2016 POTD Thread Archive

[Silverbullet]

I'm still working on my Yamaha XS650 project and fitting the Buell forks to it. One challenge in this is the front brake. I was planning to use the single Buell 340mm rotor because I have a caliper and it would be way lighter than a dual caliper set up with two 290mm rotors from a Yamaha XS1100 that I also considered.

I bought a used Buell brake rotor on eBay and was going to machine an adapter to make the 5 bolt hole Buell rotor fit the 6 bolt hole Yamaha wheel. Unfortunately the Buell rotor was bent. I shot a video and sent it to the vendor and he promptly refunded my money and told me to scrap the rotor.

I decided that the bent Buell rotor might be usable if only the aluminum carrier is bent and not the stainless steel braking surface. I removed the 9 buttons attaching the 2 parts together and checked the steel part on my surface plate and it appears to be dead flat. I decided to attempt to make a hybrid rotor using a Yamaha disc and the outer part of the Buell rotor.
Here's the Buell rotor with the center removed laying over the Yamaha one. This might work!



I measured the button hole radius on the mill and laid out and spot drilled the 9 holes in the Yamaha rotor.



I then drilled them to 21/32" or .656" matching the size of the holes in the Buell rotor.



When I checked the hole layout against the Buell rotor it matched perfectly, that was a relief.








I measured the OD of the Buell rotor carrier and set up a 1/4" end mill to cut out that circle on the Yamaha rotor.







The Yamaha rotor is 2mm thicker than the Buell one so I milled a pocket at each button location so the thickness of both parts will be the same where the buttons mount.



I assembled the parts temporarily to check the fit with the old buttons and it looks good. Next I have to pick up some 303 stainless bar to make the new buttons with.





Time will tell if this is going to work out but all I have invested so far is the Yamaha rotor which I was not going to use anyway.

We always called these builds as Frankensteins. Using several brands to make a useable one. Looks good or even better, nice job so far.

 

[WMello]

Longish taper



Taper 0.06 over 14 in. 16 in long 3/4 diameter 12L14

Wagner

 

[38Bill]

Not as exotic as custom bike parts but I spent the day in my shop refurbishing my old stereo speakers. I purchased these things in '69 and they still sound great but they were starting to look like crap. They were sun faded and had been used as plant stands so they had some major water stains. I was just going to paint them black but at the last minute I decided to see if I could just refinish them. A little sanding and some oil finish and the wood turned out great. Of course the new speaker grill cloth really helps too. I then went to my lathe and turned down some Delrin to make feet for them as they will be going on a wood floor now. They will probably outlast me now.

 

[Dan_S]

Any particular advantage to that one over making one from ground drill rod? That has been my plan. I even picked up several pieces of drill rod for 50¢ per pound from a surplus shop the other day (though I haven't tested them for straightness yet).

I do it the other way Mr Pete showed.

 

[rdean]

This past week with the hurricane coming I decided to get my generator out and get it running just in case. I built this about 15 years back and never used in an emergency. I must have done a good job of putting it away last time as it took very little work to get it running again.

After running it for awhile I remembered that the voltage was a little low (103/208) at full throttle and that I was going to fix that way back when. I could have adjusted the governor for a higher RPM but I decided to change the driven pulley instead.
The pulley has a taper lock bushing and the smaller size pulley is available for around $25 but where is the fun in that.





I am pleased with the result.

Thanks for looking

Ray

 

[Hawkeye]

Like pretty much everyone who's ever had a round-column mill/drill, I got tired of getting my hand dirty on the leadscrew while locking or unlocking the Y-axis. When i started to plan it out, I realized it was a pretty quick project. I won't bore you with a step-by-step description.

Here's the finished product. I do have some 1" screw-on balls that I was planning to use on the end of the handle, but there isn't enough clearance against the base casting. I may put a slight bend in the handle to allow it, but it seems to work well as is.

Unlocked.


Locked.


Okay. I'll give you one little detail. I cut the slots on the arms at 30 degrees to clear the link bar at both ends of travel. I clamped the bars at that angle and used one of my smallest slitting saws to make the cut.


I really like the way it works. Quick, clean and it really holds.

 

[Dan_S]

Now you just need to turn a ball to replace that bolt.

 

[Downunder Bob]

Was on Craigslist last night and found this neat little Bench top metal hand shaper, then I spent my whole morning driving up to Tarpon Springs to purchase it hers a few photos for your viewing pleasure.It was very cheap a total give away.

View attachment 51759 View attachment 51760 View attachment 51761 View attachment 51762 View attachment 51763 View attachment 51764

Would love to have one of them. Looks like it could be motorised fairly easily.

 

[Groundhog]

Johnnyc14,
Nice job on the brake rotor. I'm really enjoying following along with your SX650 project.

 

[johnnyc14]

To finish the front brake set up on the XS650 my plan for rotor buttons was to make a 2 part system where the 2 parts would thread together instead of the press fit of the originals. I decided instead to use the old rotor buttons rather than make new ones. The originals are in the shape of a tube with a raised lip on the outer edge and a conical spring washer on the back side, then another thicker washer was installed over the tube and the tube was peened over to retain the washer. Not very strong but there should be no lateral forces so strong enough. When I removed them I used a disc sander and removed just enough of the tube to be flush with the outer edge of the washer then used a brass drift to punch the tubular buttons out. I thought that I should be able to just put the old buttons, conical springs and washers back on and make a tool to push the washers over the buttons until flush with the edge and then fusion weld them in place with the TIG welder. If it didn't work out I could still make new buttons. I made up a very simple tool to hold the assembled buttons together with 2 openings to allow 2 spot welds on each. I ground the TIG tungsten to a very sharp point and it turned out well.





After I got each one spot welded in 2 places I continued without the holding tool and add 1 spot weld at a time, with plenty of cooling time between welds, until a total of 10 welds were applied to each button washer. I'm confident this will be at least as strong as the originals.





Then I installed the rotor to the wheel and the wheel to the forks and checked the rotor for run out with dial indicator. Less than .001", good enough for me. I had to use a .075" thick spacer between the fork leg and the caliper to center the caliper on the rotor.











I'm really happy with how it turned out, the front brake on this project was one of the things I did not have a plan for.