Bench Wheel Progress

[butch foster]

Here is the bench wheel I started around Thanksgiving. I've been working overtime to get her ready to take to Dutch's next weekend. This is pretty much the condition she's going in. Tool post is still ugly but seems functional. Despite my best efforts, she does flex a bit. When I lower the upper to within a hair of the lower and then hang all my weight off the adjuster I get some movement. Don't have a clue as to how she'll perform. I'll let the experts test drive her.



Biggest problem I can see right now is I still have misalignment between the upper and lower. This pic shows a close up. This is a flat lower I used to line everything up and you can see the lower still needs to move right a bit. I won't have time to open up the slots in the tool post between now and then but I'm assuming that with any other radius lower, it won't really matter.



Only question remaining is whether I can get the sucker in the car for the trip out to Dutch's without killing myself.

[Bill B]

Hey Butch,

Nice work!

Sure is a great looking tool. Did you stick a dial indicator on it to measure deflection? Know little about E-Wheels but saw photos of the build. Didn't seem like it could flex much. The pros will know if it's right.

Soap the driveway, some 2 x 6's and the back seat, slide it into the car. Don't scratch the frame.

Bill

[butch foster]

Bill - You can see now why the lilly is on hold.

I didn't think to put a dial indicator on her. I'm not sure I would know how to interpret the results even if I'd thought to. I go about 180 (maybe 185 after Easter Dinner) and I'm guessing I was moving the upper 1/32" to 1/16" when I put all my weight on the upper arm.

Frankly, I'm still more concerned with lateral movement than the up and down deflection. From what I've read here, excessive lateral movement can result in tracking problems.

Thanks for the advice on getting her into the car. Think I'll try to get the little missus on the dumb end. See if all that time she spends in the gym translates into something useful.

Best regards. Butch.

[Kerry Pinkerton]

Butch, your frame is going to be plenty stiff laterally based on the width of your frame and depth of throat. It's a porportion thing.

The weakest part is your open tool arm and you can easily box that if you notice any flex. If you unbolt your head and tool arm it will probably reduce the weight of the frame considerably from transport.

Have fun at Dutches!

[butch foster]

Thanks Kerry - I'm reluctant to unbolt the head and post simply because it took a while to get everything lined up. I doubt it weighs more than 150 lbs, so we shouldn't really have too much trouble getting it in. I'll let you know how we make out at Dutch's.

Regards. Butch.

Maybe if you mill a slot in the lower yoke where the bolt goes you could cure your alignment issue.

[butch foster]

KriS - Milling the slot in the yoke would work for sure although in my world milling means pulling out the round file. My inclination is to open up the slots in the lower post first just because that is currently where I'm making my adjustments. I'm reluctant to add another adjustment point quite yet. It seems the more points of adjustment you have, the more opportunity for misalignment. Thanks for the feedback.

Regards. Butch.