Spent the week building boxes without topses (all six sides are glued
solidly in place.) The first, smaller boxes weren't a problem....

The first photo shows a 4'W x 6'H box about to have a second back
panel glued in place, the second photo shows that panel glued and
clamped in place (no brads to hold it while the glue dries), and the
third photo shows a pair of these critters in their normal upright
position from the front. All they lack now is sanding/painting,
absorber/exchangers, paint, and glazing. It always bothers me a bit to
buy clear hardwood, machine it to +/- 1/1000, and then cover it with
Latex :-(

Next up: a pair of 8'W x 6'H boxes of the same general design, and -
oops! - that size doesn't fit my 2' x 6' workbench or my 4' x 6'
roll-around assembly cart. I think I'll manage to get by with the
lash-up shown in the fourth photo, but I'm starting to give serious
thought to an 8' x 6' workbench (perhaps with a trapeze)...

....and I'm planning a stop at Menards for another armful of clamps :-)

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/collectors.html

Cool. What are they for?

B.

Buddy Matlosz wrote:

| Cool. What are they for?

Passive solar air-heating panels that convert winter sunlight to
indoor warmth. There're more photos and addl info at
www.iedu.com/DeSoto/collectors.html

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
www.iedu.com/DeSoto/solar.html

"Morris Dovey" wrote in message
...
Spent the week building boxes without topses (all six sides are glued
solidly in place.) The first, smaller boxes weren't a problem....

The first photo shows a 4'W x 6'H box about to have a second back
panel glued in place, the second photo shows that panel glued and
clamped in place (no brads to hold it while the glue dries), and the
third photo shows a pair of these critters in their normal upright
position from the front. All they lack now is sanding/painting,
absorber/exchangers, paint, and glazing. It always bothers me a bit to
buy clear hardwood, machine it to +/- 1/1000, and then cover it with
Latex :-(

Next up: a pair of 8'W x 6'H boxes of the same general design, and -
oops! - that size doesn't fit my 2' x 6' workbench or my 4' x 6'
roll-around assembly cart. I think I'll manage to get by with the
lash-up shown in the fourth photo, but I'm starting to give serious
thought to an 8' x 6' workbench (perhaps with a trapeze)...

...and I'm planning a stop at Menards for another armful of clamps :-)

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/collectors.html



Workbench not long enough, why not add a drop leaf to one end/side?

Sean

Morris Dovey wrote:

| ...and I'm planning a stop at Menards for another armful of clamps

More clamps was definitely a step in the right direction!

| :-)

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/collectors.html

Sean wrote:

| Workbench not long enough, why not add a drop leaf to one end/side?

Not a bad idea - but since it'll be a single-purpose bench, I'd like
to build it to the size I need. I want absolute flatness and the
ability to incorporate specialized clamping features.

I may actually end up with a monster welded up out of 4"-square steel
tubing...

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/solar.html

Last time I followed one of your posts you were spouting robotics. a subject
totally alien to me . This is what I have been piddling with since ......mjh


"Morris Dovey" wrote in message
...
Spent the week building boxes without topses (all six sides are glued
solidly in place.) The first, smaller boxes weren't a problem....

The first photo shows a 4'W x 6'H box about to have a second back
panel glued in place, the second photo shows that panel glued and
clamped in place (no brads to hold it while the glue dries), and the
third photo shows a pair of these critters in their normal upright
position from the front. All they lack now is sanding/painting,
absorber/exchangers, paint, and glazing. It always bothers me a bit to
buy clear hardwood, machine it to +/- 1/1000, and then cover it with
Latex :-(

Next up: a pair of 8'W x 6'H boxes of the same general design, and -
oops! - that size doesn't fit my 2' x 6' workbench or my 4' x 6'
roll-around assembly cart. I think I'll manage to get by with the
lash-up shown in the fourth photo, but I'm starting to give serious
thought to an 8' x 6' workbench (perhaps with a trapeze)...

...and I'm planning a stop at Menards for another armful of clamps :-)

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/collectors.html

mike hide wrote:

| Last time I followed one of your posts you were spouting robotics.
| a subject totally alien to me . This is what I have been piddling
| with since ......mjh

As you've probably figured out, robotics are an important part of my
work life - and I'm sufficiently fascinated with the possibilities to
talk about the stuff whenever I can.

I especially like your box beam, heavier rails, and the rail supports
for the y-axis - and your router/spindle mount is much more elegant
than my (rather primitive) band clamp setup that surprised even me
with its rigidity.

How did you handle the linear bearings - and are you satisfied with
their performance?

I used Delrin slides on round rails and they work well at low to
moderate speeds, but are prone to chatter when I try to move the
spindle around at speeds higher than about 5"/sec. I'm planning to try
another approach (mounting ordinary ball bearings to machined aluminum
blocks) to see if I can push the speed up a few more notches. I'd
really like to be able to run the steppers flat out.

Please post more pictures as you progress - and let the rest of us
learn from your experiences...

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/solar.html

"Morris Dovey" wrote in message
...

Please post more pictures as you progress - and let the rest of us
learn from your experiences...

Second. ;-)

-- Mark

"Morris Dovey" wrote in message
...
mike hide wrote:

| Last time I followed one of your posts you were spouting robotics.
| a subject totally alien to me . This is what I have been piddling
| with since ......mjh

As you've probably figured out, robotics are an important part of my
work life - and I'm sufficiently fascinated with the possibilities to
talk about the stuff whenever I can.

I especially like your box beam, heavier rails, and the rail supports
for the y-axis - and your router/spindle mount is much more elegant
than my (rather primitive) band clamp setup that surprised even me
with its rigidity.

How did you handle the linear bearings - and are you satisfied with
their performance?

I used Delrin slides on round rails and they work well at low to
moderate speeds, but are prone to chatter when I try to move the
spindle around at speeds higher than about 5"/sec. I'm planning to try
another approach (mounting ordinary ball bearings to machined aluminum
blocks) to see if I can push the speed up a few more notches. I'd
really like to be able to run the steppers flat out.

Please post more pictures as you progress - and let the rest of us
learn from your experiences...

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/solar.html



Morris I am in the middle of building "joe's machine " as shown in
http://www.cnczone.com/ There is a wealth of info in particular routers. I
have basically only completed the router gantry section ,this being the most
complex part of this design. The cradle runs on gas pipe from HD or Lowes
and uses inexpensive skate bearings readily available on ebay. The
driveshafts are 1/2" acme threaded rod available at enco again inexpensive .

Many people on the group, cnczone , are building the same machine using
parts made on Joes router . Basically being a pauper I could not go this
route and had to produce using basic woodworking equipment and drawings from
the site . One runs into problems here and there such as getting a close
fitting for the gas pipe housings and othere odd sizes easily done on a cnc
router but who has odd sized drill bit in their shop .

The gantry runs on a bed using two larger gas pipes on each side they are
supported in housings on either side of the box beam and the whole thing
runs on 16 skate bearings . The amazing thing to me is this piece of
equipment is producing stuff within a couple of thousandths .

I do have a few problems with the design in that the bearings running on the
gas pipes result in a point contact and thus very high contact pressures. So
I am going to try using an inverted 1 1/4" leg angle iron on a laminated mdf
beam. we will see mjh