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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2014 20:29:36 GMT
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Post by ejparrott on Nov 21, 2014 15:14:48 GMT
Thought I'd spend an hour in the workshop this afternoon and start blocking out the axleboxes. Wiped 15mm off one side first off, then turned it over to take it to length...discovered I had a bit more on it than planned, so turned it back over to take the extra off the first side to get the length...means there's a bit ore material on the corners so I won't have to be so careful when I do the other sides. Oh how I wish the CNC was up and running for this.....the Bridgeport takes off 2.5mm for every full turn of the knee handle..when you're taking half that per cut, it's quite hard to keep track of the turns to get to 15mm! I could sit down and watch it as well instead of winding handles...
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Post by vulcanbomber on Nov 22, 2014 18:27:12 GMT
Oh how I wish the CNC was up and running for this.....the Bridgeport takes off 2.5mm for every full turn of the knee handle..when you're taking half that per cut, it's quite hard to keep track of the turns to get to 15mm! I could sit down and watch it as well instead of winding handles... Shame we cant get at the old hurdy gurdy..... 3 cuts on there, and no chance of sitting down.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2014 21:52:57 GMT
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Post by ejparrott on Nov 23, 2014 9:10:44 GMT
If I'd had that Dave I might have made the round bar square before slicing it up and done the whole lot in one hit! Bit too wide for the facemills I've got for the bridgeport though. In between chasing trains yesterday and hosting friends who are at the Warley Model Railway Exhibition at the NEC, I got another 2 1/2" hours in the workshop yesterday continuing blocking out the axleboxes. First up was to finish taking all the blanks to the right height, then I sat it down on a pair of parallels in the vice, and used an old 20mm cutter that's chipped on the end to put a face down the side that is square. I know the vice is set up to within a thou of parallel, I only did it just before starting this job, so I know this will be square. Next I stood it up in the vice with that flat sat on another parallel and machined the opposite face until the round just disappeared and we got sharp corners ...and now we have a stack of D's The next step will be to sit them on that face, and wipe off the last side and take the bits to the right width. Maybe more on that later or tomorrow, converting one of the Land Rovers from drum to disc brakes today and that involves a bit of machining work too.
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uuu
Elder Statesman
your message here...
Posts: 2,816
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Post by uuu on Nov 23, 2014 11:01:46 GMT
Interesting, the different approaches there are for these things. I'd have done this in a four-jaw on the lathe, if only for the use of cheaper tooling. And I only have a weedy mill.
Wilf
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Post by ejparrott on Nov 26, 2014 12:32:19 GMT
To be fair, could have started with square bar and done it in the four jaw. Also, the five tips in the 50mm face mill will last the job on just one set of corners no problem, not sure how many CNMG inserts I'd go through either with the intermittent cutting in the lathe, they're also a bit big for hanging out the jaws I think.
No further progress, the Land Rover took at least twice as long as I'd planned, however I can report that the wife has avoided redundancy from her current employment by finding a new job at last! Progress can therefore continue on the engine as time permits. Just in the nick of time too, staff review is due next month which will be the first of the current round of culls...weight off my mind to say the least!
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Post by ejparrott on Nov 29, 2014 10:16:36 GMT
Spent 3/4 of an hour in the workshop yesterday afternoon and the same this morning, have now finished off blocking out the axleboxes. I need to have a look and see if the material I've got in the corner is big enough to make the keeps, otherwise I need to get some. Next step for these I think will be to rough out the slots...that'll need a new endmill and there won't be much cutting edge left by the time I've finished. After that I think I'll perhaps drill the keep pin holes right through, before chopping out for the keeps themselves. I think that might be easier than drilling the pin holes from each side after chopping out the middle. The reason for the permanent marker is to indicate which is front and which is back. There's 4 thou still on the back faces, and the material varies slightly in thickness. By marking them up I'll (hopefully) always put them in the vice against the fixed jaw the same way so we won't end up here there and everywhere when we start doing the important detail stuff. Will the mill's set up in blocking out mode I'll probably attack the material for the centre buffers next, that's current 4" round bar and needs to be made into a similar sized block.
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Post by ejparrott on Nov 29, 2014 11:46:49 GMT
While waiting for a drill battery to charge so I could put a curtain rail back up, I've just spent 10 minutes thinning down the coupling pivot brackets down to their finished height Now you can see where they're going to fit too... These need to go to work now to have the two holes put in for the tie rods, a hole for a boss for me to sit the spring on, and put the radius on the ends. I don't think that'll happen until next year now.
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Post by ejparrott on Nov 30, 2014 15:44:33 GMT
Got another 1.5 hours in the workshop yesterday and another 2 after dinner this afternoon blocking out a piece of Ø104mm black bar into material for the two working parts of the couplings. Done in pretty much the same way as other stuff so no pictures, other than of the blocks with the sketch on so I know what they're supposed to finish up like. First I'll do the rounded shap, as the same program will work for the pivot parts I did yesterday, and there's also a separate loose plate that is the same, so rather than write the program several times I'll run the lot at the same time. It'll be next year before that happens though, what with visit's to York and company Christmas dinners I'll have no time now this year....really must get on and get my mill running CNC, they'd be running now if it was!
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Post by ejparrott on Dec 4, 2014 12:59:15 GMT
Spent the best part of an hour yesterday making a new swarf bin and digging out the mill....best part filled an old 25l oil drum with swarf from blocking out the axleboxes and the couplings, and I haven't even got behind the guarding yet! I've done some more blocking out on the couplings, and I'll stress relieve the billets tonight. I've took a lot of metal away, and I've got the facility so I might as well. I doubt they'll move if I'm honest. Also started blocking out the axle box keeps this morning, the iron I've got in stock was big enough after thinking about it. There's only so much I can do with those before I need the axleboxes themselves bringing up a bit more.
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Post by ejparrott on Dec 11, 2014 11:53:27 GMT
This will probably be the last update for the year now. There's quite a lot I need to get done between now and Christmas and I won't get any done during the break. There might have been a chance to get in to work this weekend but I need to change the injectors on one of the Land Rovers and check the earth straps...starter seems very slow to turn over. Got the keeps almost finished, despite the best efforts of my Axminster cutoff saw trying to scrap them for me. Its such a bad design and construction that it wandered 1/4" over 4 when I cut the square into strips, and then an 1/8" over 2 when I cut it into 4 pieces. That's just pushoff on the blade, the supports being far too far away from the cutting point to do any good...shocking.... Machined the 4" sqaure piece to the right thickness for the vertical dimension, then cut it in half.... Then machined the cut edges to give the right width plus an error margin before cutting them into 4.... Which are then machined to the right thickness so they match the axleboxes. I've left a margin on the width because I need to 'fit' it to the axleboxes, and it'll be easier to adjust the keeps than to try and cut the slots bang on. You can see the saw cut remains there, going to have to go very carefully with them. Will be using the surface grinder at work as it's easier to take thou's off than with the mill. Finally the boxes roughed out. Next step will be to put them on the work mill to finish off the guide slots, for which I'll first need to remove the paint from the horns. I know all four are within a thou but I've forgotten what the size was. Then I can drill the holes for the dowels and the bolts that will retain the keeps, before cutting out the big slot where the keeps fit. How soon I get the wheels in will depend on how often I can get on the work mill. If all goes well it could be the end of January, but I suspect Feb is more realistic. I also need to get the studs made for the eccentrics, I'd rather fit them before the wheels go in the chassis if I'm honest, it'll be fiddly enough!
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Post by Roger on Dec 11, 2014 13:41:56 GMT
Looking good Ed. I like the 'sanity check' felt tip markings you use, I do that too. It's easy to get disorientated and I find it helps to make it blindingly obvious which way up something is and what needs to be cut out.
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Post by donashton on Dec 11, 2014 15:15:28 GMT
"It's easy to get disorientated and I find it helps to make it blindingly obvious"
Very wise Roger. Don't get your return cranks the wrong way up....and those with 4/5 eccentrics on an axle..RH/FWD/outer..oopside down? No, but facing the milling machine, or rather the LH eccentric advance facing away from the mill...where's that sketch I did?
Don
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Post by ejparrott on Dec 11, 2014 17:46:47 GMT
The marking's essential. I set and locked the saddle on the first one, then blasted through the others and the other sides, then re set the saddle to produce the with and lased through again. They're not in the middle, so not marking them and getting one the wrong way round would have been a disaster!
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Post by ejparrott on Dec 13, 2014 14:57:14 GMT
No sooner said it....got a chance to get to the mill at work this morning after all! Upshot is I've managed to make the bending fixture for doing the two footplate side pieces. Nothing special, just some bits and piece's welded together to form a strongback and a pin of the right diameter to form the radius required. Almost worked perfectly...need to overhang the blanks over the left hand side by 2mm to get the bend in the right place...luckily I ordered 4 blanks anyway! Did wonder if the point contact of the clamps might cause problems and I'd need a spreader bar, but it was ok. nearly somewhere for the driver and fireman to stand! It might seem out of sequence or a bit of an odd thing to be working on, but there is method in my madness (quiet Aubyn...and Matt.....). I needed to get these done to make sure it worked, and now I can measure up and double check the details that relate to the valance angle. This will be a laser cut kit of parts, slot and tab together, then TIG welded into the angle shape. The bits will be quite long and fragile and I don't want Royal Mail or a courier bending them in transit, so I need to pull my finger out and get them drawn up and off to Malcolm at Model Engineers Laser so that they can be cut in time for me to collect when he goes to the Large Scale Model Rail show at the Fosse in March next year. I might do the rolled angles for the bunker the same too..they'd be small enough to go in the post easily though. It'd be quite nice to get some of the cab progressed as well I think. I need to get some idea of how big she's going to be...there's a few things need to be done before she's ready to run!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2014 16:31:15 GMT
Very Nice Edd...worked a treat....i wouldn't worry about it being out of sequence, I've been giving some thought to 4472's footplate lately too.....may take a look at it over xmas if I have the material..... could do some plate work on the cab too.....would make a change .... think I'll finish the cartazzi set up first though...
Pete
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Post by ejparrott on Jan 17, 2015 16:50:49 GMT
I've not been out to do any more to the engine yet this year..just been too busy! I have spent some time today though trying to draw up the valance angles for the footplates. These will be too long and flimsy to go through the post, so I'm looking to get a CAD file over to Malcolm so he can have them laser cut and brought down to the Large Scale Model Rail exhibition at the Fosse in March, that way hopefully they'll not get damaged.
The way things are looking I might just take a few weeks break from the engine, and get the bits I need for completing the mill ordered and get the CNC up and running. That way I'll be able to get on with stuff, rather than just waiting until I can get on a mill at work.
The next step is going to be to drill the holes through the axleboxes for the keep retaining dowels, then I'll chop out the space where the keeps go. I'll machine the keeps up after that and dowel them in, then machine the slides to fit the horns, and the oil boxes in the top, before locating the axle center and getting them ready for boring out.
Getting the 2.5" sorted out is also high priority!
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Post by Roger on Jan 17, 2015 19:36:40 GMT
Sounds like you've got your work cut out. It's going to transform what you can do when the CNC is up and running. What control system and servos are you planning on using? Have you got the ball screws yet?
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Post by fostergp6nhp on Jan 17, 2015 19:48:58 GMT
Ed why not do the keep retaining dowel holes from scratch after milling out and inserting the keeps?
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