This will be old stuff to some of you, but I was raised with mo mechanical experience, so I'm like Bushytail Squirrel when Santa brought him a sackful of nuts. "Oh, I am so happy!" This is one reason we have books and schools. If you don't know something, you can learn it. Recently I posted a comment about 7\16" 10-32 coil box terminal nuts being unavailable. I received a kind offer to send me some originals in brass or steel, but I already had some 7\16" brass stock. So my project in shop class today was making some nuts. These aren't perfect, but I don't think they're bad for a first effort.
So, how did you get 6 sides on them from a lathe?
Hexagonal stock. It just looks round in the pictures because it's spinning.
Steve;
Your pertty sharp for an ole guy. LOL
Steve, very nice.
Much better than the nuts I made in shop class! But I was only 16! Remember Steve, they sold those things in Hardware stores back in '64! But Mr. Dahl would still have been proud of your results!
Alright Steve'O great job...!
Now how much $$$ for a complete set for my box...? {:-)
Steve, I hereby declare you tool and die man of the week. Congratulations.
Seriously, job well done.
Mike
As a Senior manufacturing engineer in aerospace I give you an A. You still need to deburr them. In my line of work a burr can cause serious issues from airplanes to spaceships.
But I forgot we are talking model t's and I'm sure Henry didn't want to pay the extra money to have parts deburred so you get an A+ LOL.
He just needs to vibe them in some light media. I'm assuming he tapped them using the tailstock with the tap locked in a chuck. Then he wouldn't have to tap each one separately by locking them in a vise and using a hand tap. Just remember to unlock the tailstock and slow that chuck down. Ample amounts of tapping fluid helps too.
Steve, you'll have a little better luck if you run the stock close to the chuck and part it off without the center running in the hole when you are parting off. The reason your chips are coming off the way they are is that you are getting a slight chatter at the tip of the parting tool. Also, a small back lip ground on the end of the tool will help it cut. I can't really see the end of the tool but it looks like it is ground for a plunge cut instead of a parting cut. A parting cut bit should be set with the lip .005-.010 below the center of the work. You can check that against the tip of the live center. With the tip of the bit ground correctly and the height set correctly the dross should come off the bit in a continuous curl similar to the way a drill bit cuts brass. The chip should be bright brass on both sides, one side from the last cut and the other side from the current cut. If you are getting dull chips your bit is not sharpened or set correctly.
With the center in the hole and pressure against it while you are parting off there is a real tendency for the tool to hog in the cut, jam and either break the tool or ruin the piece. The potential for getting hurt is much higher than just parting them off close to the chuck and moving the work out as stock is needed. It is also far easier to tap them.
As I said before, I did one inch at a time! Great work!
One of the things I love about this forum is when the Voice of Experience comes along with useful information. Before long I'll know what I'm doing.
All I can say is Those look nice!
LIKE
Stan, Thanks for your tips, particularly on correct sharpening height of parting off tool for this job. What top rake do you recommend?
Steve, they look great. You should think about selling them.
Stan gave great advice (and I'm going to save it!), but I think one reason for the short chips in that photo is that you are still turning the hex off, and just getting to a continuous cut when you took the pic.
Now if you had a screw machine, you could go into production!
They look great, btw!
Yes, Steve, they look great. You should seriously consider going into production on these. At about $10 a pop, you might make minimum wage.
Yep, my very thought.