Turning common pipe
 

How can I turn 1.5" pipe and get a decent finish. Need to make a
sleeve for a golf cart clutch and 1.5" pipe is close to the finished
size. I'd rather not have to bore a 1.62 hole in solid stock if I can
find another way

Turning common pipe
 

"Gerry" wrote in message
...
How can I turn 1.5" pipe and get a decent finish. Need to make a
sleeve for a golf cart clutch and 1.5" pipe is close to the finished
size. I'd rather not have to bore a 1.62 hole in solid stock if I can
find another way

I had a job a while back using 1/2" pipe to make bushings. Don't remember
having any trouble at all. I'm sure I used HSS hand ground tool bits.

I know I turned 2" pipe to make idler rollers on my water bin dump in 1988.
It came out well, used the rollers a whole bunch today. Again don't remember
but surely used HSS hand ground tool bits. The rollers are still real smooth
except where the bin skids ride. The metal is actually wearing thin here. I
may have to re-do it in another ten years or so.

Karl

Turning common pipe
 

On Oct 31, 4:20*pm, Gerry wrote:
How can I turn 1.5" pipe and get a decent finish. Need to make a
sleeve for a golf cart clutch and 1.5" pipe is close to the finished
size. I'd rather not have to bore a 1.62 hole in solid stock if I can
find another way

If it's common black iron pipe, it may be interesting if you need
smooth finish inside and out. There's usually a nasty seam inside
from the lap welding process, makes boring/reaming very interesting.
Die grinder time. I wanted to make an extended column for my cheapie
bench drill press. I ended up with some pipe about .080" over what I
needed. I found out the stuff was square-ish. So don't assume what
you get will be round or even close to round. I ended up using a belt
grinder to round it up and work it down, ended up with a nice ground
finish over 3' or so(and a whole pile of steel dust). Variation was
about .005" over the length, close enough for the table clamp to work
well from top to bottom.

D.O.M. tubing has a much better interior finish, but may not be
available in the wall thickness you want.

If what you need is fairly short, like less than 3/8" or so, you could
rough your bushing blank out of solid with a hole saw or saws, then
finish inside and out in the lathe. Lots of cutting oil needed and a
rigid drill press.

Alternative for longer blanks, chain-drill inside and out, then knock
the slug out and the corners off. Then finish in the lathe. Tedious,
but I've done it.

Stan

Turning common pipe
 

On Oct 31, 5:20*pm, Gerry wrote:
How can I turn 1.5" pipe and get a decent finish. Need to make a
sleeve for a golf cart clutch and 1.5" pipe is close to the finished
size. I'd rather not have to bore a 1.62 hole in solid stock if I can
find another way

The job is to make a bushing for a golf cart clutch. ID has to be 1.62
and OD 1.80 or so. 1.5" pipe is fairly close but it just turns pretty
bad because the steel tears out leaving a poor surface. Made a hi
speed tool with about 1/8" radius and turned at 190 rpm and I get a
decent but not good surface. Carbide was much worse than HSS. Still
have to bore it to fit the shaft it rides on. I will look for some
1.5" conduit at work as it should already have a reamed ID. 12L14
would be easy to use but I just hate to start with a 2" chunk and have
to bore it out to 1.62. Bushing has to be just under 2" long. Thanks
for any ideas

Turning common pipe
 

The job is to make a bushing for a golf cart clutch. ID has to be 1.62
and OD 1.80 or so. 1.5" pipe is fairly close but it just turns pretty
bad because the steel tears out leaving a poor surface. Made a hi
speed tool with about 1/8" radius and turned at 190 rpm and I get a
decent but not good surface. Carbide was much worse than HSS. Still

I'd try a HSS bit with just an RCH of radius. Stone it razor sharp. Use
coolant and turn the RPM WAY up. Should stop the tearing.

Karl

Turning common pipe
 

On Nov 1, 12:32*am, Gerry wrote:

The job is to make a bushing for a golf cart clutch. ID has to be 1.62
and OD 1.80 or so. 1.5" pipe is fairly close but it just turns pretty
bad because the steel tears out leaving a poor surface. Made a hi
speed tool with *about 1/8" radius and turned at 190 rpm and I get a
decent but not good surface.

Thanks
for any ideas

Cheat. Turn it a little oversize and then use a file on it while it
is still in the lathe and turning. Should give you a good surface
finish. Sandpaper will also work.

Dan

Turning common pipe
 

On Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:20:03 -0700 (PDT), Gerry
wrote:

How can I turn 1.5" pipe and get a decent finish. Need to make a
sleeve for a golf cart clutch and 1.5" pipe is close to the finished
size. I'd rather not have to bore a 1.62 hole in solid stock if I can
find another way


On a lathe or centerless grinder? Depends on your definition of ...
decent finish.

Would that be a 16 finish..or 56?

Gunner

"IMHO, some people here give Jeff far more attention than he deserves,
but obviously craves. The most appropriate response, and perhaps the
cruelest, IMO, is to simply killfile and ignore him. An alternative, if
you must, would be to post the same standard reply to his every post,
listing the manifold reasons why he ought to be ignored. Just my $0.02
worth."

Turning common pipe
 

On Oct 31, 5:20*pm, Gerry wrote:
How can I turn 1.5" pipe and get a decent finish. Need to make a
sleeve for a golf cart clutch and 1.5" pipe is close to the finished
size. I'd rather not have to bore a 1.62 hole in solid stock if I can
find another way

I've seen a considerable difference between batches and Lowe's vs Home
Depot, not that either is consistently better. Sometimes it is pushed
in along the weld seam or otherwise out of round. Pocket-sized 4" dial
calipers can find that easily.

Heating it red and quenching when the red disappears may improve how
well it turns. I use sharp HSS with little top rake and brushed-on
pipe threading oil. The well-braced shear cut you get by setting the
slanted end of the bit square against the work and raised so the cut
is in the middle helps sometimes.

jsw

Turning common pipe
 

Jim Wilkins wrote:
....
Heating it red and quenching when the red disappears may improve how
well it turns. ...

Does that mean "Heating it red, letting it air cool until the red
disappears, and then quenching"?

And, what does this do to the steel?

Always on the lookout to learn something new,
Bob

Turning common pipe
 

On Nov 1, 9:14*am, Bob Engelhardt wrote:
Jim Wilkins wrote:

...

Heating it red and quenching when the red disappears may improve how
well it turns. ...

Does that mean "Heating it red, letting it air cool until the red
disappears, and then quenching"?

And, what does this do to the steel?

Always on the lookout to learn something new,
Bob

It's called a Water Anneal. Exactly what it does depends on the steel
composition and your idea of 'red hot'. I've seen it in several
Lindsay books as an alternative to annealing or normalizing, along
with hearsay evidence that it leaves the steel in the best or
preferred condition for machining with HSS tools. There was no mention
of checking for the Curie point with a magnet.

In my own limited experience it makes the steel slightly harder and
less gooey than a full anneal with overnight cooling in the wood
stove, though that works well too and is easier with larger pieces.

http://www.knives.com/heatreat.html

jsw

Turning common pipe
 

"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message
...
On Nov 1, 9:14 am, Bob Engelhardt wrote:
Jim Wilkins wrote:

...

Heating it red and quenching when the red disappears may improve how
well it turns. ...

Does that mean "Heating it red, letting it air cool until the red
disappears, and then quenching"?

And, what does this do to the steel?

Always on the lookout to learn something new,
Bob

It's called a Water Anneal. Exactly what it does depends on the steel
composition and your idea of 'red hot'. I've seen it in several
Lindsay books as an alternative to annealing or normalizing, along
with hearsay evidence that it leaves the steel in the best or
preferred condition for machining with HSS tools. There was no mention
of checking for the Curie point with a magnet.

In my own limited experience it makes the steel slightly harder and
less gooey than a full anneal with overnight cooling in the wood
stove, though that works well too and is easier with larger pieces.

http://www.knives.com/heatreat.html

jsw

It sounds similar to normalizing, which also improves machinability. You
keep the heating brief to avoid grain growth, and it retains some hardness.

That is, normalizing does. The difference is that you're talking about a
fast quench, whereas normalizing is quenched in air (without insulation, as
for a full anneal).

I can't speak for what it does to a low-carbon steel, like water or gas
pipe, but it's very effective when the steel has a high carbon content.

FWIW, I've never had success getting clean cuts on water pipe, either. But I
didn't experiment much with it. I just finished with a file. g

--
Ed Huntress

Turning common pipe
 

On Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:14:09 -0500, Bob Engelhardt
wrote:

Jim Wilkins wrote:
...
Heating it red and quenching when the red disappears may improve how
well it turns. ...

Does that mean "Heating it red, letting it air cool until the red
disappears, and then quenching"?

And, what does this do to the steel?

Always on the lookout to learn something new,
Bob

Its called Annealing



"IMHO, some people here give Jeff far more attention than he deserves,
but obviously craves. The most appropriate response, and perhaps the
cruelest, IMO, is to simply killfile and ignore him. An alternative, if
you must, would be to post the same standard reply to his every post,
listing the manifold reasons why he ought to be ignored. Just my $0.02
worth."

Turning common pipe
 

Gunner Asch wrote:
On Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:14:09 -0500, Bob Engelhardt
wrote:

Jim Wilkins wrote:
...
Heating it red and quenching when the red disappears may improve how
well it turns. ...

Does that mean "Heating it red, letting it air cool until the red
disappears, and then quenching"?

And, what does this do to the steel?


Its called Annealing

I thought annealing (1) applied to high(er) carbon steel (not mild
steel), (2) required a very slow cool down (insulated).

Bob

Turning common pipe
 

"Bob Engelhardt" wrote in message
...
Gunner Asch wrote:
On Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:14:09 -0500, Bob Engelhardt
wrote:

Jim Wilkins wrote:
...
Heating it red and quenching when the red disappears may improve how
well it turns. ...

Does that mean "Heating it red, letting it air cool until the red
disappears, and then quenching"?

And, what does this do to the steel?


Its called Annealing

I thought annealing (1) applied to high(er) carbon steel (not mild steel),
(2) required a very slow cool down (insulated).

Bob

It applies to any steel, or most other metals, for that matter. In addition
to slow cooling, it requires a soak at a temperature over the Curie temp.

Annealed steel is dead-soft. The problems are that it's a bit gummy, and it
can have large grain sizes, which leads to weakness and rough finishes.

--
Ed Huntress

Turning common pipe
 

On Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:04:11 -0500, Bob Engelhardt
wrote:

Gunner Asch wrote:
On Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:14:09 -0500, Bob Engelhardt
wrote:

Jim Wilkins wrote:
...
Heating it red and quenching when the red disappears may improve how
well it turns. ...

Does that mean "Heating it red, letting it air cool until the red
disappears, and then quenching"?

And, what does this do to the steel?


Its called Annealing

I thought annealing (1) applied to high(er) carbon steel (not mild
steel), (2) required a very slow cool down (insulated).

Bob

Not necessarily. It has varying degrees


"IMHO, some people here give Jeff far more attention than he deserves,
but obviously craves. The most appropriate response, and perhaps the
cruelest, IMO, is to simply killfile and ignore him. An alternative, if
you must, would be to post the same standard reply to his every post,
listing the manifold reasons why he ought to be ignored. Just my $0.02
worth."

Turning common pipe
 

On Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:32:40 -0700 (PDT), Gerry wrote:

On Oct 31, 5:20*pm, Gerry wrote:
How can I turn 1.5" pipe and get a decent finish. Need to make a
sleeve for a golf cart clutch and 1.5" pipe is close to the finished
size. I'd rather not have to bore a 1.62 hole in solid stock if I can
find another way

The job is to make a bushing for a golf cart clutch. ID has to be 1.62
and OD 1.80 or so. 1.5" pipe is fairly close but it just turns pretty
bad because the steel tears out leaving a poor surface.


Personally, for these dimensions. I wouldn't bother messing around with iron
pipe. I'd turn it from solid. Drilling to 1" and then boring the rest of the
way. Advantage of that is that it would then be made of 4340pre-hard, which I
have a stock of, and which machines beautifully, rather than unknownium.
Whenever you come across a project that needs a foot of stock, buy a length of
stock, eventually, you have what you need waiting for you :-)

Sorry, bad day at work :-(


Mark Rand
RTFM