Stellaghost

So managed a wee bit of machining this afternoon ( still on nightshift ) By shear good fortune I was able to hold casting in my 12" 4 jaw chuck, luckily for me the casting after a wee bit of grinding to take a step out was a knock on fit to chuck body with enough room for jaws to grip it internally and also just clear the lathe bed ( obviously with removable section of bed removed) Casting on chuck with a fairly crude method of setting it up Once reasonably happy I started cutting, worked well only 0.3mm difference in thickness when I stopped machining, that can be sorted in the mill 20230903_142048.mp4 left in chuck for now so I can cut the recess in for gearbox bellhousing, this will give me a good datum to dial the casting in once on the rotary table Very happy the thinner section is better than I thought with only about 20% lower than the rest of the casting and that is only on the outside edge. This will get better once external diameter has been milled down So far nothing tragic uncovered in the casting itself, also any minor discrepancies can be Welded up with spool gun and Machined back Need to make the extension plate for rotary table now as it will be needed imminently Regards Stephen

Well a bit of casting fun was had, it's not perfect, might have another go Hot, hot hot after pouring Inner dam ring left loose to allow it to move when aluminium contracting during the cooling process , it was still very tight to remove and required a slight adjustment with an angle grinder Outer removed From underneath A small recess underneath but it is where I need to mill out for starter motor, so not a problem Casting on its own then side by side with my previous attempt It looks lower but it actually isn't, just a bit of an illusion, having said that I could have done with it being slightly thicker Previous one sat on top this one might be ok, we will find out once machining commences Regards Stephen

Ha, thats cheating........ I did'nt have the knowledge before I started my Mog axle thread, which is why I joined this forum....... Got to have a few teaser pics available....... Regards Stephen

Ahh come on Dave your not playing the game... We need a build thread and pictures.....lots of pictures regards Stephen

No, Guy had it propped up against door jamb, but I did have to carry it to the garage... Regards Stephen

Err, postwoman actually... However, post was a generalisation it actually came via UPS this morning Regards Stephen

Hopefully not too long to wait... Regards Stephen

Rotary table has arrived, adaptor slightly too big but won't take much to make a top plate to hold adaptor just need success casting a blank Regards Stephen

In the post this morning a new to me rotary table regards Stephen

@Spudgun, any more progress, did you decide which way your going Regards Stephen

My only gripe ( it's a nice gripe ) with you at the moment is this, you got me thinking and now I have said rotary table coming, and an empty project jar.....lol Regards Stephen

I agree, but in this case I wasn't happy earlier on, instead of wasting time trying to make it work I should have started over, then I would still have a nice length of aluminium flat bar for something else The joys Regards Stephen

Never at you At me for faffing around and screwing up my adaptor Regards Stephen

Nice, now if you went down my route a V8 will cut through the air easier...... Regards Stephen

Don't think a picture of an A###hole is appropriate on this forum..........lol Regards Stephen

Bed width on my Bridgeport is 9" and from mill body to outside edge of bed is 15" on my universal mill bed width is 8" but only 10" compared to the above, so quite a bit more scope Regards Stephen

My cauldron and witches brew of materials, a lock of @Ed Poore's hair and I will be ready to go regards Stephen

See what I mean.... "Rough A#se" !!!!!!..........lol Regards Stephen

Mold completed, need to look at a crucible now... Some flat plate Some clamping bits Plate cleaned up, drilled tapped and formers cut in half Sorted, slight gaps will be filled with ceramic wool prior to having ago at casting Regards Stephen

Not that I've tried it but candle way makes a hell of a difference when cutting aluminium with a slitting disc, I have also found that normal cut lube also helps when cutting aluminium plate, it's what I used when cutting plate for 1uz adaptor Regards Stephen

You've read my mind, was already thinking of filling mold to give me an idea of volume required, also I'm digging out my bandsaw to make smaller bits. The heat side of life is less of an issue, I can leave the mold next to the kiln shell ( external shell temp is 400° C in places )to heat up, after a couple of hours I will need leather gauntlets to handle it Regards Stephen

On a separate note do you have a Milwaukee cordless jigsaw, if so what's it like Regards Stephen

I did price buying some 40mm thick aluminium plate 400mm x 400mm but £300 was a tad too steep for me Regards Stephen

Good points, I had not thought about making the inner ring slip, however I was planning on pouring the aluminium into a hot mold so it wasn't hitting a cold mold Regards Stephen

I agree, but if you really want to keep them sharp, don't lump them altogether where they can rub against each other, that's a sure fire way of blunting them Regards Stephen