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- May 3, 2015
- Messages
- 46
A close up shot. Should be a nice lathe.
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Pm 1228-vf-lb Lathe Preparations
- Thread starter Franko
- Start date
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2015
- Messages
- 1,382
I finished all the carving and shaping on the bracket for the leveling casters. One leg of the angle had to be shortened about an inch. I found out my small Miller plasma cutter was not up to cutting 3/8" steel. It took two passes on both sides to make the cut. It wasn't the pretty plasma cut I was hoping for, but it was fairly square and I was able to grind it pretty smooth. It's on the bottom so it can't be seen.
I marked radiuses and the hole for the casters. I knocked off a 45º corner to make for less material to grind to achieve a radius. It wouldn't fit in the band saw so I cut it with a cut-off wheel in a hand grinder. Then I smoothed and shaped the radius on the flap wheel on my bench grinder.
I still need to make a couple of .5" x 3" washers to space the caster down from the bracket. That will allow about .25" of downward adjustment before the wheels hit the floor. I guess I'll start practicing for the welding tomorrow.
So, this is done. It's pretty heavy. The rounded corner appears to have a flat spot in this photo, but it doesn't. It is reflections.
I marked radiuses and the hole for the casters. I knocked off a 45º corner to make for less material to grind to achieve a radius. It wouldn't fit in the band saw so I cut it with a cut-off wheel in a hand grinder. Then I smoothed and shaped the radius on the flap wheel on my bench grinder.
I still need to make a couple of .5" x 3" washers to space the caster down from the bracket. That will allow about .25" of downward adjustment before the wheels hit the floor. I guess I'll start practicing for the welding tomorrow.
So, this is done. It's pretty heavy. The rounded corner appears to have a flat spot in this photo, but it doesn't. It is reflections.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2015
- Messages
- 1,382
Fabrication of the metal for the wheel trolly is done. Time to starting fretting about the welding.
I am an occasional welder, so I always have to practice before welding a project. I had a gas leak problem with my MIG, but with the help of forum members it got worked out and the MIG is working fine.
Any of you welders out there feel free to point out problems you see.
Yesterday, I tried a couple practice welds on the big angles. I made clamping fixtures to assure my corners are 90º. It is a section of 3 x 3 x 3/6 angle that I checked to be sure it was 90º. I rounded the outside corner for clearance to keep it from getting stuck in case the weld penetrated all the way in. I also spaced out one one side for some stand-off with a section of .25" bar stock. Belt and suspenders.
I beveled the facing edges of the parts and clamped them to my fixture, leaving about a tenth inch gap.
The first practice weld looked pretty good to me. I tacked the ends and ran the bead with an oval weave. It penetrated to about 3/100ths of the inside corner. I don't know if that is good enough or if I should make the gap a little wider. I had the welder set for 1/4" material. The parts are 1/4" and 3/8". Maybe I should set it for 3/8"?
I checked it for square and it was perfect. I feared that the weld would shrink and pull the joint open a little.
I cut a section of the weld and tried an acid test. The acid test was done on the second test weld I did. I got a little off line and had too much stand-off on the end I tested so it wasn't quite as hot as the first weld. It looks like I only got good penetration in the top half of the weld. The bottom half doesn't look fused.
I am an occasional welder, so I always have to practice before welding a project. I had a gas leak problem with my MIG, but with the help of forum members it got worked out and the MIG is working fine.
Any of you welders out there feel free to point out problems you see.
Yesterday, I tried a couple practice welds on the big angles. I made clamping fixtures to assure my corners are 90º. It is a section of 3 x 3 x 3/6 angle that I checked to be sure it was 90º. I rounded the outside corner for clearance to keep it from getting stuck in case the weld penetrated all the way in. I also spaced out one one side for some stand-off with a section of .25" bar stock. Belt and suspenders.
I beveled the facing edges of the parts and clamped them to my fixture, leaving about a tenth inch gap.
The first practice weld looked pretty good to me. I tacked the ends and ran the bead with an oval weave. It penetrated to about 3/100ths of the inside corner. I don't know if that is good enough or if I should make the gap a little wider. I had the welder set for 1/4" material. The parts are 1/4" and 3/8". Maybe I should set it for 3/8"?
I checked it for square and it was perfect. I feared that the weld would shrink and pull the joint open a little.
I cut a section of the weld and tried an acid test. The acid test was done on the second test weld I did. I got a little off line and had too much stand-off on the end I tested so it wasn't quite as hot as the first weld. It looks like I only got good penetration in the top half of the weld. The bottom half doesn't look fused.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2015
- Messages
- 1,382
Practice welding is over. Today I finished welding the left side wheel assembly for the stand.
All the is left to weld are the sides to the ends. I'm waiting for the arrival of a spool of 70s5 wire tomorrow
for the multi-pass welds necessary for those welds..
The end bracket is 2 x 3 x 1/4 angle. The wheels are mounted on 2 x 3/8 bar with welded 2 x 1/4 wheel tabs.
The wheel assembly pivots on a 1/2 bolt and can be adjusted with two 1/2-20 bolts against 2 x 2 x 1/4 angle tab.
The round tube under the pivot bolt is a fixture I made to bolt the wheel brackets together and keep them square and spaced correctly while I welded them. It is being used as a spacer to hold the assembly upright for the photo.
All the is left to weld are the sides to the ends. I'm waiting for the arrival of a spool of 70s5 wire tomorrow
for the multi-pass welds necessary for those welds..
The end bracket is 2 x 3 x 1/4 angle. The wheels are mounted on 2 x 3/8 bar with welded 2 x 1/4 wheel tabs.
The wheel assembly pivots on a 1/2 bolt and can be adjusted with two 1/2-20 bolts against 2 x 2 x 1/4 angle tab.
The round tube under the pivot bolt is a fixture I made to bolt the wheel brackets together and keep them square and spaced correctly while I welded them. It is being used as a spacer to hold the assembly upright for the photo.
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2015
- Messages
- 1,382
That may be a great idea, coolidge. Hopefully, I won't be moving it much. It it gets to be to big a pain, I can always upgrade. Cost was probably a factor in choosing the casters I'm using. The ratcheting casters are twice as expensive, and I've already spent some serious money on this stand.
Brav, I don't intentionally over-engineer things, but I may have gotten carried away on this one. I kinda get a kick out of building things strong enough.
On paper, and even when it was just cut parts, it didn't seem as beefy as it does put together. I'm pretty sure it won't break. I just hope it doesn't wiggle.I'm just an occasional welder, so my main concern was that I made strong welds.