Todays Project - What did you do today?

[oldskoolron]

got a real big shock as well today when I cut a 96 cube twincam camshaft in half to see if I could press of the sprocket .to my utter shock once it was cut it WAS HOLLOW .so I thought mm try a 88 cube one but its ok its solid you can see on the left hand side of the cams an chains pict the cams I cut . long live shovels an evos lol

[Pete O]

Looks like your son knows how to keep his old man busy Ron.
Some top-shelf little projects here- Greg's bike rack looks like it left Japan that way, or should have, and I am experiencing severe v-block envy.

Almost embarrassed to post my days' effort after those but here they are anyway; both of these little tasks happened as a by-product of getting the shed tidied up, there's been an old bed lamp with a broken clip-on base sitting on the bench for several months and one of Vinny's posts gave me a clue what to do with it- combined it with a worthless magnetic base from a clearing sale to come up with this:
   

then did a little job that has been needing doing since I got the rotary table. It has a flange in the bottom of the centre hole that has some kind of mongrel thread in it, i've been planning to find a big bolt to screw into it and weld a loop on top to lift the thing with the gantry. Found a bolt that appeared to be the correct diameter, the thread gauges confirmed the correct TPI, after about 5 minutes trying to screw the thing in I finally realised the stupid thing has a l/h thread. So I chucked up a bit of unknownium and made this
   
   
7/8 9tpi l/h. got me tossed why it would have a l/h thread.
Much easier to move the thing around with the gantry now. I put a set of bathroom scales under it and it weighs 64kg, about 140 pounds. Can't believe I picked the thing up and carried it out to the car when I bought it at a clearing sale.
   

I plan to make a shorter one with a female thread in it to accept a hold-down bolt; the only job I have used the rotab for thus far would have been much better bolted through the centre of the table.

Every time I look at that rotary table with the chunks broken out of it, I remind myself that I paid $120 for it

[awemawson]

Today I sold my lathe

   

   

   

   

   



'Twas only a little thing 


Traub TND350G with a TX8F controller, swarf conveyor and Sameco bar feeder. I bought it as scrap - 'beyond economic repair' and spent a little time breathing life back into it, so now it is in full working order and going back into industry to make masses of widgets 

[PixMan]

Wow, those are a really good machine...when they are running! What's the plan now?

[awemawson]

Well ..... from hi-tech to low tech - I have a 6 foot flail mower that needs puling apart and new bearings fitted now I have space to get it in the workshop !


   

   

   

The main bearings on the flail shaft itself are also knackered, so the whole thing is going to have to come apart

[oldskoolron]

theres a good few more years left in those bearings

[PixMan]

(09-22-2016, 12:20 PM)awemawson Wrote: Well ..... from hi-tech to low tech - I have a 6 foot flail mower that needs puling apart and new bearings fitted now I have space to get it in the workshop !

The main bearings on the flail shaft itself are also knackered, so the whole thing is going to have to come apart

Looks to me it's ready to come apart all on its own! Just run it for another 10 minutes, that should do it.

[Mayhem]

So how do you machine the parts needed to fix it Andrew?

[awemawson]

On my manual Colchester Master 2500

In all honesty, apart from doing test turning on the Traub to make sure it all worked, and to learn its TX8F controller, I never actually made anything on it what so ever. It was just a challenge, someone said it couldn't be fixed, and that's like a red rag to a bull to me     Ok it took me the best part of two years to fix it as getting information was a slow process, and there was a lot to learn..

The flail mower was bought in the state you see it. I cannot understand people who let things get SO bad.

[Mayhem]

That is good to hear Andrew - I guess people let things get like that for several reasons:

1. They have no idea whatsoever about anything remotely mechanical
2. They keep saying to themselves "I'll have to fix that before I use it next"
3. They have a dirty great CNC lathe and accessories taking up the necessary room in their shed

I'm sure I've missed a couple