2016 POTD Thread Archive

[NCjeeper]

Tee-hee! Sounds like you went through a whole lot more work adapting the power feed you bought ... and I'll bet it was just a tad more expensive than a battery drill woulda been

Well, I suppose that might be a factor ... but I thought the idea was to remove the drill when you weren't using it to move the knee.

Anyway, all kidding aside, that's a really fine looking job you did. Congrats!

PS - If you leave the crank in place (as shown in your last photo), will it spin when you use the power feed?
PS - Might you be able to rotate the power feed about 90º on its mount, so that the controls face upward? That might make it handier to use (unless it interferes with something else).

Yeah the drill method was tempting, but then I would have to stick it somewhere when I am not using it. And Murphy's law would come into play when you go to use it and the battery is weak and needs to be recharged right in the middle of a project.
The handle slides off the stub shaft I made and hangs on the end of my table.

 

[T Bredehoft]

Turn the handle around, hang it on the shaft with the 'teeth' sticking out. It won't be in the way there, either. Memory tells me when I ran a knee mill, I didn't keep the handle there, so maybe it isn't a good idea. .

 

[mattthemuppet2]

It looks like your treadmill motor for your drill press conversion had the flywheel on the same side as the drive wheel, right? Mine are on opposite sides. The existing drive wheel is about 1" diameter aluminum, 1.5" wide, poly-v. It weighs about 5 ounces. Not much there to work with. I suppose I could mount something on the side of the flywheel, but there isn't any arbor left to grab onto so I would be drilling into the face of the flywheel, potentially throwing away the balance it currently enjoys. But with the fan on the drive wheel side (and an apparent press-fit) I wouldn't mind using the flywheel side. The nut for the flywheel came off easily, but the flywheel didn't. It just pulled the shaft within the housing. It wasn't until later that night that it occurred to me that the flywheel may be threaded on as well. I'll see how easily it comes off. That side has a right hand thread, so eliminating the flywheel and using a tap for the drive wheel threading (and having the benefit of a drive wheel that doesn't spin itself loose in use) would simplify things. It just seems like the weight of that flywheel is desirable as, you know, a flywheel. Perhaps I should just make up a new drive wheel for that side that incorporates a new flywheel.

So many decisions...

ah, right - yours is a double ended motor, that's interesting. I would use the existing pulley, turn it down and press fit the new drive pulley on top. Then take the motor shaft out, mount it between centers and turn the new drive pulley true. If you don't need to reverse the motor, just orient the motor so that the shaft is turning against the threads (ie. won't loosen) and then wire it so that it turns in that direction.

 

[intjonmiller]

I got the flywheel off last night. It was on there TIGHT. I couldn't even see a difference between the arbor and the flywheel, even with a macro lens, as though they were one piece of metal. But it was clear from other details, like the fact that the motor housing couldn't have been assembled that way, that it had to come off. With it clamped to the bench, my wife holding the shaft on the other end with two hands on a wrench, and me with two urethane-gloved hands on the flywheel, nearly giving myself a hernia, it finally came loose. Usually in such a situation it's easy to get an impact wrench to knock it loose.

Anyway, the flywheel side arbor is shorter than the drive wheel side, with similar construction except convenient 1/2"-13 RH threads. So if all else fails (like my as-yet untested internal threading "skills") I can just use a tap for a drive wheel and use that side. But the shorter useful shaft and the fact that it's already a good flywheel makes me want to hold off on that option as long as I can.

The trouble with mounting the motor the other way so the existing drivewheel doesn't come off is that I'm trying to keep the build as narrow as possible, so it will slot into one particular spot in my shop. But it's definitely an option I am still considering.

The minor problem with turning the shaft between centers is that I don't have a good headstock center, nor any form of lathe dog. These are problems I need to remedy, but I was hoping to finish this grinder project before starting any others. For instance, I have had a brand new Shars 4-jaw scroll chuck on the shelf right above the lathe, just waiting until I get time to turn the backplate concentric with my spindle so I can put it to use. That project is sort of my reward for completing the current one.

I'm going to try my hand with the left-hand internal threads on the chunk of aluminum I have on hand. If that fails then the option you mentioned with putting the existing drive wheel into my grinder drive wheel is the next option.

 

[intjonmiller]

For instance, I have had a brand new Shars 4-jaw scroll chuck on the shelf right above the lathe, just waiting until I get time to turn the backplate concentric with my spindle so I can put it to use. That project is sort of my reward for completing the current one.

While we're on the subject, for a 6" "semi-steel" cast iron back plate on a 10" Logan lathe with a well-used leather belt, what tool material and geometry would be recommended? Positive rake HSS due to low power? Neutral carbide because it's what I have? Positive rake carbide is not on hand and I'm not set up to shape carbide tooling yet (and my only toolpost options so far are the 4-way and lantern). I don't have experience with turning cast iron yet, but I do have experience stalling the workpiece (belt slipping) with several different tool geometries on mystery mild steel. And I've seen a range of conflicting recommendations for turning cast iron.

Available RPMs are 60, 110, and 200 in back gear, and 375, 665, and 1185 in direct drive.

Thanks!

 

[Reeltor]

It's been weeks since I've been in the shop. I received my 3-ton ratcheting handle arbor press from Enco today. 25% off plus Free Shipping made the cost $131 and change delivered to the door. R+L Carriers uses lift gate service to residential addresses, so I didn't have any issues getting it off the truck. The driver even rolled it into my garage. This is the second attempt to deliver the press; the first one was a broken box with missing parts. While the castings aren't as nice as a Old Drake, for the money I think it's a real deal. Only took about 10 minutes to put it together but I still need to mount it to a table.

Mike

 

[Charles Spencer]

I went to use the lawn roller I got at the dump and discovered it had a leak in the one place I couldn't see - under the washer for the handle. It wasn't bad so I considered just using it as is. Then an idea hit me. Starting at the surface of the drum where it was leaking, I applied:

gasket sealer
rubber washer
metal washer
a bushing
the handle

The wife was working outside as well. So I made a bushing long enough to press tightly against the washer under pressure from the handle. I went inside my little shop, left the door open, and whipped it up in about 10-15 minutes. That way the wife got to see once again how useful my lathe is.

Anyway, it looked like this when I was done:





And I really hadn't any system for storing bar stock. I have no free wall space to put up a rack. But I was watching this youtube video where the guy stored his in buckets. I just happened to have a couple of buckets that struck me as being good for that purpose. So I did this:




And...

I got the GI buckets at the dump. I think some farmer left them their because there was still chicken feed in them. I got the lids too.

So, a good and frugal day. I bought myself a cherry pie to celebrate.

 

[NCjeeper]

This is the second attempt to deliver the press; the first one was a broken box with missing parts.

Mike

Thats exactly the condition mine was when it arrived.

 

[intjonmiller]

And I really hadn't any system for storing bar stock. I have no free wall space to put up a rack. But I was watching this youtube video where the guy stored his in buckets. I just happened to have a couple of buckets that struck me as being good for that purpose. So I did this:

View attachment 130362 View attachment 130363


And...

I got the GI buckets at the dump. I think some farmer left them their because there was still chicken feed in them. I got the lids too.

So, a good and frugal day. I bought myself a cherry pie to celebrate.

I store mine in drywall mud buckets. One for round stock, one for >2" flat bar scraps, one for 2" flat bar scraps, one for <2" flat bar, and one for angle iron scraps.

 

[Franko]

Before I made racks, I used a 30 gallon barrel for stock 24-48".