POTD- PROJECT OF THE DAY: What Did You Make In Your Shop Today?

[Eyerelief]

Don't ask me why I needed to use this ridiculous S&D bit

Why did you needed to use that ridiculous S&D bit?

I too like the albrecht chucks but sometimes you need mo bigga. I have been fiddling with the Jacobs sup-a-chucks of late. Haven’t had one slip up a burr yet but I know the potential is there. The 1” Jacobs seems to put a pretty respectable grip on bits, better than the 3/4 in my pointy headed opinion.

 

[tq60]

I used a laser engraver to cut myself a new box out of 1/4" plywood and glue it together. It should hold my rOtring pen/pencil (and my other drafting pencils).

View attachment 435249

I still need to sand and stain, and then add some felt liners to the cavities before I can install latches and hinges. I do need to remove rust from some old compasses and polish things up, too, but I think it will work just fine.

View attachment 435247

I'm excited for the possibilities this opens up.

Please tell us more about your laser!

We have been looking and getting nowhere.

Looks like yours cuts plywood, good.

How does it do with marking metal?

Making identity badges or machine panels as examples.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

 

[silverhawk]

Please tell us more about your laser!

We have been looking and getting nowhere.

Looks like yours cuts plywood, good.

How does it do with marking metal?

Making identity badges or machine panels as examples.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

Metal marking is terrible, actually. Engraving stainless requires mustard on it to even take.

The plywood is okay is a 10W laser head by Smernit (available on Amazon). Cutting ticket stuff would take a while, using many more pass repeats. Whatever you cut, do it outside where the smoke from burying the material can escape easily.

I bought a LightBurn license, because I can run it on Linux (I know, LinuxGRBL will also work). I don't like joking it up directly to a computer to run because I put the cutter outside. This takes a micro SD card as well as USB connection, so I am covered there. The software experts G code, and that's what this takes.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

 

[ttabbal]

If you want to mark metal directly, you really need to get a fiber laser. Even CO2 machines don't do it well.

You can coat the metal and remove the coating though. Anodized and dyed aluminum works great for this. Paint and dychem work as well. There are a number of people that sell anodized cards that would be great for data plates and such.

Another option is to use a coating that the laser "sets". Cermark and similar. I think the mustard trick is similar. Moly lube spray is supposed to be decent as well. I would think laser printer toner or powder coat would work, but would be messy.

I'm using an import CO2 that I vent outside. I have a diode module on the CNC router, but I don't like using it. No ventilation and I have safety concerns with kids around.

Lightburn is well worth the cost. Particularly if you set up a camera. It can do some really cool tricks with that. They also get bonus points from me for Linux compatibility.

 

[rwdenney]

A quickie from Saturday.

View attachment 434710

The 8x1x1 Norton grinding wheel was wobbling on the shaft of my cheaptastic Delta bench grinder. I thought the plastic bushings might be to blame, so I ran this up. But it didn’t completely solve the problem, which is that the dished washers have too much of a radius and too much slop, and don’t seat reliably square in the shaft. Making this bushing tight enough to prevent that might risk the wheel if the bushing expands with heat.

So I’m going to make new washers. I may make the inside washer integral with a bushing like this.

Rick “so many stupid things I lived with because I didn’t have a lathe” Denney

Here’s the replacement. This is the first time I’ve machined 1045, and this was cut from a hydraulic ram.

It cuts easy on the bandsaw.

But that was the last of the easy. The stuff turns with long stringy chips that are blued from heat and ready to burn, lacerate, or bird’s-nest at any moment. I switched from a CNMG insert to a CCMT insert, and that helped. I was running at 640 RPM, with .100 depth of cut and .005 feed rate with the CCMT insert, I got tight curls, but I had to manually break them by peck-feeding. But that was far better than the hot, sharp lassos the CNMG insert was throwing at me.

The CNMG faced fine, and left a pretty good finish when turning. It was just impossible chip management.

But boring the hole was a challenge. 1045 is hard on drills and the chips jam up instantly and throw the drill off-center. When I poked through with a 15/32 drill, I could see the runout from a mile. I used a thin brazed-carbide boring bar to try to straighten the hole, but the bar just deflected and bell-mouthed the hole.

I made the hole big enough and straight enough to get rid of the bell-mouth, and then stepped it up to 1/2” using drills. Then, I could barely fit a much stiffer boring bar and used that to work it up to 5/8. That was also brazed carbide and I honed to to very sharp. That finally cleaned up the hole and I was able to hit the dimension within a few tenths and restored concentricity.

Here’s the finished part:

Installed on the grinder shaft:

With the 8x1x1 wheel install:

And finally the wheel running true:

Rick “hard stuff to cut” Denney

 

[GoceKU]

Today i got tired of watching the GM be broken. The company that sold the non working alternator decided not to honor their word and after talking to them couple of times best i could get was to remove it they'll check it if its not working they'll give me a replacement. I also talk to my friend the lawyer, he said they have couple of lawsuits already against them but they are corrupt and it always go to one judge how clear the mather the evidence. But he called me right after that and told me if the part is defective remove it and take it to them, i'll call and try to get you money back. So that is what i did, drove the astra back in the big garage, and removed the alternator. I'm going to take my original alternator to a friend who fixes them. I'm pretty sure it's the diode board but i don't have spares and don't know where to sorse one from, i'll also drop off the alternator i removed to the place that sold it.

 

[tq60]

Thanks for the follow up.

We want to make tree tags and control panels.

Tree tags we use a stamping machine that has a disk with the letters and you pull lever to stamp.

Works well but somewhat not exciting.

Our control panels we use the transfer letters then clear coat, works but would like to do better.

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[silverhawk]

Thanks for the follow up.

We want to make tree tags and control panels.

Tree tags we use a stamping machine that has a disk with the letters and you pull lever to stamp.

Works well but somewhat not exciting.

Our control panels we use the transfer letters then clear coat, works but would like to do better.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

Aluminum MIGHT work if you coat it will enough. As was said earlier by ttabbal, marking metal doesn't work so well. The problem is that metals are reflective when they heat up, and that stops any light-based engraving or etching from happening. Anything in white is harder than anything in black, so color being used as your set agent also has an effect on the results.

@ttabbal , I've not heard of a fiber laser before. I think I need to do some research, now. I won't be getting one, but I'm falling down another rabbit hole.

Sent from my SM-T500 using Tapatalk

 

[Weldingrod1]

Apparently you can do.it with powder coat. Dust the part but don't bake it, then laser. The laser sets the powder. Wash off the excess. Might also do a proper bake after washing.

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[Boswell]

I have a xTool D1 Pro 20 W diode laser. will cut plywood OK 1/4" no problem and thicker by running it slower.
As for marking metal, I have been able to burn the anodizing off of aluminum. So you could get your panels anodized and then you should be OK with a normal Diode Laser. you would not want to use Clear Anodizing. The xTool D1 Pro has a 455 nm laser. This will cut/mark most organic type things and like I mentioned will remove anodizing. They say it will also mark Stainless Steal, but I don't think it is actually removing metal. Also mentioned above, various surface coatings before the laser can mark the surface of metal.

Also xTool is just now coming out with a laser head in the 1064nm wavelength. This will mark most non-organic type materials directly such as metal. Probably targeted toward the jewelry business it may still be very good for panels.

also mentioned above are fibre lasers. Also 1064nm wavelenght but more powerfull than the xTool diode version These are also sometimes called Infrared lasers. The xTool diode 1064nm laswer is a $1000 upgrade to the D1 Pro base, so about $3000 all in. A quick look on google and It looks like Fibre lasers start around $5000 and go up from there.

I love my 20watt D1 Pro. I have been doing a lot of wood projects with it. I am about to try etching a glass mirror. Should be easier than sand blasting. At the very least I will not have to spend an hour weeding a vinyl stencil.