Chester 626 mill CNC Conversion

[Rob.Wilson]

Tare-arsing is another one.......
David D

  forgot about that one David 


Hi Nick ,,,,,,,,,,,,, thought you may have finished that loco 

Hi Rob,

Do you mind me asking where you manage to acquire such large lumps of steel from?

I feel like I'm forever finding ways of building big parts by bolting little ones together, due to a shortage of large stock.

I rummage around the local scrapyard and the offcuts sections of some of the metal suppliers, but rarely find any solid steel above 50-60mm dia either as square or round.

Cheers,
Rich

Hi Rich ,,,,,,,,,,,, All my stock is scrounged ,i am luck in that my job gets me into a few places were getting hold of 8"x12"x24" lump of scrap steel is not a problem ask John DB LOL , I also do work for a metal supplier on the valley so i get to raid ,or a better word would be rape there scrap skips LOL .
Working with forklift trucks means i have access to any amount of say 50mmx100mm by about 400mm long , I cut the back section of the fork out, between the hanger .


ending up with a very usable lump of tough steel .


  I also when i can be arsed strip the rods from hydraulic cylinders , maybe its just me but when i look at something i think what usable material is there for me hidden within   .

just noticed your just down the road from me ,,,,,, Have you tried Grievsons scrap yard on Station  road   walker ? 



Rob

[PekkaNF]

  I also when i can be arsed strip the rods from hydraulic cylinders , maybe its just me but when i look at something i think what usable material is there for me hidden within   .
Rob

Oy! How do you process hydraulic cylinder rods? They are hard chromed? Turn under it and use juicy steel under? What kind of material it is?

Pekka

[Rob.Wilson]

  I also when i can be arsed strip the rods from hydraulic cylinders , maybe its just me but when i look at something i think what usable material is there for me hidden within   .
Rob

Oy! How do you process hydraulic cylinder rods? They are hard chromed? Turn under it and use juicy steel under? What kind of material it is?

Pekka

Hi Pekka

Yes its hard chrome same gear as ballscrews etc ,,, just turn under the chrome ,, no idea what grade of steel ,,, turns fine 

The cylinder tubes come in handy too 


Rob

[Pete.]

Hydraulic cylinder rods are induction hardened so only the skin is hard - once you're through that it's esy eough to turn. Only trouble you'll get is if there are any drillings in it coz you'll the interrupted cut in the hard skin will break your inserts.

[Rob.Wilson]

A bit more done tonight ,,,,,,,,,,,,,did naff all last night 

Finished the turning on the block .


The spigot is a nice snug fit in the knee .

Still a bit to do 

Pondering which way to mount the motor .

The lazy way ,straight out using a coupling .
 

Or stick it under the knee ,belt and pulleys  ,,,,,,,,,more machining.
 


Rob

[doubleboost]

You know yourself how it should be mounted
John

[loply]

just noticed your just down the road from me ,,,,,, Have you tried Grievsons scrap yard on Station  road   walker ? 



Rob

Hi Rob,

I know Grivesons but never been in. Might have to pop in one day.

Funny you should mention forklifts, I work just opposite Permat in Camperdown, I might have a word with the lads there about any surplus forks! They seem to deal with some huge machines, saw one the other day which looked like it could lift a house.

I think I just need to "up my game" on scrap metal collection 

[Dean W]

Another beautifully done piece, Rob.  Someday afar off, some guy will be looking at this mill and think to himself;
"Wow, a real machinist has had his way with this thing".

[Pete.]

Nah - they'll say 'they don't make Chinese stuff now like they used to'

[Dean W]

Nah - they'll say 'they don't make Chinese stuff now like they used to'

Well, they never have.   ; )

[Rob.Wilson]

Cheers Lads 


Dean ,,, our they may say what the F%$k was he thinking 


Well finished the machine work to the Y axis block , well all bar a few holes for the motor mounts .





I slapped the knee back onto the mill and there is enough room or the Y axis motor to fit underneath , so i may as well mount the X axis motor  under the table , i will loose a tad, 30mm of travel , but the machine will have a much smaller foot print and it gets rid of those couplings Mr JS said were ****  LOL  . So i have a weee bit more machining to do 




Rob

[Brass_Machine]

I wish my parts came out that nice... 

I swear, you must have machinist elves living under your workbench. Nice work my friend. 

Eric

[AdeV]

I don't mind the perfect surface finish - I'm guessing most of this is done on the shaper, and I believe shapers give fabulous finishes. So I can cope with that.

What I can't get my head around is those radiused corners. They are perfect. Perfect. Every single one of them. Smooth, shiny, consistent and not a hint of a ridge* where the cutter was 0.0001" out of position either on the X or Z axis. Rob how the f****k are you doing that?!?

I am not worthy:

So, I tried to get a finish even close to resembling yours. And my lathe spat its chuck at me. I can't say I blame it...



* There's only one thing I can produce which is smooth, shiny, consistent and without ridges. And it sure ain't metal. 

[Rob.Wilson]

I swear, you must have machinist elves living under your workbench. Nice work my friend. 

Eric

Close Eric ,,,,,,,, i have a midget helper that dose al the work   



Thanks Ade  ,,,,,,,, I used the HZ mill to do the radius ,then a few licks with a file , very fine file, two of the rads were completely filed ,the two that run up to the bolt flange ,using a rad gauge  to check   


Rob 

PS no shaper work on this part 

[doubleboost]

It is all true Ade
I have seen him file a radius before
That is a great photograph rob
I have a couple of little helpers as well
John

[krv3000]

well dun rob keep it up

[sbwhart]

I swear, you must have machinist elves living under your workbench. Nice work my friend. 

Eric

Close Eric ,,,,,,,, i have a midget helper that dose al the work   



Thanks Ade  ,,,,,,,, I used the HZ mill to do the radius ,then a few licks with a file , very fine file, two of the rads were completely filed ,the two that run up to the bolt flange ,using a rad gauge  to check   


Rob 

PS no shaper work on this part 

Is that a steel boiler I spot on the floor behind you're little helper ?

Stew

[Rob.Wilson]

Thanks John n Bob 


Hi Stew , it is a boiler for a 4" Tasker tractor ,something i started way back before the boiler regs changed , meaning now you have to be  a coded welded    , all the plate , tube ,welding rods  are boiler spec (with paper work), just not me LOL .Actually over spec i used 5/16 pate and tube instead of 1/4 .


So it just sits there getting in the way , the drawings for the engine are very poor too, lots  of mistakes   


Rob

[sbwhart]

That looks a very nicely built boiler Rob Pity about the change of regs, rendering it US, don't supose ther's a way round it.

You can use it as a door stop or a paper weight 

Drawing errors is something of a perenial headache, with models, just got to read ME to see that, but I look at it this way sorting out the errors is just part of the game that makes the hobby interesting, my experience from industry is that drawing errors are not unusual:- come across some howlers in my time.

Stew

[Rob.Wilson]

It is still use able , for my own use , just could not sell it , or i could get coded ,all welds have been crack tested ,all passed , the thing is i weld jobs at work that operate at a much higher pressure 3000psi    , I may turn it into a Portable engine .

There are drawing mistakes and mistakes , when i complained about the drawings , i got a letter back from the lad who did the drawings saying they were fine , then a week latter Camden books sent me an error list 1 and 1/2 sides of A4  ,so the drawings are good REALLY !  , so now that i have CAD i may re-draw it and do a copper boiler . 

Meccano ,, actually put mistakes in there build  instructions to get you to think 

Rob 

[Jasonb]

Rob, you don't have to be coded, just submit some test welds to an independant boiler inspector (not a club inspector) and they will test and I'm sure yours will pass then you will have a legal boiler. It will cost a bit but not as much as buying a ready made boiler.

Was chatting to someone yesterday at tehe Guildford show and a new copper boiler for my 2" Fowler is £2200 thats a 50% increase since I bought mine.

J

[Rob.Wilson]

Hi Jason

Now that has brightened my day up , i will look into that cheers  i thought i was doomed .

"2" Fowler is £2200"  wow ,but  still worth it , when you  take into consideration the time and materials , the price of copper has rocketed and the  Silver solder bill for a boiler that size would be a few quid , also  not everyone has the equipment to heat such large lumps of copper . No rust to deal with .

Thanks Rob ,,,,,,,,BIG smiles 

[David Jupp]

Retrospective approval is likely to be tricky.  It only shows what your welds are like now - not necessarily what they were like when the boiler was welded.  Test pieces are typically done before commencing manufacture - the approval of a welder will only be valid for a period of time for the particular weld procedure used. 

If you do find a way forward, I'm sure others would be interested.

[andyf]

Retrospective approval is likely to be tricky.  It only shows what your welds are like now - not necessarily what they were like when the boiler was welded.  Test pieces are typically done before commencing manufacture - the approval of a welder will only be valid for a period of time for the particular weld procedure used. 
If you do find a way forward, I'm sure others would be interested.

I'm sure Rob wouldn't do this, but a less scrupulous person might be a bit economical with the truth over the fact that the boiler existed before the test weld was submitted, and delete any evidence that it had been made at an earlier date from internet forums (e.g. Madmodder) just in case either inspector happened to read them.

Andy

[Rob.Wilson]

Retrospective approval is likely to be tricky.  It only shows what your welds are like now - not necessarily what they were like when the boiler was welded.  Test pieces are typically done before commencing manufacture - the approval of a welder will only be valid for a period of time for the particular weld procedure used. 

If you do find a way forward, I'm sure others would be interested.

Good point David , these rules an regs are enough to make you go mad , one year its OK to weld the job up yourself  the next its not , same boiler in copper no such regs , anyone without any previous silver soldering experience/training  can solder up the boiler , if it passed the hydro test its good to go .   

I'm sure Rob wouldn't do this, but a less scrupulous person might be a bit economical with the truth over the fact that the boiler existed before the test weld was submitted, and delete any evidence that it had been made at an earlier date from internet forums (e.g. Madmodder) just in case either inspector happened to read them.

Andy

Hi Andy , yes there are a few unethical ways i could get round the problem , but i will not be going down that route I will play by the rules ,however maddening they are.



Rob ,,,,,not smiling LOL