Todays project

[Davey-T]

Made this today, prototype spanner for ADM dovetail as it's difficult to get to middle ones on multiple side by side setup.

Roughed out using pillar drill and milling bit, will make more with CNC.

Dave

[Fo_Cuss]

It's always nice, to make a tool 👍

[Davey-T]

18 minutes ago, Fo_Cuss said:

It's always nice, to make a tool 👍

Just rough proof of concept with a bit of scrap ally before making a neater one, seemed quicker to hack one out rather than programming CAD 

Dave

Edited December 4, 2019 by Davey-T

[Fo_Cuss]

Ah yes; the 'just get on with it' method.
In many cases, this is a good move, as a rough prototype often informs the final design.

CAD work can be very isolated.

I have found that when you make something, the brain functions differently, and therefore envisages different, and often knock on interactions, much easier.
That said ... where would we be without technical drawings :)

[Davey-T]

Usually start stuff with no clear plan in mind and make it up as I go along, can spend ages planning and drawing but as soon as you start making something it becomes obvious what you should do 😂

Dave

[Davey-T]

Made a neater CNC version of my handcrafted prototype.
It's to use on ADM dovetail clamps in the middle of the triple setup as there's not much room for fingers, handy for tweaking up all the others as well.

Didn't really need signing 😂

Dave

[tooth_dr]

Amazing!  Signature is cool

[Gina]

Yes, very good - like it.

[tooth_dr]

Davey - what is your protocol for polishing the aluminium?  What grade of paper do you start with, work through, and then finish with.  Do you use a sander?

[Tomatobro]

CAD? in my day that stood for Chalk Assisted Drawing.......

[Davey-T]

24 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

Davey - what is your protocol for polishing the aluminium?  What grade of paper do you start with, work through, and then finish with.  Do you use a sander?

Just use wet and dry starting with something like 240 and carrying on with finer grades by hand until I get bored 😁

Could really do with anodising but not worth the expense.

Dave

[tooth_dr]

14 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

Just use wet and dry starting with something like 240 and carrying on with finer grades by hand until I get bored 😁

Could really do with anodising but not worth the expense.

Dave

Thanks Dave, appreciate it.

[Gina]

I didn't find anodising expensive - just fiddly!  Still have the kit but haven't used it for years.  Tend to use 3D printed plastic more than aluminium these days.

[Davey-T]

1 hour ago, Gina said:

I didn't find anodising expensive - just fiddly!  Still have the kit but haven't used it for years.  Tend to use 3D printed plastic more than aluminium these days.

Looked into DIY anodising but didn't think it was worth the hassle for the small amount of stuff I do.

Dave

[Gina]

It isn't.  That's why I gave it up.  Interesting experience though.

[tomato]

Home anodising hmmm . Might anodise the dual rig bracing plate to match the SkyWatcher dovetails.😊