Come along with me as I embark on a new mould build. All good projects start with raw material so here we go on the bandsaw. Here I am cutting off a slab of aluminum.
Next I need to cut that slab into two future mould blocks.
With those blocks in hand, along with two more I already had, it's time to clean up the blocks on the mill. This is done with a single point fly cutter.. All six sides are cut to make sure everything is square.
With the clean up done it's time to cut the vent lines. This is done with the same fly cutter. The tool is running much slower and the table much faster. I set the tool to cut 0.001" deep and allow it to pass fully across the blocks. This causes the tool to cut on the front and back side leaving a cross hatch pattern.
Next I drill and tap 5/16-18 holes in the blocks for the alignment pins.
Each pin hole is then cross drilled and tapped for 8-32 set screws which will lock the pins in place.
The pins are made on the lathe, male pins are cut with a 60° tool and female pins are drilled with a 60° center drill.
I clamp the mould blocks in the vise, screw in the pins, and lock them in place with the set screws. I use two in each set screw hole.
Next I cut the bolt heads off so I can fly cut the blocks and make sure everything is dead square.
There's plenty more to come so stay tuned.
|
   
   
|
|
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Yodogsandman
