[peteeng]

HI MC - I have been looking for some thick reasonable size float glass for this sort of thing. There's a couple of small adjustments needed on Scoot will program a maintenance day soon, now its settled in a bit... Peter

[peteeng]

Hi All and good evening - Health Warning - Tramming can send you crazy! I pulled out a tramming fixture I made some time ago from some bits I had. I set it up and the spindle wasn't too bad. As soon as I tried to adjust it, it went AWOL!! Tried and tried but no luck really. I think the issue is that the spindle clamp uses one side to fix and the other side to fix and clamp the spindle. This two function side makes it tough to pull it down without changing its tram. So I adjusted the adaptor plate and tried some shims then gave up. So its close but was closer in the start! I'll have to address this and design a clamp that includes a tramming function... Peter

[peteeng]

Evening all - I finished the cutting board tonight. A few wet sands to knock the grain down and black epoxy to fill in some of the checks and then final sand. I decided to give it to a friend for Xmas, We visit him tomorrow so I'll have to wrap it. Peter

[peteeng]

Hi All - Does anyone have a favorite tramming system? Looking for ideas for a new spindle mount including tramming. Cheers and HNY Peter

[peteeng]

HI All and welcome to 2022!!

Well I'm back and the first task of the year is to get some shadecloth a bit higher. This means making a small plastic clamp. All went well on this. My main push at the moment is to decide if I cast the saddle for Frankenrouter. The plywood seller opens tomorrow so then I can get some Q's answered and make the decision. If I cast in CSA then I'll make provision at holes and flats to overcast in Tetrium then finish machine. Hmmmm.. My main issue at the moment is that we seem to have brought home a rodent in our truck!! We left a door open one camp on the road for some ventilation and the next day we found our potatoes chewed. I was hoping it ate and left but we filled up with fuel just before we got home and heard it in the headliner!! So now I have to evict it somehow before it chews the wiring....... Peter

[peteeng]

Hi all and Sundry - Second job for the year is making a handle for a tool trolley. Was a good job to check the calibration of Scoot. Its a bit off so need to do some adjustments on it. So Scoots list is adjust the gantry rails, recalibrate a bit better, improve the tram and add dust extraction... Onto 2022! Peter

[peteeng]

Handle complete - Peter I've nearly knocked over my 2021 list

[mactec54]

Handle complete - Peter I've nearly knocked over my 2021 list

Now that's a beauty

[peteeng]

Hi All - Scoots list is getting smaller. I did a calibration yesterday and now I want to adjust the gantry rails. That will be the majors done. I moved the UCCNC config file over from another computer as that one is being sold with Brevis. All went well. I use my height guage for Z setting and figured why not use it for the others!! Peter

[peteeng]

Evening all and sundry - Brevis started out as a small demo machine intended as a plotter and a laser engraver that could be carted around the trade shows to demonstrate Tetra's stuff. But Covid killed the trade shows just as I finished BrevisNo1. The saddle was not designed to take contact loads or the gantry - see saddle unbraced image. Once I did show Brevis to various people they all wanted a small carver or router so I put on some spindles and settled for a 400W DC job that did very well and matched the scale of the machine. But the saddle did wobble in the less stiff direction if you went a bit hard or the material was hard like hardwood.... So in the BNo1 rebuild I added a bracket to the saddle and that has fixed many things. Still does wobble if you push hard, all machines have limits. The brace is soft soldered on using 60/40 solder. Does the job nicely. Brevis series 3 will have a billet machined saddle that will sort the rigidity and fit issues. This ones for BrevisNo2 rebuild. I think this one will be going to a guy that makes novelty records...

One of my first jobs was making stainless steel medical equipment and it was all silver soldered and polished. I then went onto making steel bicycles frames that were brazed (silver and bronze) and some time later started making aluminium frames and I taught myself to TIG weld. I highly recommend those people that like torch work to braze machines together vs weld. Very little distortion perhaps zero and if your good with an oxy acetylene or propane acetylene great results. But you can't thermally stress relieve something brazed together if you go this way, as it will fall apart at 650-700C. So each part needs to be on spec before you braze....

Peter

[peteeng]

Evening all - Did some test cuts on a record sample today with Brevis-S2 No1 for an interested buyer. The PETG material cut fine.. Peter

[davida1234]

Be careful, Peter. The record might not play properly anymore.

[peteeng]

Hi David - He'll have to make the grooves go around the holes, hence a cnc record cutter .... here's the machines he uses to cut discs.

https://www.vinylrecorder.com/index-e.html

[peteeng]

Evening all- Scoots job today was to dress some copper sheet my neighbour had. Peter

[peteeng]

Hi All - Today I'll be making some brackets for the washroom bench from formply. Designed in Alibre, stressed in simsolid. Will use UCCNC for profiling after dxf in Rhino3D. So many packages!! Peter

[peteeng]

Evening all - Got waylaid with another project so brackets didn't happen but did get Brevis 2 a bit further down the track by getting its nut grid in. Being zinc cast they are a bit brittle and the birch ply is a bit tough in spots so broke two... damn... Had to scrung around and find a screw extractor.... But got the lot fitted. Now I can move onto the mechanicals. I have the new saddle so can reassemble. Time to set out the electronics as well.... Peter

[mactec54]

Evening all - Got waylaid with another project so brackets didn't happen but did get Brevis 2 a bit further down the track by getting its nut grid in. Being zinc cast they are a bit brittle and the birch ply is a bit tough in spots so broke two... damn... Had to scrung around and find a screw extractor.... But got the lot fitted. Now I can move onto the mechanicals. I have the new saddle so can reassemble. Time to set out the electronics as well.... Peter

Rub some soap, or a dab of liquid soap on the threads and they will screw in easier

[peteeng]

Hi Mactec - For these nuts they say to use a 9mm drill. Fine in softwood. Ended up using a 10.25mm drill. I use PVA glue occasionally works as lub and sets the nut. Brevis 1 gets picked up this weekend and then I'll have a bench to start Frankenrouter on proper.... When I first started using these nuts 2 years ago they were 17 cents each now they are over 30. There are steel ones that are stronger. Maybe next time. Peter

[mactec54]

Hi Mactec - For these nuts they say to use a 9mm drill. Fine in softwood. Ended up using a 10.25mm drill. I use PVA glue occasionally works as lub and sets the nut. Brevis 1 gets picked up this weekend and then I'll have a bench to start Frankenrouter on proper.... When I first started using these nuts 2 years ago they were 17 cents each now they are over 30. There are steel ones that are stronger. Maybe next time. Peter

Yes, the PVA would help a little, I have only ever used the steel and brass inserts like this, so don't know the one you are using. Frankenrouter will be good to see being that large you will get lost in that large table, after your other machines.

[peteeng]

Hi All - This weeks work is for the washroom. Its still a mountain of work to do. Want it finished so I can get serious with a couple of machines. Some time ago I bought a long router bit for cutting foam. I used it to trim the hole in the washroom floor to fit the toilet outlet as std length was not long enough. It bent half way through the exercise and I think it also damaged the bearings in the plunge router.... Opps. Today I made the brackets for the bench, Tomorrow I install the bench so I can set out the holes in the floor for the sink and waste. I have the plumber, water-proofer and floor layer lined up in sequence so pedal to the metal.....

I used a drilling cycle with outer clamps to create the pilot holes and then screwed the bracket to the waste board to do the profile.... Peter