Spindle construction

[georgebarr]

Does anyone know how to make a simple spindle? I am guessing that all I need is a cylinder for the housing of the spindle, 2 bearings, a collet, a rod to connect to the collet, and a pulley. This should be easy to construct, but I don't know exactly how it is done. Can someone provide some www links? Where does one buy the cylinder for the spindle housing? How do you match the OD size of the bearing with the ID of the cylinder?

Thanks,

[lsfoils]

Hi George,

What about a drill press spindle assembly? Seems like you could even purchase as replacement parts (probably already assembled) and go from there. Some of the really small 5 speed DPs go for as little as $80 for the whole thing. Seems like you should be able to get a spindle and quill assembly for a lot less. If you are looking to find out what they look like inside here is a link to a parts diagram:

http://images.grizzly.com/grizzlycom...s/G7943pl.pdf?

Hope this helps,

Doug

[Ferenczyg]

Home build rotary tool (credits to Zoltar):

http://www.rcmodels.net/cnc/hobby/size/home.html

[georgebarr]

The linke to the grizzly.com site does not work. Which is the better material for the spindle housing: stainless steel, aluminum, or alloy steel? I want to try aluminum since its cheaper and it can be milled using my router. Also, how do I match the ID cylinder diameter with the OD of the bearing? For example, aluminum round tube can come in ID 1.5" and 1.509". For a 1.5" OD bearing, which of the two sizes should I use? Also, what is a good OD size of the spindle housing?

Where can I find a rod with the collet (3/8" or 1/2")?

I want to mill mild steel which means I need a spindle and an AC motor. This is why I am trying to construct a spindle.

Thanks,

[jimbo]

what about getting parts from littlemachineshop.com?

such as an r8 spindle which would allow use of standard tooling collet holders etc.
http://littlemachineshop.com/product...ProductID=1625

you can buy as little or as much as you need depending on what you can fab yourself.

to mill steel, I think you will need more than just an aluminum tube with a couple of bearings and spindle shaft. there is a reason that real milling machines are as substantial as they are.

[ToyMaker]

George:
Dave Kush at http://www.buildyouridea.com/cnc/pcb...pcb_drill.html has built a high speed spindle with aluminum rod stock, skate bearings (really?), and a salad shooter motor.
No detailed specs, but enough pictures and verbiage that it could be repeated.

robotic regards,

Tom
= = = = =
The sight of a bald eagle has thrilled men for generations. The sight of a bald man, however, does absolutely nothing for an eagle.
- - unk.

[avsfan733]

your gonna want a pressfit for the bearings...this means two things
1) you need to look up the specs for a pressfit of whatever size bearing you end up with in the machinists handbook
2) you might want to build some sort of jig to make sure they go in square

[RotarySMP]

I just bought a spindle from Sherline industrial. Nice quality, ER16 collets, good responsive service.

http://www.sherlineipd.com/spindles.htm

[georgebarr]

RotarySMP,
What is the largest endmill dia. size that your sherline spindle can accept? What kind of collets can you attach to it?

[RotarySMP]

ER16 collets max out at 10mm, but you can make a tool holder with a draw bar for larger sizes. See the photos section of the minitoolchanger yahoo group for this idea.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/minitoolchanger

It is a small spindle, so you wouldn't want to hog out 1/2" slots in one pass.