| Gallery, Projects and General > How do I?? |
| Ball Turner |
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| Stot:
Hi, I have a few projects floating through my head and some are on paper now like a 1:16 scale Flak AA gun :proj:, but Ive decided the for my first project i should make a ball turning tool so a couple of Qs. I see most people have used what they have laying around to make their ball turning tools ( Steve Bedair type ), but there is always aluminum in there somewhere. Sooo assuming the bit mounting 'L' piece would be 15mm square steel in my design, can I make the base plate and rotating column from aluminium, or should I aim for cast iron/steel for rigidity? Also has anyone run their ball turning tools on bearings? My one would be fairly large with a 3" diameter turret allowing a 3+" radius to be turned so I thought adding an old wheel bearing between the base and the turret would help keep things tight but smooth. Lastly, Assuming i'm talking a 4.5" x 5/8" disc for the base and a 3" x 1.5", where is a good source for big ol lumps of solid cast iron like this if I do want to build it from cast iron? UK i guess. :scratch: I could probably find old barbell weights for the 4.5" one.. :headbang: Any opinions appreciated. Cheers Stot |
| Bernd:
Imade mine all out of aluminum for the Grizzly lathe. Only turned two balls with it. Worked OK. I think a ball bearing would surely make it turn smoother. Can't help you on the last question. :lol: Bernd |
| Stot:
Thanks for the reply, I'm looking to turn a lot of stainless steel balls for example, so im not sure aluminium will be up to it for too long :scratch:. If I do incorporate a tapered roller bearing between the turret and plate I may use an old valve spring as a tensioner on the through bolt. :dremel: Could work. :smart: Oh yeah, Also i found a company selling cast iron backplate blanks for £15 which have a core diameter that will work nicley. :thumbup: :D Cheers Stot |
| Divided he ad:
Evening Stot :thumbup: I'm going to throw a few pennies in here and see if it helps?? I'm assuming you have done a search of the site for "ball turner"? (in the " " marks.) This turns up all sorts of designs and re-designs on the ball turners used by members of the site (including me) I've made 2 of them and both using steel to steel design. I've cut a lot of stainless using the larger one I built (the mini one has a new home). I've had no problems using mine to cut hundreds of shaped bits 'n' bobs in stainless, brass, bronze, aluminium and just about any metal I could get my hands on. I've posted a lot of pic's and videos in the gallery and other areas of the site. Just a thought, The diameter of the turret (3") allows for a lot of lateral movement of the cutter section, but how tall are you making the cutter (using the 15mm square)? I know this might sound obvious but, the height of the tip from the turret would have to be just over 3" to enable the cutter to reach it's maximum "safe" radius size of 3".... A 6" solid metal sphere :bugeye: Now that would take some turning!!! (IMHO "safe" being... the "L" clamped in half of the slot it slides in) I'm also going to assume that the 5/8 base depth and the 1.5" turret depth are what you have worked out to bring the tip holder closer to centre height and keep the rigidity in the tool? (this would have to still be just over 3" to obtain optimal tool use). These are just my thoughts..... I know I ramble a bit! As for the use of aluminium. I would think that it would need a lot of lubricating and a much larger contact surface with the base than steel would to spread the cutting forces and prevent premature wear.... Just my thoughts. Cast iron might be a bit odd to use too? It's a little brittle IMHO and may also need a larger contact area to prevent stresses from cracking/chipping the turret? Steel is IMHO the way to go. Of course when you add bearings to the mix it all alters.... I have not had to go to this extreme as my ball turner works a treat :thumbup: I hope some of that makes sense, :scratch: Ralph. |
| Stot:
Hi Ralph, --- Quote from: Divided he ad on April 30, 2010, 07:06:37 PM ---Evening Stot :thumbup: I'm going to throw a few pennies in here and see if it helps?? I'm assuming you have done a search of the site for "ball turner"? (in the " " marks.) This turns up all sorts of designs and re-designs on the ball turners used by members of the site (including me) I've made 2 of them and both using steel to steel design. I've cut a lot of stainless using the larger one I built (the mini one has a new home). I've had no problems using mine to cut hundreds of shaped bits 'n' bobs in stainless, brass, bronze, aluminium and just about any metal I could get my hands on. I've posted a lot of pic's and videos in the gallery and other areas of the site. --- End quote --- Yes i did lots of searching and reading and seen your vids. :clap: --- Quote from: Divided he ad on April 30, 2010, 07:06:37 PM ---Just a thought, The diameter of the turret (3") allows for a lot of lateral movement of the cutter section, but how tall are you making the cutter (using the 15mm square)? I know this might sound obvious but, the height of the tip from the turret would have to be just over 3" to enable the cutter to reach it's maximum "safe" radius size of 3".... A 6" solid metal sphere :bugeye: Now that would take some turning!!! (IMHO "safe" being... the "L" clamped in half of the slot it slides in) I'm also going to assume that the 5/8 base depth and the 1.5" turret depth are what you have worked out to bring the tip holder closer to centre height and keep the rigidity in the tool? (this would have to still be just over 3" to obtain optimal tool use). --- End quote --- Ah did I say radius? I meant a 3" diameter ball. :hammer: This is the modified design for my center height with a VCGT type bit on top. So the max overhang of the L piece would be ~15mm allowing it to be clamped by 2 of the retaining bolts, or I can make the sliding piece longer to make sure its clamped by all 3 when at max cutting diameter. The height of the tool tip on the upright of the L piece would be 40mm. --- Quote from: Divided he ad on April 30, 2010, 07:06:37 PM ---These are just my thoughts..... I know I ramble a bit! As for the use of aluminium. I would think that it would need a lot of lubricating and a much larger contact surface with the base than steel would to spread the cutting forces and prevent premature wear.... Just my thoughts. Cast iron might be a bit odd to use too? It's a little brittle IMHO and may also need a larger contact area to prevent stresses from cracking/chipping the turret? Steel is IMHO the way to go. Of course when you add bearings to the mix it all alters.... I have not had to go to this extreme as my ball turner works a treat :thumbup: I hope some of that makes sense, :scratch: Ralph. --- End quote --- I figure if I only want to build one ball turning tool, build it as big as is reasonable for my lathe, and as well as I can to have it last a lifetime. I get what you mean about the cast iron maybe being to brittle, it could crack as i tighten down the sliding post. So now to search out some 3" steel round bar then! :) Cheers Stot |
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