tools, materials & knowledge for model makers
OK, I cheated, not so much machining a ratchet as working out how to create a ratchet in Carbide Create. A quick mention for Carbide Create as it is free for the basic version and for what I do this is enough. This software is easy to use and very flexible. Previously I used this … Read more
Originally I went with 20° for the miniature Burrell differential bevel gears. However, they are not right and bind up. Then I was contacted by JG who had made some calculations on the gears and sent them through. JG’s opening words were “Ah… Bevels are a different animal 😀 well mostly, and certainly with ‘Gear cutter … Read more
Setting out an angle on the mill table so that I can machine a set of gears at 9.5°. I know lots who will now be screaming at me to use a sine bar. It might be easiest to start with the simple right angle triangle. Below we see the triangle with the 9.5° angle, … Read more
Prompted by Nigel showing how he managed to calculate an approximate 10:1 ratio gearing (which I considered far too complex) and the exchange of opinion, I shared an old project of mine with him. This led to his suggestion that a small article about my project would be useful here. I’m sure that there are … Read more
It may only be 1/20th scale but I still need a differential for the Burrell traction engine. I’ve been working on the overall gearing for the Burrell and the layout of the gearing. For the overall gearing something around 10:1 feels reasonable. The layout for the 2 stage gearing and location of the layshaft took … Read more
I’m looking at making helical gears, as per normal I wanted to start with the fundamentals. What is the optimum angle? Can I index them on the milling machine? Can I machine with a normal cutter? Why do I need to make helical gears? The big benefit is they will be quieter. Gear noise on … Read more
A plate with evenly spaced holes at a given radius that allow you to rotate a chuck and then hold it precisely at a given number of intervals. This can then be used for gear cutting, machining facets at precise points or for drilling holes in a cylinder end cover for fixings. This image shows … Read more
Previously I reviewed the Warco HV4 rotary table, now I think it’s time to look at gear cutting with the Warco HV4 rotary table. The Warco HV4 rotary table comes with dividing plates and crank – thus allowing it to be used to cut gears. Setting up to machine gears, first step is to clamp … Read more