Actually I just put them together & they don't look as bad as I thought they were lol, sure they could use a little more sanding especially the one with the scar from the disc sander but yeah, not as bad as I first thought :).
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Actually I just put them together & they don't look as bad as I thought they were lol, sure they could use a little more sanding especially the one with the scar from the disc sander but yeah, not as bad as I first thought :).
LOL :banana:, I don't know why but I felt like doing a little more so I cut all the rest of the bars for the lower part to rough size so they just need sanding down to precise size, then drilling & tapping, wanted to use the disc sander but was a tad too loud for 10pm :D.
Sheet I don't like tapping aluminium, managed 1 side for the angle bar & managed 1 of 2 taps on the other side, the 2nd tap the bolt just slips in & out, it's a very hit & miss thing for me & is prooving a real PITA on these hdd cages, I might use a high quality adhesive if it irritates me too much, but if I do I can say bye bye to anodising :(.
Anyway I think I'm at a point where I should step away from it until I get my sleep pattern straight & to relax a bit, turn off machine mode & become human again :D & so I don't have to worry about a noise curfew lol :D. 3 days max & I'll get get my sleep pattern straight & get the needed materials for making some jigs too.
The mounting hole on the side of the HDD is tapped and will hold that bolt just fine. Who's gonna know?:whistler:Quote:
Originally Posted by Waynio
I've never had any problems with tapping aluminum as long as I lubricate the tap with some engine oil.
:D, yeah they are fine, but the base plate is seperate from the side plates so need to mount an angle piece to join the 2, I've got a solution now though, it came straight after posting lol, typical :facepalm:.Quote:
Originally Posted by mDust
It's always been a thing I've dreaded as it's always been a hit & miss task for me, I think I have it completely sorted now though :santa:.Quote:
Originally Posted by x88x
Not an update, but a nice break through for me.
LOL, I just got an idea for drilling & tapping straight after saying I was going to have a little break.
I have used a cordless power drill before for doing some tapping but some how forgot about the success it was if done carefully, I also realised when using the drill press I didn't have the drill bit in far enough for it to drill exactly where I want.
So I thought I'd have a little practice/test with my usual 10/10 test to make sure something works :D, this time I made it 11/11 & they all came out absolutely perfect, so no need for a time out woo hoo :D, was really thinking I'm screwed when it comes to drilling even on a drill press, d'oh :facepalm:.
Only downside to this is now I can drill precisely where I want so none of this 0.5mm out annoyance I've been getting because of the drill bit not hitting the bullseye, so yeah I might remake the 4 hdd pieces, luckily the bases are spot on but the holes for the hdd mounts only just connect & is a struggle getting them to work right so I may re do these pieces, shame but I want perfection on all the function of this build :devcool:.
I tried doing these simple angle connections 3 times now & still not happy with the results & 1 more muck up & I'll run out of spare angle bar, I think it's the low grade of the aluminium sheet, when I tapped the bars which is a high grade quality the taps were perfect & strong, not so with the sheet So I'm going to skip trying to tap them again & use adhesive, I'll be sure to run some strength tests before I do though ;). I'll buy the adhesive tomorrow along with materials for making some jigs.
It kind of looks fairly acceptable but really it's gotta be better than how it is, a big part of the design is easy maintenance & if kept like this it could be a slight PITA maintenance :P.
Also came across a sweet way of painting aluminium in Darth Beavis's new lan rig which I'll be doing & keep the metal visible like anodising & it's simply candy paint straight onto the aluminium & clear coated so this is what I'll be doing for finishing & can do a good colour coordination this way too.
What if you ran the screws the other way (ie, tapping the angle bar) or used rivets?
Looking good!
As a former journeyman machinist I may have a tip for drilling and tapping for you.:think:
If you are not using a "center drill" before drilling the holes then make your mark and punch them so a regular drill bit will follow the mark.
Make sure you are using the correct drill size for the tap. Not just something close.
You can use a cordless drill to tap the holes but set the clutch at a low number to keep from breaking the tap off.
Also, try to use a 3 fluted tap instead of a 4 fluted one. The less flutes you have the stronger the tap. There are also "spiral" taps that are awesome but you may want to use them with a drill press to insure they go straight in.
Hope this helps.:glasses:
I've thought about doing that & probably will :up: but not rivets, wouldn't work.Quote:
Originally Posted by x88x
Thanks BS :up: I looked into getting a center drill but I'm really put off ordering bits with christmas delivery being very unreliable, I do use the correct drill size for the tap, for the m3 tap I'm using I drill a 2.5mm hole & is spot on, I really should get myself a good machine tap bit but again christmas delivery being unreliable unless I can pick express delivery which the ones on ebay are not making available :facepalm:.Quote:
Originally Posted by BS Mods
I found for drilling & hitting the bullseye putting the drill bit as far in as I can & it doesn't bend to the side when contacting the aluminium so can drill spot on now so as long as I mark up completely accurate then it's good so I must pay more attention to my marking :glasses:.
LOL I did a mock put together to remind myself it is progressing dispite the hold up on a couple of simple pieces :D, the corner square bars aren't to precise size just yet, was like making a tower of cards :D.
