Thread: Challenge 2020 - 2021 Doug3030

Originally Posted by doug3030

Thanks for the info MA.
However, one of these arrived in the post the other day.
Attachment 481818
Despite the smaller included frames in that picture,no, I'm not looking at an infill plane (well not this week anyway)

The plan is to tilt the head on the mill by about 30 degrees and mill teeth into the plane float blanks I will cut from the o1 tool steel I bought for that purpose back in the days when o1 was not so hard to get as it is now.

It might take a little bit of playing around with angles and things to make it work right but since we still have 179 days til 26 March 2021 so what else would I be doing if I wasn't doing that? I might even take this opportunity to fit the DRO kit I bought last year onto the mill.

Hi Doug. That is definitely the way to go. One disadvantage with using the body files became apparent when trying to make a skinny float, there's just not much meat to it. A milling machine opens up a whole world of potential.

Originally Posted by Aussiephil

Mount the DRO kit, you will not regret it

...

I got my DRO mounted a few weeks back ... fun times but worth the effort

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Depending on what DRO kit you have i may be able to supply you some mounting parts and some ideas from how I got it mounted.... i found the hardest bit was the Y axis due to the slope on the bed. i have x and y moving the scales and z moves the head.

Originally Posted by doug3030

I have the Optimum brand one D695 - DRO5 3-Axis Optimum Digital Readout Counter - 1mm | Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse

Hi Phil,

I have started mounting the DRO kit. As I posted earlier, I got the kit that supposedly matches the mill, which you would think, with the German influence of the company that attention to detail would be perfect and the kit would contain ready-to-fit brackets. Well that's what I THOUGHT I was paying the big money for.

There are no mounting brackets at all.

Having spent a reasonable amount of time considering the problem with the assistance of a quantity of the usual amber brain lubrication fluid, I am pretty sure I can cobble something simple together for the x and z axes. But as you said, the y axis is a bit of a bitch.

So if you could find the time to take some pictures of the mounting brackets you came up with, I would greatly appreciate it.

Interested to compare x and z brackets you have made with what is currently in my mind in case you have come up with something better but my primary interest is in how you solved the y axis problem, as every solution I have come up with so far looks far more complex than I feel it should have to be.

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide.

Hey Doug no worries I can do but not till later on Tuesday as we are away for a long weekend and won’t be home till then... my DRO is slim line optical scales but most of the concepts should translate to the magnetic scales.
the optical scales have to be mounted to remove as much possibility as you can of swarm, oils etc getting into the scale.
for the y axis my steps went like
measure height of scale and read head to get vertical space needed
take this and work out stand off spacing for the scale from the table
this in turn locates the mount position under the read head for setting up a fixed bracket that bolts to base and the read head.
‘I’ll grab a bunch of photos of all the axis on Tuesday
cheers
phil

Originally Posted by Aussiephil

I’ll grab a bunch of photos of all the axis on Tuesday

Awesome. Thanks Phil.

Originally Posted by doug3030

Awesome. Thanks Phil.

Hey Doug,

I started a new thread so we didn't clutter up your plane thread further.

Ideas on installing DRO onto Optima BF20-20 Mini-Mill

I couldn't get the the mill properly today to get the Z axis cover off so that is tomorrows job

Cheers
Phil

Originally Posted by Aussiephil

I started a new thread so we didn't clutter up your plane thread further.

Ideas on installing DRO onto Optima BF20-20 Mini-Mill

That's very considerate of you Phil.

I will comment on it in that thread too. That way it will all be together for the next person who wants to do this. Mine will naturally be a bit different from yours mainly due to differing equipment we have available to assist with the job. I am still not completely decided on how mine will go together but I now have a working setup to look at. Thanks.

Well it's been nearly a fortnight since my last post, which is not really surprising since that's not vastly different from the last time I did anything much at all. My back has decided that it doesn't want me doing any lifting, bending or staying in the one spot for too long, or moving too often either.

I have done some really minor thing such as the Z axis on my milling machine but the X and Y axes require too much bending to do them right now. I've done a couple of projects on the wood lathe because they can be standing up with small gentle movements of the back so that is probably actually helping me.

The pain is getting less slowly so I will persevere with doing what I can and leaving what I can't until I can do it.

Once I get the mill back together I can make the plane floats I need and maybe, if my back allows it, I might even get to start on the plane-making proper.

For those who are sending in blades for heat treat, that is something I can still do with minimum discomfort so as jobs come in the turnaround should be timely.

Stick with the turning for a while Doug. I find it's the second best thing in my shed for my back. The best of course comes from the fridge and the two combined are magic.

I hope your back gets better soon. Mine used to be bad when I was bricklaying. I stopped that and mine got better in time. I hope yours does too.

Originally Posted by Pagie

I hope your back gets better soon. Mine used to be bad when I was bricklaying. I stopped that and mine got better in time. I hope yours does too.

Thanks Pagie, I have not had a flare-up like this one for a couple of years. I thought the worst was over. But just like Covid in Melbourne it just keeps coming back.

Hoping the health and the back is well soon Doug,
We miss your sarcasm here.

But at least your having plenty of design build meetings I hope.

Cheers Matt.

Hope the back keeps improving. All my teachers at trade school seemed to have bad backs, it's the one thing I worry about in my game. Glad that the turning can help.

Originally Posted by doug3030

Well it's been nearly a fortnight since my last post, which is not really surprising since that's not vastly different from the last time I did anything much at all. My back has decided that it doesn't want me doing any lifting, bending or staying in the one spot for too long, or moving too often either.

Thanks everyone for the kind wishes and helpful advice.

My back is feeling much better today and I plan to spend the afternoon in the shed.

It seems the back problem was caused by me listening to one of my medical specialists, who told me to stop taking my magnesium supplements as they were not doing me any good. Turns out that they were not doing me any good as far as her speciality was concerned but were essential for the other parts of my body.

So now that I have been back on the Magnesium for 24 hours the improvement is amazing, but some of the credit should go to the anti-inflammatories my GP prescribed.

I will still be taking things easy for a few days but at least I am back in the shed.

Good to hear Doug