[PROJECT] Bar Stock Steam Engine

[Cross Slide]

Made some more progress on the bar stock steam engine. I finished up the three pillow blocks that will support the crank shaft. They are made out of 3/8” thick aluminum plate. I first cut the blocks a bit larger then required. Then I milled the blocks to the final width, but I left them slightly oversized for the height. 

I them found the back left corner and started off by plunge cutting the hole for the bushing with a .625 end mill using a vise stop for repeatability. 

   
   
   
   

Once that was done in each block I set them back up and used my boring head to take the hole out to a press fit for oil lite bushings. I overshot my target dimensions slightly on the first one. Found out that the dial on the boring head isn’t perfectly accurate. So from then on once I was close I would advance the cut with a dial gauge on the boring head. That solved the problem. Luckily the first block is still useable. Tom G told me to do a lite knurle on the bushing to help make it a press fit again. 

   
   
   

I then located and drilled the two mounting holes into the bottom of each block. Then I plunge cut two holes on the face of each block to give me the radius at the bottom the blocks and open up the tops of the mounting holes. 

   
   
   

Trevor