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help machining a beveled edge on alum flats

  • Thread starter Thread starter justin caise
  • Start date Start date
J

justin caise

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Any ideas on how to bevel the edge of these curvey flat alum motor mounts I hacked out for my GS1000/GS750 project? Just an easy 45 degree on the edge is all I'm after.

All I currently have at my disposal is a drill press with a machinists vise and some assorted mills - or hand files of course. I tried to do some of it by hand but it got a little shoddy in the corners and curves. (Like the GS1000 used to do!:eek:)

Any advice is good advice. I'm drawing a blank.

7tenmotormounts001.jpg


7tenmotormounts007.jpg



thanks, JC
 
I don't know if YOU want to try it or not, but on ALUMINUM I use a router with a carbide bit. You could use a "roundover bit" or a "bevel bit". Go to a Home Depot, Lowes, or wood supply store & ask to see router bits. You will need to look for bits that have a bearing on the bottom & it acts as a depth stop. Aluminum is soft enough that a router will do it no problem. You just need to come up with a way to clamp the pieces down. Ray.
 
rapidray said:
I don't know if YOU want to try it or not, but on ALUMINUM I use a router with a carbide bit. You could use a "roundover bit" or a "bevel bit". Go to a Home Depot, Lowes, or wood supply store & ask to see router bits. You will need to look for bits that have a bearing on the bottom & it acts as a depth stop. Aluminum is soft enough that a router will do it no problem. You just need to come up with a way to clamp the pieces down. Ray.
Click to expand...
Great idea. Ive used the same method. Much cheaper than buying a Mill. You could also find a machine shop locally and have that done. Will cost you as they charge setup times and all.
 
Just curious, those look about the same size as the original ones, but they were steel.
Are those going to be strong enough?
 
True.

One thing I would like to know is how you going to chuck/clamp up on them to get a router on them? They look small. Possibly a router table would work.

What is wrong with them as they are? They look good.

A belt/drum/disc sander does wonders to finish out parts. Knock burrs off.....

You going to paint them, anodize them?

Are they really going to be seen?

Workmanship and pride.

I know.


Don't answer any of the questions. Just thoughts.

Sand them down, polish them, clear coat........would look good also....
 
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If I were doing this at my house I would probably use my bench grinder and a lot of patience... and it would probably look horrible.
 
DO NOT grind aluminum on a bench grinder. Aluminium will load the wheel, clogging it. After that, there is a HIGH probability of the wheel exploding, as heat buidup will cause the aluiminum embedded in the wheel to expand and blow the wheel apart violently.
Better to use a belt sander. Or a dremel with a SANDING drum.
 
Jethro said:
If I were doing this at my house I would probably use my bench grinder and a lot of patience... and it would probably look horrible.
Click to expand...
Bench grinder on aluminum? Only if you have the right wheel.
 
justin caise said:
Any ideas on how to bevel the edge of these curvey flat alum motor mounts I hacked out for my GS1000/GS750 project? Just an easy 45 degree on the edge is all I'm after.

All I currently have at my disposal is a drill press with a machinists vise and some assorted mills - or hand files of course. I tried to do some of it by hand but it got a little shoddy in the corners and curves. (Like the GS1000 used to do!:eek:)

Any advice is good advice. I'm drawing a blank.






thanks, JC
Click to expand...

File 'em. It'll take some practice but skill with a file is something worth developing.
 
my suggestion, chuck a sanding drum in the drill press and tilt the table 45 degrees.\

Commodus said:
File 'em. It'll take some practice but skill with a file is something worth developing.
Click to expand...
definitely a worth while skill.
 
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Greg B said:
DO NOT grind aluminum on a bench grinder. Aluminium will load the wheel, clogging it. After that, there is a HIGH probability of the wheel exploding, as heat buidup will cause the aluiminum embedded in the wheel to expand and blow the wheel apart violently.
Better to use a belt sander. Or a dremel with a SANDING drum.
Click to expand...


Belive it or not, I have seen a wheel explode. I was not near it, or the one who loaded it. Always best to start a grinding tool up and walk away a few feet to the side until it gets up to consistant RPM.

Never blow compressed air into a wheel either.

For tight spaces to do clean up, smooth, or radius I have used a grinding tip in a die grinder, but dress the tip about every minute or so. They don't last long enough to explode. This is only after the bulk of the material has been removed with a mill. Die grinder carbide burrs will load up as well on aluminum. Want to mess up a good burr try it on aluminum.

Best is sanding, or use of a file if the part can't be chucked up on.
 
Wow, learn something new every day. I will not use my bench grinder for aluminum!
 
Shoot! 40 yrs old here, and I still learn every day.

Really, anything non-ferrous like aluminum, brass, copper, zinc...... not a good thing to grind on with a bench/wheel grinder without dressing..

I have had this pounded into my head from my elders since I was crawling...lol

It can be done, just need to dress the wheel repeatedly, which this will quickly reduce the life of the wheel.

Sort of like machining "Nitronic 50," going to go through some tools to do so.
 
Excellent advice from all - even the dangerous stuff cause it makes me think.

I posted this question at three different websites, a sort of broadcasting I guess, and subsequently got more answers but a narrow range of ideas - I thought I'd go with the most common one…

http://www.bikerradiomagazine.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=6391

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?p=998416#post998416

http://metalmeet.com/forum/showthread.php?p=149827#post149827

but those answers reminded me that I have an elec die grinder which came with a jig used to bevel a laminate counter (maybe it was granite?) I may try that even though it's kind of huge - but even better, I remembered that my piano rebuilder dad has a 1" wide elec belt sander! I'm in business.

The reason I really want to bevel these things is to go the extra mile as well as to occupy my self at work on the long sunny weekends while you bastages are out toolin around.

Great info about not grinding nonferrous metals on the common wheel.
Remind me to keep my distance from the bench grinder I used
to shape these babies way back when.
JohnDoenakedforavatar.jpg


Surfing today yeilded more detailed info http://www.mmsonline.com/article.aspx?id=14516
Off to read about how to dress the wheel…
I'll clean these in a couple of weeks and post up pics.

[Jethro, you've changed! Well at least your avatar has ;)]
 
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The best method would be to through it on a CNC mill with a corner rounding tool or for flat bevels you could use a spot drill. You'd need to accurately measure the part and create a program for the machine, but they would come out perfect. You could probably take them to a community college with a machine shop and have a student do it for you for cheap. They should have the proper tooling, but if not then you can get HSS (high speed steel) tools fairly cheap, you don't need carbide for cutting aluminum.
 
I don't know why I didn't think of this before but to eliminate the danger of the 22,000 rpm a router spins, you could chuck the router bit in a drill press, set the speed to where you can deal with it, raise the table up to the bit & then feed the parts into the bit on the table. Just go easy on the pressure & get a feel for it. I'll bet I could do it easily & safely this way!:D Ray.
 
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