PDA

View Full Version : Laser Hollowing Rig - Prototype?



OGYT
9th December 2006, 03:47 PM
Prototype? Nah... I'm just gonna keep usin' it. :D
Finally found a laser pen... at Radio Shack... cost too much, but I'm tired a waitin'. Finally cobbled it together on the captured rig I built a while back. BTW, no trouble with the tool mounted on the "wrong" side... I just swivel the restraining bars when necessary.:p

Pic 1: Shows the whole thing, layin' on my bench. I screwed a 1/2" pipe flange to the top of the tool's anti-torque bars. Then mounted a 12" piece of pipe in that to get the pen high enough to clear the largest form I'll be making. Looks kinda doggy, but it works.:eek:

Pic 2: I attached a 1/2" Tee ontop of the pipe, and tapped a 3/8" hole for a set screw. Through the tee, a 3/8" pipe slides right through to make an adjustable bar to hold the pen mount. This makes it easy to use different lengths of toolbars.

Pic 3: The pen mount block. Drilled a 5/8" hole that's slightly too small for the 3/8" pipe, but cutting the slot (centered on the hole) made it work, and have a 3/8" bolt w/wingnut to tighten it. This arrangement allows the light spot to be adjusted horizontally to the tool bit. I cut the block into a sad boot shape (sort of a reversed Italy :eek: ) so it would place the pen closer to verticle over the tool bit (since I tightened the tee too much :o ).

Pic 4: I drilled a 1/2" hole that would allow the pen to fall through just as far as the pocket clip. The switch is a little button down closer to the business end, so I used a round needle file to make a little slot for the button. I just pick up on the pen 'til the button enters the slot, then give it a twist right or left to turn it on. It stays there 'til I twist it back to the slot and let it fall down to the clip again. :rolleyes:

Pic 5: It works!! This shows the light just about to fall off down close to the bottom of the little black walnut hollow form. Made the sides 1/8" thick, and the bottom about 1/4".

I'll trim up the Pen Block somewhat, just to keep it from looking like a sore thumb... (swollen, and in th' way).
You have to adjust the light to a different position in relation to the tip of the cutter, at least three times (depends on the shape of the form): When cutting under the top, Cutting around the side, and Cutting near the bottom. Otherwise, you make the inside bigger than the outside. :eek: :D :D
Comments and suggestions welcome.

BernieP
9th December 2006, 10:22 PM
G'Day Al

Another one for me to file away for when I'm a little wiser, certainly seems to work but your pen block looks more like half a boomerang than a sore thumb.

Cheers
Bernie

SawDustSniffer
10th December 2006, 02:23 AM
sort of reversed italy ??/ more like a reverse "York Peninsula" ( South Australia ) or as Bernie put it , like a boomerang

i used a laser pointer in the chuck to check weather it pointed at the tail stock yesterday ( it didnt ) spent the hole evening filing out the bearing mounts and correction theway ward drift on my china made poor excuse for a bit of machinary (my lathe )

good idear

TTIT
11th December 2006, 12:28 AM
Jeez ya gettin hi-tech now AL!!!;):D Sure seems like cheatin' but I can think of at least a half dozen 'rescues' that could have been avoided using that system. One day :o

OGYT
12th December 2006, 02:20 PM
SawDustSniffer, if you filed out the bearing mounts, how did you get the bearings to fit... change 'em? I wondered about that with my Old Griz. After grindin' a little on the tailstock slide, the points kiss... but when they are apart any distance, they don't line up. Does that make sense? I think the headstock isn't true to the ways... re-aligning the bearings might fix that. What say?
BTW, a little tweakin' makes a "china made poor excuse" into pretty good machinery!!

TTIT, I've only blown out one hollow form, and since then I never had the guts to go real thin anymore. Seems like they all weigh too much when I've parted off. So... I figured I'd cheat somewhat. It wasn't that hard to do, once I decided how to hook it all together.