- Joined
- Oct 16, 2019
- Messages
- 7,026
Good looking conduit work there!
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2020 POTD Thread Archive
- Thread starter eugene13
- Start date
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2016
- Messages
- 979
Several years ago I built a welding rotator on a stand. Somewhat heavy, hard to move and I've only used it a couple times. One was to add a 10' extension to a 8" aluminum 25' long street light pole for my brother. It works good for those big projects. But quite often I've wished I had a smaller one that would be easy to put on the welding table where I sit for welding things like small shafts etc.
When I was cleaning out a corner of the shop last week I found a little rotary table with X and Y slides on it. It is too small for the Bridgeport and there are 2 better ones already. So in surfing the internet this morning (I usually start on this forum but end up down one of those rabbit trails) I came across some YouTube vids on DIY welding rotators. This gave the idea to use the rotary table by removing the X and Y slides and mount it to a 8x3/4" piece of angle. The hand wheel was removed and a cordless drill used to power it. It had a slight sticky spot in the rotation so it was taken apart, cleaned and adjusted. Now it's smooth as silk. I used a 2-1/2" V-block for work holding (had to fabricate a clamp for it). Works in both horizontal and vertical positions. Already had a torch holder for the TIG so all you have to do is control foot pedal and feed rod. The drill speed is adjusted with a hose clamp around the trigger. I may try to add a foot switch for the drill so it can be stopped and started. It was a productive early morning.
Thanks for looking.
Aaron
When I was cleaning out a corner of the shop last week I found a little rotary table with X and Y slides on it. It is too small for the Bridgeport and there are 2 better ones already. So in surfing the internet this morning (I usually start on this forum but end up down one of those rabbit trails) I came across some YouTube vids on DIY welding rotators. This gave the idea to use the rotary table by removing the X and Y slides and mount it to a 8x3/4" piece of angle. The hand wheel was removed and a cordless drill used to power it. It had a slight sticky spot in the rotation so it was taken apart, cleaned and adjusted. Now it's smooth as silk. I used a 2-1/2" V-block for work holding (had to fabricate a clamp for it). Works in both horizontal and vertical positions. Already had a torch holder for the TIG so all you have to do is control foot pedal and feed rod. The drill speed is adjusted with a hose clamp around the trigger. I may try to add a foot switch for the drill so it can be stopped and started. It was a productive early morning.
Thanks for looking.
Aaron
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- Joined
- Dec 15, 2018
- Messages
- 817
Finally got back to this and finished my sine plate. Made the retractable fences and the hold down strap.
The hold down strap was a bugger of a thing to design, to have it stay below the surface.
Greg
The hold down strap was a bugger of a thing to design, to have it stay below the surface.
Greg
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2014
- Messages
- 2,286
That is one nice looking piece of kit!
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2019
- Messages
- 7,026
No pic as I was in a hurry.. Had a pvc pipe frame break in an inconvenient place making it impossible to just glue a piece in. So I turned down a fitting to fit inside the broken off piece of pipe and glued that in instead. No water on this, so no need to worry about pressure. Quick fix with the lathe that would have been irritating without it.
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2014
- Messages
- 1,033
Realigned the headstock on the PM1440TV. The original Allen head mounting bolts are just a pain in this application, so I ordered ARP 12 point M12 to make my life easier when torqueing them down. Due to the limited area in the backside of the pockets I had to turn down the flange on the 12 points.
I aligned the headstock prior to receiving the 12 points bolts. Showed the results to Matt, he cautioned me not to touch it. But hey, I need to take a break from doing barrels so I went ahead and replaced the socketheads.
The alignment is so touchy especially when you get down to the 0.0001 indicator when making adjustments.
The MT5 test bar ground for me by Miller Machine and Fabrication when I acquired my 1236 back in 2014 came in handy. If any of you guys want to borrow it send me an email. 81stfacp@gmail.com It is heavy, just pay for shipping both ways.
The taper across a 10 inch unsupported stick out is close enough for government work.
I aligned the headstock prior to receiving the 12 points bolts. Showed the results to Matt, he cautioned me not to touch it. But hey, I need to take a break from doing barrels so I went ahead and replaced the socketheads.
The alignment is so touchy especially when you get down to the 0.0001 indicator when making adjustments.
The MT5 test bar ground for me by Miller Machine and Fabrication when I acquired my 1236 back in 2014 came in handy. If any of you guys want to borrow it send me an email. 81stfacp@gmail.com It is heavy, just pay for shipping both ways.
The taper across a 10 inch unsupported stick out is close enough for government work.
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- Joined
- Jul 29, 2014
- Messages
- 2,848
I have a need in some science stuff to have some rings cut from a thin insulating fiberglass type 
material. These are kind of consumables, and after having no fun making one with scissors, I thought I would try my first attempt at a punch and die to make both the donut and the hole together. It worked out better than I expected. I mount the die in the mill vice and the punch in a collet, bring them together with the manual downfeed, and it just stamps these things out, like, say, hotcakes. I used about a 0.002 clearance on both diameters, and I get a crisp sheared cut. I made this awhile ago but used it today to replenish my insulating donut inventory.
material. These are kind of consumables, and after having no fun making one with scissors, I thought I would try my first attempt at a punch and die to make both the donut and the hole together. It worked out better than I expected. I mount the die in the mill vice and the punch in a collet, bring them together with the manual downfeed, and it just stamps these things out, like, say, hotcakes. I used about a 0.002 clearance on both diameters, and I get a crisp sheared cut. I made this awhile ago but used it today to replenish my insulating donut inventory.