I dreamed about this last night

Home Model Engine Machinist Forum

Help Support Home Model Engine Machinist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Basil

Well-Known Member
HMEM Supporting Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2017
Messages
230
Reaction score
346
Location
Dorset UK
Building the Seal Major I had polished the crank journals to finish size with cut off strips of wet and dry, Yes I could have used emery cloth which may have worked better but the W&D was on hand in many grades finishing in 2000 grit. On inspecting the polished crank closely you could see waves going across the bearing surface. I had been using some narrow cut strips to get an acceptable mic. measurements across the journal and this was showing up in the polished finish.
Well as we sometimes do I took this issue to bed with me.
Lots of tossing and turning and not a great nights sleep but had a definite well formed idea of what I needed this morning! This was my project for the day. I have seen similar tools used in full size crank finishing so I realize its nothing totally new. A few iterations later I have something I'm happy with and seems to have addressed the issue. 👍 🍻
 

Attachments

  • IMG_6004.jpg
    IMG_6004.jpg
    99 KB · Views: 289
  • IMG_6005.jpg
    IMG_6005.jpg
    114.6 KB · Views: 279
  • IMG_6007.jpg
    IMG_6007.jpg
    83.1 KB · Views: 292
  • IMG_6008.jpg
    IMG_6008.jpg
    99.2 KB · Views: 295
  • IMG_6009.jpg
    IMG_6009.jpg
    108.1 KB · Views: 427
  • IMG_6010.jpg
    IMG_6010.jpg
    106.7 KB · Views: 287
  • IMG_6012.jpg
    IMG_6012.jpg
    79 KB · Views: 283
Building the Seal Major I had polished the crank journals to finish size with cut off strips of wet and dry, Yes I could have used emery cloth which may have worked better but the W&D was on hand in many grades finishing in 2000 grit. On inspecting the polished crank closely you could see waves going across the bearing surface. I had been using some narrow cut strips to get an acceptable mic. measurements across the journal and this was showing up in the polished finish.
Well as we sometimes do I took this issue to bed with me.
Lots of tossing and turning and not a great nights sleep but had a definite well formed idea of what I needed this morning! This was my project for the day. I have seen similar tools used in full size crank finishing so I realize its nothing totally new. A few iterations later I have something I'm happy with and seems to have addressed the issue. 👍 🍻
And another bit is added to my library of finishing techniques. Thanks, Basil! And what you said about taking a problem to bed, and waking with the solution. So True.
 
That's pretty slick . What kind of spindle speeds where you using ?
thanks
animal
 
Hi Basil,
Looks interesting but I can't see how it works. Any chance of some photos of the device by itself showing how the strip is loaded and locked into place?
Regards,
Alan
 
As a lad I was grinding cranks - in a refurbishing machine shop - and we had a locking clamp that was used for final linishing of the big-end crank journals. (Aside) the micrometer adjustable V-Block that used the grind-stone on the 3rd side when grinding eccentric and crank journals to size actually produced 137 - or whatever large prime number - of flats, as will happen with the geometry of angles and machining. These "flats" needed the adjoining peaks to be linished to get a perfect round journal, hence the final linishing tool with emery. Of course, main journals always ground a true round.). When making model cranks, I use a similar locking tool - called the self-grip wrench. The setting of the wrench is just to "nip" the emery while the shaft rotates at my slowest speed = 50rpm. As soon as the torque of linishing has dropped to almost nothing (not many rotations) the emery is progressed to an unused new part, then linishing continues. FREQUENT Micrometer checks needed - almost every linishing pass - more frequently as you get to size. And watch for any taper or out-of-parallel of the journal... - turn the tool upside-down for alternative passes, to reduce error from a tapered pressure of the grip. The advantage of locking pliers, compared to hand gripped devices, is that the "lock" gives a fairly accurate repeatable position. Adjusting the screw can give sufficient "feel" to increase or decrease the gripping pressure. If you have hard, sharp, serrated jaws that are not suitable for gripping the emery strip, a strip of aluminium (I use 1mm thick scrap sheet) can be stuck onto the jaws with your preferred goo.. (even masking tape..) and the grips will function perfectly well for linishing. I have half a dozen grips, of different sizes and shapes, and there is always a grip small enough for the journals I have made (1/4" wide x 1/4" dia. smallest).
Of course, a home made adjustable grip as per photo IMG_6009.jpg is just as good!
Incidentally, I use a 50% paraffin and lathe-oil (7W) mix when linishing in the hope that as the carborundum erodes the surface metal, the fluid motion will help move the crap away without build-up in a spot that could deteriorate the shape of the part.
And finally wash the journal in a spirit cleaner (paraffin, diesel fuel, WD40, white spirit, or whatever is your chosen cocktail...) then a water + detergent wash in the ultrasonic cleaner (A small one is only £20 on £&@y!) to eliminate any remaining carborundum dust (embedded) from the surface... Rub the surface hard with a clean white paper tissue (nose tissue, or loo paper) and when it does not pick up a dark shadow the surface is clean.
There is such a lot of "knowledge" in every process.... someone should publish this website as a book. Tubal Cain wrote many with his accumulated knowledge...
Well done Basil!
K2

PS: I found this on U-tube: It off-sets the crankshaft so the journal being ground becomes the centre of rotation:

But see the V-block beneath the front of the journal? - just in font of the operator, next to the splash-guard and below the crank journal.

This is the calibrated V that relates to the surface of the stone so you can add a measure cut from the grinding wheel. The cutting point of the wheel forms a third side to the "Vee" - and as such the journal will try and "notch" its way around with any play (even the fraction of a micron) allowing the circle of rotation to cause the stone and flats to oscillate forming a prime number of small curves with points between: The same a s a 20p or 50p coin. The diameter at any point is correct, but the distance of the mid-way of diameters varies with the rotation to an error equal "to the distance of free-motion from the centre of rotation in the grinder". A hard concept to grasp, but there is tooling to drill a 3-sided hole with a drill with 2 cutting edges, a 4-sided hole using a drill with 3 cutting edges, etc. - Sounds impossible, but it is a mathematical predictable and real machining job! The extarct below explains explains the Reuleux triangle principle :
  • The square hole machine works on the principle of Reuleux triangle. It states that if Reuleux shaped cam is rotated in a square guide it can convert the rotating motion of shat and rotor into square guided by the square guide. The rotary motion can be provided by means of a motor or hand drill. A flexible coupling is required to rotate the shaft eccentrically i.e. at a distance from the centre of the chuck of the motor. This will help the Reuleux triangle shaped cam to rotate in the square...
https://www.ijsdr.org/papers/IJSDR1...e,drill a square shaped hole on the workpiece.
The "reverse" is happening in the crank grinding machine, where the necessary machine play (and flexibility of crankshaft) allows the crank to "oscillate" between the 2 faces of the Calibration V-block and the grinding wheel face, such that if takes off a tad too much metal at one point, that permits a tad too little metal to be machined when the "flat" appears at the faces of the calibration Vee - in turn. The machine is so designed that the "resonance" of number of flats is a very large prime number. The journal is ground a couple of microns "big" to then permit a linishing operation (constant pressure, fixed size gap, with large contact arcs) - which takes off the peaks between the lows of the multifaceted journal.
Light reflected on the journal just after grinding shows the "lines" of the various flats. It is fascinating to see and appreciate what is happening! - Blame Reuleux! - D.S.
K2
 
Last edited:
I bored the hole where the 600 to 1000grit paper will locate oversize by the paper thickness amount. I was hoping the paper would stay in place when the tool was rotated but because the abrasive paper is smoother on the back it just rotated with the crankshaft. I play around with the design and found with the correct slot width I could load the crank and paper with a little spreading of the tool and stop the paper rotating by slipping the folded end into the spring slot. When the screw is tightened it grips the paper first and then starts to apply pressure to the journal . This machine does a similar automated job to what I have seen in early crankshaft finishing. video . I'm not sure on the spindle speed, probably in the 300 RPM range.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top