I simply couldn't resist the challenge when I saw similar modifications on google..
On the image, the guiding rods, tool holder and lead screw are missing (I am still thinking how to put all that together, so they are not mounted yet)..
It occurred to me that I could use a small worm gear for coarse movement, similar to this solution: http://www.traderscity.com/board/pro...screws-174144/
However, it is not easy to find the suitable gear, so I decided to try and cut it myself, using the tool I made for threads for my 3D printer z-axis.
The tool was made from left over piece of lead screw (10x2mm), but since the nuts were made of delrin (acetal) there was no need for hardening the tool.
Now I want to harden it properly, to use it on brass and aluminium.
Does anybody know of the service (preferably in Melbourne) that could do it?
Or, in case I decide to do it myself, what would be the best way to heat up the tool?
I will also try this
If the gear mates smooth enough with lead screw (the shafts will have to be at angle, 90+6°), then I won't bother with hobbing (for now).
And of course, I will also need split nut, to be able to use lead screw for fine movement of the tool holder.
I considered doing something similar a few years back but got offered a good deal a while ago from a friend in the business.
Oil bath hardening if required. Take to near red heat and dump into a bucket of oil. An ordinary domestic fire can get to that point.
Hi Bojan,
I once converted a massive old Russian bench drill into a mill by changing the bronze bushes in the head to needle roller bearings, and then using a compound vice for my moving table. I think it would be possible to use the compound vice and convert the head section of it to become your tool holder maybe? The size you're chasing is about $78-$80. This would give you two axis movement. (I'm currently converting my cheapie hydraulic log splitter to a workshop electric press..........necessity, the mother of invention!)
Is it mild steel ?
In that case you can also carburize it, that means wrapping the workpiece in powdered charcoal in a crucible or a steel container and heating up the whole stuff to 900ēC for a few hours. After that, quench the cherry red hot object in oil or water as soon as possible.
Then reheat it to about 200ēC and allow it to cool.
There will be a hardened surface with a higher carbon content on the object.
I made a hammer that way.
Hi Bojan,
I once converted a massive old Russian bench drill into a mill by changing the bronze bushes in the head to needle roller bearings, and then using a compound vice for my moving table. I think it would be possible to use the compound vice and convert the head section of it to become your tool holder maybe? The size you're chasing is about $78-$80. This would give you two axis movement. (I'm currently converting my cheapie hydraulic log splitter to a workshop electric press..........necessity, the mother of invention!)
Cheers, Rod
Hi Rod,
Thank you for the tip - I know about this thing, actually I have one and using it with larger press drill.
I am still thinking out the details... how to and what exactly to do...
Is it mild steel ?
In that case you can also carburize it, that means wrapping the workpiece in powdered charcoal in a crucible or a steel container and heating up the whole stuff to 900ēC for a few hours. After that, quench the cherry red hot object in oil or water as soon as possible.
Then reheat it to about 200ēC and allow it to cool.
There will be a hardened surface with a higher carbon content on the object.
I made a hammer that way.
Not sure what kind of steel it is..
the rod came from China, I bought it for my 3D printer.
I have one more piece left, so I will experiment a bit before I go for the tool..
If that is the linear bearing material, the 10mm that I have appears to be case hardened which is softer steed in the centre.
There used to be a case hardening powder which was sprinkled on the red hot steel then quenched at an appropriate temp. the temp was established by colour. It requires polishing the red hot steel so the cooling colour change is apparent. It is no longer cheap https://www.lprtoolmakers.com.au/cas...g-powder-200g/
During my first year at uni, we were required to spend couple of days in workshop (I worked on lathe and was very good at that)... I remember they used the "bath" of molten (red hot) salts mix for hardening the lower carbon-content steel, not sure what was used...
I also made my own hammer then (500g), that I used later for many years.
To harden heat to red hot and drop it in water. You then need to temper the item.
To do this.....
Polish the item back to metal.
Heat slowly and look for the colour appear. When you reach the appropriate colour drop the item in oil.
Straw to brown is probably where you need to be but remember as it goes blue you are making something as brittle as a file... I have a colour chart some place and if I can find it I will post it but there must be something on the net...
But you may only have case hardened steel in which case hardening and tempering is not going to work.
Alex,
Thank you for the tips...
Yes, long time ago I was doing this, however this ACME tapping tool, made for me by a friend, is sort of unique - so I didn't want to ruin it as it is perfectly good for the purpose it was made (Delrin nuts for lead screws, for my 3D printer).
Funny thing, recently I bought on ebay another two lead screws (for lathe, from another supplier as I couldn't find the previous one any more) and those new screws are of slightly larger diameter (older ones were 9.8mm, those are exactly 10mm in diameter) so they do not fit into already made nuts... it seems I will have to bother my friend again...
In order to do threads on that machine, I would need to add encoder to the main shaft and stepper on the lead screw.
A processor would then move the tool in sync with chuck rotation along the axis of the thread.
The radial movement can be done manually....
No need for gears...
There are many different hardening processes, the process depends entirely on the type of hardening you need and the type of material that you are hardening.
Are you needing to through harden or case harden ?
If you have a high carbon steel or a tool steel or silver steel then heating it to even dull red and quenching it vertically may work and that will give you a through hardening
Most Tool steels are typically vaccum hardened and gas quenched.
If you have a low carbon steel then you need to get carbon into the steel and that takes some sort of active process. Or maybe you need to get Nitrogen into it eg Nitriding
These processes work with very low carbon steels and will case harden.
. . . This all depends entirely on the steel alloy you are trying to harden
If the shaft is 4140 then you can Nitride (specialist process - cant do it at home) and that will give you a thin hard outer case.
The same material will through harden if just heated and quenched
If its some of the carbon mild free machining steels such as 1020, 1025, 1045 then that process may through harden (if quenched properly)
If its an old axle shaft or similar - EN25, EN39, EN36, 8620 etc then you would need to carburise and case harden.
Carburising can be done in a carbon rich gas environment, or done in a salt pot using molten cyanide salts - the two most popular commercial processes.
But there are others.
Sealed quench carburising or the old fashioned way to seal the part in a small container wrapped in carbon/charcoal - both processes but can take many hours - 10 to 13 hours is typical as the carbon literally has to permeate into the steel down to a mm or two. (Big gears are even longer)
The common thing with almost all hardening is there is a quenching process.
But again there are many different methods - usually depending on the material and the process.
The rapid cooling literally locks the crystalline structure of the material as it was at high temperature, do it too slowly and you might just temper the material back to normal !
Do it wrong and you will distort your shaft.
Quench from too high a temperature or with Oil/Water too low in temperature and you can distort or crack the steel.
Some processes and materials should be tempered after hardening (too brittle, or core refining), others not.
Without knowing the type of steel alloy you have - its either a case of lucky dip or potentially damaging the steel you have by trial and error.
Although most will temper back to normal.
A heat treater will probably be able to identify the steel and use a process to give you a good result and that is my recommendation.