John,
I think I understand most of what you are saying. Between your first
two paragraphs are you talking bout two different procedures?
Overall, are you basically saying "Cast a rod of fiberglassing resin
using pvc. Then turn it off and turn the resin rod into whatever you
wnat."? It seems like an appropriate sized cardboard tube(capped on
one end) could be used for casting the resin. Then just soak the
cardboard tube off after it hardens.
What's all this about axial and rotational keying? :) Thanks.
Rance
--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "born4something" <ajs@...>
wrote:
Hi,
Just a suggestion.
For making plastic handles on shafts I turn a few grooves (for
axial
keying), grind a couple of flats (for rotational keying) and then
cast the handle with fibre glassing resin from the hardware store.
Use oversized PVC conduit as the former so centre isn't critical.
Glue a piece to some scrap with silicone, etc. Then spray the
inside
lightly with WD40 as a release agent. Support the shaft by clamping
from above and pour the resin in. Next day, stick the shaft in the
chuck and turn off the PVC. If the WD40 has worked well you won't
need to machine much before it slips off anyway. Discard that and
continue turning the resin to shape. Fine cuts go smoothly and
produce mountains of fine stringy swarf. Don't let them build up or
the job will eventually grab the whole pile and wrap it up! Finish
with emery or wet & dry if you want a nice polish.
Place where I once worked used to cast blocks of that stuff for
making items from. They always saved the offcuts in a bin for
smaller jobs. Turns beautifully.
John
