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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
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    Kilmore, near Melbourne, Australia
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    Default Small steel Engineering job please

    Hello folks



    I need 10 of these (to begin with) armoire hinges made and hope someone with a small engineering workshop would be able/willing to help.

    If you're interested in the project, please send me a PM with your contact details and I will get in touch ASAP. I'd prefer to deal with someone close-ish for practicality and so I can provide a sample if required, but I'm willing to go further afield if necessary. They seem relatively straightforward to me but I am NOT a metal guy ... my world is mainly made of wood. Hope I have included sufficient information in the images.

    Thanks!









    Steve
    Kilmore (Melbourne-ish)
    Australia

    ....catchy phrase here

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Thanks for allowing this post.
    Steve
    Kilmore (Melbourne-ish)
    Australia

    ....catchy phrase here

  3. #3
    Join Date
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    Murray Bridge S Aust.
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    Default

    Hi Steve,
    Great drawing, but what diameters are they???? They look like a job for someone with a CNC lathe, to be cost effective.
    Regards
    Kryn
    To grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.

  4. #4
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    Hi Kryn - the material is half inch. If you mean the diameters of the various elements on the finial, they are to be determined precisely by the maker. The ones I have here are done by hand do there is slight variation in each. I doubt it'd make a big difference but I guess a CNC would probably be cheapest. Very happy/keen to explore options.
    Steve
    Kilmore (Melbourne-ish)
    Australia

    ....catchy phrase here

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    Default

    By the way as soon as I find my vernier caliper I'll be able to provide diameters of each section.
    Steve
    Kilmore (Melbourne-ish)
    Australia

    ....catchy phrase here

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
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    Norwood-ish, Adelaide
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    6,540

    Default

    This is my take on it -
    finial.jpg
    I'm not sure I like your chances either way - manually it would not be so bad except there are 5 different radii each needing their own form tool. By the time you did 20 of them you would be sick of the sight of them. You'd probably want a DRO on the lathe just to keep track of your position too.
    CNC would be a darn sight quicker but because of the size of some of those radii, still a pain. I think you would be asked to pay more than you think they were worth - my guess would be that you would be up for several hundred dollars at least for them. (I'd suggest over $500 for 20, quite possibly more)

    (the rods and eye bolts are simple)

    Michael
    Last edited by Michael G; 24th Feb 2016 at 09:43 PM. Reason: fleshed out the guess

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    Default Small steel Engineering job please

    Precise accuracy isn't as important to me as I may have indicated. I would've thought that as these had been made by hand for around 200 yrs, that they could be made again by a competent turner.

    I don't know what a DRO is sorry, but I imagine it is a device to ensure position at any given moment. Being married, I'm often wrong though

    I also imagine a CNC lathe would operate similarly to the other devices I've seen/used, i.e. Get one right and the rest will be right (assuming operator and material consistency) ...

    My drive for building these, as opposed to buying them, is flexibility. If I need 8 @ 400mm then 11 @ 600mm all I need do is select from a reserve of finials & eye bolts and get the rods made to my preferred length.

    Certainly $500 for twenty would be a lot more than I had imagined they'd cost.

    As an aside, this is just one of the 'metal' projects I intend undertaking but the others involve laser or water cutting and some forging.
    Steve
    Kilmore (Melbourne-ish)
    Australia

    ....catchy phrase here

  8. #8
    Join Date
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    Ballarat
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    Default

    They could be copy turned from a profile plate...maybe

    Phil

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
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    Australia east coast
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steamwhisperer View Post
    They could be copy turned from a profile plate...maybe

    Phil
    Yes, or a machine equipped with a hydraulic tracer attachment.

    Otherwise I'm with Michael - they're a PITA to turn on a manual lathe and that's going to be reflected in the cost. I frankly wouldn't do them at all.

    Yes, people used to do stuff like this by hand. These days machine shop labour charges start at $75 and go north of $100 an hour real fast. Do the math.....

    Have 500 run off on a CNC lathe or *possibly* a turret lathe with form tools (no hands-on knowledge here) and the unit price should drop like a rock.

    You don't say what they're made from - might be cast iron cleaned up so the parting line isn't visible any more. That would be logical for the period and fast/cheap to do.

    PDW

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    Good morning. The modern ones I have are mild steel. The oldies ones are brass
    Steve
    Kilmore (Melbourne-ish)
    Australia

    ....catchy phrase here

  11. #11
    Join Date
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    Would someone on the forum have a CNC lathe and be interested to provide guidance? Or would someone perhaps know a firm interested in speaking with me?
    Steve
    Kilmore (Melbourne-ish)
    Australia

    ....catchy phrase here

  12. #12
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Murray Bridge S Aust.
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    Hi Steve,
    I know a CNC machine shop in town here and will take your sketch to him for a price for you. From what I can understand, the more parts made on a CNC the cheaper it becomes, as the expense comes in setting it up, 20 off could cost $2.00 each where as 200 could be $0.80 each.
    Will try to get a price for 20, 100, 500 units. All that would be required then, is to find someone local to drill and thread the ends of the bars your end.
    Could you please PM me your contact details to pass onto him.
    Kryn
    To grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Near Bendigo, Victoria, AUS
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    Default

    Other than a CNC lathe, this is a perfect job for a 'skiving tool'. A form tool that goes across the centreline of the bar VERTICALLY and at an angle. That way only one point is ever in contact witht he spinning job but cuts the entire shape in one pass.
    It would take a couple of hours to grind the tool, but then only a couple of minutes each piece to turn them....
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQIMXbFdyiI
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5b7IimlLzg
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeFDX8wwMLQ
    Cheers, Joe
    retired - less energy, more time to contemplate projects and more shed time....

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
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    Western NSW
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    Thanks for that Joe. Such a simple but effective technique.

    Mark

  15. #15
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    Default

    I get it! It is literally a metal cutting version of a profiling cutter, used when moulding timber - the only difference being that the material moves, not the cutter ... the videos are excellent, thanks. It does appear fairly straightforward and I guess once made, the tool remains usable until blunt.
    Steve
    Kilmore (Melbourne-ish)
    Australia

    ....catchy phrase here

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