Hi, a bit more shed time today. I have finally found the parts I like making the least: Conrods.... or at least this is the first time I've done it and it still honing the technique. They turned out OK (accurate where it counts) but the profiling is still a bit iffy.
I used the approach detailed on modelenginenews.org linked below:
http://modelenginenews.org/restored/conrods.html
Anyway heres the build log.
It all started from a piece of Alumec 89 which Tug kindly let me have. This stuff is hard as nails and v difficult to saw! I shaped a block to +5mm oversize in all dimensions then drilled the big/little end holes ( -0.2mm for reaming later)
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Next up I used a slitting saw to cut off slices of the conrod width + 0.5mm.
I then proceeded to surface the width to size and once finished, centre drill at the big end for turning between centres.
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Once done i popped the blanks into the 4-jaw and turned with my first ever hand ground HSS tool with 45deg edge. Worked OK for first try but could use some practice. Felt pretty blunt. That Alumec turns great and gets really shiny. The only trouble is it's so hard that the burrs are a bl**dy nightmare to remove!
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Next up I made a jig to profile the conrod ends. The brass disks are the desired final diameter of the ends.
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Time for hours of hair-rasing machining with fingers just milimeters from the endmill.
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All OK apart from one below that was snatched by the endmill and got destroyed. The Alumec killed the HSS endmill too! That is some strong stuff! Lesson learned: if its trying to snatch the part, tighten up the jig and take lighter cuts.
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Anyway, here they are. They will work and look a lot better after some deburring.
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On to some easier bits next. Think cylinder heatsink or prop drivers.
Bye for now,
Patrick