-
Welcome back Guest! Did you know you can mentor other members here at H-M? If not, please check out our Relaunch of Hobby Machinist Mentoring Program!
POTD- PROJECT OF THE DAY: What Did You Make In Your Shop Today?
- Thread starter wachuko
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2014
- Messages
- 2,647
It’s been a while since I’ve posted a project; here’s a recent one. The backstory is my wife and I have a Super Bowl party with two other couples. Last year one of the wives asked if I could make memorial plaques for two of their horses and one of their dogs. Yeah, the request was from 11 months ago; I don’t rush into projects! Full disclosure is “IT WASN’T ALL MY FAULT!!!” I asked the friend to hit the web and search for “pet memorial plaques” as she wanted plaques but didn’t have any specific one(s) in mind. She isn’t great on the internet, so we did several months of back and forth before coming up with the ones below. Here are the results. These were made on a Tormach 1100S3 from 3/16” aluminum. The larger ones are ~14” x 8”, and the dog one is ~10” x 6”.
After engraving, the surface was D/A sanded with 220 grit to knock down the burrs, washed, air blasted to clean out the engraving, and painted with a black Dykem paint pen. The surface was sanded again after the paint dried, air blasted, and washed. Lastly, they were sprayed with a few coats of Auto clear coat paint to seal the surface.
Here are a few lessons I learned along the way which may help out others. I have several styles of engraving tools:
1/8" carbide engraver - wood and plastic
1/8" carbide engraver - wood and plastic
1/8" single-flute carbide engraver
Spring-loaded diamond drag engraver
I’ve found that the first two styles do well in wood and plastic, but not so well in aluminum and steel. Mine have a 60-degree tip which is prone to snapping in aluminum, even at a spindle speed of 5000 RPM, DOC of 0.015”, and a feed rate of only 5 ipm. The style with the single flute (like a spotting drill) worked best. I ran that tool at 0.023” DOC at 3500 RPM with a 20 ipm feed rate. The diamond drag works okay, but plows material instead of cutting. The drag leaves a higher burr than the spotting drill type and doesn’t get as deep of a groove. It works great in brass. I also use it to make scribe/layout lines on steel.
Another lesson learned was in my work holding. I didn’t show the setup; the 3/16” aluminum was initially clamped just on the ends with step clamps. I have a probe on the Tormach, one of the canned-routines does a touch-off in ‘Z’ and spits back the measured height. I found when sweeping the surface at several points that ‘Z’ was varying by about 0.015”. The math on a 60-degree engraving tool works out to about a 20% wider cut than the depth of the cut. For example, cutting 0.020” deep yields a cut 0.024” wide. If I ran the routine with 0.015” variation in Z, the line width would have varied by 0.018”.
My Tormach has a Saunders fixture plate which I swept to ~0.002” in variation across the surface; the problem wasn’t the fixture plate. I got the variation down to about 0.003” by clamping the aluminum blank down to the fixture plate every 4”. As my dad would have said, “Good enough for the girls we go with!” As an aside, the aluminum plate was not completely flat. I put the high side down so the plate rocked on the fixture plate and clamped it into submission.
Yet another lesson learned was checking the engraving tool’s length after each run. The CNC needs to know the tool’s length to control the depth of the cut. I’d have thought that carbide would win over the aluminum, but the tool wore (or the tip broke) during the first run about 0.008”. Dummy me threw the second horse plaque in place and ran the routine without checking the tool height. . .
The engraving was noticeably shallower with about half the engraved width. Of course, that was noticed AFTER I’d removed the plaque from the mill. . . In a case of being luckier than good, I use dowel pins in the Saunders fixture plate to set up blanks. So, easy peasy to put the pins back in the fixture plate, slide the plaque up against the stops, clamp it down, and run the routine again with the correct tool length.
In the “more than you wanted to know” department, the horse and dog images were JPG-format files snagged off the web. The Tormach has routines to cut files in a DXF format which is a vector-based file format. It makes sense as the machine moves from (x1, y1) to (x2, y2) and needs specific coordinates. The web is full of DXF files, for a price. . . I found lots of JPG (pixel picture) files which I converted to a DXF file using Adobe Illustrator. There are many programs out there that’ll do the conversion though I’ve only used Illustrator, your results may vary!
Lastly, Tormach has an online tool called “Pathpilot HUB”; it is a WONDERFUL service! Their control software is called Pathpilot. You can sign up for a free account at Tormach’s website which gives you cloud storage and a virtual Tormach machine to prove out your routines. I wrote the routines on our home computer and uploaded them to my HUB account. Debugging was done on the home computer with a virtual 1100S3 running the routines. Then, out to my shop, fired up the Tormach, logged into my HUB account, downloaded the routines to the mill’s hard drive, and cut away. I can also download the routines onto our home computer from the HUB to archive them.
Running a prove-out routine in plexiglass
Tormach Pathpilot main screen
Thanks for looking!
After engraving, the surface was D/A sanded with 220 grit to knock down the burrs, washed, air blasted to clean out the engraving, and painted with a black Dykem paint pen. The surface was sanded again after the paint dried, air blasted, and washed. Lastly, they were sprayed with a few coats of Auto clear coat paint to seal the surface.
Here are a few lessons I learned along the way which may help out others. I have several styles of engraving tools:
1/8" carbide engraver - wood and plastic
1/8" carbide engraver - wood and plastic
1/8" single-flute carbide engraver
Spring-loaded diamond drag engraver
I’ve found that the first two styles do well in wood and plastic, but not so well in aluminum and steel. Mine have a 60-degree tip which is prone to snapping in aluminum, even at a spindle speed of 5000 RPM, DOC of 0.015”, and a feed rate of only 5 ipm. The style with the single flute (like a spotting drill) worked best. I ran that tool at 0.023” DOC at 3500 RPM with a 20 ipm feed rate. The diamond drag works okay, but plows material instead of cutting. The drag leaves a higher burr than the spotting drill type and doesn’t get as deep of a groove. It works great in brass. I also use it to make scribe/layout lines on steel.
Another lesson learned was in my work holding. I didn’t show the setup; the 3/16” aluminum was initially clamped just on the ends with step clamps. I have a probe on the Tormach, one of the canned-routines does a touch-off in ‘Z’ and spits back the measured height. I found when sweeping the surface at several points that ‘Z’ was varying by about 0.015”. The math on a 60-degree engraving tool works out to about a 20% wider cut than the depth of the cut. For example, cutting 0.020” deep yields a cut 0.024” wide. If I ran the routine with 0.015” variation in Z, the line width would have varied by 0.018”.
My Tormach has a Saunders fixture plate which I swept to ~0.002” in variation across the surface; the problem wasn’t the fixture plate. I got the variation down to about 0.003” by clamping the aluminum blank down to the fixture plate every 4”. As my dad would have said, “Good enough for the girls we go with!” As an aside, the aluminum plate was not completely flat. I put the high side down so the plate rocked on the fixture plate and clamped it into submission.
Yet another lesson learned was checking the engraving tool’s length after each run. The CNC needs to know the tool’s length to control the depth of the cut. I’d have thought that carbide would win over the aluminum, but the tool wore (or the tip broke) during the first run about 0.008”. Dummy me threw the second horse plaque in place and ran the routine without checking the tool height. . .
The engraving was noticeably shallower with about half the engraved width. Of course, that was noticed AFTER I’d removed the plaque from the mill. . . In a case of being luckier than good, I use dowel pins in the Saunders fixture plate to set up blanks. So, easy peasy to put the pins back in the fixture plate, slide the plaque up against the stops, clamp it down, and run the routine again with the correct tool length.
In the “more than you wanted to know” department, the horse and dog images were JPG-format files snagged off the web. The Tormach has routines to cut files in a DXF format which is a vector-based file format. It makes sense as the machine moves from (x1, y1) to (x2, y2) and needs specific coordinates. The web is full of DXF files, for a price. . . I found lots of JPG (pixel picture) files which I converted to a DXF file using Adobe Illustrator. There are many programs out there that’ll do the conversion though I’ve only used Illustrator, your results may vary!
Lastly, Tormach has an online tool called “Pathpilot HUB”; it is a WONDERFUL service! Their control software is called Pathpilot. You can sign up for a free account at Tormach’s website which gives you cloud storage and a virtual Tormach machine to prove out your routines. I wrote the routines on our home computer and uploaded them to my HUB account. Debugging was done on the home computer with a virtual 1100S3 running the routines. Then, out to my shop, fired up the Tormach, logged into my HUB account, downloaded the routines to the mill’s hard drive, and cut away. I can also download the routines onto our home computer from the HUB to archive them.
Running a prove-out routine in plexiglass
Tormach Pathpilot main screen
Thanks for looking!
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2023
- Messages
- 767
I started disassembling the 26” Coker Mini-Wheelman penny-farthing to fully service it:
First off, a few words about the workmanship
Whoever put the frame together didn’t use a jig and this really shows. Every tube in the frame, starting from the main one, is more or less misaligned. If the forum supported emojis, I’d insert the s*** one right here.
Another thing Coker hasn’t bothered with is anti-seize and getting the parts off the bike required a good amount of penetrating oil accompanied with brute force. The parts themselves are in good working condition except for the Hwa Long tires, which have started deteriorating over time:
I must admit that I had some concerns regarding the condition of the front hub and the accompanying proprietary fork ends, as finding replacements for them would’ve been an impossible task. Luckily they are in really good nick!
The chromed parts all have visible oxidation on them but I’m still undecided if I’m going to do anything about it. The kickstand spring is quite (c)rusty and it might need to be replaced at some point.
This is quite different from the stuff I usually work with, but so far I’ve enjoyed the project! To be continued
First off, a few words about the workmanship
Whoever put the frame together didn’t use a jig and this really shows. Every tube in the frame, starting from the main one, is more or less misaligned. If the forum supported emojis, I’d insert the s*** one right here.Another thing Coker hasn’t bothered with is anti-seize and getting the parts off the bike required a good amount of penetrating oil accompanied with brute force. The parts themselves are in good working condition except for the Hwa Long tires, which have started deteriorating over time:
I must admit that I had some concerns regarding the condition of the front hub and the accompanying proprietary fork ends, as finding replacements for them would’ve been an impossible task. Luckily they are in really good nick!
The chromed parts all have visible oxidation on them but I’m still undecided if I’m going to do anything about it. The kickstand spring is quite (c)rusty and it might need to be replaced at some point.
This is quite different from the stuff I usually work with, but so far I’ve enjoyed the project! To be continued
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2023
- Messages
- 1,459
I started disassembling the 26” Coker Mini-Wheelman penny-farthing to fully service it:
View attachment 516913
First off, a few words about the workmanship
Another thing Coker hasn’t bothered with is anti-seize and getting the parts off the bike required a good amount of penetrating oil accompanied with brute force. The parts themselves are in good working condition except for the Hwa Long tires, which have started deteriorating over time:
View attachment 517254
I must admit that I had some concerns regarding the condition of the front hub and the accompanying proprietary fork ends, as finding replacements for them would’ve been an impossible task. Luckily they are in really good nick!
The chromed parts all have visible oxidation on them but I’m still undecided if I’m going to do anything about it. The kickstand spring is quite (c)rusty and it might need to be replaced at some point.
This is quite different from the stuff I usually work with, but so far I’ve enjoyed the project! To be continued
@Jussi H.
First things first..
For the chrome, dump it in a bath/vat/barrel of Citric acid. Once it has been 24 - 48 hours remove, clean off, then polish up using PEEK polish. Peek is ultra fine so it does not mark the chrome, unlike Solvol Autosol.
Re the paint.. A clean rag soaked with liquid silvo silver polish and spend time just polishing the muck out of the paint. you will be surprised at the results and just how much dirt there is in seemingly "clean" paint. It will also add a deep lustre to the finish.
For tyres, specifically all black tyres, give them a good coating of black boot/shoe polish (Kiwi/cherry blossom) sidewalls, tread, the lot. If you have trouble with the tyre slipping the rim (popping out of the bead), apply some PVA by brush and inflate to around 20 PSI. Leave overnight before inflating to full pressure (usually 35-40PSI, dependant on tyre/s).
Re wheels. Spokes can be cleaned with wire wool. They are, nominally, easy to to too. If you remove each one, one at a time, you can pop them in the chuck of a cordless drill to help speed iup the polishing process. For the nipples, find an old spoke and cut about three inches off the end that has the thread on it. Pop this in the drill chuck, spin the nipple on and polish away.
Re the hubs... Paraffin/kerosene is good for cleaning out old grease and oils from the hub, bearings and axles.
All nuts/bolts on axles/pedals should be BSCy or otherwise modern metric counterparts.
If the frame has air holes (usually 3mm diameter) in any of the tubes, inject some WD40 to wash them out, then follow that up with cavity wax spray. The tubes DO rust from the inside out and protection is always a good idea.
A little tip... Use a small three-stone hone down the saddle post tube. It will clean it, smooth it out and allow the saddle post to fit and move without causing damage to it.
For wheel bearings, use a high mbility grease such as Sturmey Archer HMA106. it is great for wheel bearings because it does not "impede" movement due to the lower viscosity in comparison to other, thicker, greases.
Headstock bearings will need standard brown lithium.
Pedals can be oiled (stand on end and drip don from thread end of spindle) using some way oil with tackifier to keep it in place. It last much longer than normal oil. The thicker/heavier weight the oil the better. I use ISO 220 with tackifier. Last pedals I did 5 years ago are still good!
As regards "Penny Farthing".... That is a nickname that came about from the UK, due to the wheel sizes being compared to the sizes of the, at the time, UK coinage. A penny being used as descriptor for the big front wheel, a farthing being the descriptor for the small rear wheel.
The correct name, as per origination, is actually "Standard Cycle". Yes, they were available in different sizes with different sized wheels.
RE Bearings... Loose or caged, replace the lot whilst the thing is apart. never risk re-using those that you remove.
Last edited:
The glitter!! Craft herpies I says
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2015
- Messages
- 4,333
I don't know what you did there man... I just went for the drinks and the dancing
...
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2023
- Messages
- 1,459
Dont get me started on glitter, let alone on "metal flake" vehicle paint. That stuff amounts to the same thing and 6 years after painting a frame with the stuff, I am still finding the stuff in carpets and clothing despite having been nowhere near the "drum" (Cockney: drum & base = place) I live when I painted the darned frame!!
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2012
- Messages
- 4,316
They are the supports for this shelving system.
This is in the lounge, the solid wall part is what is there and I cannot understand how it got through inspection. Its only 700mm high. the other side is a drop straight into the stairwell.
I decided with consultation to add the shelving as an aid to prevent anyone from toppling over the edge after a few drinks.
There will be threaded steel rods passing through everything bolting it to the internal frame of the low wall and the end vertical plate bolted into the lounge wall. Brass finials as the top nuts that I have to cast and turn.
The wood is Tasmanian Oak, classified as a hard wood.
The whole unit is 1.5 metres high and doesnt make the room look smaller which would happen if it was solid and reached the ceiling.
I cored one of my son’s bats a couple of years ago . Summer ball, wood bats only. He’s only 5’8”, the 3-4 over the centerfielder’s head hits may or may not have been helped by the ‘corked’ bat.
I don't know what you did there man... I just went for the drinks and the dancing
Atlanta is well known in the strip club world….