07-29-2023, 07:19 PM
More machining for those with more time than brains. I could buy one of these in steel for about $10, but where's the fun in that?
The parts. Not polished, but just smoothed on my favorite new shop tool, the deburring wheel. I even made a t-nut to fit better than the purchased ones, and as it doesn't see that much force, I figured aluminum was just fine.
And here it is, assembled.
I had planned on making knobs instead of the screws, but as I just had to try it out, I used those plastic thumbscrew things you press onto the end of a SHCS. At which point I discovered that it took a lot more force to tighten than I had anticipated. I can get it to tighten up, but just barely, and I really have to use a lot of hand strength to do it. I will probably make the knobs anyway, to see if that gives me enough grip to tighten them.
But, looking back at the mill stop that Ed made, I think he used a different method to tighten the rods. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like you used a split cotter system, which takes a lot less torque on the knob to tighten. If that's the case, I may remake the cross block, using that method.
The parts. Not polished, but just smoothed on my favorite new shop tool, the deburring wheel. I even made a t-nut to fit better than the purchased ones, and as it doesn't see that much force, I figured aluminum was just fine.
And here it is, assembled.
I had planned on making knobs instead of the screws, but as I just had to try it out, I used those plastic thumbscrew things you press onto the end of a SHCS. At which point I discovered that it took a lot more force to tighten than I had anticipated. I can get it to tighten up, but just barely, and I really have to use a lot of hand strength to do it. I will probably make the knobs anyway, to see if that gives me enough grip to tighten them.
But, looking back at the mill stop that Ed made, I think he used a different method to tighten the rods. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like you used a split cotter system, which takes a lot less torque on the knob to tighten. If that's the case, I may remake the cross block, using that method.
Full of ideas, but slow to produce parts