Author Topic: Chris's Build of Steering Engine  (Read 52227 times)

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Build of Steering Engine
« Reply #15 on: September 16, 2022, 09:50:20 PM »
Hello Chris

Just a thought. The base plate 'casting' would look great if you were to us something like a 1.5R x 6 or a 2R x 6 bull nose, radiused cutter to machine the webs in the base plate. Other sizes are also available. A bull nose radiused cutter would create a neat fillet rather than a sharp edge. You will find a bull nose radiused cutter is so much nicer to use than a ball nose and leaves a smooth flat surface between the fillets

Cheers

Mike
I'll go look those up, never knew about them.  Thanks for the tip!

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Build of Steering Engine
« Reply #16 on: September 16, 2022, 10:03:24 PM »
Hello Chris

Just a thought. The base plate 'casting' would look great if you were to us something like a 1.5R x 6 or a 2R x 6 bull nose, radiused cutter to machine the webs in the base plate. Other sizes are also available. A bull nose radiused cutter would create a neat fillet rather than a sharp edge. You will find a bull nose radiused cutter is so much nicer to use than a ball nose and leaves a smooth flat surface between the fillets

Cheers

Mike
I'll go look those up, never knew about them.  Thanks for the tip!
Those look perfect for the job! 


I am seeing them under a variety of names, Corner Radius, Bull Nose, Rounded Edge, etc. Aren't standards great? Everyone has one!

Offline Vixen

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Re: Chris's Build of Steering Engine
« Reply #17 on: September 16, 2022, 10:07:11 PM »
Hello Chris,

Here is a typical bull nose radius cutter..  Feeds and speeds similar to a normal end mill

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184390842057?hash=item2aee8cf6c9:g:UHsAAOSwk1VfKqA3&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoMpxqriYuTYsCRqLJbDphSGYFdu3iDpz29yWzfbF7fVhg3uBsDa%2BflhqREmJYLW9AAy5acGcWHSnFloQM545lgrGpoNuHLbAHTOPz54Ch9tt6sNI6ppPE4C2C4EyFIZmzU%2F7inn05Tsr%2Fb4nd4Km44eohbuneUBbMMRxdIIl5UeIURiDOkVF1mFcvk8ApmLK8IT3W8IVTGri7lJ3qzXMfLQ%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR57L1IHpYA

The bull nose radius cutters are always cutting near the outside diameter, unlike a ball nose which tries to cut from full diameter down to zero diameter

Mike
« Last Edit: September 16, 2022, 10:14:12 PM by Vixen »
It is the journey that matters, not the destination

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Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Build of Steering Engine
« Reply #18 on: September 16, 2022, 10:14:04 PM »
Nice!
Just got one on order from McMaster - a bit more expensive but it will be here Monday, just in time probably for when I need it.

In the past I've used the ball end ones, and was not happy with how badly they cut the end of the radius at the center, since there was basically no edge there. This style would be perfect for cases where I want a full radius, and it would still be able to cut into the stock at the full curve.

Now, I HAVE had some cutters that wound up looking the same, when they went dull on the ends and the corner wore back! Didn't cut very well anymore though.   :Lol:

Thanks very much! Always more to learn in this hobby.   :ThumbsUp:

Offline Vixen

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Re: Chris's Build of Steering Engine
« Reply #19 on: September 16, 2022, 10:19:31 PM »
Hi Chris

JasonB put me onto these. The bull nose radius cutters are always cutting near the outside diameter, unlike a ball nose which tries to cut from full diameter down to zero diameter. They are very useful for 3D profiling curved surfaced using CAD CAM. Or creating fillets in machined from solid 'castings'

Mike
It is the journey that matters, not the destination

Sometimes, it can be a long and winding road

Offline Jasonb

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Re: Chris's Build of Steering Engine
« Reply #20 on: September 17, 2022, 07:12:00 AM »
As Mike says the surface speed of the bull nose cutters is higher than the "dead" area of a ball nose so they cut well, also good for flat surfaces if your tram is slightly off They also tend to be 4-flute so can be fed faster for the same chip load

The down side for things like those webs is that the vertical fillet will be half the cutter diameter but the corner radius of he cutter will be less so you will get smaller fillets on the horizontal internal corners than the vertical.



Where they come into their own is around raised features like the pads on the One-One base, the internal fillets to the sloping sides of the base and the flywheel cutout were done will a 4-flute 4mm ball nose



Or around the raised bosses on this base, in both cases the same cutter did the upper "cast" surface and I did not have to use a second one to do the boss fillets



Image shows effect of using a 4mm dia x R1 cutter
« Last Edit: September 17, 2022, 07:20:25 AM by Jasonb »

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Build of Steering Engine
« Reply #21 on: September 17, 2022, 11:49:46 AM »
Excellent info Jason. On the vertical gussets I could do a second set of passes with the part on its side to reduce the radius of the cut on the vertical, though the bottom inside corner wouldn't be reached. Still, its a nice result. This part has several raised bosses, those will look great.


Thanks!

Offline Michael S.

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Re: Chris's Build of Steering Engine
« Reply #22 on: September 17, 2022, 07:01:26 PM »
Hello, everyone,

do you mean this type of radius cutter? I googled it.
(see picture below)

Chris, the green I use is called leaf green and is listed as RAL number 6002. I think this color fan is only available here.
Anyway, green always goes with steam engines.
Any shade of green. Personally, I think the Stuart Green is very beautiful, but it doesn't exist in this RAL scale.

On a picture you can see the oil pan under the worm wheel. There is also a sheet metal tab that originally hung on the cast iron. That broke off at some point.
I would omit the sheet metal oil pan or not open the machine foundation completely at this point. Leave a floor in.

Michael

Offline Jasonb

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Re: Chris's Build of Steering Engine
« Reply #23 on: September 17, 2022, 07:07:46 PM »
No those are what are generally called BALL nose cutters where the radius is half the cutter diameter.

We are talking of ones where the corner radius is less that half cutter diameter, for example a 4mm cutter with either a 0.5mm or 1.0mm convex radius to the corner. Zoom in on this one, these are the make I use. These are called BULL nose

https://www.shop-apt.co.uk/corner-radius-end-mills-4-flute-altin-coated-carbide-45hrc/corner-radius-end-mill-for-general-use-4mm-diameter-10mm-rad-4-flute-altin-coated-carbide-45hrc.html

Offline Michael S.

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Re: Chris's Build of Steering Engine
« Reply #24 on: September 17, 2022, 07:58:44 PM »
Ah ok. Thanks for the hint.

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Build of Steering Engine
« Reply #25 on: September 17, 2022, 08:24:02 PM »
Yeah, any of the deep leaf green or forest green colors look good. I'll have to see what's available in the  paint brands I like.

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Build of Steering Engine
« Reply #26 on: September 17, 2022, 09:05:04 PM »
No shop time today, was out with the boats all day. I did see that the radius cutter end mill is out for delivery today, early from original date of Monday (handy to have their warehouse so close I guess), so will be able to use it on the next round of milling on the base plate. Should have a report on that tomorrow.

 :cheers:

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Build of Steering Engine
« Reply #27 on: September 18, 2022, 02:43:15 PM »
Back in the shop today. The outer edges have all been taken to dimension, except for the curved front corners which will be done later on the rotary table. Some of these pictures are a little dark, I had to swing the work lights away to reduce the reflections or the camera washed out.


Then I put in the new end mill cutter I got with the radiused corner to mill in the bosses on top for the vertical walls and bearings. Very nice results with it, it softens the appearance of the inside corners a lot, much more like a casting would be. This cutter has a 0.030" radius on the end with a 3/16" diameter on the main cutter. Thanks for the tip on those! It should make the gussets in the outer flange look much better.
The top mounting platforms are all done, next will start in on the bolting flang around the perimeter. The ones on the curved sections will be done later.


For the crankshaft bearings, there needs to be a set of posts sticking up higher. I think for those I'll actually mill the bases down and bolt on another piece with the U shaped gap for the bearings. That will be easier than silver soldering on 8 narrow square posts.

Offline crueby

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Re: Chris's Build of Steering Engine
« Reply #28 on: September 18, 2022, 05:30:33 PM »
Got a start on the mounting flanges around the perimeter. Was able to get a photo of what the radius corner end mill gives, circled in green in this close up:

In person, it does give a nice look to it. As mentioned before, the vertical inside corner in that shot is a larger radius since its the size of the cutter (3/16" ) so I will do some tests and see if it works out better to take a second cut later with the part turned up on its side, to reduce the radius on the other corner. The very bottom where three edges come together would not be reached, but that may look okay, worth a test on it.
 :cheers:

Offline Michael S.

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Re: Chris's Build of Steering Engine
« Reply #29 on: September 18, 2022, 05:44:55 PM »
Hi Chris, you are making good progress.
The new cutter does a good job. I like the round corners and it really depends on where the radius should be a little smaller.
I'm very happy how fast it goes and how easy it is to see what's going to happen.
I wish I had more time for the workshop. I may not be able to retire until 10 years from now.
Today I had to replace a few meters old drinking water pipe in the basement of the house. The old galvanized steel pipe was rusted.

Michael

 :cheers:

 

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