Making a key

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • Joel
    Senior Member
    • Jun 2001
    • 3227

    #31
    If it is a tiny bit too large, tap it with a hammer or squeeze it gently with a vice (parallel to the hex flats) and you should be able to get contact on 2 sides.
    Or take a piece of round just smaller than the recess and carefully file a slot until it fits the flats. That should at least get you something to measure. If your smallest needle file is still a bit too thick, grind one side to thin it.
    Is it sufficiently tight that a pair of tweezers (with the ends ground to suit and held tight/shut with perhaps small vice grips) won't turn the screw out? I have some tiny hemostats, but even if I ground the tips, I doubt they would work.
    Location: North Central Texas

    Comment

    • Noitoen
      Senior Member
      • Oct 2013
      • 2771

      #32
      To measure you could attach with some tape 2 small pieces of piano wire or something similar to the calipers and reach inside the recess. You could even flatten the wire a little with a hammer.
      Helder Ferreira
      Setubal, Portugal

      Comment

      • Smokedaddy
        Senior Member
        • Mar 2003
        • 1222

        #33
        I've learned to try not and say anything with certainty but I think the hex shaft is not 2mm nor 1.27mm (0.050"). I purchased another 1.27mm cap screw today (meaning the hex is 1.27") turned it down to fit the bore but it doesn't work. So, for my last shot for now, I ordered a set screw M3x0.5mm 16mm from Mc-Master today. It has a 3mm diameter too so it should fit in the bore without machining. It take a 1.5 allen head wrench. I figured since the 2mm seems to spin and the 1.27mm seems to small, the 1.5mm is the best shot. We'll find out soon.

        Attached Files

        Comment

        • Paul Alciatore
          Senior Member
          • May 2002
          • 17442

          #34
          Getting an accurate measure? I doubt that the fuzzy photos in some of the posts above will cut it. You need a sharp image to get a good measure using photography.

          I would make a mold with clay or better yet, one of the commercial molding compounds: A flexible molding compound will help in getting an accurate impression as it can be stretched while pulling it off but it will return to the actual size after that. Add a small piece of wood/plastic/metal to the back of that molding compound before it sets to help keep the dimensions constant. Then make a replica with either plaster or a pour-able plastic. Trim the surrounding material from around the hex and then just measure it. Don't forget to take the shrink/expansion factor of both the molding compound and the plaster or plastic into account.

          High strength, flexible, quick curing, and easy to use liquid silicone mold making rubber and silicone. Great for pouring one piece molds with undercuts requiring a strong flexible material for demolding parts or for making complex multiple piece molds.


          Casting Resin provides users with an extremely user friendly rigid, flexible, or filled urethane that has good overall physical and cosmetic properties.


          Paul A.
          s
          Golden Triangle, SE Texas

          And if you look REAL close at an analog signal,
          You will find that it has discrete steps.

          Comment

          • Smokedaddy
            Senior Member
            • Mar 2003
            • 1222

            #35
            Well if it matters to anyone, the set screw I ordered from McMaster-Carr worked perfectly (M3x0.5mmx16mm long ). So the hex is 1.5mm. Keep in mind that I also went to ACE Hardware local to me but they didn't have it, that's why I ordered it. I made my purchase at McMaster simply because the drawing confirmed the hex was 1.5mm (as the image I posted before confirms). I've also seen them on Amazon in a small quantity. You can easily grip the set screw with your fingers so you don't need to make a handle for it (which would be very easy to make).

            Comment

            Working...
            X