2015 POTD Thread Archive

[RWL]

I've had several projects going. I made a drawtube for a 5C fixture and was annoyed with the old carriage stop for my lathe. I had made it about 30 years ago for a different lathe and it didn't fit the ways on my new(er) lathe. It rode on the crest of the V way rather than sitting on the sides and the height of the clamping arrangement wasn't right either. After I completed the drawtube project, I fixed the carriage stop. You can see the way it fit in the first photo, and it had two bolts which had to be tightened.


I measured the angle of the V way at 55º





I planed the faces of the carriage stop to a new angle on my shaper.

I also updated the clamping arrangement and changed it to a single screw clamp now that the block actually fit the angle of the V way. Incredibly enough, if the block on the bottom of the stop was turned 90º it was the right height for the thickness of the way, so all I had to do was drill and tap new screw holes.

 

[extropic]

RWL,
Please explain the actual stop. Is the stop rod threaded into the body and the wing nut is being used as a lock nut? Or, is the stop rod backed by a spring so the wing nut adjusts the stop location as well as spring preload?

 

[RWL]

The stop rod is threaded into the body and the wing nut is just a lock nut. The carriage stop is most useful when doing internal threading or boring. I also have a long reach dial indicator that I use on the other side of the carriage if I need to really know a length of cut. That indicator uses a different holder than the carriage stop I modified yesterday. All of this from the pre-DRO era.

 

[darkzero]

Today I helped gt40 with his Large Epoxy Granite Vmc Project. Help prep, mix, & pour the epoxy granite mix. It was a fun day & interesting to see. Thanks again!

 

[hman]

Today I helped gt40 with his Large Epoxy Granite Vmc Project. Help prep, mix, & pour the epoxy granite mix. It was a fun day & interesting to see. Thanks again!






/QUOTE]
Wowsers! That's really a massive project. I just wonder how hot it got inside??? Would'a been fun to bury a thermocouple or thermistor in there, just to see the fun!

 

[Pontiac Freak]

I started building a ball turner for my lathe. Got the base plate and rotating tool holder made.

 

[jumps4]

was there a type of coating that went on the mold first, like they did In the video you showed?
I guess it was to leave a smooth outer finish.
Steve

 

[zmotorsports]

I started building a ball turner for my lathe. Got the base plate and rotating tool holder made.

Very nice. A radius turning attachment is on my list of "to do" items, rather high up on the list I might add, but just no time to do it right now.

Nicely done.

Mike.

 

[MozamPete]

Finished the casing for my forge. It is constructed from a 14kG propane tank and cut into three sections so that the volume can be reduced (using only the top and bottom section) if that is all that is needed. This will be a vertical forge primarily for casting aluminium and heat treatment (first project planned is a section of railway rail I want to anneal before milling into a mini anvil). Next step is to install the lining (ceramic wool blanket).


In tandem we have also been construction a horizontal forge for my friend which has been completed and had its first firing (his girlfriend has been away for the past month so he has had a lot more free time for this sort of thing than me). Have heated up a few bits of metal and it seems to work quite well.

 

[gt40]

I have built my share of forges- looks real nice