Todays Project - What did you do today?

[TomG]

We got four or five inches yesterday, but when I woke up this morning there was 1/4" of ice on top, so it took half an hour to get the car chiseled out and an hour to get to work. Now I hear it's supposed to be 60ºF tomorrow, so it'll all be gone, then back to the teens on Friday...typical Michigan weather. Hope all the windows don't break in the house from the thermal shock.

Tom

[Highpower]

Today was "build a lapping machine day".

A couple of chunks of wood, a cheap 1/4 hp eBay motor, a slug of cast iron round stock, a few electrical bits, a leftover piece of DIN slotted rail and a bit of drill rod. Wallah!



The top of the wood block "tool rest" is cut at a -5° angle to provide a 85° cutting edge for a carbide hand scraper blade. The slotted rail "tool guide" is used to provide the arc needed for the radius on the front of the cutting blade. The short piece of drill rod serves as the pivot point on the guide. I just put a couple of fusion tack welds on them to hold them together.

With the pin in the farthest hole from the lapping disc on the tool rest, it is used with the "long" end of the guide facing the lap surface. This gives a 90mm radius for "rough" scraping. Turning the guide around and using the "short" end of the rail facing the lap, putting the pin in the closest hole on the tool rest gives a 60mm radius for "finish" scraping.

At least that is what I have learned so far...

Now I need to make a similar guide to fit on my pedestal carbide grinder in order to do the initial shaping of the scraper tip before I can lap it. The new blades are supplied with flat 90° surfaces. And I suck at hand grinding radius's......

[Mayhem]

Nothing really special here, just a simple fix that would have been much more difficult without a lathe.

One of the exploders I use has a problematic key switch that I needed to replace. I couldn't get a key that has the same 19mm barrel with the key being captive in the on position (a necessary safety feature), so I had to use a smaller key switch.

In order to make it fit I turned up a top-hat and backing washer to fill the 19mm hole and allow the 12mm key switch to be used. The most time consuming part was melting the scrap aluminium to make the stock from which it was turned :) I was actually surprised, as I expected some porosity given that I didn't add any flux. All it did was skim the crud off the top before the pour!

OK - well the pics are pretty crappy, as my phone doesn't appear to like macro shots. Also, I had to make sure that I didn't show any key components or circuitry (for obvious reasons).

   
   
   
   

[sasquatch]

Great projects guys!! "Handier than a pocket on a shirt!!"

[Highpower]

(01-29-2013, 08:04 AM)Mayhem Wrote: Nothing really special here, just a simple fix that would have been much more difficult without a lathe.

I can't count the number of simple fixes I've been able to do with nothing more than a mini-lathe. How in the world did we ever survive before our machine tools?

Seriously. It isn't like you are going to find something like that, and is an exact fit, at the local hardware store.

[EdK]

(01-29-2013, 09:29 AM)Highpower Wrote: Seriously. It isn't like you are going to find something like that, and is an exact fit, at the local hardware store.

I don't even think McMaster would carry that part.

Ed

[Bill Gruby]

Making this little vise for a watchmaker friend. It will have 3 pins to hole the wristwatch case for engraving. The thumbscrew locks the slide.

"Billy G"

[DaveH]

Billy,
Now that looks interesting.

DaveH

[f350ca]

Finally got going on a set of kitchen cabinets that I probably should have done before christmas, Was enjoying the machine shop more. They're for a reno hence no dead line which doesn't work well with my schedule or lack of. Just cutting out parts and doing the mortises and tenons. Will snap some pictures when parts start going together.
Tried filing a band saw blade. (Poor planing, the last sort of sharp one I had broke) Takes a long time to go around the blade for a 20 inch saw, but it does cut reasonably well. Surprise! Will undoubtably break now, they usually fatigue about the time they get dull.

[Bill Gruby]

How's this Dave? Only the tension adjustment screw to go. It will be a 6-32 screw and wing nut.

Most of there vises I have seen are round for easy articulation. Earnst has Arthritis and has lost a lot of his grip. The square is easier for him to hold.

"Bily G"