< Outer Main Rods >
Castings for the side control system haven't delivered yet. So I started
main rods first.
The photo shows laser-cut parts. The longer one is outer main rod and the
shorter one is inner main rod. The rectangle part is for outer main rod's
big end. I started from the outer main rods.
Big end bush is rectangle shaped, so the rod has rectangle hole. It was laser cut and finished by end mill. I took 1.5 mm finishing allowance.
Small end will be hidden under cross head. So I chose a simple round bush here. Hole for the bush is drilled and reamed.
For side cutting, the rods are bolted on a jig that was held on milling machine table with two angle plates. It is in the same manner as the side rods.
Flute of the rod is cut in the jig, too. It's also same as the side rods.
Incidentally, the red button is limit switch of automatic feed.
Laser-cut faces of the rod are cleaned up with grinding stone.
The rectangle bush is made from gunmetal round bar. First, it is cut to cuboid shape in the lathe four-jaw.
Center hole and rim is cut in the lathe. This will be the top side.
The bush will be push into the rod from top side and fixed with a wedge bolted in front of the bush. Flanges around the bush is cut by end mill. The wedge has 1/5 tapered face. The photo shows a taper gauge so as to hold the bush in machine vise in desired angle.
Corner fillet of the bush is cut in rotary table. Note the fillet center position is marked and punched in the bush back side. It is utilized for centering of the bush in the rotary table.
The backside rim is cut in the lathe. I made a fixture for centering the bush.
The rectangle bushes are completed.
This is the wedge made from steel flat bar. It has M3 screw hole. Its fillet is also cut on the rotary table. The slant face is cut with the preceding taper gauge.
The photo shows assembled big end. The wedge is pulled by a screw from
bottom and the screw top is secured by double nuts. An oil pot is made
and screwed into the top face.
This is the small end. A disc and nuts near the bush is dummy.
Finished outer main rods.
