What did you machine today?

[Dan Dubeau]

Finished this small production run today. 30 parts of each size (8, 9, 10mm OD). 17 engraved with size, 13 blank. 1" long 1.5mm thru hole and a 1mm wall thickness on the big end (0.5mm small end). I designed/machined them for a customer that needed a problem solved with a new product.




CNC outer profile, spot, drill 1.5mm, part off. 2nd op in a hardinge hlv-h to drill the backside. Engrave size in the Mill in a quick fixture 2 at a time, then back between centers on my myford at home for a quick final green scotch bright brushed finish.




Had some trouble drilling the 1.5mm hole about 20 parts in, and then again after about 5 more parts (coolant/chip packing issues). Only had one drill left, so decided to just drill them by hand for the rest. Added some cycle time, but I made the rest with one drill no prob (picture is last part drilled). Drilling by hand took a bit of gravy off the biscuit, but they got done, and I still ate so it's all good. This will hopefully turn into a decent product for the customer, and will lead to more sizes and bigger orders in the future.

I wish I had more time to figure out the nakamura programming, and write a good post processor, as this would have been a gravy job for the live tools (engraving) and twin spindle to drop them complete. If she ends up ordering more I'll put more effort into figuring it out. Bit of a fun job. I don't get to do these very often anymore.

[Bented]

Have made similar parts in the past but with threads for mounting, they have different small diameters depending on application, there are wrench flats milled on the large diameter that are engraved with the size. Hundreds at a time.
As far as I know they inject the fillings in doughnuts (-:
The internal work is not shown.

[J Tiers]

So, I needed some rounded (obround profile) aluminum for a repair.... it had to fit into an obround tube that had gotten folded, and which had to be cut and reinforced.

Looking in the drawer-o-cutters for the horizontal mill, I found a concave cutter the right size, and profiled the length I needed from rectangular bar. I had to do some "leapfrogging" of clamps to cut it in one pass, and the last bit was fairly "leaky" as a technique, but I got away with it. I had intended to replace a clamp behind the cutter, but the table strip I used for alignment has only one position open for the clamp stud, and this is a one t-slot mill. By the time that hole cleared the back of the cutter, I had so little to go, I just let the cut continue.

The setup, bar against the table strip.



Leapfrog



That looks shaky......



The end of the part

[Willy]

I've been very busy and happy in the shop the last couple of days, finally! There's a whole lot of stuff that needs to be done outside but that'll have to wait. Painting house trim is okay in the winter, no?

Two new AXA tool holders, and I roughed out the block for the third, plus a flycutter.

My AXA size tool holders are about 10-15% bigger than the standard AXA as you can see by the as purchased one sitting on the unfinished block in the background. Why? Well I guess because I can. LOL
They're not quite finished yet, still have to de-horn them and will likely make a different height adjustment wheel for the one in the foreground much as like the one I had already made up previously on the 2nd tool holder. But at least they are functional and the dovetails fit very nicely.



The flycutter is a little long or tall but I left it long for now so that I have the option of changing the angle latter. It is now at 15° and I may reduce this at some point to 8-10°. With it being long I still have lots of meat to chew on if I feel the need to. Set screws will likely be changed also on both the tool holder and the fly cutter, from socket head cap screws to conventional allen head set screws.

[eKretz]

It's good to have a little extra meat on a flycutter with a small milling machine anyway, gives you a little more inertia, sort of flywheel effect.

[Willy]

It's good to have a little extra meat on a flycutter with a small milling machine anyway, gives you a little more inertia, sort of flywheel effect.

Very good point, as the thought of pressing on a 3/4 "x 4" steel ring on the top end of the flycutter's body had occurred to me when I first started to build it. The mass on the periphery would likely make a big difference to the effective inertia.

[Arcane]

Yesterday I enlongated (by .425") the two 1/2" mounting holes in an aftermarket upper control arm for a friend's Stock Car so he can gain a lot more caster easily.

[Bob Engelhardt]

It's an adapter to pressurize a bottle and allow contents to be withdrawn via a dip tube.



Specifically, it's for brake fluid. Brake fluid in the jar is fed to the master cylinder under pressure (5-10psi). There's an adapter for the master that's barely visible in the picture & is pressure tight. It is for 1-man brake bleeding: no pedal pumping, just open the wheel cylinders & fluid is forced out.

BTW - it's made from 1.25 brass rod. I got a 36" piece years and years ago & have hardly used it. It's a good thing that I bought it then, cause now a 36" piece of 1.25" brass rod is $200!!

https://www.onlinemetals.com/en/buy/brass/1-25-brass-round-bar-385-h02-extruded/pid/23682

[Cenedd]

That'll be the reason I don't regularly buy brass! Incidentally, you've got yourself the reservoir part of a Fog Buster there.....but in a much neater setup than the one screwed together from off-the-shelf parts: https://www.sorotec.de/shop/FogBuste...iter-7074.html

[mattthemuppet]

that's very cool Bob, good use of a sodastream bottle too. We used to use one of those until the local dry ice source started selling only complete blocks (5lb?) which was way more than I needed for filling up the CO2 container.

As for brake bleeding, that's what children are for. PUSH! release PUSH! release and so on

[Cenedd]

As for brake bleeding, that's what children are for. PUSH! release PUSH! release and so on

There's a good part of me agreeing with you on the principle of "You don't keep a dog and bark yourself"....but unfortunately, I think that "If you want something done properly, do it yourself!" wins out. Maybe I just need to wait a few more years

[mattthemuppet]

they do have to reach the pedals to be useful, tying blocks of wood to their feet didn't work very well

[140mower]

they do have to reach the pedals to be useful, tying blocks of wood to their feet didn't work very well

If they're that small, you jam them down on the floorboards under the steering wheel and have'em push with their hands...😁

[Arcane]

they do have to reach the pedals to be useful, tying blocks of wood to their feet didn't work very well

That's brought back a memory from my early childhood. I knew a couple, she was normal height for a woman but he was short and when I say short, I mean SHORT! He had wood blocks permanently fastened to the pedals on his car so he could drive the thing!

[C_M_H]

Made a bearing installation tool to press in new bearings on my bicycles bottom bracket.

Gotta love it when it takes more time to make the parts than to do the job.

Next time I'm ready. Oh wait, I'll probably make a puller next time instead of tapping them out.....