Rebuilding an ancient bullet master mk3

[HATCH]

Any progress??


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[Tazza]

Any progress??


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Not a whole lot, i sprayed some colour on it on Friday and put the legs on. I was going to put the carousel on, but i was a bit concerned about the wear in the shaft and bushings. I figured why go to all this trouble and not take out any wear i can, so i spent a few hours scratching my head working out how to hold things in my little lathe to bore the bushings out till they are round and the same size again. I got there in the end, i hope to machine a new shaft in the next few days and possibly add another grease nipple for the ratchet arm. It has a bronze bushing, but not grease nipple, yet the tube the carousel mounts to does. I'll try and get pictures to show this better in the next day or two.

I'll get the painted frame picture online hopefully soon. It looks so much like dillon blue, did i just add value to it with the paint job?

[Tazza]

Here is it painted, looks good, a few runs from trying to get enough on there before it dried and leave a powdery finish, not perfect but a lot better than it was.


I'm having issues with the VFD too, i'm not happy with how it's running the motor, it does work, but i feel it's not wired right and heating up the starting windings being a split phase motor with a clutch to start it but i think it's still powering them when it's rotating. I'll need to contact the guy i bought it off to get his tech department to give more advise, i'm sure it's something simple, i just need to fiddle and not roast something.

[rcslotcar]

Looks like a great/fun project!!!!

[Tazza]

Looks like a great/fun project!!!!

So far, it hasn't been too frustrating, i'm sure that will come when it's together and then trying to get all the adjustments right so it indexes correctly. All the stuff i have done have been simple, cleaning and a little machining.

[HATCH]

It’s a pretty mechanical.
With multiple machines as long as you didn’t take them all apart you should be able to figure out how to get one up and running.


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[Tazza]

It’s a pretty mechanical.
With multiple machines as long as you didn’t take them all apart you should be able to figure out how to get one up and running.


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Exactly my plan, leave at least one assembled so i can see where things go and how they are adjusted. It will be more work as i could have blasted and painted them all together, but then i may not know just how it went together.

They were working up to the day the plug was pulled (pots were still full of lead), so they have to be adjusted correctly, or close to it.

[Tazza]

Not much to update, having issues with the single phase VFD, it's possible the drive is too small to power the motor, but it is also putting out odd voltages, i don't know if that is just due to my multi-meter not reading correctly due to how the VFD puts a weird carrier wave on the sine wave output. i'm working with the manufacturer tech department to see if we can work out a solution. Eventually i may just have to get a 3 phase motor and gear box and call it done, they are far better suited to these tasks.

I finally made enough room in my casting/machining area to cut the bar of 4140 that i machined to suit the larger carousel and the ratchet arm bushings. I put it in the mill to cut two flat spots for it to mount in the frame, it needs drilling but that will be an easy step. The ratchet arm is also worn where the rod that joins to the motor pivots, which is understandable. So, another thing for me to weld up and re-drill a hole. I could drill it over size, but the hole is a bit too close to the edge for my liking that could provide a failure point.

The ratchet did not have a grease nipple where it rotates on the shaft, i feel it should have one, so i'll add one to hopefully make it last longer as well.

[m37]

dont know if your machines have any left on them
but magma used shim washers at the end of carousel hubs
mike
aaaa

[Tazza]

dont know if your machines have any left on them
but magma used shim washers at the end of carousel hubs
mike
aaaa

It had a few washers on the ends to limit side to side movement, my plan was to make shims to replace the washers that were worn. There was side to side play, i'll make sure i take all that up with the new shims. How they mount on the end of the shaft, it doesn't have a nice flat area to push on, but i'll get it closer than it was.

[m37]

important thing is the one sprue cutter guide is fixed so you have to align to it
one machine we have has a even number of shims the others dont
mike

[Tazza]

important thing is the one sprue cutter guide is fixed so you have to align to it
one machine we have has a even number of shims the others dont
mike

Thanks for the heads up with that advise, i'll have to watch out for that, i was just going to make shims and didn't think about the fact i needed to align anything, i was just going to take the play out.

I cut the flats and drilled the new bar that the carousel spins on yesterday afternoon. I'll hopefully get a few more parts prepared and mounted up on the weekend and see what needs shimming to keep the guides in the right place.

The people i was talking to about the VFD sorted things out yesterday too, was something simple to do, just not something i had thought about. At least that is one more issue out of the way. It also means i can over drive the motor slightly by taking the frequency up a bit more than 60 that it is designed for, but i'll need to make sure it doesn't over heat.

[Tazza]

Not much more progress, the carousel is installed, i have fitted a set of moulds so i can rotate it and it clunks as it goes over the parts that open the mould. I'm not sure if i have it adjusted right, but looking at it, it doesn't appear to be that critical as long as it holds the moulds straight.

The critical ones appear to be at the top that only touches one arm to hold he mould under the melting pot holes. A simple setup and i see it being pretty reliable.

The next task is mounting a motor and making a new rod between it and the ratchet as the old one is not at all straight any more. The motor has wear on the shaft where it runs on a bronze bush, i'm not 100% sure how i'm going to repair this wear yet. The bushing is easy, but the shaft wear is very close to a gear, mig/tig it up then machine it back is the only idea i have. My concern is if i weld one side, there is a good chance it will warp. The wear isn't really bad, but it will not get any better, only worse.

[Ausglock]

Not much more progress, the carousel is installed, i have fitted a set of moulds so i can rotate it and it clunks as it goes over the parts that open the mould. I'm not sure if i have it adjusted right, but looking at it, it doesn't appear to be that critical as long as it holds the moulds straight.

The critical ones appear to be at the top that only touches one arm to hold he mould under the melting pot holes. A simple setup and i see it being pretty reliable.

The next task is mounting a motor and making a new rod between it and the ratchet as the old one is not at all straight any more. The motor has wear on the shaft where it runs on a bronze bush, i'm not 100% sure how i'm going to repair this wear yet. The bushing is easy, but the shaft wear is very close to a gear, mig/tig it up then machine it back is the only idea i have. My concern is if i weld one side, there is a good chance it will warp. The wear isn't really bad, but it will not get any better, only worse.

Have a yarn to the blokes at Hardchrome in Eagle farm. They can do amazing things with worn shafts and arbors.

[Tazza]

Tanks for the contact info, i have a mad mate yet to look at it and get his 2c worth and if he can't do it, it will need someone with fancier gear than we have to fix it.

I do have a spare brand new motor, so i do have some time to repair the worn one. Ideally i'd like to run a ball bearing, Bronze doesn't seem to be ideally suited for this sort of load as these motors are not oil filled, just grease. Grease does not lubricate the bronze very well and the output shaft does see high side loads.

[Tazza]

I have the VFD running it, ths video shows it indexing, without the parts that hold pressure on the mould when the sprue is cut, it will over index. The previous owner modified the ratchet part to add another ratchet that will make it stop. The movement of the ratchet arm, disengages the stop to allow it to move again. I'll try and get a better video in the coming week or so, but this will give you an idea of what it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyGu3glzMls

[HATCH]

Got any updates???

[rcslotcar]

WoW that video makes it look like new. Keep the updates coming!

[Tazza]

Sadly no new updates, currently working on the melting pot. I need to make a new cover so i can pack it with insulation, the housing will be rectangular instead of the oval shape it is now. I have welded up the top for this, i just need to make the rest of the box, drill a hole for the K thermocouple in the base.

The led pour setup was altered, but i'm going to try and change it back to how it was, or close to it. It was changed t run off cams, but with an air cylinder, i can change the pour times on the fly. The pot also only has one cavity to melt led in, it does not have a pre-melt segment, so if i want to be fancy, i can alter the pour times with a float switch to make it pour longer as the level gets lower, yet i don't feel this will be a big issue, as my master caster works pretty well even as the lead level drops.

[Ausglock]

Any update on your machine, Tazza??