Milling curves

[Roy GardenParticipant @roygarden83469]

Can you show me pictures of how this works?

I've googled filing buttons and had zero useful results.

Filing guides shows me knife making file guides.

I have absolutely no idea how you would use bearings / buttons to guide files on work.

The mentions of it are so full of knowledge that the reader understands the principle that they are impenetrable.

I'm sure it's really simple. .. Probably, but not the faintest clue how.

Can you show me ?

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

Round about the eight minute mark in this video **LINK**

[PlasmaParticipant @plasma]

Rob, that is a stunning video on hand filing for clock making.

The patience involved must be truly immense to achieve such pristine results by hand.

Certainly not within the realms of normal workshop practice, at least not in my metalwork class lol.

It shows that hand work is superior to machine work for many things and I couldn't imagine writing the programme to mill out those complex shapes on a CNC whirligig.

In my shop CNC always said for crunchy nut cornflakes

[Chris TriceParticipant @christrice43267]

Amazing skill on show in that video. I like videos like that. They actively make you want to break out the files and have a go.

[JonParticipant @jon]

You only need the most basic equipment decent vice, good files and a keen eye well within any ones workshop.

How do you think all the quality guns ever made were done and to a far greater quality in fact more like a totally different league working to microns polished. Video is left rough after the draw filing. Currently theres only three people alive with the know how.

Video he has left way too much meat on and using finishing files (be there all week), would still be using a bastard at that point before going to 2nd cut he certainly isnt doing it for a day job.

[Roy GardenParticipant @roygarden83469]

Attempt 2 (well, a few failed bodged betwixt then and now) 0.5m steps, "etch a sketch" guided by the DRO. Quite pleased.

Tremendous amount of setting up involved, but really quite logical, I can see I need to improve my setting up accuracy.

Think the steepest curve is the learning curve.

[John ReeseParticipant @johnreese12848]

Roy,

I believe you said you had a belt grinder. One way to get a radius id to scribe the arc, then grind to the line.

[David Standing 1Participant @davidstanding1]

Posted by Roy Garden on 21/03/2019 23:38:16:

Gents, I'm profoundly grateful for the advice, thank you all.
Through some budding bodgineering (which is what I aspire to) and using hints and tips from this thread, I've kind of got close to what I was after.

The "nail it to the table, and spin it round" advice kind of covers most of the equipment I currently have.
The "File it, it's faster and easier" Well, I have a car, driving to get a bacon buttie is fast and easy, flying there is a pain in the butt, slow, unreliable, fraught with wasted effort, but good fun ! (99 times out of 100, I'll take the easy option, but when it's new . . I'll go with the wasted effort just for the experience)
Can I file? Yes.
Do I want to file? No, that's why I bought a belt sander.
(Tho, having said that, I've never heard of using bearings whilst filing, Can I get a link for how that works? )

I went with the "Pin through a hole and rotate in the vice" method, Sadly, a long (ish) piece of work and a low vice meant I managed very little of the curve that way, but enough to get a "feel" for the shape, 5 minutes on the belt sander and, from a distance, with yer glasses off, in low light, it kind of, looks ok.

Probably 4 hours time playing with the mill today, I think the finish looks good (it's what I wanted to see)
I'm discovering that "machining" is probably best done by fairly accurate sawing, finished off by machining the bits the saw can't do and providing a surface texture.
An hour spent cleaning (that's new to me too, I'm sure I'll get faster) and the garage has a shiny, uncompleted "bit" in it, a clean shiny mill, and a happy bunny who is now waiting for more "essential tools" to arrive.
In the meantime, I can pick the swarf out of my socks . . .
(and try to hide the battery Dyson from the wife, it looks a bit sad for having eaten lots of aluminium swarf and WD40)

Thanks again, I shall be asking more questions as I blunder along the learning curve.

Edited By Roy Garden on 21/03/2019 23:42:20

Edited to remove oil rig language.

Edited By JasonB on 22/03/2019 10:03:55

I like your humour

[larry phelan 1Participant @larryphelan1]

Would have to agree with many others that for a "one -off" it would be quicker to use a hacksaw and a file.

As others pointed out it takes far longer to set up for a job than it takes to do it [my experience,anyway. ]

If you want to cut gears,you will need a rotary table,but no need to have it motor driven. Great help available on this site regarding this subject. How do I know ? Ask me ! Thank you Brian !!

My advice,for what it,s worth : buy a few hand tools and get used to them first before getting involved with machines. Remember MACHINES NEVER SLEEP !!.And they dont come cheap either.

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