Mill use for track support in rolling ball sculpture

Wow Phil. thank you for the reply.

I'm actually doing something similar but with the router table. I did try to use the drill press, but bit deflection was most problematical. Holes were not straight or too wide. The router table produced the cleanest hole by lifting a 1/8" diameter bit up thru the ring to cut the hole.

My jig moves the brass ring in a circle with indices for each hole. If you look closely at the ring in the original photos, the holes are not quite equidistant from the edge. I think this is due to small location errors indexing the whole device at the router table during setup. I can live with this, but other jigs depend on the hole locations and it drives my nuts.

To cut the "Dremel butchery", I use another jig using similar ideas as you described.

OK, true confessions, I'm looking for an excuse to get into machining. Making a brass clock (should never have looked at those Clickspring videos on YouTube) would be soo very cool. Plus other kinetic sculpture ideas. I'd prefer to start with only one device and the mill seems to fit better with my current design. I know it's over kill for this, but one must start somewhere :>.

Again, thanks for the reply, I appreciate the time it takes to think about these things!

mark
 
Sounds like you need a mill!
Robert
 
rwm said:
Nice project! Please post more pics as you go.
I assume you used regular solder? Silver solder will give you a stronger joint. The soldering temp is higher and you will need to be careful not to deform your track but it is probably worth it for the durability. You may be able to get away without cutting any notches if you do that. Try a test piece.
12 bolts had some great suggestions above. I think the jigs would need to be made of steel, so you would have to have those machined. How many of these parts do you anticipate making? A small Sherline lathe and mill could handle brass parts at this scale nicely. This could all be done with a mill, and rotary table. To make the rings you could just cut off bands with a handsaw and then finish the ends with a rotary table on the mill.
Robert
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I'm using Stay Brite-8 at 6% silver. It is not anywhere near as strong as brazing, but since I'm soldering in place on wood, brazing temperatures would cause my sculpture to go up in smoke! I need about 40 track supports for the current sculpture. I have more of these sculptures tentatively designed. And yes, I'll probably be buying a Sherline mill and (later on) lathe. Not the money so much (it is though!) but the time I need to learn new techniques.

I'm hoping a mill with rotary table can cut the notches using an end mill moving along the X or Y axis. Not exactly how to secure the ring (super glue a la Clickspring video or a 3/4 jaw chuck?).

thanks,

mark

ps just saw your reply... Ah shucks, do I really need a mill!? :)
 
Sounds like a perfect project for a small CNC mill, cut 'em out of plate... a fair amount of scrap but you could set it up and the machine cuts a whole bunch of them out while you do something else.
 
You can get plenty of advice on mills here. I would advise you to go bigger than you think you need right now. Look at the mills from Precision Matthews if you have space.
Start with your tubing and cut slices. Then, I would use a 3 jaw chuck mounted in the rotary table. Use the rotation and the x axis to cut the notches from the inside with an end mill. Super easy.
40 supports is only 10 rings cut. Heck, send me some tubing and I can part off 20 rings to get you started.
Robert
 
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Yup, looks like you need a small CNC mill. :) Or at least a small mill and a rotary table.
 
Hey Mark- how did you ever make out with this? Any progress?
Robert
 
rwm said:
Hey Mark- how did you ever make out with this? Any progress?
Robert
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I'm making progress... going to purchase a Sherline lathe and mill. I know that's just a tiny bit smaller than the one you recommended! As I thought more about the problem I realized just how a small machinist workshop would enhance my already extensive woodworking shop. The Sherline fits my need for the small mechanisms I anticipate in this and future sculptures. So your message came in while I was designing an aluminum jig to hold the rings on a rotary table plate. Since the ring is so small, I'll try to use the superglue as clamp technique to hold them to both cut the notches and to use a slitting saw to cut the ring into fourths. I plan on demounting the jig and giving it an acetone bath to release the four track supports. If that doesn't work, I'll add four simple clamps to the jig to hold the pieces for cutting.

mark
 
Sounds like a plan. I too started out with a Sherline. Now I have adapted the Sherline spindle as a tool post grinder for my bigger lathe!
Keep us posted and let us know if we can help.
Robert
 
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