Erich's Benchtop Gear Hobber Project

[rwm]

You can make anything with a shaper, except money.

 

[ErichKeane]

You can make anything with a shaper, except money.

So I've heard! I've definitely made some nice stuff with it Though i WILL say, a shaped flat surface with a shearing bit is the nicest finish I've ever seen, I'm surprised folks won't pay extra money for that rather than the 1/2 circles on all our tooling!

 

[dkemppai]

You can make anything with a shaper, except money.

No, I made a lot when I sold mine! Lol.

 

[dkemppai]

So I've heard! I've definitely made some nice stuff with it Though i WILL say, a shaped flat surface with a shearing bit is the nicest finish I've ever seen, I'm surprised folks won't pay extra money for that rather than the 1/2 circles on all our tooling!

The Moore book, Foundations of Mechanical accuracy states that a precision surface plate is best done with a single point with a planer. Of course those guys are scraping that down to single digit millionths of an inch stupid kinds of ranges.

I know for a fact that milling and even grinding can induce residual stress in the material. Etch a surface ground then mirror finished martensitic stainless tool steel some time. After a Grind, finish, and etch and the surface grinder marks show up again. I'm sure that's the residual stresses showing up in the etch. Like of how shot peeing increases a parts strength by inducing residual stresses in the surface of the part.

 

[ErichKeane]

Y'all got me off on a side project

I'd ordered this and it came 2 days later. It is a decent "should work well enough" tool, though is clearly going to need some projects to make it good later.

However, I have to work on a stand now. I have some scrap steel angle and plate around, plus a 140 a welder, so this will occupy a few shop days.

 

[dkemppai]

I'd ordered this and it came 2 days later. It is a decent "should work well enough" tool,

Is this one of those chinese No3 arbor presses? If so, you'll have to let us know what you think of it!

 

[Charles scozzari]

Oh, no, I'm joking. You were right, an arbor press is a better idea. Just the (self-embraced) 'reputation' of this forum is "The solution to all problems is to buy more tools!" that I was teasing you for I feel like we are the world's worst support group

I would like to put this out there and maybe it may give others an idea as option. I have a lower bench that makes using this much easier. It brings the tool lower so its at a more comfortable working height. All the guides are delrin as is the broach holder which is slotted for adjustments as needed. I used a 1" Acme rod as the pusher and when the broaching is complete the broach passes into a canvas bag below. It has a socket welded on top that I use to run the acme rod in and out.

 

[WobblyHand]

I have that arbor press. It works. There's nothing elegant about it however, it is essentially the minimal "thing" that is a 3T arbor press. I replaced the hand wheel on mine because it had razor sharp edges and flash on it. The hand wheel wasn't worth fixing up, in my opinion. Once the hand wheel and handle were replaced it was a lot better. I also installed a small steel plate inside it so the screws were not directly bearing on the ram.

 

[WobblyHand]

I would like to put this out there and maybe it may give others an idea as option. I have a lower bench that makes using this much easier. It brings the tool lower so its at a more comfortable working View attachment 429357View attachment 429360View attachment 429361View attachment 429362View attachment 429364View attachment 429367height. All the guides are delrin as is the broach holder which is slotted for adjustments as needed. I used a 1" Acme rod as the pusher and when the broaching is complete the broach passes into a canvas bag below. It has a socket welded on top that I use to run the acme rod in and out.

That's very nice! I like it.

 

[ErichKeane]

Is this one of those chinese No3 arbor presses? If so, you'll have to let us know what you think of it!

Yep! I got it from vevor com, as I was ordering something else as well.

So far: it's rough but probably works. The plate at the bottom is raw cast in the cutouts, so I probably am going to spend time with a die grinder on that. The hand wheel casting is sharp as well, so I need to spend time with th grinder on it.

The ram itself is a little gritty, so I expect I'll spend some time cleaning, filing, and greasing that.

There is also some sort of alignment issues with the ratchet mechanism that likely needs some attention.

In all, its a casting kit that needs some finishing, and some of the raw stock is already to size

I feel like I got what I paid for, at 1/5 the price of a "nice" import.

Even non ratcheting used ones around here are $600, so less than half price of those, so I still feel like I got a good deal.