Who wants an update?
Well like an over zealous dinner lady at a comprehensive you're having one (?????? What, sorry I don't know either)
Have any of you got caught in a whirlpool or a tornado?
No, me neither. Well it's how I feel after this most recent little engineering adventure, I'm committed (maybe should be committed more like. I'll have to look into that) if nothing else, if I say I'm going to do something by golly I do it :lol:
*Disclaimer*
I did realise about half way through I could have just cut a slot in the end of the threaded bars with a hacksaw and use a big screwdriver. F***!! Where's the fun in that though?
Back to the story.
Broaching a hex into a piece of metal 101
Course tutor -- n0legs
Session length -- approx 3 hours
Repeated -- Never, well maybe we'll see. Well actually at least twice more to complete this
I put the grey matter to work, did a little research and this is what I came up with.
Gathered below are the neccessary supplies for such a jaunt into the unknown.
I have a hydraulic pump and some rams, normal equipment for the electrical engineer :-s
So I thought I could use this to provide the "push" needed to make a hex shaped hole in a piece of metal. What to use for the actual broach? Umm, allen key stupid :roll:
Okay with that settled we move on.
I "turned" a brass bolt into a tool holder. I needed something to hold securely the allen key on top of the ram.
A few quick holes, one tapped for M5 to attach the "tool holder" to the ram and another for the actual allen bit.
Next up came the issue of holding all of this inline with the threaded bar. So a scrap of 100mm box was volunteered for this task.
I realised with up to 10T of pressure pushing up on this box, some deformation was expected. A quick play with the mig and some reinforcement was added and an 18mm nut welded into place.
So let's get this thing assembled.
This is how it all goes together. Are you at the back with us on this? Yea? Good, glad someone is.
I drilled a 6mm hole, I'm going for a 6mm hex, in the end of a scrap piece of stock. It's not the most central hole (I think Mr Wong must have marked the centre on it :lol: ) I've ever drilled, but for a test it'll do fine.
Well it worked, sort of. The bit drove into the steel like it wasn't there, great thinks I.
Well we all know what thinking the best does don't we? Sweet lady balls up is usually right round the corner.
And she was!!
It pressed the bit so far in and so well I couldn't get the beggar out!! Even using my best Anglo Saxon made no effect.
In fact I snapped the bloody bit off.
Coffee, lots of. Smoke, one or two of.
Got it! No relief around the "broach/bit". I don't need to shove a whole allen key piece into the steel, all I need is a few mm's of untouched profile to create the shape required 8)
So with plan in hand, (actually in the head, why waste time with drawing all this out) I attacked a piece of allen key to make a new "broach" with the mini grinder.
So with a new hole drilled in the end of my test piece we try once more.
Success, YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!
The good woman comes home (yes she makes an apperance here as well) to find me dancing round like a drunken numpty.
GW "What are you doing"
n0legs "Not now woman I'm creating!"
GW "I swear one of these days I'll find you in that shed trying to bring a body back to life"
n0legs "Overreact much?"
In all fairness to her she did say once "Living with you is like being in an episode of Shameless crossed with the Krypton Factor!" :shock:
Well dear friends I completed what we set out to do. Chuffed is the word me thinks for this occassion.
Where was I? Yea, I was gonna' go get some wood for this. Side tracked might be my middle name.
More to come. Don't know when, we'll just roll with it