07-02-2012, 03:33 PM | #1 |
Suck it up! Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Arkansas
Posts: 11,652
| Eyeball Engineering
Figured I ought to start my own thread and let the real machinists carry on with theirs. Thanks to CreeperBob for the name idea. This thread more or less should chronicle my journey from eyeballing hack to precision machining god. Or at the very least, a slight progression from a hack to a low tolerance hack. Nothing too terribly exciting going on, just making odd things I keep finding that I need, or things I've always wanted to try. I did make a slip-on replacement trigger for my GT3B that was pretty trick, but somehow I lost it. Sucky. On to the projects! Todays item: a T nut. You may be asking yourself, "did he really just spend an hour or so making a $2 part?". Yes I did. My clamp set was missing one, and the ones holding the vice down aren't all that great, so I gouged out some aluminum and once the carnage was over I had this... |
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07-02-2012, 03:53 PM | #2 |
Scale Detail Engineering Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Turtle Island
Posts: 5,573
| Re: Eyeball Engineering
hack away! |
07-02-2012, 04:03 PM | #3 |
Yashua Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Learn the parable of the fig tree
Posts: 3,661
| Re: Eyeball Engineering
You hack miester, aluminum T nut? This is gonna be fun , subsribed. |
07-02-2012, 04:26 PM | #4 |
Suck it up! Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Arkansas
Posts: 11,652
| Re: Eyeball Engineering |
07-02-2012, 04:30 PM | #5 |
Yashua Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Learn the parable of the fig tree
Posts: 3,661
| Re: Eyeball Engineering |
07-02-2012, 04:33 PM | #6 |
I wanna be Dave Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Eastcoast CANADA
Posts: 4,395
| Re: Eyeball Engineering
What a great way to learn. I'm taking machinist in September cause it's so much fun! Looking forward to the new projects you make. Rob |
07-02-2012, 04:40 PM | #7 | |
Suck it up! Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Arkansas
Posts: 11,652
| Re: Eyeball Engineering Oh I've got plenty of delrin, but I'm saving that for the cool stuff. Quote:
Something that has developed, which I will deal with in the near future, is that occasionally the mill will kick the breaker. Turns out that all of the outlets in the garage (excluding the one I installed) are on a single circuit, which includes the mill, overhead lighting, air compressor, battery chargers, the wifes treadmill, and most problematic, the deep freeze. Looks like I'm going to have to run another dedicated circuit. | |
07-02-2012, 04:47 PM | #8 |
I wanna be Dave Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Eastcoast CANADA
Posts: 4,395
| Re: Eyeball Engineering
Yep the time to work in the classroom is nothing like having your own machine. I took industrial mechanics last year and love making odd projects. Hope it's not to hard to fix the wiring problem. Keep those projects coming! Rob |
07-02-2012, 08:36 PM | #9 |
No idea what I'm doing Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Underground, CO
Posts: 4,529
| Re: Eyeball Engineering |
07-02-2012, 09:01 PM | #10 |
Suck it up! Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Arkansas
Posts: 11,652
| Re: Eyeball Engineering |
07-02-2012, 09:13 PM | #11 |
I joined the Band! Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Sacramento
Posts: 1,303
| Re: Eyeball Engineering
thats how i started, and you got the right attitude about it... before you know it your signing a deal with the devil on a $400k machine ... |
07-02-2012, 09:16 PM | #12 |
Suck it up! Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Arkansas
Posts: 11,652
| Re: Eyeball Engineering |
07-02-2012, 10:04 PM | #13 |
Rock Crawler Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: smithville
Posts: 642
| Re: Eyeball Engineering
[QUOTE/]$400k machine[/QUOTE] |
07-02-2012, 10:40 PM | #14 |
Suck it up! Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Arkansas
Posts: 11,652
| Re: Eyeball Engineering
Second verse, same as the first. Actually, there are three now. 1 and 2 were tapped by hand, for 3 I gathered up my courage and let the mill do the work. I found my trigger, which is good, I've got to go racing in a couple of days. So now that I've got it back in my hands, I can discuss it, maybe get a little insight. Pictured is the first attempt. I have an incredible amount of beginners luck at most new things I try, and this came out pretty fair IMO. Not the greatest, but it does what it is supposed to do. Version 2 was made from aluminum and looks like ass. Its terrible. Version 3 met a catastrophic ending last night when it broke and the mill spit half of it all the way to the far corner of the garage. I was 90% done with it too. I guess my biggest problem is how to hold the damn thing. Once I start shaping it, the brake portion gets very thin and way to weak to work. Obviously I need to figure out the best method of attack here...any ideas? Last edited by Duuuuuuuude; 07-02-2012 at 10:50 PM. |
07-02-2012, 11:00 PM | #15 |
owner, Holmes Hobbies LLC Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Volt up! Gear down!
Posts: 20,290
| Re: Eyeball Engineering
Awesome Indeed, any practice is better than none. I've been hack machining for about 8 years now on my little sherline. Holding and machining a part is always the most difficult, and everybody has their own style. What I would do is leave a support connecting the main trigger body to the braking part and use a dremel to part off the support when it is done. On something so small you could hold it down with double sided tape, then flip the part onto a riser block since it has a width change. If you can curve it a bit instead of kinking it, the part will be stronger as well. You figured out curves with the handwheels? Find an etch-a-sketch and make new wheels for it that are copies of the lathe handles if you want to practice without going through your scrap pile. |
07-02-2012, 11:10 PM | #16 | |
Suck it up! Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Arkansas
Posts: 11,652
| Re: Eyeball Engineering Quote:
There is a vision in my head of a couple of power feeds controlled by a joystick. That would make my world so much easier. | |
07-02-2012, 11:18 PM | #17 |
owner, Holmes Hobbies LLC Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Volt up! Gear down!
Posts: 20,290
| Re: Eyeball Engineering
Yes it would. I almost built a servo setup thinking the same thing. Then I said screw it and got a CNC that is getting delivered this week. Yer Tnuts look nice. I wanna see some made of styrene now |
07-02-2012, 11:25 PM | #18 | |
Suck it up! Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Arkansas
Posts: 11,652
| Re: Eyeball Engineering Quote:
I don't have any styrene blocks that big, only .040 sheets, and my lamination skills leave too much to be desired. I did come across a big chunk of fiberglass composite that is pretty cool. Don't know if I could tap threads in it though. | |
07-02-2012, 11:33 PM | #19 |
Rock Crawler Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Vertical Junkie
Posts: 945
| Re: Eyeball Engineering
I see the future of new parts and ideas coming up.!!! Nice
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07-03-2012, 07:10 AM | #20 |
owner, Holmes Hobbies LLC Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Volt up! Gear down!
Posts: 20,290
| Re: Eyeball Engineering
Any motor would work with sufficient geardown. A sensored motor would be great, or an industrial brushed motor. Brownie points for keeping handwheels on the motor too!
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