who needs machine shops when...

def215

10 kW
Joined
Oct 7, 2009
Messages
518
Location
philadelphia, pennsylvania
you got a drill, some threaded rod and nuts, a metal sawblade, and some patience.
IMG_0002.jpg

IMG_0004.jpg

i recently bought an industrial #40 sprocket, 14t for a drive sprocket on my next ebike project, but it turned out that the sprocket width and the whole sprocket was too thick. a lightbulb went off in my head and i started to play around with it. i know its sort of stupid of me to do this but i was bored. i only really did it for fun because i couldnt find a machine shop, but low and behold, it works. im bored also and i thought id post this up for fun.
 
You are so right! There are many one-off small jobs we can do with primitive tools, even with no prior skill.

I would like to present the:
20199.gif

image source of THE FUSEE CHAIN: http://www.thewatchquote.com/A-Lang...ite-The-stars-of-Haute-Horlogerie-No_5400.htm

There we learn what is is for. These were made entirely by hand in the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries.
To handle one from a two hundred year old pocket watch, is to marvel at the skill of women,
for it was the woman and her daughters that made these chains, so strong that they never break at all,
link by pinned link!
Unlike gut, they never break.

Amazing, considering the "tools" used were mostly files, hand drill bits,
patience, drawn steel wire for the links's riveted-down pins, all so flexible...
...women and small boys, working link by link, piece work, by the open door or at the window for light.

So tiny, that each link of such a chain (it's like early bike chain in construction) may be as small as an "i" mark on this page,
or smaller! Amazing; all done entirely by crude hand tools, young-eagle eyes, and natural lighting.

Now, that was and is a neat post above! I am stoked that you did that. WHO really needs a lathe?

Well, for miniature work that need not look uber-neat, a drill motor or a Dremel, or both, often can serve to make a crude job
that may not look great, but works as well as Swiss watch workings.

For instance, this is a world's first as far as I know:
to drive a toy music box...but how to convert it from spring power to Stirling engine power?
A: a drill, some epoxy putty, some dental floss, removal of a gear and spring from the toy music box, plus one hour or less of labor:
just an example... rough work need not be 'fail bread work'
[youtube]ecHQmbDAGc4[/youtube]
this was no experiment, though I'd never done such a thing before.
childhood-earned self-taught skills partially remain in me...
..and I know and you know how now, too, to do any similar sort of mini-feat.
KWY-ADA-WY-ADI
 
Once when I lived in an apartment with a small enclosed patio, I contracted to make counter-top shelf displays on Saturdays. They were made from very thin 1/4" plywood. I bought a used portable circular saw from a pawn shop, and made a 2' X 2' square table with folding legs (from free scrap pallets) so I could store it in my closet. I installed a pop-on table extension (with one folding leg) to the far end, to act as a "third hand". There was a thin slot in the center of the table, and the cicular saw could be quickly and easily clamped underneath.

Grinhill indicated that with a slow feed, aluminum plate can be shaped with a router using a carbide bit. Of course, using a wooden jig, do not use fingers to free-hand a piece on a high-RPM router tip. Read the entire first page of this thread (great pics, grinhill!)

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=10635&start=0

One of my most valuable tools is a very sturdy rolling steel cart with a large bench-vise on the corner. I have clamped my belt-sander and angle-grinder in the vise upside down into it in the past, so both hands are free to hold and work a piece. I have a Sears foot-switch to act as an on/off and I am pleased with the set-up.

What I most want next is a large heavy-duty drill-press. I believe I can use it as a vertical lathe for light aluminum pieces. Or at the very least, I can buy a lathe-chuck and use the other tools to make a small bench-lathe of just the right size for the parts I want to make.

Foot_Switch.JPG
 
spinningmagnets said:
What I most want next is a large heavy-duty drill-press. I believe I can use it as a vertical lathe for light aluminum pieces.[/img]

Get a cross sliding vice and you can do some basic milling on it too ;)

KiM
 
I am tempted to adapt a file onto my speed-adjustable jigsaw to make a single-slot broach-tool for those ENO-splines...These aren't the right kind of files, but its the right idea.

http://www.kotulas.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10051&storeId=10001&categoryId=10158&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=10128&top_category=10128&pageView=detailed
 
im pretty amazed at what can be done with conventional tools. i looked at the link that you posted spinning magnets and i did not know you could do that with a router. and considering what tyler said, im probably destoying my drill by doing this. but the results are turning out pretty well. i cut down the total width of the sprocket by about 1/2 inch and cut down the sprocket width from around 3/8 inch to around 1/8 inch to accept the chain that im using. the only problem is cutting the extra "sprockets" because right now it looks like theres two sets of 14t sprockets about 3/32 inch apart. i gotta find a way to get rid of the extra sprocket. ill post pics of the finished piece when im done.
 
spinningmagnets said:
I am tempted to adapt a file onto my speed-adjustable jigsaw to make a single-slot broach-tool for those ENO-splines...These aren't the right kind of files, but its the right idea.
Using Miles' spar-slotter on a reciprocating tool seems to have potential for small runs, IMO.
 
Very true TD hence i said 'basic milling' :: wink :: I have seen a few people on Overclockers.com.au using them also with good results depends entirely on the material i think, they were only milling plexi (i use my bench drill to do so simply holding the plexi in my hand and moving it around under the bit) and aluminium. Any ferrous metals or jobs requiring supreme accuracy would be difficult IMO.

KiM
 
def215 said:
im pretty amazed at what can be done with conventional tools.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=[youtube]0Z8dFlVNrY8[/youtube]

Yeah, forget removing the cells from the tool just attach it to the damned bike.

Kim could probably build and run his bike all from a cordless drill.
 
317537 said:
def215 said:
im pretty amazed at what can be done with conventional tools.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=[youtube]0Z8dFlVNrY8[/youtube]

Yeah, forget removing the cells from the tool just attach it to the damned bike.

Kim could probably build and run his bike all from a cordless drill.
seeing that and the drill-powered cooler still amazes me. who would ever think that something that you use at work could be used to have fun.
so here is the finished product. its a little rough but it works like a charm
IMG_0006.jpg

what i "machined" off
IMG_0007.jpg

the chain meshes perfectly on the cut sprocket
IMG_0008.jpg

mounted on my motor ready to be put on a project
 
AussieJester said:
spinningmagnets said:
What I most want next is a large heavy-duty drill-press. I believe I can use it as a vertical lathe for light aluminum pieces.[/img]

Get a cross sliding vice and you can do some basic milling on it too ;)

KiM

I've got such a setup.
Pro: Dirt cheap:
8" drillpress $39 (Canadian tire on sale)
Crossslide vise $49 House of Tools (I was suckered. Saw them on sale for $29 later...). Busy bee has a nicer one I learned afterwards
Few endmills: $2-3 each. Busybee, 50% off sale this summer.

Con: Shudders easily. Probably ok for soft materials, but I often struggle and long for a machine shop when working on steel.
 
Con: Shudders easily. Probably ok for soft materials, but I often struggle and long for a machine shop when working on steel.

I was inspired by the work that Thud (2-speed transmission) and Grinhill (RC mount) have done with aluminum. I've done a lot of work with aluminum and wood before I found ES. As stated by other posters, if I get a big drill press (with bigger bearings), only work soft aluminum, and feed it slow, I should be OK.

Matt's aluminum stuff is a work of art, so I'm not even going to pretend I'd be capable of copying one of his jewels! Finally got a job today after months of collecting 1/2 pay as unemployment. I'm planning out what to do next to get the most bang for my buck. If I get lots of hours at work, perhaps I'll be less of a "posting whore"...
 
spinningmagnets said:
perhaps I'll be less of a "posting whore"...
whores have a use & wanted, slutz are wanna-be whores, bitches just bitch 'bout whores.... a good whore will show the way to slutz not to bitches....
sincerely, e-bike slut..... :)
 
who needs machine shops when... you could have your own Bridgeport in the garage.
170116_bd58963eb1_m.jpg

Now when NC is in, getting an old, hand cranked Bridgeport cannot be too expensive? Maybe nearly free if one can hit an auction where the audience is clueless to the value of timeless quality?
 
spinningmagnets said:
If I get lots of hours at work, perhaps I'll be less of a "posting whore"...

E-Bike posting whore you :p I hope you dont get too many i enjoy your posts :)

KiM
 
Jag, that Bridgeport would be just the ticket for the kind of work I'd find fun and useful. Is there any particular model thats better than others? I don't want to get one thats too small to do the jobs, or bigger/heavier than neccessary. Surplus auctions are WONderful!!...IF you know what you want. I don't even know what questions to ask, but if its cheap, any model will be close enough that I'll find a use for it (or sell on Ebay?)

Quote of the day: "close" only counts in shaving,... and nuclear weapons -Admiral Rickover

AJ, thanks for the encouraging words. If nobody stops me, I'll blather on for hours. Its nice to hear something positive,...you know...to counter those voices in my head...(helpful hint: the more you resist the urge to kill, the easier it gets)
 
I agree, surplus and auctions is the way to go. I bought my first house in '94 on auction. Then most of the building material to fix it up on auctions and surplus also. Much of this material would have just gone to waste, so it's good recycling also.

For machining stuff, I think the key is to know through the grapewine when a shop is closing, or maybe upgrading to an NC machine. The newer Bridgeports are huge though, and older, smaller/lighter models may be difficult to find.

Pricing is also a tricky thing for these sorts of items. I've never bought a milling machine, but I've been involved in used robotics. A used PUMA 560 ot 760 robot arm is $20,000 refurbished from a reseller, but can often be had for a few hundred unrefurbished on an auction. One friend bought it for I think $600, another 2 or 300. I got one entirely for free that had been abandoned by a university in Connecticut. So the same item can have dramatically different values depending on how you acquire it. (Same goes for e.g. VW busses)
 
Freecycle and Craigslist are good places to keep an eye peeled on, too. I got my South Bend Lathe (from 1941, I think) free from there, and while not in great shape, it is certainly serviceable for my simple purposes!
 
Those harbor freight cross slide vises are pure crap. That being said, I have one and am surprised at how much it gets used in my drill press as a basic clamp/holder. If you kinda preload the axes you can do some very basic ghetto milling on things that don't need much accuracy or machine strength to process. If you don't expect anything, then you won't be disappointed.
 
will_newton said:
Those harbor freight cross slide vises are pure crap.

I agree. I bought a low end cross slide vise, and now wish I had spent a bit more.

That said, it can be improved a bit by disassembling, sanding the mating/sliding surfaces smooth, regrease with good grease as opposed to the stuff it came smeared with (probably more for corrosion protection than use) and careful reassembly.
 
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