I was surprised to find that, as I started, I couldn’t even view the website because the hosting company had updated some software without updating all the requisites so the site didn’t even work!  Sigh…

In any case, if you’ve been one of the ones who have been checking in, I apologize for letting this languish and will try to do better in the future!!!

I figured a nice Brass Knob would look good.   Something with a nice smooth curve and a polished look.  As I thought about it, however, I realized using the Lathe cross slide controls would make it very hard to get a smooth continuous curve.  Reading up on this kind of turning I learned that smooth curves like this, if not cut on a CNC lathe, are generally turned freehand.  I’ve done enough wood turning so I thought I’d give it a try…

Brass Knob with initial curves established.

Heck, that wasn’t so hard…  Let’s continue…

Brass Knob, all turned and polished, ready to be parted.

Here is the setup of the support I used to freehand turn the brass knob. The carbide turning gouge rest on the 123 block held in place with the magnet.

Brass Knob, ready to be removed from the brass rod stock.

Finally, with the knob left with just a little nub at the bottom of the base, I needed to make a clamp that would hold the knob while I machined the base.  I couldn’t use the vice directly on the soft brass, so…

First time I used the Boring head with the new MT2 post I got as a Christmas present. I needed the adjustable boring head to machine a two level hole exactly the same diameters as the brass knob.

Cross-section view of the clamp. Note the two tiers of diameters so the knob is held tightly at top and bottom without marring the polished surface.

Here is the knob, clamped on the Mill so that the nub can be milled off and a threaded hole can be machined exactly into the center of the base.

And here is the result!

Bandaid Dispenser upgraded with Brass Knob!

Bandaid Dispenser positioned near the Workshop to Office door!

The box was made of 3mm acrylic, cut on my CO2 laser and ‘melded’ together with acrylic solvent.

Part of that is due to the waste board that I have installed on the bed.  That consumes about 19mm of height.  But even accounting for that, most of the Z travel capability is unusable because the Z Post hangs so low.

After exploring various options for getting more Z range, I decided that lifting the whole top transport assembly 50mm would give me a enough range without introducing much risk or losing a noticeable amount of rigidity.

So, using my NEW Mini Mill, I was able to fabricate the pieces to add a rigid lift.  Here’s the new look:

Whole Router transport lifted 50mm.

Lift Corner Block

Lifter Parts

Reading up on various machinist’s fora, there were two recommendations for early add-ons to any mill purchase.  The first is to add a Digital Readout, which is needed to get around the normal backlash in the table positioning controls.  I knew this right away and added that upgrade as part of the initial installation.  The second recommendation is to add a power feed on the X axis (the long axis).  So this addition was expected and I ordered the parts and raw material right away.

It was necessary to use the Mill and the Lathe to make the custom parts so was, on the whole, a great first project for the ‘Machine Shop’.

Here is the design that I first captured in Sketchup, a 3D CAD program I’ve used for years.

Exploded Sketchup model of the power feed assembly.

Here are the pieces before assembly:

My first ‘machined’ part! The drive pin from the power feed to the table X axis lead screw.

Power Feed Parts ready for assembly. All but the gear motor, bearing, and coupling were machined in the ‘machine shop’.

Finally, here is the final power feed.  It works well, although I have to admit that I had to upgrade the motor to a slightly more powerful gear motor.

Completed Power Feed attached to the Mill Table. Electronics box below the power feed.

It took some creative rearrangement of other items in the workshop, but, having had a few years in the shop, I was able to determine what’s needed all the time and what can be tucked away and pulled out only when needed.  Consequently, here is my new ‘corner machine shop’!

Complete machine shop in a corner.

I’ll now be able to work on metal!  Not just cutting on the plasma cutter or bandsaw, but actually milling, drilling, and turning accurately!

I looked into a couple of really inexpensive units based on the popular 3018 CNC platform.  Unfortunately, the two systems I tried all suffer from a woefully inadequately stiff gantry.  Any attempt to machine something that’s either hard or trying to cut quickly produces sloppy errors and poor cut quality due to shifting tool bit during the cuts.

Consequently, I decided to go back to OpenBuilds and get their C-Beam 1060.  It’s larger that the 3018 and also much stiffer.  The general design concept is the same however.  The Gantry doesn’t move in the Y direction, but the work is held on a moveable platform to introduce Y displacement.  This adds to the gantry stiffness and makes for a simpler Y transport.  The downside is that the material is now held on a moving platform limiting the weight and size of the material that can be cut.  These limits are fine for the Little House in the Village and this makes a useful tool to play with during the ‘cool’ Summers

Here is what the unit looks like.  I’m sure I’ll have more to show in the future!

Smaller CNC Router for the Little House in the VIllage.

I purchased an NEJE Master 2S Plus 30W laser and added an Ortur Rotator:

NEJE Master 2S Plus laser with Ortur YRR Rotator attached.

While it can’t cut wood (very well) or do anything to acrylic (the light from the laser diode goes right through acrylic), it still is very useful for engraving.  The nice thing about the open frame is that I can move it to the work, rather than having to have the work fit under the laser AND it is a larger exposure area than my CO2 Laser (420mmx255mm vs 300mmx200mm).  Consequently, if I need to engrave something 6 inches thick, I can simply lift this frame over the workpiece and expose it.  A 6 inch thick piece would never fit inside my CO2 laser.

Since this laser is much lower power and a safer wavelength than the CO2 laser, the open frame doesn’t pose any serious safety issue.  I still wear protective glasses, but it’s much easier to manage.

The rotator is very flexible and with the work bench jig I made for it, I can hang the laser over the side and handle fairly large diameter objects.  In the photo above you see a wine glass on the rotator.

Since the glass is clear, it will pass the laser light through, but, with the arcylic paint I sprayed on the glass, the paint absorbs the laser light and etches the glass.  The process it pretty easy (once I tuned the technique) and here is the first useful result:

Prototype of Wine glass etched with Laser

The plan is to update our current glassware at LHV adding the logo to match some glassware our daughter gave us for Christmas.

First attempt at 3D Carving Corian.

Needless to say, I was very pleased with the result and have begun to think about new project opportunities!!!

I ordered the kit in January, but with shipping delays and the other parts I needed, it really wasn’t ready for ‘prime time’ until just recently.

Here’s the new system.  I’m sure I’ll have more updates as I add new features…

New CNC Router top view

New CNC Router electronics drawer.