Power Steering

[stiffy]

So Mike,

To be able to do all great stuff you do all I need is better tools


IF ONLY.......


STIFFY

[Aussie Mike]

Originally Posted by stiffy

So Mike,

To be able to do all great stuff you do all I need is better tools


IF ONLY.......


STIFFY

Yep, exactly.

I've got no formal training on any of this stuff. I only did one year of metal work at high school and we never even touched any machine tools. A few years back I just bought an old lathe and started having a go. There's a ton of info out there these days. Videos on youtube that show you all the techniques etc. I reckon it's a heap of fun making stuff on the lathe.

You can pick up a half decent Lathe for $1500 and with a bit of patience and thought you would be surprised what you can make.

Cheers

[PeterAllen]

Originally Posted by Aussie Mike

...I've got no formal training on any of this stuff....

In which case I'll make a suggestion I hesitated to make before. I'm not sure about the alternator 'twin' pulley you show in the lathe and the 'single' one mounted to the alternator but it is useful to roll a thin piece of aluminium (or similar softish material) of uniform thickness around any delicate shape (e.g. threads) you are holding in the chuck jaws to minimise damage to the item being held.

[Aussie Mike]

Originally Posted by PeterAllen

In which case I'll make a suggestion I hesitated to make before. I'm not sure about the alternator 'twin' pulley you show in the lathe and the 'single' one mounted to the alternator but it is useful to roll a thin piece of aluminium (or similar softish material) of uniform thickness around any delicate shape (e.g. threads) you are holding in the chuck jaws to minimise damage to the item being held.

It's a very good suggestion Peter. You can see the marks from the jaws on the roughed out pulley. Most of the time I try to do the bulk of my machining while gripping the part on a section that will be machined off later. The twin pulley pictured was a failed attempt on one end and I just flipped the material around and machined the pulley out of the other end.

Depending on what I'm machining and how tightly it needs to be gripped I use strips of aluminium sheet between the jaws and the work piece. If I just need to take a light skim on something I'll often just grip it not so tight. Just don't make big cuts as you don't want the work piece to spin in the chuck.

Cheers

[PeterAllen]

Mike

You can sometimes get by wrapping delicate items in a strip of emery paper - coarse side on the item, BUT, don't use coolant as it will soften the paper.