what home made machines have you made?

Since this thread has come back to the top again,
Some of my ambitions.

1st. 'X Y' table, for my dremel drill press.


second 'XY' table for my standard benchtop Drill press.


2 piece milling vise.


And my tapering jig.

I made this device, what is essentially a 3-dimensional tool and cutter grinder, to sharpen 5/32" square carbide graver bits using a diamond platter. The gravers are used in the hand-engraving trade, and must be accurately ground.

Initially, I used a Glendo hone, but have since mounted the device horizontally on a big aluminum extrusion, and a Sherline ER-16 industrial spindle drives the diamond platter.

The aluminum is all bar stock, mostly 7075. The dials were engraved using a bench CNC mill.

The product:


The tool:

Swede said:

I made this device, what is essentially a 3-dimensional tool and cutter grinder, to sharpen 5/32" square carbide graver bits using a diamond platter. The gravers are used in the hand-engraving trade, and must be accurately ground.

Initially, I used a Glendo hone, but have since mounted the device horizontally on a big aluminum extrusion, and a Sherline ER-16 industrial spindle drives the diamond platter.

The aluminum is all bar stock, mostly 7075. The dials were engraved using a bench CNC mill.

(Pictures deleted)

Click to expand...

Very nice looking and functional tool you've put together there. I like the horizontally mounted plate. Where does one find a diamond plate like that? Do you use lubicant with it or just dry?

Chuck

Thanks Chuck. For years, I lusted after the Glendo "Accu-finish" sharpener that was advertised heavily in Home SHop Machinist and the like, and I finally pulled the trigger a few years ago. It is a WONDERFUL tool that has paid for itself by taking expensive carbide inserts and tooling and making them better than new. I can take a chipped carbide parting tool insert and put a new edge on it in minutes. It's also great at creating super-precise and sharp HSS tools. And occasionally, they can be used as precision laps for steel flats and such.

Glendo sells the diamond wheels, but they are not cheap. There's a better option... the lapidary (gemstone) guys use identical platters for gem faceting, and they cost about $12 vs. $40. The wheels last a LONG time.

In use, the best coolant is a water-based surfactant. I'll bet you could get by with plain water plus a few drops of soap mixed in. I've also used light oil. You want to use something, or the platters can load. They can be effectively cleaned in the sink using an abrasive pad plus kitchen cleanser. They look like new afterwards.

If you don't want to buy an Accu-finish, you can make one of these easily. Buy a Sherline ER-16 industrial spindle, http://www.sherline.com/accesso.htm, mount it on a plate, add motor, belt, and turn an arbor for the diamond wheel. It's a good project for an afternoon or three. The hard part, which this tool does, is presenting the tool bit to the wheel at precise angles. But that's not too bad, you just need a tilting table and an adjustable fence.

Thanks, Swede, another fine looking tool. Do you have a source for the faceting platters? Also, what RPM do you run them at? Finally, what is the grit size of these platters?

Thx...
Chuck

Chuck,

I will be making a water dipped lapping plate in the not too distant future.

I have already purchased the lapping disks and backing plate. I will be using neo magnets embedded into the ali backing plate to hold the various grades of diamond plates.

http://richontools.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=45&products_id=797


http://richontools.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_9

John

John, good idea on the magnets.

These plates come in two forms... bonded to an aluminum platter, and as thin steel disks. The steel disks normally use friction to interface with an underlying aluminum "carrier" plate.

Behind my horizontal machine, you can see racks that have both varieties. The RPM is low, maybe 50 to 200 RPM. A DC motor works well when combined with a variable speed control.

eBay remains a good source... Here's some for $10.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400231597633#ht_1040wt_1092

Do a search for "lapidary diamond wheel" or similar. Useful grits for shop use are 600 for very fine, maybe 320 for modest work, 120 to 200 for roughing. The grits above 600 are super-fine and designed for high polish on gems. A 1200 disk will put a mirror finish on steel. I use a 400 grit disk for touch-up and sharpening on already formed tools.

Made clamp to hold swing arm parallel to small gear motor


Tried copying GRS system for holding engravers.





Shaft sticks higher then first plate and other grinding/honing plates can just sit there and are driven by friction.

: : : :
Wow! I'm blown away at not only the craftsmanship, but the beautiful aesthetic of his work. As if Ferrari made Little machine tools. Keep em coming.

ghart3 said:

Made clamp to hold swing arm parallel to small gear motor

Click to expand...

Very nice! Simple, elegant, nicely made. I've stored the pictures away for future reference...

Chuck

Ghart, really nice! Are you into hand engraving? GRS makes some really fine tools... and they are a subsidary of Glendo.

How did you get the angle markings onto that brass disc? And is that white ring cannibalized from a piece of Hardinge tooling? It looks great.

John, I thought some more on the magnet idea, and I think it is excellent. The thin diamond platters are plain carbon steel, and should stick nicely. I just went on eBay, and picked up 20 cylindrical neodymium magnets, 3/8" diameter x 3/8" long. Glendo sells plain aluminum discs holed for their machine, both 5" and 6" in diameter. Since most of the inexpensive diamond platters out there are 6" in diameter, a while back, I bought two of those Glendo disks in 6", but getting an accurate mounting of the diamond disc onto the Al platter was sometimes a problem. I plan on drilling and reaming the Al discs in a bolt-hole pattern, and epoxying the magnets in place. A finger groove milled into the disc, so the diamond platters can be levered free, will also be cut.

This should really improve the setup by forcing the diamond discs totally flat. As it is, they aren't perfectly flat, and can cause a hit & miss grind of the tool. And a $7 thin steel diamond disc costs a lot less than the mounted disks that come already glued onto a backing plate. Those can be $35 to $100 apiece.

More hand engraving stuff - some engravers a lot better than me wanted fixtures for (of all things) a U.S. nickel coin, so they can pursue an artform known as the "hobo nickel." Years ago, hobos would carve nickels into something different, and modern day engravers are doing the same, making miniature art pieces of them. These were once all standard Buffalo nickles, hand-carved by one artisan, Sam Alfano:

http://www.masterengraver.com/hobonickels/index.shtml




Anyway, sorry for the tangent, but I think we can all appreciate skilled artists with metal. Here's the fixture I made for the nickel, a pretty easy but satisfying project, and self-explanatory:

Swede said:

I made this device, what is essentially a 3-dimensional tool and cutter grinder...

Click to expand...

Can you elaborate on the leadscrew ?ballscrew? & nut assembly. (sorry, rank newbie.. whatever its callled). It looks like what I see on cnc conversion setups.

Swede said:

......... Are you into hand engraving? GRS makes some really fine tools... and they are a subsidary of Glendo.

How did you get the angle markings onto that brass disc? And is that white ring cannibalized from a piece of Hardinge tooling? It looks great...........

Click to expand...

Swede, I'm only a wannabe engraver. The angled and other markings on the brass were done on little home built cnc. Sure wish knew how Hardinge did their markings but don't. I cheated and printed on paper and taped over with clear packing tape. A groove was cut in the OD so this paper covered with tape fit in the groove and was below the surface so edges were not exposed.

neat disk vise, gotta make one of those. I'm only a wannabe engraver

Swede,

Just going back to your lapping plate.

I will be making mine a vertical one, dipping into a water trough for lubrication.

I already have a lapping unit that I have been using for many years, and I was going to fit a diamond cup wheel to it (which I already have), but in reality, it turns just a little too fast for my liking, great for HSS tooling, bevel edging glass etc, but a little too fast for carbide, and the surface area is a little too narrow.

This is the unit I have at this time, soon to be replaced. Mine doesn't have all the fancy accessories, but easy enough to make holders to do what you want

http://www.sharpenset.co.uk/products/sharpeningatachments.asp


John

Can you elaborate on the leadscrew ?ballscrew? & nut assembly. (sorry, rank newbie.. whatever its callled). It looks like what I see on cnc conversion setups.

Click to expand...

Good eye, petertha. That thing is a ground ACME lead screw with a zero-backlash nut, very precise. Definitely not a ball screw, but it performs the same function. I stole it from a guy on eBay who didn't really know what it was. These are used in instruments and such when the efficiency of a ball screw isn't needed.

ghart, very clever to recess the strip and turn out a nice dial. It looks just like a Hardinge white plastic dial ring like you'd see on a radius or other attachment for their 2nd op lathes. And I'm in the same boat with hand engraving. My brain works in right angles... you really need to have an artist's eye to do it well. It's a lot easier making fixtures and hardware! ;D I've got a lot of respect for the masters out there.

Looks good, John. One of the things I overlooked with my own setup is coolant/lubrication. A little spritz on the wheel seems to work OK, but the forces tend to spin it off the wheel and make a mess. I've been using less, just traces, and it's not optimum, but at least the wheels don't load.

These grinders/diamond wheels have a lot of uses. It's nice to be able to sharpen a tool with real precision, rather than flailing away free-hand with a bench grinder.

This is the lathe i've made several years ago.
I have build it in +/-2 years
I called it the "geslo Lathe"
For more information ,see my website www.geslo.nl and http://www.lathes.co.uk/geslo/
regards ticino (Gerlof)

Here are few tooling I have made in the last few years
http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/downloads/milling-tooling-fly-cutter-for-2mt-and-r8-262.html
http://www.homemodelenginemachinist...rs-and-other-form-cutters-2mt-and-r8-264.html

I am working on a Mill Horizontal Attachment for my mill. I have machine all the gears and know working on the housing

Dave