Beauty in The Beast: Webb 5BVK Barn Find/Conversion

[Charlieman22]

Ok, I have questions...
1.). What size of round stick did you use (I'm assuming it is round)?
2.) Is it a rubberized stick or solid?
3.) How is it chucked into your mill (can't see from the picture angle)?
4.) How much down pressure?

Here was my process after a little fooling around - no particular order.
1. I use CNC - but could be done on manual. My overlap in the linear direction was .4" (the stick round is .5" so this is .1 overlap with each circle. My rows are overlapped .33 each so a little more overlap in one direction that the other. You can fool around with this to your liking.
2. I used 1/2" cratex sticks. Bought off Amazon. One stick has lasted me a ton of time. Corse for a bit more texture. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WC5K963/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
3. I chucked it up in an ER collet chuck. I lift the knee until I can see some deflection in the stick. This ensures contact. Every 4 or 5, I bumped the knee up to keep good contact as it wears. A spring loaded chuck would have been ideal.
4. Edges wear the stick quickly - so when it goes over holes or finishes a row it carves down the stick a little. I would always lift knee after.
5. I kept it sticking out about 1/2" from the collet. maybe 3/4. Its stiff enough. I was able to use it down to 1" of length or less doing this.
6. Its a rubberized stick with grit in it. Cool product. Made it easy to execute.
7. I found the parts looked even better if I polished them out first.

Method: s
A. surfacing tool if I could get them on the mill.
B. 220, 400, 600, 800 grits on 3" orbital sander. Didn't take much, just a few passes each.
If I couldn't surface with mill, then I started with 80 grit. Took casting marks out. Went pretty quickly too.

THAT is utterly beautiful!!

I'll take some credit for collaboration - but Jim Dawson had the vision.
Think this one had been rumbling around in his mind for a while.
He was kind enough to share.

What I like:
The color next to it really pops.
The texture isn't so delicate I can't use the damn lathe!

 

[extropic]

@Charlieman22
I'm still not clear about the process from "OEM" to completed "engine turning".
Was the engine turned surface, prior to your modification OEM 'as cast' or OEM machined flat(ish)?

I seem to recall (faintly) that, once-upon-a-time, you set-up some manual switch type controls for the quill depth.
You say you controlled Z with the knee. Does that mean your quill depth is not integrated into your CNC control yet?

When moving from one completed burnished circle to the next X-Y location, did you drop the knee, lift the quill or stop the spindle and drag the Cratex or ???

What is your plan to prevent corrosion on the "engine turned" surfaces?

Oh yeah. It's real flashy. One of a kind, in my experience.

 

[Charlieman22]

The surfaces that now have the engine turning were from three conditions before I started:
- Rough casting that had body filler and paint from factory
- Machined casting, that had no paint, but a lot of milage on it.
- Machined casting, that was also painted.

The machine castings needed just polishing.
Rough castings I used a faceing mill on - if I could mount them up.
Otherwise - they got 80 grit sand paper to start.

The engine turning was all CNC - as I have converted this mill to full CNC (except the knee...)
I made a drill pattern in Fusion - on Jim's suggestion - though I could have probably done it a number of ways.
The quill would drop a few MM to put the craytex stick in contact with the work piece - then pick up and move.
Every 5 circles or so, I moved the knee up just enough to reset the good contact.

*If I had a taping tool or some form of spring loaded tool - it would have been great.
No adjustment of knee - and I could have been cleaning up my tools while it ran...


As for corrosion - its always a potential issue.
However:
1. These machines end up having a bunch of bare metal exposed in high wear areas
2. I targeted high wear areas as the place to do this.
So this is no more or less prone.

Think of it as targeted dress pre-scratching.
They are going to get banged up anyway - so why not make it look nice and avoid paint chips.

I'll keep them oiled like I do my welding table.
Think it will be ok.
Don't mind a little patina/ gold hue, if that occurs.

 

[Weldingrod1]

That is a thing of beauty! Wow!

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