopefully soon I'll buy a new camera so I can take some action shots.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Let There Be Swarf...NOT!
This is the lathe in the container with chip shield
This is a better shot of the chip shield
The shield is made from a piece of 8"x10" Lexan cut in two, attached to a copper angle bracket that's predrilled. The bracket is actually bolted onto my lathe back tool post which is bolted into one of the T-Slots on the headstock. It works great and is very adjustable. Swivels away easily. Chip control is vastly improved and that makes me a happy camper.
Welcome To My Cave
Once I buy some shelves to put on the right side, I will have some more floor space. It's still very hot here in Las Vegas so I've been messing around in my corner of the garage after work. I get off at 4 A.M. so it's less hot. I got a vise from the local HF and bolted it down in the corner of the desk. It has been nice to have. Helps greatly to hold stock for cutting and grinding. Just need a bandsaw now! The hacksaw got old real quick. I'll be posting quite a bit in the next few days to catch up with all the new stuff and lathe mods which I have started on.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
3D Doodling
It's a concept only so far although the proportions are close to what I want. As you can see its a 4 cycle engine with a belt driven camshaft. Obviously it's missing a few details still but I have quite a few hours into these drawings. I'm thinking 1/2" bore with 3/4" stroke and 2.5" flywheels. A nice size envelope for a Taig. Hopefully in the near future I can start on some working drawings.
Friday, June 8, 2007
Let there be swarf....
I was able to reduce the rod a few thousands with a nice smooth surface. It's going to take some practice to learn how to turn the handles smoothly though. I think the addition of a leadscrew is going to be very beneficial in this respect. Also, I'm going to design some kind of larger handle for the crosslide. There are a few issues I noticed with the lathe operation. The crosslide is noticeably tighter when moved towards the handle. After checking it out I can see that when the handle is turned counterclockwise, the dial assembly is pulled against the bearing block assembly significantly increasing friction between the two. Therefore the handle is harder to turn. When turned clockwise, the opposite occurs, thus the handle turns very freely. Maybe some kind of thrust washer can be used or maybe lapping of the dial/bearing block interface. I'll have to see. I also think that i need to spend a little more time lapping the crosslide to the carriage assembly to smooth it out. I'll be busy over the next few weeks with the move but I'll be definitely be working to resolve all the issues.