Me again…

I used my Nice New ALBA NC shaper to make new jaws for its vice, and promptly decided that the next thing to make is a darn Chip guard! Wow, can that shaper toss chips about! As the only space I have left for it is in the Woodwork shop, chips don't go down well in there!

So, here are some pics of the guards – quickly fitted and removed by means of 4 thumbscrews, and 4 ex-hard-disc drive magnets siliconed to the guards:

Two right side thumbscrews

Two left underside magnets

Then I started making some toolholders for cutters made from 10mmx16mmx80mm HSS.

First doing the flat bars in the shaper:

One bar is 12mm thick, the upper bar in the pic below, the other is 16mm thick. The 12mm bar made horrid chips – all squashed and scrunched, torn out of the bar, while the lower bar chips curled off nicely. Both mild steel, with black scale, flame cut to sort of size – supplier could not tell me what grade/type of steel these were!

The lousy chips come from the upper bar in the pic below…Surface finish is strange! Same feed speed, DOC, ram speed and cutter as the lower bar. Upper bar cut first.

Cutter as ground as used – a HSS cutter 10mmx25mmx150mm

The open slot end of the tool holder – fitted with steel insert to be welded..

Castle tool holder clamped to bar, ready for welding

TIG Tacked…

All welded and cleaned up, ready to use.

Welding dome with TIG, at 200amps to get real deep penetration, and to put the weld where I wanted – not so easy with MIG..