Nice saves. If you didn’t think of things you’d do differently you weren’t learning. Half the pleasure is figuring stuff out and seeing positive results.
Hi, it looks really awesome! And the knurling is amazing.
Just a tip for working with copper, make sure the cutting tool is always wet with lubricant. You really have to drown it. You’ll need a lot of lubricant and the cheapest and best solution I found was rapeseed oil applied with a syringe. If you haven’t used lots of lubricant already, you should really try it! It’s a difference like day and night.
Yeh, figuring stuff is good. I hope I can retain the info for next time I do similar things on the lathe.
Thanks freeme
Yeh, I have noticed how lube makes a difference. I’ll give rapeseed a go, thanks. I recently ran out of the stuff I’ve been using (Trefolex CDT) and used CRC since that’s what I had. I also have a bottle of Rocol RTD but I find it easier to use a spray so I can direct the oil where it’s needed. I can understand the use of a syringe for the same reason. Maybe one day I’ll set up a gravity drip feed and drip tray for the RTD.
Some copper is gummy and will grab the tool edge when drilling, same thing happens with acrylic plastics. i dull the cutting edge with a stone to solve this. Here are some additional tips for machining copper: copper tips
The dulling of the tool bits only really come into play when using carbide inserts or carbide tipped tools. It won’t help with a HSS tool. And it’s not really dulling it so to speak just take a stone and barely break the sharp edge.
Are you sure this applies to copper? I have read that the tools should be as sharp as possible, otherwise the copper starts to “smear” all over the place due to the rubbery consistency. I also experienced the same thing.
With brass however, it is common to dull up the tools so the tool doesn’t get sucked into the material.
I go to a local place called Robert-Cameron. They are one of the few places here that stock a lot of odd materials and odd sizes not just the common ones. I might pay slightly less if I find it online but then I would have to wait for delivery :weary:
I got some work done on the switch. It’s kinda big and doesn’t mesh well with the head but oh well, add it to the list of ‘better ways of doing it’.
I lathed up a hole punch to make the right size rubber boot
I also cut a foam packer to stop the batteries rattling since there is no spring in the rear.
I fitted the electronics tonight. My mind wasn’t in the right headspace when reflowing the leds so it was a bit messy. I displaced a dome with tweezers on one of the leds, i’m considering dedoming all of them. I also couldn’t figure out why it wouldn’t turn on when I was finished so after some head scratching found I missed a solder jumper on the driver for 2s. So it is functional and i’ll tweak it here and there a bit.