I had planned on cutting the 1/2 X 3 X 19 base mounting plates from the
#10 rerod. Unfortunately it was a bit much for my small plasma torch.
It'll cut 3/4" at 10" per minute, but the weld, plate and rerod proved a
bit thick and blowback from a big puddle took care of the torch tip. So
I filled the kiy with spare parts plus a set for extended cutting.
In the mean time I set up 3 plates in the mill and turned out 3 nicely
matching plates. The power quill feed is really nice and the accuracy
of the table makes it easy to line up the holes. OTOH lining up the
material/plates with a dial indicator takes a bit of care. This was the
first time I'd lined yo a project in years. It still took an hour, but
would hane taken much longer on a drill press. I'm still going to try
and cut off the old plates, but it's not nearly so important now.
Tomorrow I'll weld the plates to the #10 rerod add the reinforcement and
wire up the rest of the cage.
I need to get one of the large wet/dry shop vacsthat can swallow the
long curls/shavings from a sharp drill bit. There sure are a lot of
shavings from 7 3/4" holes in 3 of those plates.
73
Roger (K8RI)
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