Espeefan's slow motion Peterbilt Heavy Hauler build

[Espeefan]

Originally Posted by plow jockey

Incredible as always.Those boxes are the real deal. great job!!!

Thanks plow jockey.

Originally Posted by Claus

Unbelievable Nathan! Looks like you drilled all of those holes perfectly without the use of a jig?

Thanks Craig. No jigs used for the holes. I just did the math and planned out the pattern. The digital read outs on my mill let me achieve the accuracy of the pattern, although it was still very time consuming.

Originally Posted by Dreamweaver

Lookin SWEET Nate

Thank you Mike.

Originally Posted by SANDCRAFT TRANSPORT

Are my eyes deceiving me!!, dam its good to see back again building parts for the “slow motion Peterbilt” Nat, well done Mate.
Tim

Thanks Tim, and yes I know. It's about time I get back on this, right?

Originally Posted by ihbuilder

those are sweet Nate . careful now machining can get addictive . I have more then most here , but it's not enough I need a good BP for the stuff I don't need to put in the VMC . I dislike electronic hand wheels , no feel

It's snowballed a little, Steve. I find it very easy to keep spending money on tooling, but I won't be getting a new machine until I wear this one out, or until I build a workshop for something bigger. Still, I'm very pleased with this machine. It wasn't perfect out of the crate, and took me a while to dial in, but it's totally worth it. Thanks for watching the progress.

[tc1cat]

Very nice start on a great project! If you want to go even smaller than the 0-80 machine screws you might want to try www.scalehardware.com He has nuts and bolts down to .5mm. He also has taps for that size. I have only had the nerve to try 1 hole in .5mm. Came out OK but very nerve racking as it was the final detail on the part.

[Espeefan]

Originally Posted by tc1cat

Very nice start on a great project! If you want to go even smaller than the 0-80 machine screws you might want to try www.scalehardware.com He has nuts and bolts down to .5mm. He also has taps for that size. I have only had the nerve to try 1 hole in .5mm. Came out OK but very nerve racking as it was the final detail on the part.

Hi Lynn. Thanks for checking out my work. Yes, I've looked at Scale Hardware's website a few times. Like you, I'm a little nervous about tapping something smaller then an 0-80 thread! I've done a lot of 2mm threaded holes now, but that's .078" diameter, roughly. 0-80 is smaller yet, at about .050". But .5mm at .0196"? Yikes! I'd be really worried about snapping the tap, if I just looked at it wrong. Though 0-80 screws are still a little large for what I want to do, I think I can accept that, since the idea of breaking off a tap, and ruining a part that I have a lot of time stuck into machining, is a poor trade off! Guess we'll see. I should have the 0-80 screws and taps I ordered, tomorrow.

Forging ahead! I got two more tread plates for the steps done this morning.



Here's another photo, that shows how I hope to tie the steps to the boxes. I've got some step side members machined, that will pretty much bolt together, like the 1:1 steps will. These are not finished parts yet. The front edge (lip) will be milled off completely, at an angle, to match the 1:1 steps. In the next stage of machining, they'll be finished. Sometimes you have plan how you are going to hold onto such small parts, for each step of the machining process. They are oversized right now, but will get trimmed down to size soon enough. The top step will be slightly narrower then the bottom step and the side members will be angled to meet the top step. One just has to look at the 1:1 prototype photo I posted to see what I mean.

[sparkycuda]

Nathan, the step plates look really great. A lot of drilling but sure adds a bunch to the detail. If the 0-80 is a bit large, maybe 00-90? I use this size a lot on brass, aluminum and styrene. Not really a problem, in my experience. Just take your time. I've had the best luck by holding both the work and the tap in my hands. Seems that both "move" together, as opposed to having the work stationary in a bench vise. I've never used a tapping block or fixture - perhaps they would be helpful. Keep up the good work!

Ken