07/28/00
The fourth time's the charm. Today I cut the contrate wheel for the fourth time, this time with success. Previous efforts ended in failure because of a dull cutter, which bent the rim, and indexing errors. I was able to salvage the back each time by unsoldering it -- so all I had to do was make a new ring.
You must index the Sherline rotary table 4.5 degrees to cut each tooth, and it's easy to get tired and make errors after cutting many of the 80 teeth. The solution was to use a calculator to add 4.5 to a cumulative total. Many, not all will do this repeat of the last operation if you simply press the "=" key each time. In addition, I counted each degree. Seems to work.
The contrate was thinned, both on the back and the teeth in the "box" on the lathe faceplate shown earlier.
The template for the crossing was made and glued into the wheel. Next time, I'll cross out the spokes and finish the wheel.
Today's links:
Contrate with crossing pattern
Contrate, as cut
Contrate thinned and finished.