Machining knuckles for the T-Bone

[Guitar William]

Time well spent on th CNC. Machined these knuckle blanks for the T-Bone Tremolo.

Machined from 7075 Aircraft aluminum.

The hex pocket will hold the M6 locking nut for easy of control arm tightening.
The spring fits snug in the stepped pad, keeping things from moving around.
A barrel bolt will keep things perfectly aligned. Throw in a 1mm brass washer and some lube and we have the makings of a stellar system.

These take 12 operations to complete before buffing.

 

[DavidR8]

Nice work. What CNC are you running?

 

[Guitar William]

Nice work. What CNC are you running?

Thanks Dave,

I have the SienciLabs Longmill MK1 30x30 with Makita router. It takes awhile since speeds are slower but it does the job.
Eventually I'll upgrade to the AltMill for serious metal machining.

Cheers,
William

 

[Guitar William]

A small update as I move forward with my tremolo.
I am doing these in batches of 5, 2 orders and a couple more in the wings.

A press fit locking nut makes adjustments easy. a barrel bolt keeps everything inline. 7075 High Strength Aircraft aluminum hold the loads at bay.
The stepped pad holds the 0.85" spring snug and in place.
Top it off with a brass shim to make for a smooth feel in the Angel Arm.

Still needs final sanding and polishing.

 

[Guitar William]

Maching the underside of the T-Bone required a special support block. Thanks to 3D printers I have a nifty method to clamp down the part for machining the dovetail slot for mounting.
The part snaps ion nice and snug.

This will sit nicely on my cross feed table using a bar clamp across the width.

 

[Guitar William]

My sheet of 7075 cast aluminum arrived so now it's CNC time.
This is a long process being that I use a 2mm & 1mm end mill.
These will be getting Mother of Pearl inlays while the others will be a V-Groove design.

 

[PeterT]

My sheet of 7075 cast aluminum arrived

Do you mean wrought (rolled/extruded) bar stock like 7075-T6? I havent seen 7075 in cast.

But if you ever need well priced cuts of cast MIC-6 which is ground, for jig plates or whatever, this place is awesome. Its USA based so have to do the drop ship dance.

Cast Aluminum Precision Tool & Jig Plate (discs) For Sale

 

[Guitar William]

Do you mean wrought (rolled/extruded) bar stock like 7075-T6? I havent seen 7075 in cast.

But if you ever need well priced cuts of cast MIC-6 which is ground, for jig plates or whatever, this place is awesome. Its USA based so have to do the drop ship dance.

Cast Aluminum Precision Tool & Jig Plate (discs) For Sale

Hi Peter,

Thanks, Ill check them out.

I got it from McCaster Carr: see Row #8

Tolerance Rating	Standard
Thickness	0.190"
Thickness Tolerance	-0.007" to 0.007"
Width	6"
Width Tolerance	-1/4" to 1/4"
Length	12"
Length Tolerance	-1/4" to 1/4"
Fabrication	Cast
Temper Designation	T6
Specifications Met	ASTM B209, SAE AMS-QQ-A-250/12
Appearance	Plain
Certificate Form	Digital
Certificate Type	Material Certificate with Traceable Lot Number
Elongation	11%
Flatness Tolerance	Not Rated
Hardness	Brinell 150
Hardness Rating	Medium
Heat Treatable	Yes
Heat Treatment	Hardened
Material	7075 Aluminum

 

[PeterT]

I got it from McCaster Carr: see Row #8

Huh. Well I pursued with The Great Guesser (AI), here is what it says.



BTW the MIC-6 plate I referenced really is 'cast' cast, but its nowhere near as strong as typical wrought bars. Just wanted to make that clarification - not a substitute for your application, just another uuseful material. Usually its brutally expensive, but these offcuts make it kinder on the wallet

 

[Guitar William]

Huh. Well I pursued with The Great Guesser (AI), here is what it says.

View attachment 87620

BTW the MIC-6 plate I referenced really is 'cast' cast, but its nowhere near as strong as typical wrought bars. Just wanted to make that clarification - not a substitute for your application, just another uuseful material. Usually its brutally expensive, but these offcuts make it kinder on the wallet

View attachment 87621

Thank you for the info Peter, its always nice to have options.