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—25 10 07
This is a biggun. I thought I’d go into more detail because I dusted over a lot of milling sessions.
-A handy trick for when you need to cut circles. I needed some pads for my casefeet, so I sharpened the edge of a pipe to cookie-cut them. I like to sharpen things.
-I found an acordion bottle in the garage, but it’s to big to use. (This is a siphon pump similar to what US Plastics sells.)
-I tore the frame apart so I could finish countersinks and add some clinch nuts. It needed re-sanding and polish after that.
-The bits I bought from Enco came. I had evil plans for the 1″ 90degree countersink bit, but it’s a 5/8 shaft. (They need to add that little fact to the specs…) The idea was I could use it to make 45 degree corner joints, but I only have a 1/2″ chuck.
-I got started on a new northbridge block right away. You might remember that my tile saw left me with a pretty crooked raw block. I needed to first make one side that was 90 degrees to the top and bottom. After that I marked off what I needed to cut off using the new edge as a guide.
-Cutting the side bevels. I lined up the mark to be cut on a block resting on the vise. By using the same technique to line up each cut, I only had to set the drill depth once.
-The second side is even easier. I just rested the block on the bottom of the vice for alignment.
-Basic shape cut. I screwed up and cut too thin a strip near the end. That’s where the chipping came from.
-I hit a snag when I went to use the 1/2″ bit. The double end was too big to fit in the chuck, so I had to grind the bit in half. That took forever, and I think I may have needed some hearing protection.
-The first stage of the channel for the spring clamp.
-To bore the holes, I hand turned the bit. I started to do it with the motor, but it chattered like crazy.
-You may be able to see where I was running the drill here. One hole is smooth, one is chipped.
-More channel cutting. I started with the 1/2″ , then went to 1/4″, then finished with a 1/8″ ball end. The curve in the bottom of the channel will help keep the block from squirming around like the first one did.
-This shot shows why I stepped the channel. Nice fit?
-I got sidtracked and forgot to take pictures. This is the bottom finished. The shallow channels are mostly for looks. I plan on using 1/4″ copper for the baseplate, and I will dig a big hole in the middle of it. I found out earlier the spring was much weaker than I originally thought. I have 1/2″ of spring play at least.
-Expecting the worst, I milled out decorative cuts. -Nothing exploded this time, (although the drill press motor was getting friggin hot at this point. It doesn’t seem to like running all day.)
-Old block, new block…
-So that’s it for today, I gotta sand the sheee it out of this thing.
—28 10 07
Looking at these pictures reminded me, YES, I was tired.
-I got the basic shape cleaned up and everything was looking peachy…
-Oh Lawd! what did I do?! Copper is a different kind of critter from plexi, and the 1/2″ 2 flute bit was a bad idea. I had to slow the press down to the minimum because the chatter shook the bugger apart. I had handles and bolts falling off, and I’m certain I saw the platform moving. The slow speed helped, but right as I was finishing the first pass, The chuck fell off. It left that big scar in the middle. At that point, I didn’t care anymore. I put a 1/4″ bit in and started DIGGING. I didn’t try to be neat or careful.
-Today I cleaned the chew marks up a bit, and drilled holes for screws. Silicone will hide the ugly edges.
-Is it camouflage or subterfuge? I cut a bunch of stuff into the channel.
-I rushed ahead and sealed the whole thing up with silicone. The plexi has not yet been properly polished, but I used the DuPont polishing compound to do a pretty good pre-polish. I even got the holes for the barbs shined up.
-Nice little optical illusions like the one seen here made drilling the holes extra tense. I was certain that I was going to drill right out the side, but actually had plenty of room.
-Overkill for a northbridge, but it looks good. I still need to cut a notch out of it so it will fit next to the CPU block. It should only take 2 weeks for the glue to cure, too. (yuck)
Edit: I just looked at the block. The channel in the copper turned a deep green overnight. Something didn’t mix right. Maybe I should’ve purged the fumes like I did the last block.
—30 10 07
-After gluing, it turned this green in less than 24 hours!
-Even the exposed parts of the barbs turned. (This is a hint on how to remove polished barbs without scratching them, by the way…)
-Brasso was no help at all, so I resorted to an old favorite. Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner flash cleans brass and copper, but if you leave it on too long it will turn it red. This is after about 10 seconds of exposure. It even cleaned out the cracks.
-I milled out that one corner while I had everything apart. I found out why The 1/4″ mill bit was giving me trouble with the copper. One of the flutes/blades was chipped off. Good thing I ordered a new (cheap) one.
Before I glued everything this time I cleaned it in rubbing alcohol and then swabbed the channel with antifreeze. It’s currently drying with an aquarium bubbler pumping fresh air through it to remove the fumes.
-And it’s not turning green this time.:D
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