Z-axis Bellows Mount (Part 3): Bottom Bracket

Bottom Bracket

I made the bottom bracket from a single piece of aluminum measuring 75x235x15mm. In this a slot for the Z-axis way is cut and holes are drilled in the bottom for press fitting the magnets that will fix the bracket to the mill base.

Cutting a piece 240mm long from existing bar stock. Even with a brand new bi-metal blade and plenty of WD-40 that is still quite a chore. Time to start saving for that band saw!

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Squaring the edges of the sawed of piece. Another downside to using a manual hack saw is that the saw cut tends to be quite at quite an angle from vertical, hence the need to remove a lot of material before the edge is square.

Here I'm using a 10mm 4-flute end mill where the end is damaged. It's certainly not ideal for this type of operation, but squaring ends is purely for cosmetic reasons - the finish and dimensions of the edges are in no way critical - so I decided to save the wear on my other end mills for more critical applications.

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In part 4, I'll cover making the bottom bracket ...

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Published

18 June 2010