Hi from New York

[excelfreak]

Hi all,

I have been lurking here for a while now and have gotten some valuable tips and tricks (I am a complete noobie) as well as major inspiration from some of the completed projects that some of you have posted here.

One of the "problems" is that you all make it look so easy, which it is - if you know what you're doing. I have found out for myself that "knowing the path" and "walking the path" are two entirely different things.

I have always been fascinated with little engines and mechanical devices, I am pretty crafty and good with my hands and a while back I stumbled over Steve Hucks post building the Little Demon V8. I must have read that thread a hundred times - it was the coolest thing I have ever seen, and neatly described all the steps. I thought to myself - I can do this. Oh man was I wrong.....

I got myself a little Sherline lathe and mill, and even bought Steve's plans. I realized that this would take some time (several years) but I have perseverance, so that wasn't a hurdle.

I have never worked with metal before so this is all new to me. I had to learn about feeds and speeds, tramming, setups and pretty quickly I got tired of cranking those tiny wheels by hand. So I decided to convert the machines to CNC, mistakenly thinking that once I "have that" all I have to do is draw the part and hit a button. Yeah - clearly wrong.

So I peddled back - severely - to baby steps and made a wobbler, and another, and another. They keep getting better but I still have many things to learn. I find that I mostly use the CNC capabilities "manual", i.e. no written g-code but the lower z to a certain level and then have it feed in x direction. Or alternatively on the lathe, set a x and then have it move along z to turn a shaft etc.

There is just so much to learn from CAD to CAM to the limitations of the "laughable tiny" machines that I have. Regardless, it has been an incredibly rewarding journey so far and I learn new things every day. Eventually - one day - I will have build that little V8 but it is going to take much longer than I ever anticipated, but I don't mind. Every mistake makes me better the next time around.

So thank you all for the free education you are providing me with. Some of you are masters and artists and make it look so easy. I just hope that at some point in time I will reach a tiny fraction of your abilities.

Thanks for this forum and all your contributions.

Excelfreak

 

[dalem9]

Hi Excelfreak Welcome Glad to have you. You will get their ,It all takes time And a lot of work. Dale

 

[stevehuckss396]

I read where you said you "peddled back" and made a wobbler. I did the exact same thing when I started. Keep at it and it just keeps getting easier and easier.

 

[Sshire]

Welcome! Keep at it. Make each engine a little bit more of a challenge than the last one. Keep trying to hit dimensions dead on. I once spent an afternoon doing nothing but turning an aluminum bar and trying to hit exact dimensions. Time well spent. I started, about 2 years ago with a Sherline mill which was a very nice and precise machine. Replaced that because I was hitting some size limitations. Replaced that one (a BF20) with the last mill I'll ever need, although I do have to smile when I see a 1/16" end mill in the Bridgeport.
My point is, you can make what we make with any size mill or lathe. Just keep trying for perfect parts and they will get there.
We are all here to help. No question too off the wall for this group.

 

[excelfreak]

Thanks for the welcome guys and the words of encouragement.

Steve, it's all your fault.... ;-)

 

[Tin Falcon]

Welcome to the forum and no need to apologise for small machines. Some of the best known and honored craftsmen use sherline. you are in excellent company .

A friend of mine has built a nice collection of engines on his sherline tools they are half scale?size of my engines.
Tin

 

[stevehuckss396]

Steve, it's all your fault.... ;-)

Good!

HEY BOYS, WE GOT ANOTHER ONE!!

Sshire is right about making each project a challenge. To improve in skill you need to keep pushing your limit.

I also see that you wrote " One of the "problems" is that you all make it look so easy ". If you remember my V8 thread, It took me many tries to get a good crankshaft. Weather we show it on the forum or not, we all struggle. Remember that when you are having trouble. I always show the good with the bad. I want everybody to know that not everything comes easy. Don't ever think you are the only one on here making things twice because of some sort of mistake.

 

[AussieJimG]

Welcome excelfreak, it sounds like you are off to a good start.

Jim

 

[robcas631]

Welcome! I'd say the greatest hurdle in any endeavor is believing that you can do it! There are kind people here, with lots of knowledge and talent. Their help is invaluable.

 

[excelfreak]

Rob, guys,

agreed. Although I often tend to overestimate my abilities to deliver and then suffer through the consequences by having to do it 3 to 10 different ways, but ultimately I always come through. I am stubborn like that, and if I commit to something there is very little that can stop me. I have bitten off more than I can chew before, so that's not new, but I am completely out of my comfort zone here. The more I do the more humbled I am by my naive desire.

I did notice the wealth of knowledge and expertise that is available here. Heck, every time I need an answer to some issue I have I usually search this site and miraculously somebody else asked that question before and it has been answered 10 times over.

The biggest mental issue I had so far was my "quest for precision" only to realize that nothing is 100% (yeah I kind of knew that - nothing is 100%) for example: I would tram my lathe headstock for 2h because I noticed that a shaft that is being turned is having a taper in it (albeit miniscule). After knocking on it with a tiny hammer to eek out the last thou, I realized that I am actually changing the alignment by tightening the headstock screw. I came to the conclusion (after many a days thinking about it) that I just have to live with it. I went so far as making a little "fine adjustment" for the headstock as I tired of the imprecise knocking a bit here and knocking a bit there. That (and many others) was an eye-opening experience/event. Somehow I always mistakenly thought that mechanical precision is attainable, but with better measuring devices you eventually realize that its all "relative".

Regardless, I have had this lurking desire in me to create things in metal for a long time (30+ years) and now that I finally got those little machines, they are the last thing I would ever sell, even though I barely know what I'm doing. I just wish I would have started earlier, but better late than never.

Rest assured if I should need an answer to something, I will come here, but so far it hasn't been necessary, because as mentioned before, most of my newbie questions have already been answered multiple times.

Excelfreak

 

[robcas631]

Excelfreak,

Try the best you can but remember to give yourself some slack!