I wonder if someone could advise me on the best way to shape the complex radii on the part illustrated – this may not have worked, as I can't see any means of attaching the pix!

It’s another of my Austin Seven foolishnesses, this one being the fan pedestal. Replicas have just come on the market but I thought making one would be a challenging project and I’ve bought the aluminium now!

The trickiness is obvious and I really can’t afford concave (or is it ‘convex’, never sure whether you describe the shape of the cutter or the shape you want to make !) to form the spindle barrel. In any case, I don’t think those kind of cutters are really suitable for a vertical mill, lending themselves more to a horizontal machine.

I think a large endmill followed by a bit of judicious filing ought to make a fair rendition of the big rebate that rises vertically through the base and finishes beneath the barrel. But I think the way forward for most of this, once the basic shape is milled out, is riffler files. Would that be a sensible approach?

I did think it might be possible to cut the barrel radii on a rotary table. I.e. secure the work to the table and turn it against an endmill. The experts’ view on this would be helpful.

As always very many thanks in advance for any thoughts.

Martyn

Edited By martyn nutland on 27/07/2015 16:09:58

Edited By martyn nutland on 27/07/2015 16:10:35