Die Filer (part 4)

Time to finish the main body of the die filer...

Now it's time to use the pin that I placed in the housing to locate the center. From there I can drill out the hole for the reciprocating rod.

Die Filer (part 3)

Where do we start today....

Let's work on the main body of the filer, shall we?

Having a conference with my good friend, Sammy Smith, to discuss clamping. This was a part that I had to think about. How best to hold this casting for machining the first surfaces that would then determine the placement of everything else?

Die Filer (part 2)

So...onward and upward. Or something.

For Part 2 we're going to focus on the Scotch Yoke. Like many cast parts, this has no reference surface to start with. We have to figure that out for ourselves.

Die Filer (part 1)

This is a project that I started some time ago. I've done a lot of hemming and hawing over how to do it, and I'm now knee deep in getting it done. Here goes...

Oh, first things first. I s'pose I should answer the question, "What is a die filer?" Simple, it's a small, motor driven, benchtop machine that drives a file. The rotary motion of the motor is converted to reciprocating motion by way of a crank shaft/pully combination. You rest your work on the table and move it around the file. Trust me, it will make sense.

 Here is the basic casting kit as it came from Martin Models. There is a base, table, pulley, and scotch yolk.

Lathe Compound Slide (cont)

These mini lathes have a slight problem. While I was installing my 20 TPI conversion and new compound, I decided to fix it once and for all.  Lets look at that problem, and how I solved it.

On the compound slide, the moving dial can (uh...will) bind against the stationary dial (see the pointer). What this means is that you can't always trust the reading. I don't run a DRO on the lathe, I never have. I have this thing about DRO's on lathes, I don't know why. Anyway, I rely on the dials.

The cross feed screw does not bind up. Hmmm...but why? As it turns out the cross slide screw is captured by the thread housing (for lack of a better word). The screw has a shoulder, and that shoulder is used to limit the movement of the screw. The compound slide lacks this feature. So, no matter what, the screw will bind against the dial as you feed in.

Lathe Compound Slide

Starting with squaring up a block of cast iron.

First run on the little fly cutter I just made. I did the big material removal with a large carbide insert face mill and then took the final cut with the fly cutter

Lathe Carriage Stop

A thing for making things. There's a lot of geometry going on there.

Lathe Tool Holders Part 1

I seem to be spending a little more time with my 'puter lately. Let's see if I can turn that into some productive writing. (I will do my best, despite Blogger working against me by randomly moving pics when I try to add captions and just making me want to throw shit...so sorry for any strange formatting that takes place)

Current project is new tool holders for my lathe. Sure, I can buy them for about $15 each, but then I wouldn't learn anything. Also, it's a good opportunity to learn 3D modeling with Fusion 360 (more on that later...maybe?).

This is what we're aiming for. How are we going to get there? Ignore the rough finish on the end...that's the result of a roughing mill and will be smoothed out later.

Riser Block Follow Up

It just occurred to me that I didn't show a follow up to the riser block for my mill. It turns out that I was ever so slightly off. My machines have limitations, after all. I work on bench top machines, not million dollar CNC's capable of sub .0001" accuracy. Small, light weight machines have to be coaxed a little more than their larger brethren.

A quick and dirty little rig for holding the head of my mill while I messed with the riser block. It supported the top while I moved stuff around and worked on the bolts.

Sheath Stuff

Making this sheath got me thinking about things. For one, I don't like how these belt clips only have a single hole. It allows them to turn and that's no fun (so I added another hole and second rivet). Next was, "how do I make a better belt clip?"

Riser Block

I believe I mentioned recently that I wanted to lift the column of my mill. The way to do this is a riser block. This mission has two outcomes: success or failure. Either it works perfectly, or I abandon ship. Progress so far:

Here is a dull picture of a block of aluminum. At this point the two sides have been decked and I've cut reference edges. I see no need to machine the entire block. It would be a waste of time to cut all the way around this block. Add to that the fact that my end mills aren't long enough anyway...and what you see is what you get.

Letr's Talk About Stirling Engines

Since I didn't do anything of note this evening, let's have a chat about Stirling engines. If you don't know what they are, then google one. They are pretty neat.

The one I am building is based on this design. The "Stirling 60."

I am making small changes and changing dimensions from metric to imperial on the fly. Just to add that extra bit of frustration that these projects need. I have neither the time nor the inclination to give a cut-by-cut write up on the construction. I'm a machinist and fabricator first. Writing this blog is just my way to let out the remaining creative energy. In other words, my time is dedicated to making and not writing (it shows, I know).

Cutting the cooling grooves for the power cylinder.

The Last Couple of Days...

...have been exhausting.
Anywho, I've been working on some grinding guides and other tid bits. I also spent some time on a secret squirrel project that I can't show here per my customer's request.

The Tacti-Hunter. Something was bugging me about the grind. We'll get to that in a minute.

Valentine's? You Mean, Tuesday?

While everyone else was out eating cheap chocolate and drinking cheaper wine...some of us were being productive. I'm not much for holidays, and Valentines' has never been on the top half of my list. Anywho, let's get into the shop.

Four knives to wrap, and exactly enough foil left on this roll to wrap them. This marks the end of my first full roll of stainless foil for knifemaking. I had another roll that I bought several years ago for making plane irons...and that has been used up too. This one, however, is a bit of a milestone.

Tomorrow Should Be More Exciting

A pretty boring evening. Sometimes gym days mean that my evening is a bit slow.

Every time I use that mill stop I'm glad I made it. I love the ability to remove and replace parts, or make multiple parts without having to relocate them every time. This time around, I'm making two nearly identical parts. In the vise is a piece of scrap, but we have to economize where we can...and this scrap is big enough to make what I need.