Category Archives: Process

Making a Washer Flat

At the base of the spindle, my reels have a thrust washer. It is meant to take any axial forces generated during cranking. If this washer is thicker on one side than on the other, the spindle will not sit … Continue reading

Posted in Abrading, Spindle, Thrust Bearing | Leave a comment

Way Covers

The Sherline lathe has leadscrews that are under the bed and cross-slide; these need no separate way covers. On the mill, the X and Z leadscrews are similarly protected, but the Y axis leadscrew is exposed to falling swarf. For … Continue reading

Posted in Milling | Leave a comment

Electrochemical Etching

This post documents another attempt to mark my reels. Here I have used an electrochemical etch kit from Lectroetch. They promote its use to knifemakers, where the blades are typically steel. The kit consists of a low voltage AC transformer … Continue reading

Posted in Engraving/Marking | 2 Comments

Tap for Aluminum

The frame screws of my reels are 4-40 UNC. There are 10 such holes (foot & pillars) to tap for each reel. On repetitive tasks, it is good to have the best possible tool. McMaster-Carr sells “Vanadium Steel Hand Taps … Continue reading

Posted in Threading | Leave a comment

Engraving with the Mill

In the previous post I showed the artwork for a logo in the form of a circular monogram. This is meant for use in electrochemical etching. After making this artwork, it occurred to me that it might be simplified to … Continue reading

Posted in Engraving/Marking | 2 Comments

Logo

This is another post on the problem of marking my reels. In the spirit of “divide and conquer”, I have decided to put just the initials “NB” on the external screw head, and the sequence number somewhere inside the reel, … Continue reading

Posted in Engraving/Marking | 2 Comments

Number Punches

This post is about another attempt to make identification marks on my reels. Number punches are often used to mark a serial number on equipment nameplates. The resulting characters are usually readable but not very neat; the punch is not … Continue reading

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Edinburgh Etch

I like to put some identifying marks on my reels, typically the letters “NB” (for North Branch) and a two digit sequence number. In the past, I have taken a group of rear bearing caps to a jeweler’s shop and … Continue reading

Posted in Engraving/Marking | 5 Comments

Acid Concentration

My reelmaking is quite dependent on the anodizing process. Running this process consistently means controlling three conditions: 1. Current density (12 A/in^2) 2. Temperature (68 deg F) 3. Acid concentration Recently it occurred to me that my acid mixing is … Continue reading

Posted in Anodizing/Plating, Measuring | 1 Comment

Hardness Test

On 15 Dec 2012, I posted about some aluminum rod stock that was supposed to be 7075, but might be something else because it did not anodize properly. I theorized that it might be 2024 (a known poor anodizer) because … Continue reading

Posted in Measuring, Testing | Leave a comment