Repairs and Projects Done As A Favor

It does not take long and everyone knows that "this guy has all the tools and machines for fixing defective parts or for building replacements".

An attempt to repair a broken key-shaped zinc cast pendant failed because the material ended up breaking in another location.  
As a replacement, I therefore machined a completely new key, changing the bit so that it is in the shape of the owner's initials. I chose to make this from titanium, a light and durable material.


To finish the upgrade of my vertical mill, I needed to build a new control panel, which I made from stainless steel sheet. After engraving, I glass bead blasted the metal and color-filled the letters in black. 

Ooops, a dial indicator hit the floor and the bezel broke. Since the internal mechanism was undamaged from the impact, there was no reason to discard the unit.  
The fragments allowed me to take measurements and to reconstruct the shape of the bezel. Making a replacement from POM was still somewhat tricky. Meanwhile, the dial indicator is back in full use.


When a friend of mine was going to modify my vertical mill on his big mill, the latter was out of service, because the quill had slipped and there was quite a bit of play. The underlying problem was easily located:  The thread of the adjustment nut had been damaged from the hammer taps required to change tools. Why in the world would anyone thread the surface of a splined shaft?
 
Fixing this was straightforward: The damaged thread was turned down on the lathe, a threaded bushing was brazed on, turned down and finally threaded. To make the bearing clearance more easily adjustable, we also machined a custom locking shaft nut.


It is understood that I quickly respond to complaints. I had machined spare holders for a Dickson toolpost, but the adjustment bolts did not fit properly. Sometimes, starting all over is the only solution.   ;-)
 

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