Re-design and fabricate console trim piece--HOW TO
05-29-2010, 07:42 AM
#61
Rennlist Member
If you want another project, a bunch of us would love to have plastic rear interior quarter panels!
These damn rear quarter windows are prone to leak and catalyze the destruction of the fiberboard quarter panels across a wide range of model years.
These damn rear quarter windows are prone to leak and catalyze the destruction of the fiberboard quarter panels across a wide range of model years.
05-29-2010, 10:24 AM
#62
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
WOW! I think it is going to take a while for my mind to wrap around that suggestion. But, then you never know.
In fact, later today or tomorrow I think I am going to bring you up to date on what I have come up with in regard to some suggestions that came up earlier on this thread in respect to this trim piece project. Jerry
In fact, later today or tomorrow I think I am going to bring you up to date on what I have come up with in regard to some suggestions that came up earlier on this thread in respect to this trim piece project. Jerry
05-29-2010, 07:03 PM
#63
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Thread Starter
Two things have been keeping me focused on this poroject--anticipation of the end result(s), and the interest that has been shown by all of you in this project. Not many have said much, but I can tell by the numbers that several are interested. Thanks.
Now, another factor has come into play, and that is a decision to add to this project the development of the "flush mount" suggestion that Nicole first mentioned , and how this machine might be utilized, with minor changes and adjustments, to make a corresponding trim piece that will work in that endeavor without the need for a completely seperate forming macnine.
The machine that has developed to this point will work with either trim piece. What will need to be changed is the male form; so I will need to make a seperate one that will bolt into the same position. I will be working on that in conjunction with the further development of the male form for my initial objective.
What I did today was simply measure the depth of curvature that I wanted without looking for my pattern, and then started trying to set up my mill with a flycutter so that it would cut a curvature of that depth. I used about a 4 inch flycutter diameter, and probably should have use a slightly larger circle, then began changing the mill head until I got the right angle to cut the curvature I wanted. I ended up with 15 degrees with that size circle.
Some of the other forms will likely be utilized for the flush trim piece, except they will need to be mounted a little differently so they will form the inside and outside "sides" of the piece deeper to provide for "flushness." That means that the mounting levers in the machine will need to be mounted a little higher on the on the new hinge plate than might have been required for the original trim piece objective.
This slight change of direction comes into play here with the next phase of work on the male form. Actually, I will be making an additional male form for flush purposes, but the components will be developed together in order to eliminate the extra amount of set-up time.
In the meantime here are some pictures of progress today.
This first picture shows me measuring the depth of cut that I made to just the bottom of the curvature when the cruvature has been cut out. It came to about .160 in.
Then I cut the recess to the full depth of half inch for the half inch plate I will be cutting with curvature to put in this place.
This third picture shows the side plates with the raw material for the upper and lower cross bars that I have placed in sort of position.
Then the next picture shows me trying to measure the depth of cut with the flycutter, but not only is it out of fucus, but it didn't work.
Finally I am making a cut with the mill head set up at 15 degrees which turns out to be the right angle to get the correct depth of curvature with this set up.
Now, another factor has come into play, and that is a decision to add to this project the development of the "flush mount" suggestion that Nicole first mentioned , and how this machine might be utilized, with minor changes and adjustments, to make a corresponding trim piece that will work in that endeavor without the need for a completely seperate forming macnine.
The machine that has developed to this point will work with either trim piece. What will need to be changed is the male form; so I will need to make a seperate one that will bolt into the same position. I will be working on that in conjunction with the further development of the male form for my initial objective.
What I did today was simply measure the depth of curvature that I wanted without looking for my pattern, and then started trying to set up my mill with a flycutter so that it would cut a curvature of that depth. I used about a 4 inch flycutter diameter, and probably should have use a slightly larger circle, then began changing the mill head until I got the right angle to cut the curvature I wanted. I ended up with 15 degrees with that size circle.
Some of the other forms will likely be utilized for the flush trim piece, except they will need to be mounted a little differently so they will form the inside and outside "sides" of the piece deeper to provide for "flushness." That means that the mounting levers in the machine will need to be mounted a little higher on the on the new hinge plate than might have been required for the original trim piece objective.
This slight change of direction comes into play here with the next phase of work on the male form. Actually, I will be making an additional male form for flush purposes, but the components will be developed together in order to eliminate the extra amount of set-up time.
In the meantime here are some pictures of progress today.
This first picture shows me measuring the depth of cut that I made to just the bottom of the curvature when the cruvature has been cut out. It came to about .160 in.
Then I cut the recess to the full depth of half inch for the half inch plate I will be cutting with curvature to put in this place.
This third picture shows the side plates with the raw material for the upper and lower cross bars that I have placed in sort of position.
Then the next picture shows me trying to measure the depth of cut with the flycutter, but not only is it out of fucus, but it didn't work.
Finally I am making a cut with the mill head set up at 15 degrees which turns out to be the right angle to get the correct depth of curvature with this set up.
05-29-2010, 07:11 PM
#64
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
After I got the first of these upper crossbars cut to the correct curvature I cut several more since I might want to have extras to make different ones for sifferent shape clocks and some more might come to light.
These pictures show a secuence of cutting at different angles, including 12 degrees, and finally at 15 degrees for the final angle of the mill head with the flycutter set-up.
These pictures show a secuence of cutting at different angles, including 12 degrees, and finally at 15 degrees for the final angle of the mill head with the flycutter set-up.
05-29-2010, 07:16 PM
#65
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
These final pictures show me making the cuts at 15 degrees and finally some at 18 degrees for the flush trim piece part of this project. You can see that I made four of each workpiece.
05-30-2010, 12:05 AM
#66
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Well, I only got a little more done this evening. I trimmed the two cross bars in the band saw and then layed out and drilled two of the eight mounting holes for fastening the cross bars to the side rails.
This first picture shows the side rails/plates bolted back on the base plate and the two raw but curved cross bars (one is curved) sitting on the sides.
Next I am cutting the ends off of the cross bars.
Then, here I am showing the cross bars back in place after being cut to rough length.
Finally I have located, drilled and counterbored two of the holes that will be used to locate and drill the tapped holes in the side plates.
I'm going to try to get to that tomorrow, but I have to take the mill vise off of the mill table then mount and locate the assembled base on the mill table for milling and drilling some more of the holes. After that I will then be doing some of the final sculpting of the male form while it is in place on the base and then while I have it bolted together and taken off the base and held in the mill vise.
This first picture shows the side rails/plates bolted back on the base plate and the two raw but curved cross bars (one is curved) sitting on the sides.
Next I am cutting the ends off of the cross bars.
Then, here I am showing the cross bars back in place after being cut to rough length.
Finally I have located, drilled and counterbored two of the holes that will be used to locate and drill the tapped holes in the side plates.
I'm going to try to get to that tomorrow, but I have to take the mill vise off of the mill table then mount and locate the assembled base on the mill table for milling and drilling some more of the holes. After that I will then be doing some of the final sculpting of the male form while it is in place on the base and then while I have it bolted together and taken off the base and held in the mill vise.
05-30-2010, 12:09 PM
#67
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
OK, I have finished my coffee for this morning and am about ready to head out to the shop to make some more chips, a lot more, I think. However while sitting here studying one of my spare trim pieces, (thank you Richard) I decided that I need to have a pair of the rear AC switches/controls to design around. I haven't seen them come up on eBay or I would have them by now.
Does anyone have these items that I can buy? Used and even non-functional is just fine. Thanks.
Jerry Feather
Does anyone have these items that I can buy? Used and even non-functional is just fine. Thanks.
Jerry Feather
05-30-2010, 02:53 PM
#68
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
I put in a couple of hours this morning on the form. I took quite a few pictures because I think this is the most creative area of this project--sculpting the actual form for the trim piece. I'll post them about five at a time with some brief explaination for the events shown.
This first picture shows a better view of the first two counterbored mounting holes for the upper cross-bar. It also shows my sketched-in-with-a-marker lines where some material is going to be removed.
Second, shows me removing some of the material from the inside edge of the upper cross-bar. I am doing that with this piece by itself rather than later in the bolt-up of these pieces because I don't know just how stiff the bolt-up is going to be for a lot of material removal.
The third picture shows me full depth in the cut; and the fourth shows where I have rotated the piece 90 degrees and am rough-cutting some more of the material out of the inside corners, again, so I wont have so much material to remove while milling on this form while it is bolted to the base with the base bolted to the mill table.
The fifth one shows essentially the start of the same operation on the lower/rear cross-bar.
More to follow shortly.
This first picture shows a better view of the first two counterbored mounting holes for the upper cross-bar. It also shows my sketched-in-with-a-marker lines where some material is going to be removed.
Second, shows me removing some of the material from the inside edge of the upper cross-bar. I am doing that with this piece by itself rather than later in the bolt-up of these pieces because I don't know just how stiff the bolt-up is going to be for a lot of material removal.
The third picture shows me full depth in the cut; and the fourth shows where I have rotated the piece 90 degrees and am rough-cutting some more of the material out of the inside corners, again, so I wont have so much material to remove while milling on this form while it is bolted to the base with the base bolted to the mill table.
The fifth one shows essentially the start of the same operation on the lower/rear cross-bar.
More to follow shortly.
05-30-2010, 03:08 PM
#69
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Here is the second set of five pictures from this morning.
In the first I have layed the two rough-cut cross bars on the form loosely to show the progress.
Second, I am showing the base plate with side plates bolted on and the base bolted in the mill table. See the big bolts holding it down? Also I have rotated the mill head to 35 and 1/2 degrees to match the recess cut I put in the side plates, and here I am trueing up the lower edges of the recess cuts since they are now at an angle to the cross-bar. This is one of lthe milling procedures that I was concerned about in regard to flexibllity, but it turned out that the work-piece as bolted up like this is pretty stiff.
Third is a close-up of the joint between the cross-bar and the side plate after I have made the cut square with the cross-bar.
Fourth I have set up to drill the holes to mount the cross-bar; and last of this set I have already drilled and tapped all four holes and mounted the cross-bar, and here I am milling the upper inside corners of the trim piece opening. This worked pretty well.
Stand-by.
In the first I have layed the two rough-cut cross bars on the form loosely to show the progress.
Second, I am showing the base plate with side plates bolted on and the base bolted in the mill table. See the big bolts holding it down? Also I have rotated the mill head to 35 and 1/2 degrees to match the recess cut I put in the side plates, and here I am trueing up the lower edges of the recess cuts since they are now at an angle to the cross-bar. This is one of lthe milling procedures that I was concerned about in regard to flexibllity, but it turned out that the work-piece as bolted up like this is pretty stiff.
Third is a close-up of the joint between the cross-bar and the side plate after I have made the cut square with the cross-bar.
Fourth I have set up to drill the holes to mount the cross-bar; and last of this set I have already drilled and tapped all four holes and mounted the cross-bar, and here I am milling the upper inside corners of the trim piece opening. This worked pretty well.
Stand-by.
05-30-2010, 03:17 PM
#70
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Here are two more pictures of this morning's progress:
They simply show the rough assembly of what I have done so far with the original trim piece shown again for perspective.
Next I have to locate and drill four mounting holes for the lower cross-bar. Because of the limits in material and what with up-coming beveling and such I am going to have to use smaller bolts. I have toose picked out and will try to get that done when I go back out.
Then I will be beveling the inside edge of the opening. See you after a while. Jerry
They simply show the rough assembly of what I have done so far with the original trim piece shown again for perspective.
Next I have to locate and drill four mounting holes for the lower cross-bar. Because of the limits in material and what with up-coming beveling and such I am going to have to use smaller bolts. I have toose picked out and will try to get that done when I go back out.
Then I will be beveling the inside edge of the opening. See you after a while. Jerry
05-30-2010, 06:56 PM
#71
That is one massive massive job! 
I almost feel guilty just writing a couple of sentences about it. I am also a machinist, not my main skill but that is impressive, hope it pays off for you.
Greg
I almost feel guilty just writing a couple of sentences about it. I am also a machinist, not my main skill but that is impressive, hope it pays off for you.Greg
05-30-2010, 08:09 PM
#73
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Thanks Greg and Steve. I'm not sure at this point what the finish product really is, because this machine kind of has an end in itself, not considering that it is just going to be a tool to make something else. Its kind of like an electric drill--nobody wants an electric drill, they really just want a hole in something. Here I really don't want a forming machine, I just want a nice trim piece that will accept a different clock and look like it was supposed to be that way in the first place rather than some kind of patch to adapt the newer clock. Then again, the patch would have required some kind of forming machine to do it right.
I just came in for the evening after a really grueling episode in the nearly final sculpting of the male form. I almost used more muscle power than machine power to get the darn thing like I want it, but I think it really paid off. Here are some pictures; and I took a lot of them so this will be several posts to get you up to date.
In this first and second picture I am trueing up the inside rear corners of the rear cross-bar with the 3/4 inch end mill. That gives me the inside radius of these rear corners of the new trim piece. You might be able to notice later that this is going to be a slightly tighter radius that the original, but the difference is dictated by the limitations in my tooling. I didn't go to the trouble to order any extra tooling to do this thing more accruately; but the differences will be referred to hereafter as "artistic nuances."
In the third picture I have the cross bar in place with the inside trued up and now removed from the base plate, but with both cross-bars bolted in place so the form holds together as one rigid unit.
In the third and fourth pictures I have clamped the bolted assembly into the mill vise, now reinstalled on the mill table, so I can mill the outer ends of the cross-bars with the end mill.
I just came in for the evening after a really grueling episode in the nearly final sculpting of the male form. I almost used more muscle power than machine power to get the darn thing like I want it, but I think it really paid off. Here are some pictures; and I took a lot of them so this will be several posts to get you up to date.
In this first and second picture I am trueing up the inside rear corners of the rear cross-bar with the 3/4 inch end mill. That gives me the inside radius of these rear corners of the new trim piece. You might be able to notice later that this is going to be a slightly tighter radius that the original, but the difference is dictated by the limitations in my tooling. I didn't go to the trouble to order any extra tooling to do this thing more accruately; but the differences will be referred to hereafter as "artistic nuances."
In the third picture I have the cross bar in place with the inside trued up and now removed from the base plate, but with both cross-bars bolted in place so the form holds together as one rigid unit.
In the third and fourth pictures I have clamped the bolted assembly into the mill vise, now reinstalled on the mill table, so I can mill the outer ends of the cross-bars with the end mill.
05-30-2010, 08:19 PM
#74
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Here are the next five pictures:
This first picture shows me completing the trrimming of the ends of one of the croos-bars while bolted in the form.
Second, I am starting the use one of my big counter sinks as a 45 degree end mill to bevel the inside of the trim piece opening in the form. Third and fourth I have completed the rough machining of the left side rail inside bevel; and
Fifth, I have machined the bevel on the other side.
The upper areas of these side bevels look pretty crude, but you will be surprised to see what can be accomplished with the old fashioned file.
This first picture shows me completing the trrimming of the ends of one of the croos-bars while bolted in the form.
Second, I am starting the use one of my big counter sinks as a 45 degree end mill to bevel the inside of the trim piece opening in the form. Third and fourth I have completed the rough machining of the left side rail inside bevel; and
Fifth, I have machined the bevel on the other side.
The upper areas of these side bevels look pretty crude, but you will be surprised to see what can be accomplished with the old fashioned file.
05-30-2010, 08:33 PM
#75
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Now we have the third segment of todays efforts:
The first picture shows that I have actually filed out all of the machined irregularity in the side rail bevel.
The second picture shows that I have done the same with the other rail and the upper cross-bar.
The third picture shows the raw version of the rear cross-bar area before I have attacked it with all kinds of force.
The fourth and fifth pictures show that I have exercised much force on the rear cross-bar to get it into the shape that I want. I first used and 15 degree endmill to remove some material, then I used my disc grinder to take some more material off and then I used my trusty file to finish it out to near the desired finish.
The first picture shows that I have actually filed out all of the machined irregularity in the side rail bevel.
The second picture shows that I have done the same with the other rail and the upper cross-bar.
The third picture shows the raw version of the rear cross-bar area before I have attacked it with all kinds of force.
The fourth and fifth pictures show that I have exercised much force on the rear cross-bar to get it into the shape that I want. I first used and 15 degree endmill to remove some material, then I used my disc grinder to take some more material off and then I used my trusty file to finish it out to near the desired finish.
