Category Archives: Process

Right Angle Bracket

Posted on April 27, 2017 by dave49

Little Machine Shop offers this cast iron right angle bracket for use on MiniMills. I bought one and immediately drilled it to accommodate my Sherline rotary tables. It is much heavier than the aluminum bracket offered by Sherline. I have … Continue reading →

Posted in Fixtures, Milling, Work Holding | Leave a comment

More MiniLathe Tooling

Posted on April 13, 2017 by dave49

I have used a Sherline lathe for about 9 years to make reel parts. In that time I developed many fixtures to facilitate lathe operation. Now that I am converting to a MiniLathe, new tools are needed. Here its a … Continue reading →

Posted in Alignment, Fixtures, Turning | Leave a comment

MiniLathe Tooling

Posted on April 4, 2017 by dave49

In 2015, I replaced my Sherline mill with a MiniMill (Little Machine Shop 3990). The switchover was simple; I only had to make some special hold down clamps to continue using my Sherline rotary table with the new mill. Now … Continue reading →

Posted in Tools, Turning, Work Holding | 1 Comment

Cool Water

Posted on March 17, 2017 by dave49

He’s a devil not a man, and he spreads the burning sand with water. Cool, clear water. “Cool Water” recorded by Sons of the Pioneers (and many others) Songwriter Bob Nolan Got my anodizing process restarted after the move to … Continue reading →

Posted in Anodizing/Plating | 1 Comment

A Foot Fixture for the Lathe

Posted on July 24, 2016 by dave49

Since starting this hobby in 2010, I have built about 50 reels. For every one of these, I shaped the top of the reel foot with a vertical mill using this rotary table fixture. This is a labor intensive process … Continue reading →

Posted in Fixtures, Foot, Turning | Leave a comment

Wire Bending

Posted on June 13, 2016 by dave49

Here is the latest variation on my reel click design. I have used this basic pattern for a long time. The spring is a round wire and the pawl has a groove that acts as a cam against it. Click … Continue reading →

Posted in Forming, Spring | Leave a comment

Engraved Reels

Posted on April 19, 2016 by dave49

My engraver is now operational; here are the first reels. This is the same bronze frame design I have made for more than 2 years, but with some porting holes left out to make room for lettering. This is the … Continue reading →

Posted in Engraving/Marking, My Reels | Leave a comment

Collet Grip

Posted on April 9, 2016 by dave49

I have one more problem to solve before my CNC engraver is operational. It is that end mills come loose in the spindle. This is the spindle, it is 1.2 inch diameter and uses a “WW” collet (0.125 inch bore). … Continue reading →

Posted in Engraving/Marking, Milling | 10 Comments

Engraving Practice

Posted on March 5, 2016 by dave49

The engraver is running; here is a practice part. This was done on scrap bronze with a .018 inch diameter end mill turning at 24000 rpm and travelling at 4 inches/minute. The groove is about .005 inch deep. My design … Continue reading →

Posted in CNC, Engraving/Marking | 8 Comments

CNC Control Panel

Posted on February 20, 2016 by dave49

The control panel for the engraver is now wired. The front has some switches to give me direct control of stepper enable, spindle power, etc. Here is the back side. There are three switching power supplies. If there are any … Continue reading →

Posted in CNC, Engraving/Marking | 2 Comments