# How Do I Make This?



## lcorley (Mar 15, 2016)

Hey guys --
I need to make this part out of delrin. It adapts a control lever that is designed to fit on 7/8 tube to bolt to a square tube. I can hold the 7/8 round stock in a v-block to drill the holes, then split it to rough thickness with a bandsaw. But then how do I hold it to mill off the flat to finish thickness?  I thought maybe tap the holes 1/4-20 and bolt it to a plate I could clamp in the vise.  That seems like there must be an easier way.

Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.

Leon


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## bill stupak (Mar 15, 2016)

How about using the a 2" long or pair of smaller  v blocks to fully support the piece, clamp one side, mill flat, clamp the other side and  mill the other side flat.

Bill


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## JimDawson (Mar 15, 2016)

Drill & tap the two holes for 1/4-20 to start with.  Then split on the bandsaw.  Make a v-block out of wood, aluminum, or angle iron  with two 0.25 holes in it.  Then bolt the part to that, flat side up.  Don't let the bolts stick through more than 1/4 inch.  Put it in the vice and do the milling.  Once the thickness is correct, then drill out the holes to finish size.

It might not even require a v-block to hold the part to mill the flat.  Just the bolts might hold it on a flat surface, in fact, a couple pieces of all-thread screwed into the part with the other end of the bolts captured in the vice would work fine.


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## RJSakowski (Mar 15, 2016)

I would start with a longer piece of stock, say 3 - 4" , to provide a handle on each end.  Use Vee block clamps to hold the work in a pair of Vee blocks.  Mill the center 2+" to 1/4" thickness.  At this point the work will be very flexible so go slowly. Also, use care in positioning the end mil as the wall of the Vee block will be only .035" from your workpiece.  Part off the two end pieces and face to length.  Flip with flat side down in a vise, locate the positions of the hole holes and drill and countersink.


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## omni_dilletante (Mar 15, 2016)

What if you drilled the rectangular piece, then bolted it to some square stock and then turned radius on top?

If you don't have a lathe, then a boring head might do the job.


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## Billh50 (Mar 16, 2016)

omni_dilletante said:


> What if you drilled the rectangular piece, then bolted it to some square stock and then turned radius on top?
> 
> If you don't have a lathe, then a boring head might do the job.



+1    easiest and safest way to do it.


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## Profkanz (Mar 16, 2016)

You could make it round, drill the holes, then cut to size with a slitting saw.


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## T Bredehoft (Mar 16, 2016)

I thought about the slitting saw, but my set up isn't all that great. The "screw it to a square and turn it on a lathe" [with a live center on the right end] sounds a lot easier.


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## Fabrickator (Mar 16, 2016)

RJSakowski said:


> I would start with a longer piece of stock, say 3 - 4" , to provide a handle on each end.  Use Vee block clamps to hold the work in a pair of Vee blocks.  Mill the center 2+" to 1/4" thickness.  At this point the work will be very flexible so go slowly. Also, use care in positioning the end mil as the wall of the Vee block will be only .035" from your workpiece.  Part off the two end pieces and face to length.  Flip with flat side down in a vise, locate the positions of the hole holes and drill and countersink.



My first thought was to start with a longer piece too.


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## Wreck™Wreck (Mar 16, 2016)

You have not answered the magic question, *how many parts*?
If 1  just cobble it together and move on or you may spend 3 hours making a single $0.50 part, choose wisely.


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## 09kevin (Mar 16, 2016)

If I had 1 or 2 parts I would drill and countersink the 2 holes then saw. Set part on parallels in vise with the flat side up and the 2 inch length perpendicular to the vise jaws , use a dial indicator and touch off the side of the .25 hole and move Z up and down in the hole, rotate part until the hole is parallel to the Z axis and then face to thickness. Make sure not to over tighten the vise or you will bow the material.


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## lcorley (Mar 16, 2016)

Thanks for the comments, guys. What clicked for me was the suggestion to leave the stock long to serve as a handle. I cut the piece to rough size and clamped it in a v-block. I supported the free end with a jack to prevent chatter.


I milled it down to 5/16 instead of 1/4 because I was a little worried about the flex.  The jack didn't work because it flexed the tongue upward. So I milled it with small cuts. I put the jack back under to support it while drilling the holes.


After drilling the holes, I bandsawed the part off the rod and smoothed the edge on the belt sander.


I think its going to work great.  Thanks again for your help.

regards,
Leon


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## Jimsehr (Mar 18, 2016)

If you take a piece of 7/8 round stock and machine a 1/4 inch flat the length of your part and drill two 1/4 inch holes thru stock.  flip round over then countersink the 1/4 inch holes to put 1/4 socket head screws thru fixture.  Then using a piece of 1/4 x  1 inch wide piece of plastic with two tapped 1/4 holes you can bolt the 1/4 inch flat stock to fixture and turn the 7/8 dia on lathe. 
The part is done except you may have to ream the tapped holes too 1/4 dia.
jimsehr


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