SSQA fork build

[4570Man]

Looking real good! Always fun to whip out the 4 jaw. As for keeping it domestic: not everyone's got 10K for a lathe and mill either. Or the 5K in subsequent tooling to make them useful. I live to make stuff. I don't want to buy it if I can build it.

I almost always use my 4 jaw. My self 3 jaw is a piece of crap and runs about 15 thousands out of true. Besides I like to challenge myself and see how true I can get something to run in the 4 jaw.

 

[Jim Timber]

My 3 jaw runs out about .0015 to .002 and it still annoys me if I need to rechuck. I save the 4 jaw for stuff that really matters. Most of what I do manually doesn't need that level of precision.

 

[Xfaxman]

Very nice work! One question - why did you want the fit on the chromed bar to the retainer blocks to be so tight? Looser here would seem to make sense as it would be easier to slide. I realize you could get into binding issues, but there are ways to fix that. Just thinking that these are forks that may live outside, and get rusty or otherwise crudded up. Tight clearances could be trouble in the long run. But then I've never seen a chromed bar on a a set of forks...
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Now you have seen another one.

Mine is a rod from a hydraulic cylinder.

 

[Mysfyt]

Very nice work! One question - why did you want the fit on the chromed bar to the retainer blocks to be so tight? Looser here would seem to make sense as it would be easier to slide. I realize you could get into binding issues, but there are ways to fix that. Just thinking that these are forks that may live outside, and get rusty or otherwise crudded up. Tight clearances could be trouble in the long run. But then I've never seen a chromed bar on a a set of forks...

Surprised you did not cut that chromed rod with an abrasive disc rather than a BS. That is pretty much what abrasive discs were made for. Hard stuff. And it doesn't look like you should care what the ends look like in this situation as they are covered.

Just going off the machinist book for sliding fit. I can always make it bigger if need be. The original plan was to store these outside but I think I've come up with a way to store them underneath my grapple inside the storage container.

An abrasive wheel would have been faster to cut the bar but I just simply hate using those things. Don't like the dust, sparks, and heat. Mostly hate the dust!

 

[4570Man]

Here is another job for a 4 jaw chuck, making an cam bushing.

 

[Mysfyt]

Did you broach the keyway yourself?

 

[countrybumpkin]

I for one would not store them outside OR even use them, I'd make a coffe table out of them as nice as they are looking.

 

[4570Man]

Did you broach the keyway yourself?

Yes. I also milled the slot in the rod it slides on.

 

[Mysfyt]

Good stuff!

What is the best type of press for broaching? Tonnage?

 

[Jim Timber]

I've always done it in an arbor press. 2-3T is plenty.

You can do it in the lathe too, but that much force on my lead screw doesn't make me think it's very good on the machine.