Been helping another member

[Mettee]

I have been helping out another member with a build he is doing. I recently completed a triple SSR-50 light and he had some questions. Well we got to talking a bit here and there about a fixture that would make it easier for him to remove some material from the stars. Long story short is that he made me one and sent it to me for free. I really appreciate it Kodama(tony)! Such a good guy....Here are some pics to share his great work. figured since its machining this was the best place to show you...

You can imagine how it works so I will spare you the details...but it is meant to be chucked in a lathe.

 

[precisionworks]

Pretty slick ... custom bored soft jaws that are drawn into a compression sleeve. Nice TIG welding on the drawbolt side :D

Very well done.

 

[wquiles]

+1

I am certainly very impressed with the work :twothumbs

 

[kodama]

Geez, don't know what to say, feel a bit embarrassed :laughing:. Thanks guys for the props! It was mettee's idea for the collet, I just pictured it and made it. We wanted to make something to securely hold the SSR-50 star for machining because ruining a $40 LED would be a bummer :sigh:. I'm still learning about working with the lathe so if anyone can recommend a good book or DVD, i'm all ears.

 

[65535]

I'm of the mind that real skill and ability come from hands on use, no DVD or book can teach that, BUT knowing the basics and information is a healthy start (not to mention can save you some damaged tooling and parts).

Barry will surely have some recommendations, mine is practice your machine, know all about what it can and can't do, and what makes it purr.

 

[precisionworks]

practice your machine

+1

Most of my machine tool knowledge was gained by working in a production job shop. If you ever have the opportunity to do that, even if just for a few hours a week in the evenings, you'll learn a lot. Different lathes & mills, all sorts of tooling, more set ups than you can imagine, layout, etc.

 

[kodama]

Most of the time it's cheaper and easier to buy things pre made, but there are times when no one makes the things you need so I try to make my own. I'm learning as i go along doing little projects here and there. I bought a new motorcycle a couple of years ago and wanted to put new wheels on it but the wheels didn't fit. After going back and forth with the manufacturer three to four times having them make new spacers and axles to the new bike's specs, they were still off on the dimensions. So frustrating, so i read up about lathes and decided to buy a 7x10 mini lathe which was perfect for the little parts I had to make. Fast forward to today. I wanted to make the collet Mettee (drew) and I had discussed but the 3" chuck on my mini lathe was too small. I was going to buy a larger chuck but after looking around found that for a little more money I can get a bigger used lathe with the bigger chuck. So now i have a jet 9x20 which has alot more breathing room to work with. I figure I'll use this lathe for a year or two then get a bigger one to settle down with. Precisionworks and wquiles, I appreciate your various machining posts because I'm learning from those also :thumbsup:.

 

[Mettee]

I spun up the part to 600rpm with an led in it and it looks great...no visible run out. Holds really well. Man I wish I would have had this before!

I have to say I find it a lot more fun to build what you need. Not many people can appreciate it, but most of us here can. I always show parts to the sig other and they just nod and say nice....they have no idea :)

 

[Anglepoise]

Pic would be great. I have never needed to cut down a star so am keen to see exactly what you are up to. If space was limited , I have in the past used an emitter on its own. Would like to see how you are holding the star.

 

[Mettee]

Look over the pictures in the first post that should show you. It is a custom collet holder that is then chucked into a lathe. then you cut small amounts off the star.

 

[kodama]

I spun up the part to 600rpm with an led in it and it looks great...no visible run out. Holds really well. Man I wish I would have had this before!

I have to say I find it a lot more fun to build what you need. Not many people can appreciate it, but most of us here can. I always show parts to the sig other and they just nod and say nice....they have no idea :)

Yes, there is nothing more rewarding than making your own part, especially if it comes out the way you want :rock:, then again sometimes :sigh:. Glad the collet is helping you out Drew :thumbsup:. Here's a pic with the star in the collet.

 

[precisionworks]

If your lathe has a 5C collet chuck, there is one other way to hold the star. Use a 5C "emergency collet" (available in nylon, brass or steel) and bore to size & depth. The only problem is that not everyone has a 5C collet chuck, where your holder will work on any lathe :thumbsup:

(The small pins are left in the collet as it's drawn back into the taper. Once compressed, the face is bored & the machined collet is removed from the chuck. Pins are taken out and collet is ready to use.)

 

[Anglepoise]

Yes, there is nothing more rewarding than making your own part, especially if it comes out the way you want :rock:, then again sometimes :sigh:. Glad the collet is helping you out Drew :thumbsup:. Here's a pic with the star in the collet.

Thanks for the pic. Unusual way to adjust the final LED /reflector position but looks like it will work well for those times when one only needs to reduce height by a few thou.
Nice work......

 

[65535]

Very nice work on that, looks like it does the trick perfectly.

 

[Mettee]

Thanks for the pic. Unusual way to adjust the final LED /reflector position but looks like it will work well for those times when one only needs to reduce height by a few thou.
Nice work......

If you look at the build I did a while back you will see what that was used for specifically. I had used a DW heatsink and MCE reflectors and the less of the evils was to shorten the star by .020. I ended up doing it by hand, this tool would allow it take me an hour instead of way too many hours like it did.

Since Kodama wanted to build a version of that light, I suggested he make this collet holder. I had ruined an LED in my process and I did want that for his build.

 

[kodama]

If your lathe has a 5C collet chuck, there is one other way to hold the star. Use a 5C "emergency collet" (available in nylon, brass or steel) and bore to size & depth. The only problem is that not everyone has a 5C collet chuck, where your holder will work on any lathe :thumbsup:

(The small pins are left in the collet as it's drawn back into the taper. Once compressed, the face is bored & the machined collet is removed from the chuck. Pins are taken out and collet is ready to use.)

PW, that would be a sweet setup and less work, but I don't have a 5C collet (yet) :laughing:

Thanks for the pic. Unusual way to adjust the final LED /reflector position but looks like it will work well for those times when one only needs to reduce height by a few thou.
Nice work......

You can check out mettee's build thread here http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=271443