- Joined
- Feb 13, 2014
- Messages
- 43
Long time lurker.... first project post:
I had bought an enco rf30 mill/drill early this year that was very inexpensive, but needed lots of TLC. It came with only one table handle and I wanted to try to make the handles. I built a Gingery charcoal-fired furnace, mixed up some greensand, turned a wood pattern, and melted a LOT of soda pop aluminum cans. This is my very first casting using a pattern.
This next picture shows the casting in the SB9C lathe, and shows the old plywood handwheel I have been using until today.
I bought a 6 inch rotary table to help with this project (spending much more than a handle costs, but now I have the rotary table, right?). I had intended to drill 4 holes in the handle to mount it to the rotary table, but after turning on the lathe, I couldn't bring myself to mar it with holes. What to do? I sat down, and contemplated asking the forum here for help, but then I figured you would tell me to build a pallet (am I psychic?).
This is the plywood pallet I used to enable the rotary table to index the 'crown' cuts:
Turned, filed, and polished a crank handle:
And put it all together:
I want to thank the forum and everybody here for encouraging us hobby machinists. It will probably take me a while to outgrow the SB9 and the rf30, but I have lust in my heart (to misquote Jimmy Carter) and I look at Craigslist almost every day for better/bigger tools.
Lornie
I had bought an enco rf30 mill/drill early this year that was very inexpensive, but needed lots of TLC. It came with only one table handle and I wanted to try to make the handles. I built a Gingery charcoal-fired furnace, mixed up some greensand, turned a wood pattern, and melted a LOT of soda pop aluminum cans. This is my very first casting using a pattern.
This next picture shows the casting in the SB9C lathe, and shows the old plywood handwheel I have been using until today.
I bought a 6 inch rotary table to help with this project (spending much more than a handle costs, but now I have the rotary table, right?). I had intended to drill 4 holes in the handle to mount it to the rotary table, but after turning on the lathe, I couldn't bring myself to mar it with holes. What to do? I sat down, and contemplated asking the forum here for help, but then I figured you would tell me to build a pallet (am I psychic?).
This is the plywood pallet I used to enable the rotary table to index the 'crown' cuts:
Turned, filed, and polished a crank handle:
And put it all together:
I want to thank the forum and everybody here for encouraging us hobby machinists. It will probably take me a while to outgrow the SB9 and the rf30, but I have lust in my heart (to misquote Jimmy Carter) and I look at Craigslist almost every day for better/bigger tools.
Lornie
