Dreaming of a riser block

[DPittman]

If its only 6" & needs to be only flat or maybe just a "flange" then it sounds like maybe 1h to 3h of work on a lathe.

Then to drill 3 holes maybe around 1.5h on the mill.

This is for solid. If it is 6" column then this is rather trivial project. I was thinking of my mill where the block would be like 16" or something.

Well it will days instead of hours for me! LOL.
I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be able to peel of the material of a big 6x6 chunk of 4140 with my little lathe so I am looking at all options. I know someone close with a big lathe.

 

[Dabbler]

so here goes... I have just the thing... a 6X6X1/2" tube we can cut to length - it is square, so we can position it to miss the bolts. You will need to supply something like a 1/2" thick base plate and top plate. A little welding, and there it is. (well maybe more than a little welding)

 

[Dabbler]

How tall do you want it over all?

 

[DPittman]

so here goes... I have just the thing... a 6X6X1/2" tube we can cut to length - it is square, so we can position it to miss the bolts. You will need to supply something like a 1/2" thick base plate and top plate. A little welding, and there it is. (well maybe more than a little welding)

That sounds like that would work...but I'm 3 hours south of you. Do you think it would be a mistake to make it out of a solid chunk or just not necessary?

 

[historicalarms]

Tom I'm sure the OP doesn't consider this a "trivial" operation to his experience & machining history...It might be for you and I, but he's struggling a bit here.

D, from your earlier posts, I would say that "layering" a riser would be easier, cheaper and you can do it yourself, gaining a bit of "experience" while doing . Layering allows you to use much more attainable material and cheaper because you don't have to "farm out" the machining because your machines are too small to do on the single large piece of bar.

I have built many a piece for a jig or two that required 4-6 layers of 1/2 or 3/4 flat bar. Of course a certain amount of "extra work is involved machining the pieces flat to join together and a lot of drilling & taping for joining bolts...but its easily doable with rudimentary hobby machines. In your case I wouldn't even consider that the finished piece be round...esthetically speaking, it would be nice but the reality of the clearance around the column provides for the odd square corner to not interfere at all. flat bar stacked together would give you what is needed.

Dabblers idea would work excellent as is but for my peace of mind I would also weld a gusset from top plate to bottom plate at the outer edges for a bit of "over engineering" that I am often accused of . Just a piece of 1/2" flat bar welded off each flat of the square tubing out to the outer edge so as to not interfere with the bolts will suffice.

I am wondering, are those studs in the mill base or are they bolts that have a head on them hidden in the square part of the base? if they are studs, they might bring up another problem to the "single piece of hard bar for you...proper metric studs of the proper length might be a search issue adding to the issue.

 

[historicalarms]

to add; It sound like you haven't "lifted' the head off the base yet to see how the two pieces co-join. I'm betting that there is a male flange that fits into a female race with close tolerances and these will have to be duplicated very close and lined up almost perfectly to each other for repeatable head positioning after you do rotate it. Without witnessing joints your head can move any direction & distance the bolt hole "free slack " will allow.

 

[DPittman]

I just need to take the dang thing apart and see how the thing is made and measure it up. I've been hesitant to take it apart but I know I can't move on with out doing so.

 

[historicalarms]

Ha ha just noticed your from Warner...Know any Hutterites in any of the dozens of colonies that surround you?? Every one of them will have a very well equipped machine shop & someone that knows how to run things...a six-pack or carton of smokes will buy a lot of Hutterite help.

 

[Tom Kitta]

You can do it from a solid block if that is what you have. No issues here at all. No need to weld. It is just "material wasteful" that is all. But otherwise it is not a big deal. All you need to do is make it flat, wither on a lathe or a milling machine - which you have. Lathe is preferable. This is the *easiest* way to do this, easier then D and easier then H (layers).

Doing a little flange is optional.

Then you need to drill the holes.

And paint.

Then install.

First of course take it apart and verify what is needed.

 

[DPittman]

Ha ha just noticed your from Warner...Know any Hutterites in any of the dozens of colonies that surround you?? Every one of them will have a very well equipped machine shop & someone that knows how to run things...a six-pack or carton of smokes will buy a lot of Hutterite help.

Ah ya I know a few huttterite colonies...they were a large part of my business for 20 years.

 

[YYCHM]

I just need to take the dang thing apart and see how the thing is made and measure it up. I've been hesitant to take it apart but I know I can't move on with out doing so.

Don't have a exploded parts diagram that would shed some light on that?

 

[DPittman]

Don't have a exploded parts diagram that would shed some light on that?

Ha ha I probably do....I didn't think of that.....my face is red with embarrassment

 

[Tom Kitta]

I would still take it apart - just in case exploded parts diagram does not match the actual product. Verify twice, cut once.

 

[DPittman]

I would still take it apart - just in case exploded parts diagram does not match the actual product. Verify twice, cut once.

Yes I need to do that, my diagrams were not particularly helpful.
Forgive my freaking ignorance again but I seem to have a hard time understanding some of this.....in the original picture at the top of the post it was pointed out to me that the block was made of 3 separate pieces.....but why wouldn't it have the holes for the bolts drilled all the way through? The right bolts might be hard to find commercialy but a lathe owner could solve that problem pretty easy.

 

[PeterT]

Hard to say there. Could be for factors relevant to him but not to you? Maybe he already had material that thickness? Maybe limitation drilling a long hole, for example 8" of hole depth may require 16" of headroom from table to chuck bottom, unless you flip & drill both sides halfway through. Still kind of of long drill job but its just a clearance hole not a precision hole. Maybe issues of what the stud/bolt ties into, casting base vs fitting. Or maybe related to ceiling headroom lifting the mill head sufficient to get the riser & hardware in?

 

[Tom Kitta]

Someone may have had material that came with 3 pieces & he had only stubby drill bits. Most drill presses will have 16" + 4" (for chuck) of clearance. I guess if you are doing it on a milling machine you may run into problems.

No need to worry about bolts - you can make a 12" long bolts with the magic of a commercial threaded rod and nuts. Cheap as well.

8" deep hole requires either drilling from both sides or a long drill bit. This may get expensive if you do not have say 8" long drill bit somewhere and it needs to be say 5/8" in size. Note that these are just clearance holes as noted above - no need for "precision here" - a regular 5/8 bit will make holes probably in order of +0.008 (you can check in a book what a quality drill bit will do) and a 5/8 bolt / threaded rod are usually not exactly 5/8 but smaller.

 

[DPittman]

I guess if you are doing it on a milling machine you may run into problems.

Ha ha maybe I need to have a riser block for my mill to get the added height!

I'm actually thinking the whole thing would only likely be 6" so I could drill from both ends if I end up making a one piece block.

 

[Dabbler]

Do you think it would be a mistake to make it out of a solid

Making it out of solid could work: you would have to mill out the clearances for the fastenings, and make the upper boss to allow for the head to rotate, and it would would work very well. I tried to reply immediately, but the server wouldn't let me!

 

[Dabbler]

Measuring the upper boss with a vernier is a good start, but we should use a mic to get the boss right. It's better to have a good fit where it rotates...