Machining Profiles/Contours with the Lathe & Dremel

[90LX_Notch]

I originally posted this at another site.  Maybe some here will find it usefull.

It's how I machined the bottom radius of the crankcase for my build of Gail Graham's Lobo Pup Twin.

It should be noted that the bulk of material was removed in the mill prior to this operation.  This is more of a finishing op.

The Dremel FexShaft is held in a tool block that was bored on center with the lathe. 



[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXw-VoGucOg&feature=plcp[/youtube]


This is the YouTube description-
"This video shows a crankcase being machined on the lathe with a Dremel Flex Shaft. The crankcase is on an arbor and is being indexed by hand. The 1/8 endmill is set on center and is cutting on the tangent point of the radius. This was an experiment that worked out far better then I had hoped."

-Bob

[sparky961]

Bob,

It didn't sound like you were getting much/any chatter from the video.  I tried something similar a few years back and discovered that my nearly new Dremel tool had a lot of play in the spindle causing it to jump and gouge all over the place.  I ended up returning the Dremel for exchange only to find exactly the same thing with the new one.

Since then I don't use it for anything requiring precision.

Has anyone else found this with Dremel or other rotary tools?

I'm curious too why didn't you do the finishing passes on the mill?

-Sparky

[Stilldrillin]

Great set up Bob! Well shown. 

As Sparky says....... Your Dremel has far better bearings than any I've come across. 

David D

[90LX_Notch]

My Dremel has weak bearings also.  The tool block that holds the FlexShaft was bored on center with the lathe, therefore the end mill is directly tangent to the work.  I took very light cuts and small index increments to removes the ridges from the milling operation.  Think of it as more of a filing operation without the use of a file.

Sparky- I don't have a RT or index for my mill.  I roughed it in the mill by repositioning it in the vice.  For finishing; the carriage of the lathe travels much faster then the table of the mill and indexing the lathe by hand is also fast.

[caskwith]

Clever stuff! I have a dremel clone mounted to a tool post for my lathe and I will now try using it for more than just grinding.

[90LX_Notch]

I should also note that the end mill is "perfectly" perpendicular to the work.  The tool block has one side that is parallel to the bore that holds the FlexShaft.  This side is indicated when the block is setup.