Author Topic: Make my own  (Read 8542 times)

Rob Templin

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Re: Make my own
« Reply #15 on: 14 February, 2020, 02:10:56 pm »
Love anything home made Cobbadog. Even steel wheels. It's too easy to just buy stuff. Or chuck out broken items and buy new. Years ago you could at least have ago at repairing stuff and often due to lack of funds you had to do your own repairs anyway.

Currently I am building a milling machine and a lathe. Yes I can buy cheap second hand ones although SWMBO would balk at me doing so. There are two reasons to build.

1. It is a great challenge,

2. The money that is spent is spread over a period of time.

Mostly I am using scrap items from mates scrap bins. Parts off an old heavy industrial drill, gears from a car and a large old photo copier. Heavy steel from a mates major high rise project, and so on.
I have purchased the x- y table, a mill vice, the electric motors, lathe chuck, and a secondhand lathe head that was cheaper than the bearings and shaft if I made new one . I have spent many hours planning and made a few errors along the way. Work is more than half finished on the mill. I have the bed and legs done on the lathe. I have also almost finished a 6 foot bender to make the swarf tray for the lathe. Just need an electric oil pump and hydraulic rams for that ,which I will buy, but all the rest was scrap steel. (I do have two second hand rams but they are different sizes and might not push evenly with out trying to balance them.)

Just wish I wasn't so old as I have a number of other homemade machine projects in mind and probably limited time left.

cobbadog

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Re: Make my own
« Reply #16 on: 14 February, 2020, 10:05:56 pm »
Nice one Rob,
I knew a bloke that started to build his own metal lathe and from scrap too. He made great progress and you couln't fault what was done. It was at the stage where he had scraped the bed dead level head stock was complete and his welding technique of a series of short runs at a time and at opposite sides and ends left no distortion and he was using an arc welder. Unfortunately bad health took him before he got it finished.
Keep up the good work.
Cheers, John & Dee. Coopernook. NSW.

Rob Templin

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Re: Make my own
« Reply #17 on: 15 February, 2020, 07:31:58 am »
To prevent buckling from heat I have decided to tap and screw everything. That means dozens of holes so far. I clamp the pieces in place and use a small pilot drill. Then the larger drills. But still had some that didn't quite line up. I guess my old and cheap Chinese drill press has some slop in the quill. But counter sunk screws pull it down right even if a couple of hole are a bit bigger now. One problem is the weight of the pieces I have to keep lifting and turning over etc. I'll need my engine hoist or endless chain soon to lift stuff. But heavier is better with these machines I think?

cobbadog

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Re: Make my own
« Reply #18 on: 21 February, 2020, 09:27:49 pm »
Today I picked up the last of the hardwood timber I need to make the transporter along with some coach bolts to hold it together. I need to now make a few measurements so I can start cutting the rails to length.
Cheers, John & Dee. Coopernook. NSW.

cobbadog

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Re: Make my own
« Reply #19 on: 22 February, 2020, 04:05:38 pm »
Had a late start to the day of play with visitors ll morning so this afternoon I spent time mentally designing the transporter and taking measurements. So with all that kind of stuck in my head the side rails have been cut to length at 1.000 metre. Tomorrow the 3 cross sections will be cut and marked out for drilling and with a slight change to my original idea I am now half the amount of coach bolts short to bolt it all together but that gives me time to start stripping an engine down as well. The timber is 125mm x 75mm hardwood fence post, bloody heavy.
Cheers, John & Dee. Coopernook. NSW.

cobbadog

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Re: Make my own
« Reply #20 on: 24 February, 2020, 04:24:05 pm »
This is where I got to today. Main rails and 3 cross members are bolted in solid and 2 axle support also cut to length and then the 25mm bright steel axles will extend past the ends of the timber. Will pick up some plate for the turntable so the timber will run smoothly when turning and pivot on a 20mm  HT bolt. I will slightly recess the axles into the supports and plate them into position as well.
Cheers, John & Dee. Coopernook. NSW.

cobbadog

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Re: Make my own
« Reply #21 on: 25 February, 2020, 01:57:54 pm »
No further progress today as


i went to work then realised that we had a power outage, yet again, and went back home to kick off the genset to keep the fridge n freezer nice and cold. So wasted more time back at work then back home again and too the GOAT (mower) for a walk over the long grass again even though it had only been 5 days since it last got hit. Only 2 hours to go until they switch it back on and then I need to do invoices and quotes, end of day.
Cheers, John & Dee. Coopernook. NSW.

cobbadog

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Re: Make my own
« Reply #22 on: 01 March, 2020, 02:35:55 pm »

Had a little bit of time to spend on the axles today. I faced the ends of the axles and put a 1/8" chamfer on the ends, cross drilled them for the axle clips to hold the wheels in place and then mocked it up to double check the inside width. I have already cut some pipe to be welded in place to stop the wheel going inwards and these will be welded in place soon.
Cheers, John & Dee. Coopernook. NSW.

Grasshopper

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Re: Make my own
« Reply #23 on: 01 March, 2020, 06:37:43 pm »
Your Transporter is coming along fine Cobbadog, looks real good what your doing.
Will be interested in finished item.
Regards,
Grasshopper Max.

cobbadog

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Re: Make my own
« Reply #24 on: 01 March, 2020, 10:03:50 pm »
I think it will be interesting to see how it turns out too as slight design changes happen on the fly. Still thinking of the final decision on mounting the axles to the axle support timbers and I have a couple of ideas on that.
Cheers, John & Dee. Coopernook. NSW.

Rob Templin

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Re: Make my own
« Reply #25 on: 11 March, 2020, 02:12:49 pm »
Keep plugging away Cobberdog. One question, did you get any distortion from welding the wheels/spokes in?

I am still working on the mill. I have counted just on 400 holes drilled (each had a pilot hole) 200 have been tapped. I have broken 2 taps and blunted a couple of drills. The number of hours are countless. But I am getting close to being ready to assemble all the individual bits. Today has been the construction of a quill lock. Tomorrow I'll finalise the fine quill adjustment gearing, I hope.

All these hours on the mill mean that 4 of my old cars are patiently waiting for some fairly major fettling before I can drive them again. Not enough time in a day.

cobbadog

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Re: Make my own
« Reply #26 on: 11 March, 2020, 10:17:53 pm »
Sounds like it's your turn to have all the fun.
When I made my wheels I made that awful but effective jig out of timber off cuts. After marking it out to be round and then to position the 4 spokes in place and a centre hole, bolt and washer to hold the pipe in the centre I got started.

First I tried each rolled band for fitment inbetween the outer blocks and once they all fitted the same I tack welded the ends togather and removed them from the jig and used the MIG to make a quick fillet weld across the bans to make the tyre.

After that I did the other three as this gave them time to cool off . Again I checked that would fit into the jig and they did so I had 10mm pieces of some old lattice frame timber and nailed these in place at right angles to each other and the spokes would sit ontop of these pieces as it gave me a spacing in from the edge of the tyre to run a weld.

I  bolted the pipe in place and ran my cocky shit welds on the sides that were facing up both at the tyre and then the pipe. I did this to each wheel allowing the previous to cool down.

Then I went back to the first one and sat the half made wheel in the jig with the 4 spokes facing up and placed the next 4 spokes into the slots on the bottom and I guessed the position so that they were off set to the first 4 spokes then welded these in place and the top set of spokes also were finished welded.

Unbolted the pipe, flipped the wheel and bolted it again to weld the last 4 spokes on the outside. I think that by bolting the pipe in place helped with any possible distortion but the welds using the MIG are short runs and don't generate a lot of heat but enough.

Sorry for the boring long description but maybe I wrote something that might help you out too. Clamping things down might take a little bit of extra time but I don't pay me very well so it didn't matter I got them done and best of all I had a=fun doing them and as rough as they are I am very pleased with them. If anyone mentions a negative comment about them at a Rally I will politley tell them what I think of them and ask to see their home made wheels. I sometimes stand on the outside of the engine compounds looking at our toys on display and sometimes people come along and say good things mostly but I do like taking one of our old mowers along that I made up out of many different models and gave it a nice coat of 2 pac brunswick green which I know is the wrong colour and to top it off I had a decal made called HYBRID and placed it on the deck and still some idiot will say that was never made as a model and I let them dribble on and in the end I tell them I own it and made it and named it especially for idiots like you, then the penny drops.
Cheers, John & Dee. Coopernook. NSW.

sunshine man

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Re: Make my own
« Reply #27 on: 15 March, 2020, 12:39:09 am »
Hi mate,
Good work , just on the welding its too cold
Regards sunshineman

cobbadog

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Re: Make my own
« Reply #28 on: 15 March, 2020, 03:37:09 pm »
Cheers sunshine man, one day I might learn how to do this mystic ability of successfully joining metal. Later on I bumped up the volts and this helped a lot to flatten the weld and gain better penetration and by the way the smoke came off my fingers it was hot.  ::)    (not fingers really, it was gloves).
Cheers, John & Dee. Coopernook. NSW.

sunshine man

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Re: Make my own
« Reply #29 on: 15 March, 2020, 11:33:33 pm »
Hi cobba , well done again   
I have not been on this forum for a while .so missed some good work  . Been on fb a bit
Regards sunshineman