My Newest Desktop machine

[microcarve]

Here's one of those things I've been meaning to post...but kept forgetting...

Surely a lot of us have thought about a metal cutting bandsaw.

$$$ =

But, I've been using this thing from Sears...

Sears: Online department store featuring appliances, tools, fitness equipment and more

for many years.

It came with a fairly good blade on it, but it still wasn't up to too much
abuse. So when I broke it, I thought Sears would have a replacement
right on hand.

That's the problem with Sears these days. I buy something and parts
for it are discontinued and a Royal PITA to get anymore. I used to
like Sears a lot.

But the replacement blades were way too flimsy to do any metal cutting
with.

So I ordered a *Good* blade from...

Saw Band, Wood Cutting Bandsaw Blades, Metal Cutting Band Saw Blades, Woodworking Power Tools, Shop Tools and Woodworking Plans - ToolCenter.com

I use it so regularly that I don't even think about it anymore. I cut
up lots of my Z axis aluminum on it. The bar in the picture is 1" x 1.25"
and I cut lots of them. I cut all my brass 3/4" rod and a lot of my 1"
aluminum round bar stock.

Of course I'm a little bit careful, but I don't "baby" it. It zips right
through...actually a lot quicker than my HF metal....

Metal Bandsaw - Horizontal/Vertical Metal Bandsaw

which can take a loooong time with thick metal.

It was a PITA to get my GOOD blade tracking correctly, but I don't
have...and haven't had....any problems with the same blade for a few years
now.

I'm sure it'd cut steel, but I stay away from even trying that. I do that
with the HF saw. The blade has held up too well to ruin it by cutting
steel leadscrews.

There's another thing that maybe shouldn't work...but has worked
extremely well...

A good metal cutting bandsaw....of the "proper" type, is big, heavy and
expensive.

Mine works Great! And a bandsaw that can cut up good sized pieces
of aluminum is a *Very* Nice thing to have.


John

[vtx1029]

Got mine up and running finally!

Everything went pretty good but I can see I'm going to want to change how I mount my X limit switches

Tried doing a 1" square and circle. My placement was off oh well... I also got some 45* angle on my square (i think its because my bit was a little bigger then I listed it as)

Can wait to start making some real parts!

Anyone see a problem with not clamping the router (Bosch colt) at the base where its aluminum all the way around or am I asking for problems?

[Mr.Chips]

Hello John,
I finally had time to put the CNC back together and it all works except that one of my homemade universal joints is broken. I made the plastic part out of a Chinese cutting board, I know that this material is pretty brittle. And rather than make a new one out of the same material I was wondering if your magic resin might be a better choice?
I am thinking of coating the shafts and aluminum pieces with something that would prevent the resin from sticking to them and set the separation of the two aluminum end pieces and wrap something around the two end pieces then drill a hole through the wrapped around material to allow me to pour the resin in.
What do you think of using the resin in this type application?

Thanks John
Hager

[microcarve]

Originally Posted by vtx1029 Anyone see a problem with not clamping the router (Bosch colt) at the base where its aluminum all the way around or am I asking for problems?

Do you have a picture?

I thought all the k2cnc mounts were the same as of the last year
or so. I'm not familiar with one that holds the router at the plastic
body. I wouldn't think that'd be good....


John

[microcarve]

Originally Posted by Mr.Chips Hello John, I finally had time to put the CNC back together and it all works except that one of my homemade universal joints is broken. I made the plastic part out of a Chinese cutting board, I know that this material is pretty brittle. And rather than make a new one out of the same material I was wondering if your magic resin might be a better choice? I am thinking of coating the shafts and aluminum pieces with something that would prevent the resin from sticking to them and set the separation of the two aluminum end pieces and wrap something around the two end pieces then drill a hole through the wrapped around material to allow me to pour the resin in. What do you think of using the resin in this type application? Thanks John Hager

Hi Hager!



Hard to say if that'd work. It's great stuff, but there's some fairly
intense snatching back & forth of a motor shaft....so it may break
just as easily.

I myself would probably just buy some good quality ones. I think
your machine looks good enough to warrant the expense. It's sure
a lot better than messing around fixing things at the wrong time....

Best I know of with couplings is that the *good* ones cost a good
bit more. But the good ones I've paid for have been wellll worth the
$$$. I never thought of them again once I installed them. Not a single
iota of trouble.

Mine were straight inline type that took some aligning, but it wasn't
hard to do.

They were these from Mcmaster.....


John

[vtx1029]

Originally Posted by microcarve Do you have a picture? I thought all the k2cnc mounts were the same as of the last year or so. I'm not familiar with one that holds the router at the plastic body. I wouldn't think that'd be good.... John

Its the same as this one. I just slid the router down an inch instead of dropping the z mount lower or putting another block under the work piece.

[microcarve]

Originally Posted by vtx1029 Its the same as this one. I just slid the router down an inch instead of dropping the z mount lower or putting another block under the work piece.

It looks OK to me....

It looks like it's doing what it was intended to do. Just check it to
be sure the router doesn't wobble any if it's set too far down.

That's what I thought they looked like until I saw the different
newer versions.


John

[vtx1029]

Originally Posted by microcarve It looks OK to me.... It looks like it's doing what it was intended to do. Just check it to be sure the router doesn't wobble any if it's set too far down. That's what I thought they looked like until I saw the different newer versions. John

That is k2's photo here's mine


Also not sure why but I'm getting a circle on my vectors that Mach 3 is thinking is a tool path. Must be something I'm doing in cut2d...

[Jay C]

Check your IJ setting in Mach for arcs.

[zhanx]

the new mounts look like this

[microcarve]

Originally Posted by vtx1029 That is k2's photo here's mine

That does look set a little deep. I might do it a little more like
the pictures from k2cnc.

It may be just fine like it is, but it couldn't hurt to get it closer
to the bottom....

Also, the bit looks a good bit more extended than it needs to be.
It's always a good idea to take an overall look at a project and
set up in a way that works best for the job...as well as the machine.
Basically, bring the work closer to the Z bottom clearance when you
can, and use a shorter extended cutter.

Long extended cutters need a much lighter touch. The bit acts
as a lever....

(Looks like the material shifted while being cut....(?)

Looking Good!!!


John

[leaveme]

Originally Posted by vtx1029 Its the same as this one. I just slid the router down an inch instead of dropping the z mount lower or putting another block under the work piece.

Buddy, your extra chuck looks interesting. Where did you buy it from?