This week, the focus was on building the MTM Snap machine and updating our final project pages. However, I felt this week was quite hectic and, as one could ascertain from the picture, there were too many hands working on this project at once. I waited for an opportune moment to be able to offer my help: the assembly of the spindle.
The next day, I came into the CBA shop to help on the machine, and the piece at hand was the spindle. Since there were no diagrams or directions at all, this machine had to be reverse-engineered. I laid out the framing pieces in the order I saw in the machine. It seemed that the best way to assemble this part was to assemble the spindle first, then slip each piece of the frame and fasten them together with the long screws. So the spindle shaft needed to be made.
John gave us a quick tutorial on how to use the lathe downstairs in the CBA Shop. Here are some things to note about using the lathe:
Once the shaft was finished, we began to press fit the pieces that made up the spindle. I passed that along to another colleague, and cut one of the lead screws for the machine. Best way to cut these is actually the hack saw. If you clamp it in a vice that can constrict cylindrical stock, secure the vice, and align the blade betweeen the threads, one can easily saw through. You must carefully saw a notch in the shaft before hacking away at it. That's all I've got.