Thread: Mag transfer block too

G10 may be a good substitute for the brass. It is not cheap but still probably cheaper than brass. Plus you can get it in any colour you want.....maybe even light red just for those of us who appreciate that sort of thing.....

Another thing to note is the poles do not have to be so fine unless you plan to use the blocks on different chucks. Just make them the same as the chuck you want to use them on.

I'll get my blocks finished one day!

Cheers

What is G10 is that like micarta?

Today the big task was putting on the graduations. Using the mill table as a work surface, the rotary table, all those bits in a clamp set that you think you will never use and the "I'll never use that again" engraver, I got to work.
The rough as guts thing made out of angle is the "never use that again" engraver. Using a piece of HSS (in this case a broken tap), a lever at the rear (unfortunately out of shot) pushes the ram forward. I use various lengths of 20x3 flat to get consistent length for the scribed lines. Clamps everywhere but it worked. I do like having to use some of these odd things occasionally (like the 5" high spacer blocks) - it justifies their purchase in the first place.
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Once that was done, I needed some numbers. Normally my weapon of choice is the gravograph engraver that I have but this was just a little too tall. I started considering rebuilding it entirely but instead used some metal stamps. There was not much room so I settled for 0, 10, 30 and 50. Big blue for the day - the stamps are small (2.5mm) and I grabbed one that looked like a 3. It was an 8. I did not notice until I infilled the lettering so the number sequence went 0, 10, 80, 50. Bugger. A short repair later and the sequence was back to the way it should have been.

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Here it is in use - I'm grinding a 3 degree taper on a piece of flat have just done the forth side. The grinding was all done on the transfer block but Dale's original had a groove for a fence and threaded holes on the end for another - both of which I'll end up doing I think. While the steel was fine sitting there I suspect that with a heavier cut it could move so better safe than sorry. The problem with a block like this is that with a normal chuck there is one gap between the work and the chuck. Here there are another 2, so more chances to weaken the magnetic field. I had a small burr on the piece of steel that I used below and that was enough to send the flat flying.
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And finally for Simon as he wanted another pic of my SG,
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Michael

Nice work Michael. The engraved scale just finishes it off nicely.

Thanks for the pic of your sg. It's a nice machine. The frame it's sitting on is pretty cool too.
Safe and happy new year.

Simon

Originally Posted by DSEL74

What is G10 is that like micarta?

Yeah a bit like micarta, its epoxy impregnated fiber glass. Not sure on the original use but it is the hardest man made plastic i have ever used.

Pardon my ignorance Michael, but what stops the top section moving, is it reliant on just the one clamp.
Kryn

Nice work Michael I love it I was thinking of making a block and getting the semi circle edm cut.Happy new years all

Originally Posted by simonl

The engraved scale just finishes it off nicely.

I must admit to wondering whether some of the interest was "How's he going to do the scale?". Not difficult if you have the necessary gear but tricky if you don't. I suppose that these days CNC makes it easier to do but as I spend most of my working day in front of a computer, I don't really want one in the shed.

Originally Posted by KBs PensNmore

Pardon my ignorance Michael, but what stops the top section moving, is it reliant on just the one clamp.

There is another clamp (the same) at the other end. In reality they are just to hold things in place as once the magnetic chuck is on that tends to provide additional force.

Originally Posted by welder

I was thinking of making a block and getting the semi circle edm cut.

That's another way but while you would get an accurate radius, I'm not sure the surface finish would be up to much - may need polishing. The other thing is that the two parts need to be as good a fit as possible so while theoretically possible to wire cut the two parts from one piece, there is going to be a wire thickness gap.
If you have access (either at work or TAFE) another option may be using a CNC machine (possibly with a 4th axis) to profile both parts although polishing may still be required.

Michael

You have done a wonderful job Michael.

Bob.