First Project - Big Washers

The story of a really big washer and some squishy wood

Where do I start? I’ve never blogged about anything but I have to start somewhere. I have an idea for a post strucutre… let’s try this.

I’m an impractical hobbiest. I don’t have externally supplied requirements or constraints like I might at work. Still, most of my projects start with a problem, lead to a solution, and have a journey in between. My biggest constraint in any project are the limits of my own skills and knowledge. This constraint is followd distantly by monetary limitations and finally limitations in my equipment. There are always exceptions to this, money and the right equipment can help offset the lack of skill in certain circumstances.

Let’s take a ridiculous example and talk about making a perfect steel cylinder 4” long with a diameter of .500”. The diameter has a tolerance of +/- .001 and should have no measurable taper. Now, there is probably someone who can make such a shaft with a file and thousands of hours. I cannot. So, we look toward modern technology and some financial expenditure. I caved and bought the right tool for the job, a metal lathe. Since the reader probably cares, I bought a PM-1130v from Precision Matthews with the DRO. Maybe I’ll write a review someday. With this tool, what would require tremendous time investment and skill is achievable quickly by an amateur. Alright, that was a pretty contrived example of the skill, money, equiptment debate.

Problem

My lathe is installed on a custom wooden bench. Let’s not talk about the bench quality… it’s strong enough but I’m no woodworker. The top of the bench if a butcher block top from Home Depot. Like any good lathe owneer, I bolted it to the bench. This is essential for safety but also improves rigidity. I tightened the bolts with standard 3/8 washers. As the wood settled, the bolts got loose. I tightened some more, the bolts again got loose. How could I ensure safety, improve ridigity, or (spoiler alert) “level” the lathe, if I cant’ tighten it down?

The Solution

Really big washers. Bigger washers should distribute the pressure across a larger area.

Build Log

The source material was some unremarkable 1018 mild steel 1/8in plate. It’s remarkable that I had such a material in stock. It was an impulse purchase on Ebay. Cut out two squares and drilled a 3/8 hole through the center. The goal was to create as large a washer as I could fit in the material. It turns out to be around 1.8in. If I was better at my cutting and drilling I probably could have gotten the full 2 inches. Alas, it won’t matter here.

I’ve been following Quinn Dunki (Blondihacks) on YouTube for some time now. If you aren’t familiar with her work, go check it out. What makes her channel so valuable to me is her use of attainable smaller machine tools and her shop space constraints. This makes her content more directly relateable to me. I digress. Quinn is always talking about the importance of the setup. Making these washers was no different.

I started with a 3/8 bolt. I held the hex head in the 3-jaw chuck and trued it up as best I could. Then I drilled center in the end of the bolt. I put a nut all the way down the bolt to serve as a spacer, then the squares with holes are placed up against the spacer nut. Lastly, a clamping nut is put up against the work completing the stackup. A photo of this setup is shown below.

Aannnd, after some gnarly interrupted cuts, we have big round washers. Overall, this setup and technique worked really well.

Final Thoughts

These are the first functional parts I made on this lathe. I’m surprised with myself since this setup is fairly advanced for day 3 with a lathe. Writing many months later, this bolt clamping method for workholding has actually been useful half a dozen other times since. In one application, I needed to face a thin, flat piece of plate. I made a fixure with threads and a shoulder. The plat piece threaded on in the middle and I faced both sides. Note to someone replicating the method, you will slovely face away your fixture. If you can design your part so you don’t need to face to the middle you can reuse this fixture forever.

PS: A Surprise Discussion of Lathe Leveling

Under Construction