Red'n'Black
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- Messages
- 509
- Location
- Malvern, Worcs
Bought this machine a few years back, in good nick but one thing it was always missing was a rip fence. The slide rail was included but I couldn't find anybody selling the fence itself, I looked at some of the generic ones from Axminster etc but always wanted a purpose-made one.
Drew up the design in Sketchup, it's a bit limited as an engineering tool but can't argue with the price and I find it helps me visualise how the parts fit together before I start.
The slide rail has a rebate to secure the fence vertically
The plan was to make a top plate from 6mm sheet and all the other parts from 30x30x5 angle.
The fixed jaw is cut to size then a bead of weld built up and then milled back to create a 3mm lip which engages with the rebate in the slide rail. Then the jaw and the top plate are chamfered and welded together.
Once the sliding jaw and the clamp bolt were in place I fitted it to the table, got the fence aligned with the table slot (didn't trust myself to get an accurate right angle otherwise) and welded it on to the top plate.
You won't be surprised to hear, once it all cooled down I found what had been a nice sliding fit was now jammed up solid. The heat had distorted the top plate, only by a fraction of a mm as it turned out, and both the slide rail and the sliding jaw now didn't.
A bit of work with a piece of flat bar and some emery on the high spots soon had it moving again. Also smoothed out the milled slots in the sliding jaw, cutter marks don't make for a very good sliding surface.
The jaw slides on M6 countersunk bolts with washers and Nyloc nuts. In hindsight I should have tapped the holes in the top plate, as it is they have a tendency to tilt in the hole and bind against the jaw.
The clamp is just a M10 bolt with a piece of 19mm round bar welded on, then a 4mm slot cut for the toggle, then cross drilled to take a split pin.
Tidy up the welds with a flap disc, then a dab of grease between the jaw and the top plate and fit it to the machine.
Pleased to say it's still all lined up exactly and has made the machine a delight to use. No more faffing about with g clamps and bits of 2x2 before I can start a job.
It ought to have a coat of paint at some point, right now I have a pile of jobs I've been putting off until this was working!
Drew up the design in Sketchup, it's a bit limited as an engineering tool but can't argue with the price and I find it helps me visualise how the parts fit together before I start.
The slide rail has a rebate to secure the fence vertically
The plan was to make a top plate from 6mm sheet and all the other parts from 30x30x5 angle.
The fixed jaw is cut to size then a bead of weld built up and then milled back to create a 3mm lip which engages with the rebate in the slide rail. Then the jaw and the top plate are chamfered and welded together.
Once the sliding jaw and the clamp bolt were in place I fitted it to the table, got the fence aligned with the table slot (didn't trust myself to get an accurate right angle otherwise) and welded it on to the top plate.
You won't be surprised to hear, once it all cooled down I found what had been a nice sliding fit was now jammed up solid. The heat had distorted the top plate, only by a fraction of a mm as it turned out, and both the slide rail and the sliding jaw now didn't.
A bit of work with a piece of flat bar and some emery on the high spots soon had it moving again. Also smoothed out the milled slots in the sliding jaw, cutter marks don't make for a very good sliding surface.
The jaw slides on M6 countersunk bolts with washers and Nyloc nuts. In hindsight I should have tapped the holes in the top plate, as it is they have a tendency to tilt in the hole and bind against the jaw.
The clamp is just a M10 bolt with a piece of 19mm round bar welded on, then a 4mm slot cut for the toggle, then cross drilled to take a split pin.
Tidy up the welds with a flap disc, then a dab of grease between the jaw and the top plate and fit it to the machine.
Pleased to say it's still all lined up exactly and has made the machine a delight to use. No more faffing about with g clamps and bits of 2x2 before I can start a job.
It ought to have a coat of paint at some point, right now I have a pile of jobs I've been putting off until this was working!