26-11-2011, 08:28 PM
So, onwards and upwards.
Sorry for not Posting on this Thread for some time, but I suffered a couple of setbacks, apart from Golborne. First I had to wait for some more bits to come, and then I dropped my camera onto the tiled kitchen floor. It didn't survive, so I've been learning how to drive my son's Sony Cybershot - see eBay Item 260897674335. This is a fairly fearsome beast which does all sorts of alarming things. I've got to Page 21 of 159 in the Manual and I can just about switch it on and take a picture, as you'll see when you look at some of my efforts. I hope to improve.
So, step one was to get the Rotary set up on the Milling Machine with its Tailstock. There's no need to clock it very accurately for this job so stick the Test Bar in, line it up and tighten down. I've been pretty generous with the distance because once I get to machining the flats I won't want to take it out until I've finished. However, I think I've been a bit too generous - we'll see.
Next I decided that I'd machine the four flats which form the detent. I machined these right off the end - about 1" - while keeping the material as close to the chuck as possible. First I machined one flat accurately. Then it was just a matter of machining the other 3 sides at 90 degree intervals. Apart from making sure always to rotate in the same direction it's not difficult. The picture isn't very good, and gives the impression that it's rougher tha it really is. However, it's also true that there is a slight taper to it, no doubt due to the amont of material I had hanging out. It's not a big problem as I only need 3/8" starting at the plain shaft.
Finally, in this Post, I stuck it in the Chipmaster and turned the end down and faced it off. The knob fits OK but there's a bit of shaft left exposed. I'm pretty sure of my measurements but I'll check.
To be continued.....
Alan
Sorry for not Posting on this Thread for some time, but I suffered a couple of setbacks, apart from Golborne. First I had to wait for some more bits to come, and then I dropped my camera onto the tiled kitchen floor. It didn't survive, so I've been learning how to drive my son's Sony Cybershot - see eBay Item 260897674335. This is a fairly fearsome beast which does all sorts of alarming things. I've got to Page 21 of 159 in the Manual and I can just about switch it on and take a picture, as you'll see when you look at some of my efforts. I hope to improve.
So, step one was to get the Rotary set up on the Milling Machine with its Tailstock. There's no need to clock it very accurately for this job so stick the Test Bar in, line it up and tighten down. I've been pretty generous with the distance because once I get to machining the flats I won't want to take it out until I've finished. However, I think I've been a bit too generous - we'll see.
Next I decided that I'd machine the four flats which form the detent. I machined these right off the end - about 1" - while keeping the material as close to the chuck as possible. First I machined one flat accurately. Then it was just a matter of machining the other 3 sides at 90 degree intervals. Apart from making sure always to rotate in the same direction it's not difficult. The picture isn't very good, and gives the impression that it's rougher tha it really is. However, it's also true that there is a slight taper to it, no doubt due to the amont of material I had hanging out. It's not a big problem as I only need 3/8" starting at the plain shaft.
Finally, in this Post, I stuck it in the Chipmaster and turned the end down and faced it off. The knob fits OK but there's a bit of shaft left exposed. I'm pretty sure of my measurements but I'll check.
To be continued.....
Alan
