The Workshop Progress thread 2018

Looks like you are making good progress to me. I have not done a rocking valve engine but do have one 85% drawn up to make at some time.

Edited By JasonB on 31/03/2018 07:30:33

Made up the Eccentric and valve parts for the Vertical engine I'm working on as and when the fancy takes me.

I finally, after 6 years, got to grips with the DRO on Crusader!

I've only ever used it on one tool at a time, because when you power off and move things, the position is lost. I can now just use tool 1 and set the size, the tool library then updates.

I even made a setting tool, its just a bit of sleeve with bearings inside. I can just touch the O/D or bore, when the sleeve stops rotating. The size is then just inputted. I may have to buy some more tool holders to take advantage of this!! Its got a 200 tool library after all!

I just wish I'd got my head around this sooner!

Jim

Edited By jimmy b on 01/04/2018 10:27:16

Don't your scales have index marks on them? As far as I was aware, most do. Then, if you simply move your slides / scales past the index mark after powering up again, the DRO will pick up its absolute coordinates.

If you ever shorten your scales, you need to ensure you don't chop off the bit with the index mark otherwise you'll lose the ability to re-zero.

Murray

I have over the last few days built this digital timing measuring device for my tether car engines the basis for the unit is a digital angle rule.

Edited By Roderick Jenkins on 03/04/2018 22:24:29

Looks rather good to me already Rod, hope you enjoyed making it as much as I did mine.

Must be the day for finishing engines as the first Muncaster Entablablature engine from my drawings also ran for the first time today.

Jimmy, that's nice. I'm having adventures with tool offsets at the moment too, though on my CNC conversion. Same reason as you, so I can work with multiple tools to get known diameter without having to individually adjust them. My setting aid is different though. How do you deal with run-out of the OD of your sleeve? Does the DRO also work with Z offsets as well as X?

I also learned the perils of top slide and tool post movement! My top slide gib screws are now locked solid, and I've installed a dowel between the Dixon tool post and the top slide. I have a big lump of cast iron arriving too to make a base for the Dixon and eliminate the rather unsatisfactory mounting of the Myford S7 topslide, which can also shift under heavy cuts.

Edited By jimmy b on 05/04/2018 05:37:51

Nice one Roderick, my one is coming along slowly, very slowly

Have been making progress with my tool referencing and homing system on Mach 3 converted lathe. Having previously measured the offsets for a bunch of tools fitted into Dixon indexable holders and set up a tool table, today I wanted to skim about 0.1 mm off the end of my setting bar which was nominally 16mm but actually measured at 15.981 - this with a Mititoyo digital mic that indicates to a micron (I'm sure it's not accurate to that!). It needed cleaning up as during the process of developing Mach3 macros and a referencing screen, tools had been driven into the surface when they shouldn't have!

So, switched on the machine, launched Mach 3, homed the X axis (using the switch described on another thread), picked up the end of the bar as a Z reference, used the turning wizard to generate some code to take the bar down to 15.9 mm using a tangential tool in a Diamond holder with the appropriate tool number selected, ran the code, measured the bar with the same micrometer. 15.900 mm indicated. As I said, just how accurate this is is hard to say, but consistent, and considering all the things that had to go right to get this, encouraging.

Sounds good

Jim

Did a bit more on my vertical cross engine today, fitted the spool valve rod guide, refitted the swing arms & parallel arms, checked for 'tight spots' all looks good...





​Next step is to machine up fly wheel... CI is shitty stuff to machine & the casting doesn't look to brilliant either... having another look at the guide set up I think I'll take the corners off & blend it to match the curve of the cylinder, more aesthetically pleasing methinks...?

​George.

Thought I would put a piece of tooling up I have almost finished. Just have to decide how to finish the jaws. There is more pictures in my album.

Tom

That's very nice Tom!

Like this George?

I thought it looked better matched to the cylinder

Jim

Made quite a lot of progress liberating a new base to mount my Dickson toolholder block on to the S7 cross slide, generating loads of CI dust in the process. Started with a 135 mm dia backplate casting from RDG. Have now eliminated all the scale turning on the lathe. Photos tomorrow perhaps.

On another thread someone showed a base that inspired this project, the casting being from College Engineering - it looks like they don't carry such castings any more, I don't know if that means all their castings are no longer available after the acquisition. Would be a shame.

.

That looks very classy, Tom

... is the hemisphere weighted, or is there plenty of friction with the cup ?

MichaelG.

Michael

The hemisphere contains 2 ball races and has no weights added the friction on the tufnel base has enough friction to grip the hemisphere.

tom