Sidetracked by a quick project....

[Artie]

This sort of snuck in under the radar. Nothing was planned but this opportunity came along and away it went......

'This' is a set of angle plate raw castings I saw on Flea-buy. I put in a bid of $20 and damn if I didnt win it. :

It all arrived yesterday, I picked up some suitable sized hi tensile nuts n bolts and after work I jumped in.

Firstly square up the lugs...

Missed a pic here, sorry... bolted my fixed 90Deg angle plate to the mill table, clamped the surface plates and adjusted them to vertical and drilled the bolt holes through.... then bolted it together... the tables came out parallel.. wow... doing something wrong... ;D

This is a p.s. im thinking about a single through bolt with a suitable spacer instead of the tweo nolts. Anyone have any experience here? Just thinking it would be easier to cinch up one bolt than two...

Its loaded onto the surface grinder in the last shot... lights really bad by now....

I dont have a finished shot as it was after 7 when I got the faces flat and square and really dark in this corner of the shop. Will add one tonight when I get home.

Came up really well... its just another piece to the puzzle which is our workshops. Dont know how often Ill use it.. but I cant use it if I havent got it.... if its anything like the old horizontal mill, its done a heap of work since recommissioning...

I will say that working with cast iron isnt my favourite material...

These are 'office' hands.... dont often get like this anymore..

Cheers, Rob T

 

[Blogwitch]

Rob,

If I was doing the job, I would use two bolts. A little bit too late now, but actually, I would make bolts going into threads on the inside lugs rather than using nuts.

If you use one long bolt, you run the risk of getting even more distortion on the flat faces. Also, I would leave finish grinding until the bolts have been made and tightened up into their final position, then if you do get distortion, it is ground out on the fully tightened up unit, just as it will be when in use. Just get all the rough machining done before grinding out.

Just a suggestion.


Bogs

 

[tel]

Nice score Artie, I agree with Bogs about the bolts tho'. Wish I could get my hands that clean!

 

[Mastermaker]

Black hands???? Try blowing your nose after dry machining cast iron th_wtf1 :

 

[bentprop]

Or try PICKING your nose after machining cast iron Rof}
I'll get me coat..........................

 

[tmuir]

Nice one.
I saw those on ebay and briefly though about bidding, but didn't feel that I or my machines were up to the job of finishing them.
Glad they made it to a good home.

 

[Artie]

Hi Bogs, Tel, MMaker, Bent n Tmuir... In hindsight I didnt think this through as well as I could have as I also agree with your thoughts John, I could upsize the bolts and tap one lug on each plate or I could fit a helicoil, or I could just use it as is.. no guesses for which way I will lean... ;D

Thanks for the ideas guys, ultimately Im happy with the tool, I already have a few ideas as to where i can put it to use.

For those who are fascinated with me having dirty hands, its not habit.... and I just wanted to prove it to you....

In their natural habitat.......

And... the item ready for use... damned cast..... washed it up, lathered it with a wd40 style spray..... and rust is still trying to get a hold.... rubbed oil onto it tonight...

BTW Tel, Ive got some 6061 ingots to throw into that load if you are interested, let me know. I hope to drop it off in a fortnight.

Cheers Rob

 

[tel]

My word I'm interested mate - anything you wanna throw in the bag!

 

[Blogwitch]

Rob,

If you are happy with the finished result, not one of us has the right to critisise you at all.

We can only give you maybe a pointer in the right direction, and even then, only if you want to go that way.

BTW, it is called patina, not rust. Almost all my cast iron bits have patina on them.


John

 

[Artie]

Gday John, only too happy to listen to those who have gone before me, world would be a primitive place if we all tried to reinvent the wheel. All input gratefuly excepted.

Rob

 

[Artie]

Patina? Thats a good thing... I suppose.. ;D I am thinking about cleaning up the sides of the plate.. but if Im honest I have to admit that I like the look of the 'patina'.....

 

[tel]

A $2 can of spray paint would fix that patina right up! And that pink hand could do with a coat of something black and oily.

 

[Florian]

Patina?

Patina Eh?

It is also known as russian crome ;D

Florian
Ps: i thought that cast iron normally has scales on its surface?? (Which is almost rustproof)

 

[arnoldb]

Good going Rob ;D

:big: good thing you were working with flood coolant; keeps the dust down a bit; but does enhance the "patina"

At least, when machining CI, there's no need for iron supplements to the diet

Florian, well, no. The "scale" on cast iron is on its outer surface and is a by-product of the casting process. When you machine the scale off the surface, cast iron rusts very rapidly indeed. But CI is inherently slightly porous, so once you oil it, it retains a coating of oil better than normal steel, but will still rust if the oil is worn away. The scale is a horrible combination of iron, sand (or silicates from casting) and so on, depending on how the metal was cast. This is also the stuff that is most harmful to our machines; if you turn/mill the scale off a piece of CI, immediately clean your machine afterwards. Once you are machining the good "inner" metal, it is not as bad for machines, depending on the quality and purity of the metal.

Regards, Arnold