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Learning how to build Lotus Seven replicas...together!
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PostPosted: June 14, 2015, 10:15 am 
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WAX,

I went all over the internet looking for a practical digital scale. Do you have a product? Thanks.


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PostPosted: June 14, 2015, 12:30 pm 
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Location: Carlsbad, California, USA
WAX wrote:
along with a mill and a lathe, there are a whole new set of tools needed to support them. Band saw, belt sander, air tools ect.

Its a whole new addiction.

I would recommend putting some digital scales on the mill and one on the lathe Z axis.


Hey, you've got some really cool stuff in your shop. I take it you mean a DRO (Digital Read Out). For the immediate future, I'm going to see what I can do by hand, although it's easy to see that digital readouts would be a really nice enhancement. I did see a website where a guy had adapted Harbor Freight digital calipers to his lathe for an El Cheapo DRO system - $20 per setup versus a typical $200-300.

But, I really do want to make some progress on my build, so those things will have to wait. Or, I'll have to get real frustrated, real quick [LOL]. I'm happy to say that I have the band saw and air compressor already. The HF belt/disk sander I bought used is more of a frustration and toe-stubber than a tool, but I have some good files and a sh*tload of emery cloth and they seem to be what I use most anyway.

I gotta tell ya, I could get into this machining stuff. I've been watching some videos on things built by skilled operators with these mini-tools and they are pretty impressive. My paternal grandfather was career Navy guy and ran the machine shops on the big aircraft carriers of his day. He was one of those do-anything, build-anything kind of guys and this has really reminded me of how much I respected him, and people like him, for what they could do.

Thanks for the tip.

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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PostPosted: June 20, 2015, 10:08 am 
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Location: Carlsbad, California, USA
OK, here at "Locost Machine and Tool" we have completed the refurb of the little Chinese mini-lathe. It went faster than expected due to my prior learning experience on the mini-mill (the gib adjustment techniques are the same) and the fact that it wasn't nearly as bad in terms of its initial condition.
Attachment:
Chicken-Fat-2.jpg


It was loaded up (see photo above) in every nook and cranny with what the Brits call "red chicken fat", which I think is a very funny, but also an accurate characterization of the preserving material used on these little machines. Cosmoline, the stuff we like to use, is much heavier and harder to remove. However, the red chicken fat does stain the ways and other machined parts if left on too long. WAX got me thinking about lapping in the ways because they are badly stained and just looked terrible. I was thinking about lapping paste like the astronomers use on instruments and lenses. But, it looks like machinists use lapping plates which are very flat pieces of steel coated with a diamond impregnated coating, which can look very much like a sharpening stone. They are finished to a fine tolerance of flatness (like 0.0005" per inch) and a good set costs about $100.

I decided to use very fine emery cloth and a flat sanding block on them, and that did remove the staining well enough. I took nice long strokes to avoid making irregularities.

There are some tune-up issues with these machines too. The gears tend to be somewhat misaligned according to experienced users on the Internet. I found that was so with this machine and disassembled the gear train, shimming some gears. Unfortunately, all the washers I had on hand were too thick to work everywhere. It turns out the the two of the gears turn opposite of the cap screws holding them in place. so if your shim is too thick, the rotating gear walks the cap screw and it washer right of the gear shaft, and that's no good. I'm going to have to find some thin shimming washers and then retry aligning again later.
Attachment:
Misaligned-Gears.jpg


Anyway, the good news is that I now know these two mini machines down to the smallest assembly and that's a good thing. I am impressed at the quality of part a skilled and careful operator can produce with them, and I like to think I will be such a person. They have adequate thread-making capabilities and the thread-making process rather fascinates me. I've seen some examples of "power tapping" of threads using both the mini-mill and mini-lathe and that's much more appealing and accurate than hand tapping, which is what I do now.

I did tear the lathe down all the way, but forgot to take pictures. Here it is after reassembly has begun. I had the main carriage ways (silver) and the (red) apron off too, but they are back in place in the photo below.
Attachment:
Tear-Down-1.jpg


So, now it is reassembled and functioning, but with some minor adjustments to be done later, namely the gear shimming mentioned above and also some work on the power feed reversing gear lever, which does not work well. I'll tackle the latter when I do the gear shimming.
Attachment:
Completed-Refurb.JPG



Cheers,


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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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PostPosted: June 21, 2015, 11:17 am 
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here is a link to the digital read out. This one is 6 inch, they make them longer. On the lathe it makes a world of difference.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/6-Remot ... out/T26625


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PostPosted: June 21, 2015, 12:29 pm 
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Thank you very much, WAX. That is much, much cheaper than the things I've seen previously. Grizzly does a good job of engineering and supporting their products, so it probably works well too.

Cheers

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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PostPosted: September 19, 2015, 11:11 pm 
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Wow, it has been about two months since I posted. Due to a number of factors, I needed to take a break from my build. However, it hasn't been all slack time.

One of my reasons (and frustrations) was that I was spending too much time trying to simplify things mechanically. I wanted to design and build better parts. To do that, I needed to step up my fabricating capabilities, so I did spend time improving those. Here's one concrete example. It's a little mobile machining cart that give me plenty of space to work, house the tooling, build up a layout area and still not be locked into a permanent location, which is hard to do as I need flexibility and the ability to reconfigure my work space.

I did a 3D design, which was based on doing something using the surplus chassis materials I had on hand, plus some minimal new materials like the castors and table tops. Here's the original design almost finished. Some final details I did not bother to integrate into the master assembly. I just built them and added them on "in the field", so to speak.
Attachment:
Near-Final-3Qtr-Small.jpg


Once I got underway, I found some alternative pieces like for the lighting, and I changed those. Also, I was going to build in drawers to hold all the tooling for the two machines, but found a pretty decent Harbor Freight, 3-piece tool chest on sale for less than I'd pay for good drawer slides. Being a good Locost opportunist, I saved money, did less work, got the job done, but have a more flexible piece in the end. Here are some views of it as of yesterday.
Attachment:
Machining-Cart-1.JPG

Attachment:
Machining-Cart-2.JPG

Attachment:
Machining-Cart-3.JPG


I took some care to place the anchor points (fastening bolt holes) in the structure to minimize sagging of the cart. It's pretty light, but has a good base and each castor can handle nearly 300 lb. These small machines don't vibrate too much and I expect it will perform quite well even though it's light.
Attachment:
Machining-Cart-4.JPG

Attachment:
Machining-Cart-5.JPG


To make it stable in use, but deal with the garage slab (a 2% slope for drainage) I build some adjustable levelers that give it stability when you put it into a work location and lower them down. They work very well, but I may change the feet later to a more swivel-like arrangement.
Attachment:
Machining-Cart-6.JPG


The base has a lot of supporting steel in it (not shown below) and I topped that structure with 3/4" plywood to hold the tool chests, one part on each side.
Attachment:
Machining-Cart-7.JPG


They fit puzzle-piece like into the structure as below.
Attachment:
Machining-Cart-8.JPG


I have plenty of space to flip up the lid and plenty of space for tooling and measuring and layout instruments.
Attachment:
Machining-Cart-9.JPG


The mill is mounted to balance the weight of the lathe on the opposite side plus provide for a (future) layout area on the right side.
Attachment:
Machining-Cart-10.JPG


Anyway, that's part of what I've been doing. I expect to be back on the actual build next week.

Cheers,


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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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PostPosted: September 20, 2015, 12:14 pm 
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Please please please round off those table top corners more than they are. I look at those and remember all the skin and blood I've lost by snagging myself on those.

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Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/


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PostPosted: September 20, 2015, 10:56 pm 
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KB58 wrote:
Please please please round off those table top corners more than they are. I look at those and remember all the skin and blood I've lost by snagging myself on those.


Hi Kurt,

Thank you very much for the safety concern. It doesn't show well in the photos, but I did radius the front corners of both sides. Here's a better image:
Attachment:
DSC02229.JPG


And a blow-up detail:
Attachment:
Radius.jpg


Was it hot enough for you today? I tried working in the garage for a half hour and it was 92 degrees with a hot blow torch of a wind coming right in the main door. I had to quit. I was just pouring out perspiration and couldn't concentrate. Ugh!

Take care,

Lonnie


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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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PostPosted: September 21, 2015, 9:13 am 
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Lonnie-S wrote:
Was it hot enough for you today? ...

Phfft, you fancy people over near the coast have it easy, try driving inland about 5 miles. The heat was no doubt due to my plans to work in the yard and garage. I gave up around 2pm.

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Midlana book: Build this mid-engine Locost!, http://midlana.com/stuff/book/
Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/


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PostPosted: September 23, 2015, 1:02 am 
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Location: Kamloops, BC, Canada
If you want to escape the heat, come up here. It was -9C at work this morning. The trees have all turned color and lots have dropped their leaves already. Lucky for me, I'm on my way home to slightly warmer weather. It's been around 20C at home. I also missed a nice 2 foot dump of snow at the beginning of the month up north. 90 is definitely hot though, I don't like doing much then either.

I've thought about getting a similar mini mill a couple times too, have you had a chance to try it out much yet? The rolling cart will be handy too, tuck it away in a corner when not in use.
Kristian

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PostPosted: September 23, 2015, 7:45 am 
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remember when Lonnie wrote he had a plan to have the car as a roller by May of 2015? LOLZ

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The B-3 build log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=13941 unfortunately, all the pictures were lost in the massive server crash

The beginnings of the Jag Special,
https://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19012
Again, all pictures were lost.


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PostPosted: September 23, 2015, 9:59 pm 
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@KB58
Do you believe it's going to get hotter yet by Friday, Kurt? Man, I'm ready for Fall. Oh wait, that's tomorrow - turds! I found out we have an official weather station for the National Weather Service just 2 blocks from us. I was able to hook into it using the Weather Underground website. It confirms what we've suspected for years, we're 4-5 degrees warmer than the official temps for Carlsbad.

@turbo_bird
Yeah, -9C is a little on the cool side, Kristian. Have you completed your move yet?

@robbovius
OK, OK, Rob, I'm slightly behind schedule, but the result is going to be totally outstanding and stellar. :mrgreen:

Cheers, all

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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PostPosted: September 23, 2015, 10:23 pm 
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You don't have to tell me this lighting setup is ugly. I know that, but it is VERY Locost, so I plead its case based on that principle. I had plans for a movable florescent setup. It would have been a lot more work. I saw this ugly lamp at Home Depot, rejected it, then had second thoughts that night, and went back the next day and bought it. It was so cheap and simple and it even came with the 5 florescent bulbs. It was a floor stand model with screw-together tube segments, so I could adjust its height.
Attachment:
Lamp-1.JPG

Attachment:
Lamp-2.JPG


I used stuff I had around to build a movable bracket to mount it on. It can service both machines at the same time and I can move it all along the cart to suit the job I'm doing. It's totally ugly, but practical.
Attachment:
Bracket-1.JPG

Attachment:
Bracket-2.JPG


The salvaged pieces from the floor lamp base fit through as indicated in the photo.
Attachment:
Bracket-3.JPG


Here it is all prettified with paint.
Attachment:
Bracket-4.JPG


Hey, Semper Locost, Y'all


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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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PostPosted: September 23, 2015, 10:42 pm 
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turbo_bird wrote:
I've thought about getting a similar mini mill a couple times too, have you had a chance to try it out much yet?


I have one of the mills, which I've converted to CNC.

The mills have a limited work envelope, they're not rigid enough to make more than light cuts without chattering, the ways are indifferently machined, and while they're not rough enough to deserve the "kit" tag slapped on the HF bandsaws, they're not a very useful tool out-of-the-box.

BUT there's a huge amount of support for them on yahoogroups and cnczone, and all of their problems can be addressed without much expense. Some people have done some craaaazy modifications to them, some run them pretty much stock.

The X2's limits are fairly tight... but if you're willing to work with it, it can do useful work. And parts are cheap and easily available, the machine is relatively inexpensive on its own, and you can break it down into three major subassemblies and carry them up or down stairs or in the passenger seat of your car and reassemble the machine somewhere else. And it's small enough to fit on a workbench. Mine sits on a stout end table I picked up at a flea market; I roll around it in an office chair.

You're not going to carve a billet bellhousing with one, but it can make all sorts of brackets, shifter pieces, throttle linkage, and doodads... and if it comes down to it, you can use it as a drill press and tapping stand.

Bigger is almost always better with machine tools, but that doesn't mean the little tools are valueless.


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PostPosted: September 23, 2015, 11:29 pm 
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Yup, all moved in back in the beginning of August. I'm still working in the north country though, just flying up for two weeks at a time with two weeks home. It's still pretty nice at the new place, grass is even green. Don't worry about how your work lamps look, just how they light up your area. Looks like they should work great and get the light right where you need it. And as far as the deadline you set for yourself, I kind of did the same and was nowhere near. I think I talked about getting my car registered in 2011 or something, it didn't happen until the end of 2014.
Kristian

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