The part in red is what I am concerned about. While I could probably make the square "studs" separately they look to be machined from the same piece of stock. What I am wondering about the most-- the side of the studs could be milled, but how do you keep the spots between the studs still curved?

3 axis and a indexer if you want the radius in between the coggs.

lathe with live tooling did that

if you had access to a wire edm....

Turned first milled after.

You can do that by hand on a conventional miller with a rotary indexer, this would take quite a while and you would still (likely) have a whole bunch of really small flats that you just polish with some emery.
or
4 axis machining center would make quick work of it.

Guys, Thanks for all the great responses.

I use the shop up at my school and about the only thing we have are mills and lathes.

It looks as though I will have to make the studs separately and mount them. This isn't as difficult as I initially thought.

It may be possible that we have an indexer. I'll have to ask.

Thanks again :)

PS-- Hmm, maybe I'll just an indexer if they are too expensive. I have lots of other stuff I want to make and I know that stuff needs one anyways.

lathe out the stock then put in mill with an index head and a form shaped cutter. Cutter would look like a real thick saw blade with a radi cut in the center and a tapper on top and bottom. the is a thread floating around on hear some where about cutting your own clog belt gears.

I think that would fall under the same scope.

I KNEW I seen that part before!

It is Luke Skywalker's Light Saber !!!

This is the picture I took at the Toledo Museum "Star Wars" show!

I KNEW I seen that part before!

It is Luke Skywalker's Light Saber !!!

This is the picture I took at the Toledo Museum "Star Wars" show!


Good eye Wayne.......that was hilarious!

An indexing head or super spacer would do this. Not a collet block job by the size of it.

Since this part is non-functional and cosmetic only. Just turn the profile on the lathe and cut the splines in with a tapered wheel cutter. I would cut it straight into the base shaft diameter on the centerline of the spline profile. Let the cut blend out to the width of the profile teeth.

If it really needs to be round at the base of each tooth. I might be inclined to create a spider insert, core the butt of the saber to suit and cap it off, but that is a lot more work.

DC

I KNEW I seen that part before!

It is Luke Skywalker's Light Saber !!!

This is the picture I took at the Toledo Museum "Star Wars" show!

ROFL, I knew someone would recognize it. :cheers:

Wayne, Let's PM, I'm trying to make up some blueprints for it and if you have any more pictures I'd like to see them.

Here's an attachment of the prints I have so far.

You could use a couple of budget 5C spindex fixtures, one to index, one as a cheap tailstock (they're $38 at enco). Turn a 10 degree taper at the nose end to fit the 5C and drill and tap a drawscrew hole where the "muzzle" is going to be later. Use table offset to get the lug angle then index a degree at a time, leave a couple thou at the root diameter to clean up with hand filing.

You'd be boring out the threaded hole later and turning the nose profile to get rid of the 5C taper. Throw away tooling ;)


Tiger

if you don t have an indexer , trig out an x and z move and use the tool as a stop , index the part manually , looks as though appearance is more important than accuracy, this will work well enough