Quick mount faceplate for tiny works

[mzt]

This is an idea I?ve had in mind for too long, how it will eventually work I?m gonna know in a few more days.
A faceplate blank, the turned faceplate and its arbor before press fitting (6/100mm interference)
The faceplate material was surprisingly hard, to the point I could centre drill the hole for the arbor but had no
way to enlarge the hole with any drill: got it slowly done through using a very short insert holder with quality inserts.
The work got easier when going further from the centre, so I still have a few hopes for the next operations.




Next steps will obviously be turning the outside, deburring the edges and facing, but it was already too late to get them done tonight.



 

Assuming I will be able to run a tap into that material, I have ideas about fitting a few grub screws between the
plate and its arbor as an added safety measure against sudden dismountings of spinning objects.




Another option I can see could be electrical welding of the parts on the back.



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As for adding clamps, angle plates and stuff, should I not succeed into tapping that material, I?d make a disposable
plate into alu. and fit it to the support with studs and nuts.




Marcello

[mzt]

Did I say I was gonna tap that faceplate? Well, the thing simply won?t drill!!!
I could put a couple of center holes in it, and that was the end of the joys on that material: ordinary twist drills
won?t dig it, not even the cobalt ones. Will have to go for plan B (or C, D?.)


Angle plate

Whatever I?ll do with the faceplate, my Myford angle plate won?t fit it.  Not much of a problem, I?ve got plenty
of unmachined Myford style angle plates castings.   
Here? s  a couple of them.



Marcello

[KB]

Ouch, that's some tough stuff.

At least your castings are well aged, at the bottom of the ocean?

[mzt]

Kevin,

sure they're well rusted, but those vents/risers (probably from lathe chucks castings) are not bad: they cut like butter!
A real pleasure after dealing with that (chilled?) hot punched steel remnant I recycled for faceplate works.

Marcello

[mzt]

Face Plate

Managed to drill three holes on a 32mm circle on that faceplate, but it was a real pain: center drills worked ok, but not the
twist drills which had to be resharpened every mm or so, to say nothing about having to run an end mill into the hole after
each resharpening. It was not a quick job.
Good point is I got some experience into resharpening tiny drills by hand.

Next, came the parting  of a sub-faceplate (this stuff is quickly getting over engineered) from a 75mm alu. rod




I used a 2mm T-blade and a 6x8mm vanadium bar alternatively: down about 10mm deep using the T-blade, then switched to the 6mm
bar to widen the groove, back with the T-blade and so on?  .. a matter of a few minutes, to get the job done.



 
The recently parted alu. disk was faced, drilled and tapped for the 32mm bolt circle, bolted to the faceplate, faced again on
the second side, then drilled and tapped to accept the still unfinished angle plate in a suitable position for turning it to shape.
The toughest lathe tool in my collection


got it done in a few minutes.

A check with a try square convinced me to put the angle plate back into the mill for a skin cut on one of the faces (having the other
held between fixed jaw an dowel) to improve their squareness. Now, it?s ok.


 

Marcello

[steamer]

A sub faceplate is a good idea!   I was thinking a reamed center hole for locating work.....   I'll be interested in yours!

Life is too short to deal with hard steel........I've seen those lumps of iron before too    Glad they're working for you!

Keep it coming Marcello!

Dave

[mzt]

I was thinking a reamed center hole for locating work.....   I'll be interested in yours!

Dave,

I already have a 6mm hole into the steel, now hidden by the alu. disk.
The alu. disk will probably need to be bored to a larger dia, but that is an easily replaceable part.

Marcello

[steamer]

If it's replaceable, consider making up a plate that has concentric grooves 1/8" wide every 1/4 inch of so.    Now you have a superglue chuck.    To get the part off, heat it gently with a torch ( mind the fumes!) and the heat will break the bond.  You can clean up the resisdue with lighter fluid.....but not around the torch!

Very useful for fragile parts!

Dave

[mzt]

The idea is good, now on the to do list.
Not much high, TTTT, as I have no fragile parts to make at the moment, nor a torch.
(But winter is not that far in time: the stove will do).

Marcello