Member postings for Steve Crow

Thank you, that Pepe chart serves my purpose.

Thanks, I've seen this as well. Problem is, the material thickness only goes up to 1.3mm. I'm looking at up to 3.2mm.

Really, I would like to here some first hand experience as all the tables seem a bit vague when it comes to thicker material.

Thank you John, but I've seen this and many like it

Most tables deal with thou, gauges and drill numbers. I know I can translate but I'd like to see a nice metric version!

Can someone help me choose the right grade of piercing saw blades?

I have a fair bit of sawing to do in 1/8" brass sheet (CZ120), also 2mm, 1.5mm, 1mm and 0.8mm.

I am running short on blades and they are all mixed up anyway so I don't know which grade is which. I just look at the teeth and guess.

I want to start from scratch and get a whole new selection suitable for the various thicknesses.

I've looked on the net for guidance but not found anything useful. I'm sure that a few members of this forum have experience cutting out clock plates etc.and will be able to speak from experience.

Any metric online resource would be welcome as well,

I have had good experience with Super Pike blades in the past and they are quite reasonable from Cousin's but if anyone has other recommendations, please let me know.

Cheers

Steve

I managed to find a 90 degree engraving bit that I've not seen for a few years so I had a go at the dial.

I engraved the faced and drilled end of a 1/2" brass bar on the rotary table then parted it off 0.5mm thick.

The graduations are blacked with marker pen which won't be very durable but will do until I get some engravers wax (which I need for another project). The lines are 2mm,1.5mm and 1mm long.

I also need to centre punch an index mark on the main body.

A long way from perfect but it will suffice.

Edited By Steve Crow on 02/02/2023 17:05:57

A miniature boring head, without the graduated dial (not made it yet).

I've been wanting to make a small boring head for my Sherline mill for years, but was unable to find or make dovetail cutters small enough for the job.

I stumbled on this design on the interweb and thought it might serve.

It's basically a 2/3 scale version of this design by Harold Hall with a few changes.

The body is made from 3/4" square bar which makes it a lot easier to hold for machining. No messing around with faceplates and clamps, you can do everything in a 4 jaw.

Here's the component parts -

The "barrel" and the gib are made from 1/2" round bar.

The lead screw is M4 x 0.5 and it accepts 4mm shank boring tools. I've got a few broken end mills (my boring tools of choice) in 4mm and 1/8" shank so with an 1/8" adaptor sleeve, I should be ok.

Pictures with the barrel extended -

Anyone got some tips on making a radial dial of this type? The dial will be 14mm diameter and hopefully have 50 divisions. I have a rotary table, just wondering about the cutter. Small centre drill at high speed?

Cheers

Steve

Edited By Steve Crow on 31/01/2023 18:59:00

I agree with the Sherline option. It's so adaptable with a huge range of accessories.

You can single point cut threads down to M1 x 0.25 and 5 minutes later be turning down 3" bar.

It is as accurate as you can set it up to be and great for hand graving.

I usually use 8mm watchmakers collets with mine as I already had a good selection.

Also, if you have the Sherline mill, it can share the headstock and motor assembly and loads of other accessories.

Coming soon!

For the last 9 years, my workshop consisted of a kitchen table in a one bedroom London flat.

Now, after retiring to the Kent coast, I have my dream come true, my own dedicated workshop.

A former recording studio, it has plenty of power outlets and is warm and dry.

The machine bench-

The fitting bench (8 foot long)-

I have left one wall free. I'm going to install a small sink and drainer here-

It is still a novelty to me to be able to work any time of day and not have to clear everything up before dinner. The other half is quite pleased as well - no more swarf in the kitchen!

I have recently moved to a house with a sturdy wooden outbuilding of 3.5m x 2.5m, previously used as a recording studio.

I intend to use it as a workshop and for messing around with clocks and watches. The only machines will be light weight stuff like Sherlines and watchmakers lathes.

Underneath the present underlay and thick pile carpet there appears to be quite a solid wood floor.

I would like a nice smooth floor surface without gaps and nooks and crannies as I am forever dropping small parts.

Has anyone any suggestion for flooring? I am think of some type of vinyl or lino but there seems be many types. Maybe a close fitting tile might be easier to lay.

As another consideration, I need to keep the cost down as much as possible.

Cheers

Steve

I found this quite informative.

Steve

Jason, I don't grind them, just set one cutting edge to centre height and they cut a treat. For holes from 1mm to 6mm, I only use these.

I thought about snapping with a hammer but was worried about how it splintered.

I have some diamond files, I suppose I could use them to nick the shank.

Diamond slitting saws sound interesting. I will have a look at those.

Cheers

Steve

What it says in the title really.

I have a few solid carbide end mills, mainly 4mm or 1/8" shank.

I use some, including broken ones for boring small holes.

Shanks are generally around 40mm long and I would like to shorten them by about half.

Any suggestions please?

Steve

Hello Frank, I have looked into it but I think I lack the skills to make a Mod 0.3 pinion cutter.

Steve

No problem Michael, I appreciate it. I need all the help I can get!

What bothers me about the drawing is that there appears to be no clearance or play. There are 5 points of contact including one on the root of the pinions. It also seems that the tooth depth is only 2 x Mod.

I scanned the wheel and pinion again and overlaid the outline from the drawing to see how profiles compare -

They are a lot closer than I thought.

Steve

I have used that site before. Here's what it shows for the gears in question -

The thing is, I don't have a depthing difficulty as such. The gears run smoothly and freely with little backlash and I can live with the extra depthing distance.

But I don't like the look of the tooth profile on the pinion.

Steve

I should of made clear that these are for (slow) motion work. The 73 T wheel revolves one a year. I'm sure that involute is legitimate for this and not "all wrong for a clock".

I have had the Wild book for some time now and have copied quite a few of the fixtures and fittings featured. I also have the Gears for Small Mechanisms.

It's not so much the theory I'm so concerned with. I have a set of Mod 0.3 cutters and it's all about making the most of those.

I would love to do everything in cycloidal with Thornton cutters but £££.

Steve

This close up photography does not flatter the finishing on my tools!

For scale, the runners are 2mm diameter.

Ok, I've took some meshing pictures. It wasn't easy. I had to take dozens to get two adequate pics.

These ar at the tightest mesh that still allows free running. In practice, I'd probably increase it by a couple of thou.

By the way, 12T pinion, 73T wheel.

Steve