- Joined
- Jul 27, 2021
- Messages
- 221
I am enjoying my RF30 clone and have done a number of mods to it already (3 Phase VFD, TouchDRO, power head lift) and I want to tackle the main round column issue. I have seen many of the installs here on HM and while they are great they all seem to be based on clamping to the column. I am sure there is a good reason why but I just can't quite figure out why the system can't be attached to the head and the base rather than the column.
I was thinking that I could get some very stout angle iron and run two lengths of that from the base out the back. From there the idea would be to attach a precision ground rod (25mm) to the angle iron rising vertically. I would attach two more lengths of angle iron to the head and extend them out similarly. The upper arms would have a precision linear bearing installed so that the bearings run up and down the ground shaft while the head was raised and lowered. I have attached a very crude mock up of what that might look like.
There are several issues to resolve here:
- Getting a rigid attachment at the bottom will be tricky. I would need to add some cross bracing and other types of supports that attach to the ground rod below where the head would travel. I would also think another connection back to the base may be needed.
- I will need some sort of adjustment ability in the connection to the base (and the head) so that the rods can be brought parallel to the column and each other. I would imagine that some slots and jack screws would do the trick.
I figured before I spent to much time working on this I would float this out there because my guess is that others may have tried something similar and there is something I have not considered that will prove this idea worthy of the dustbin. In my dream scenario I would make this rigid enough not to even use the clamps, but that may be fantasy.
Please burst my bubble before I waste a few weekends on this!
Thanks
Tom
I was thinking that I could get some very stout angle iron and run two lengths of that from the base out the back. From there the idea would be to attach a precision ground rod (25mm) to the angle iron rising vertically. I would attach two more lengths of angle iron to the head and extend them out similarly. The upper arms would have a precision linear bearing installed so that the bearings run up and down the ground shaft while the head was raised and lowered. I have attached a very crude mock up of what that might look like.
There are several issues to resolve here:
- Getting a rigid attachment at the bottom will be tricky. I would need to add some cross bracing and other types of supports that attach to the ground rod below where the head would travel. I would also think another connection back to the base may be needed.
- I will need some sort of adjustment ability in the connection to the base (and the head) so that the rods can be brought parallel to the column and each other. I would imagine that some slots and jack screws would do the trick.
I figured before I spent to much time working on this I would float this out there because my guess is that others may have tried something similar and there is something I have not considered that will prove this idea worthy of the dustbin. In my dream scenario I would make this rigid enough not to even use the clamps, but that may be fantasy.
Please burst my bubble before I waste a few weekends on this!
Thanks
Tom