jid2 Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 That was running at 25% speed on the rapids because I was proving out the program, the 4th can index much faster than you saw. I may move to doing everything on one side at once, I'll time things once it is running at 100%. The top is never parallel to the rails in a 1911 by design, but that angle is very well controlled. I cut the flat top based on that angle, with a CAD model of the slide it is all in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amish_rabbi Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 ah ok cool. I noticed the machine not moving as fast as usual but didnt realize the 4th was moving slower than it could as well. Very cool to see. makes sense, I didnt think it would be that consistent of an angle but that top looks perfect so it must be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinj308 Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 I've been thinking about that jig too. If it wasn't perfect when you put it on your mill, it is when it leaves. Regardless of original manufacturer tolerance. Start at the rails and make it the way you want it per you model. Is that about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jid2 Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 ^^^ Yeap, I could recontour the main profile of the slide if I wanted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick romero Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 That's awesome Jared. you do amazing work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griz Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Anyone else who doesn't have access to pro tools try out OnShape yet? It's a "cloud" CAD tool by the guys who did Solidworks. It's basically free unless you need fancy collaboration features. You get 5 "active" files at any one time, but you can have as many "inactive" files as you want. Changing a file from active to inactive takes one click. I struggle with FreeCAD, but picked this up right away and turned out 2 simple parts pretty effortlessly. My only gripe was that both copy in sketches and variables are not released yet, so I had to manually repeat features and will have to edit each one if I want to tweak a parameter. No CAM included, but I have MeshCAM. It which isn't ideal for this kind of stuff, but it was cheap and gives acceptable results with basically zero effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraightUp_OG Posted March 26, 2015 Author Share Posted March 26, 2015 That is AWESOME! Just requested an invite. Looks easier than F360. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dskinsler83 Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 New G0759 is here and going through break in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gng4life Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 New G0759 is here and going through break inAwesome! Let us know how you like and the pros/cons. That would be my choice for a manual mill. Good luck.Sent from the range Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterSteele Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Finally had time to make some progress on the AR lower project. Finished designing the left side fixture to hold the lower while I machine the right-hand side. Now the plan is to cut at least the left and right sides of the lower tomorrow. I still don't have the right side fixture designed yet, so I can't cut the FC pocket, buffer tube hole, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amish_rabbi Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 nice, I enjoy well made fixturing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewbeck Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 (edited) Though I'm not as rigged up as most of you, I'm pretty happy with my first build on my X2. My next one will be better for sure and there is still finish work to be done so go easy on me. I learned a ton about the mill and how to operate it within its boundaries. I basically came to the conclusion that your level of patience should determine whether a mini mill is enough mill for you to get the job done. No different than saying your better off with a single stage press than no press at all, but at some point a progressive become mandatory. Edited April 3, 2015 by drewbeck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dskinsler83 Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gng4life Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 I like it! Looks great. What was the toughest part to do on your mill? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewbeck Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 (edited) The panel cuts were for sure. I normally simple task of tilting the head becomes challenging when you've reinforce the column with bolts and plate. I cut them with a ball end, first parallel to the frame and then rotated my vise and walked in the angles. You lose any reference and the slide is no longer square to the x axis so it is visual milling at it's finest. I cut the bottom first so I could actually measure the spacing on the panels. Not super difficult just a lot more time consuming than tilting the head and cutting it all in one setup from above. Edited April 4, 2015 by drewbeck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnyglock Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Very cool !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmiller Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Nice job!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dskinsler83 Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 I was wondering how you did the panel cuts with the slats. I like them. It looks good, what mill are you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewbeck Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 (edited) Actually now that I think about it, the way I tri topped it was probably more painful. I didn't have a jig to roll the slide to 45 consistently so I used a 5/8" chamfer bit. That would have been fine and dandy but I accidentally ordered the 82 degree instead of 90 deg so I cut the full chamfer aligning it to the flat top so I had a good index line and then I recut and changed the whole angle to 45 deg with hand files. Though it was time consuming I learned a lot about cutting flat and true surfaces by file. Most of my previous experience is custom woodworking and I think if your comfortable making and dealing with wood and hand cut dovetails, metal is so much easier and less frustrating just due to the consistency and stability of the "grain". As long as you tell metal what to do correctly it will usually do it. With wood you tell it what to do (cut it) and then it will move and change afterwards jacking everything up. I'm not comparing the skillsets or saying one is more difficult but just comparing one aspect of both arts. Edited April 4, 2015 by drewbeck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewbeck Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 I was wondering how you did the panel cuts with the slats. I like them. It looks good, what mill are you using? Sieg x2 clone from HF with the usual homemade upgrades of cheap DRO and stiffening the column with plate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dskinsler83 Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Have a HF too. Dunno what the plate offset you speak of but have the DRO and belt drive upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterSteele Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Well, I didn't get very far. My mill kept throwing up phantom limit switch errors, which ... well, I don't know quite what causes it. I'd guess EMI, except that I've got perfect grounds, shielded cables and ferrite cores on everything. It might be coming off the VFD - I seem to get the errors more when I'm really hogging out a lot of material. This still seems a little odd though, as yesterday when I was cutting the fixture, I was working it just as hard - same feeds & speeds, same stepovers, and there weren't any problems. I don't have time today to redo the toolpaths for smaller stepover / stepdowns, unfortunately, so I decided to CANX while I could still salvage the billet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewbeck Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Have a HF too. Dunno what the plate offset you speak of but have the DRO and belt drive upgrade. I was just referring to adding a steel plate to the back of the column and bolting it to the column and base for added rigidity. Do a google search, it stiffens the mill up considerably but makes it more challenging to tilt the column which is why I cut the slide the way I did. I used half in aluminum plate because I had it on hand. I also added L brackets on the narrow sides of the column with set screws so you can crank either side to do subtle adjustments for tramming the mill, it makes it super simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dskinsler83 Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 I see! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griz Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 (edited) Here's my version of the X2 stiffener plate. I bolted the mill to a steel plate and then have a pice of angle on the back of the mill that I can jack, pull and twist to tram the column dead nuts on. Before this mod, the column used to "nod" forward with no way to adjust it. It also adds a lot of rigidity. Edited April 5, 2015 by Griz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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