Mentor needed as well as help on a school project!

[jwmay]

I disagree with the notion that tooling will be pocket change. A decent drill index is 65 bucks minimum. Some cheap high speed...12 bucks, close to pocket change. Grinder for the high speed is 50. Taps are 25 a set for good used stuff. Files? Ehh, 40 bucks. Qctp..100 bucks. This could go on forever, and the OP is on a deadline if this is a school project. How do you compress the learning curve?

 

[jwmay]

If I were you, I would search through this forum for people who’ve made incredibly intricate machines and ask them how many hours are involved. These are hours of an expert. Your time would be significantly greater. There’s also model engineering forums where you may reach out. I do believe this is an impossible project if it has to be complete in 6 weeks or less. I’m assuming your school schedule is similar to every other college I know of btw. I think you were on the right track asking for a mentor with machines. That’s the only way I see even a remote possibility of completion. A retired, highly motivated, expert toolmaker who has 150 hours of free time to work on your project while he has you file a block square. Sorry if that’s too blunt. There may be a chance you prove me wrong.

 

[Robo_Pi]

I disagree with the notion that tooling will be pocket change. A decent drill index is 65 bucks minimum. Some cheap high speed...12 bucks, close to pocket change. Grinder for the high speed is 50. Taps are 25 a set for good used stuff. Files? Ehh, 40 bucks. Qctp..100 bucks. This could go on forever, and the OP is on a deadline if this is a school project

He won't need to buy a whole drill index. He should only need to buy the tooling he needs for this specific project.

How do you compress the learning curve?

I never suggested that this would be a substitute for a mentor. He'll still need advice on how to do this.

He could do that right here on this forum. If he starts a project thread on The Hobby-Machinist explaining what he has to work with and what he would like to do next I'm sure he'll be overwhelmed with an abundance of ideas to choose from for each step of the project.

I'd follow that thread and be glad to pitch in my mentoring 2 cents. And I'm also quite certain that others will jump in and offer ideas so far superior to mine that I'll look like a complete idiot.

But that's ok. I'll be learning too then. I might even think about building this silly thing if he starts a project thread from scratch.

@ Racer,

What is your deadline? Just exactly how long do you have to build this thing?

This is going to take a while. You're not going to build this overnight.

Have you considered the raw materials list yet? That would be the best place to start. You should know before you begin exactly what materials you are going to need.

If you can make up a complete materials list and I can afford to buy all the materials, I might join in the fun and build one along side you.

So let me know. You'll need to start a project thread on this forum if you want me to follow along.

By the way, do you have access to all the drawings?

The best I could find is the following, and I'm not sure I'd want to try to build one from this:

 

[racer8412]

Time frame is by the end of high school, im a sophomore now graduating in a few months, I have all the drawings and 3d part models as well as remade solidworks drawings,

 

[Robo_Pi]

I do believe this is an impossible project if it has to be complete in 6 weeks or less.

I totally agree with this. Six weeks would be a "rush job" even for the most experienced machinist who has the best drawings, materials, and tooling right at his or her fingertips.

This sounds like a job better suited to a schedule of 6 months. Do you have that kind of time available for this project?

Especially considering that you won't be working on this 8 hours a day.

 

[racer8412]

If you'd like a project thread I can definitely do that and provide what resources I have as well as start working on a materials list.

 

[Robo_Pi]

Time frame is by the end of high school, im a sophomore now graduating in a few months

So this basically gives you a whole year to finish the project? That should be doable.

I have all the drawings and 3d part models as well as remade solidworks drawings,

I'd love to see the drawings if you're willing to share.

 

[racer8412]

Curta Calculator Scale Replica

As a beginner to metalworking and machining I've taken on the challenge of creating a scale replice of an original type 1 Curta Calculator, I will be providing documentation, pictures, resources and tips along the way for anyone interested in the project or wanting to make their own. Solidworks...

www.hobby-machinist.com

Here is the project thread, I will upload the part drawings I have asap.

 

[Robo_Pi]

If you'd like a project thread I can definitely do that and provide what resources I have as well as start working on a materials list.

You got me interested. It sounds like an interesting project. I'd love to build one of these myself. If you start a project thread I'll do my best to follow along.

Here's the lathe/mill combo I'll be using. It's extensively tooled-up. And quite a bit larger than a desktop machine, So I'm all tooled-up and ready to go.

 

[Robo_Pi]

Curta Calculator Scale Replica

As a beginner to metalworking and machining I've taken on the challenge of creating a scale replice of an original type 1 Curta Calculator, I will be providing documentation, pictures, resources and tips along the way for anyone interested in the project or wanting to make their own. Solidworks...

www.hobby-machinist.com

Here is the project thread, I will upload the part drawings I have asap.

I don't want to clutter up your project thread with a bunch of chit-chat so I have a few more comments to make here.

To begin with, I'm willing to bet that you'll get all the mentoring you'll ever need in your project thread once the project gets underway.

As I said, for me personally, a materials list is a great place to start. It doesn't need to be exact, or even necessarily complete. If you could make something up that contains the bulk of the materials in the approximate quantities needed that would be a great start. Something I can order and put in a box and mark Curta Calculator Materials. Like I say, it doesn't need to be complete. Just the bulk of the material. Rods of the correct stock size, etc. It would be nice to have the main body parts included in that materials list. Just the raw stock material you'll think you'll need for the bulk of the body parts. Like I say, it doesn't need to be extremely detailed or precise. Just a ball-park materials list. That would work for me. Something I can use to order in some stock to start the project with. One thing I don't have laying around is much stock.

Once we get that far then you might want to decide where to begin. Which part(s) would you like to start working on first? The body? Internal frames? Or other parts?

Once it's decided which parts to start in on we can begin talking about what it might take to actually machine them.

Also, just as a note of caution. I've never see the lathe I pointed to on Amazon in person. I've just seen a lot of good reviews on it on YouTube. It sounds like a lathe that might work for you. But in the end, it was just a suggestion on my part, not necessarily a recommendation. It was also a suggestion for a low-end bank account. I feel fairly confident that it would serve the role in building this project. Especially since you plan on using mostly aluminum and brass. But I have no way to know for certain how well it would work. So it's just a suggestion, not necessary a recommendation. Make your lathe purchase at your own risk.