My first build ( DIY from raw materials ) WIP

[The Lightning Stalker]

Yeah, I'm in full agreement on the 6061. The stuff is a nightmare to machine. Gummy and grabby. Dulls
the cheap carbide inserts real quick. I had my first real bad crash on 6061. It's only slightly better than
copper. The stuff is like everywhere though and everybody uses it. Threads will turn out like crap unless
you cut at 29° and do only one side at a time. I don't think I've ever even seen a piece of 7075, it sounds
like some dream.

 

[crazyspaz]

Put me down for your next prototype then

 

[jbtm]

Yeah, I'm in full agreement on the 6061. The stuff is a nightmare to machine. Gummy and grabby. Dulls
the cheap carbide inserts real quick. I had my first real bad crash on 6061. It's only slightly better than
copper. The stuff is like everywhere though and everybody uses it. Threads will turn out like crap unless
you cut at 29° and do only one side at a time. I don't think I've ever even seen a piece of 7075, it sounds
like some dream.

Yeah, by far it was the best aluminum i ever machined. it took me a matter of minutes to turn 8 inches of 2" stock down to 1.5" diameter with only a few passes, and i had no strings to pick up, it was just a massive pile of tiny broken chips that were simply sucked up, easiest clean-up job i ever had xD I ended up buying a small stock of it on ebay to make sure its similar, but yeah. I mean, i ended up making another project with 3" 6061 and that was a lot more of a pain to do, and the finish was kinda eh. in comparison.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4HYoMqr0Ho

When i did all my cutting on this laser host, it machined very similar to this video. small tiny chips, except i had to use a plastic shield, because they were chucking tiny little bead-like chips 3ft behind me. I listerally had 4 magnetic plastic shields to keep the mess to a minimal, because the chuck-guard wasnt doing its job. its lovely stuff to machine but it makes a fricken mess without shields because it literally was SPRAYING aluminum XD

 

[The Lightning Stalker]

Yeah, 6061 will do the same with a chip-breaker (prettymuch mandatory on a parting tool, forget about
parting on a mini-lathe). It depends on the RPM and the diameter of the part, but it will happen on stuff
>1" if you're trying to get it done TODAY. Those darn chips like to weld right onto the cutter!

 

[jbtm]

Some updates on the host.

So, Got the lathe all cleaned up and working. Now we just lack tooling. Just a parting tool, at least. We have cutters, and a boring bar. Then of course my DIY thread cutter which, works perfectly.

Seen here, I redid the threading, MUCH cleaner.

So....The thought/issue came to me as i built the thing. You cant have 24TPI threading..then have an axis module with fine threads...well...F. This entire build was a 'i never did anything like this, lets wing it' an throughout the entire build ive ran into multiple problems, and mistakes. Such as, Id never sell this, as its miles from sellable quality ( in my head ). I JB welded. a fking button. to a host. Which yeah...works. But it fails my QC. So I have a lot of notes for 'improving for revision 2.0' so for now, I decided fine...Lets go with a simple block of aluminum pressed into an axis module focusing ring...An adapter.

Nice and simple. No knurling tools at this maker space, so smooth for now. Decided it looked really boring, so I added rings on the front for some looks. This is running a simple 445nm 9mm diode.

Which. Note to self. Even though it was a microscopic difference. Dont...press...copper..into...aluminum. the hole was under sized by a hair, and warped the copper. What does this mean? Well. It ment the lens barrel, went 2 turns in, and stopped. after 2 hours of taking a proper sized metric tap, and chasing the threads, butt-puckering work afraid to hit the diode, i finally got things all cleared up, laser lens 100% free of any crap, and running smoothly. To my surprise, it had to be screwed in a lot farther than i thought. In fact, solid straight beam is literally 1.5mm spaced between the focusing adapter and the host. JUST enough room to under focus for burning at 3" away. Im fairly surprised it requires very little turns to go from close up to straight. So that works wonderfully as it sticking out a little...kinda..matches the host. I still hate the looks but, I'm just a nut like that

So, The driver. Again. Mistakes of 'Oh where do i properly mount my black negative wire????? Cut a 1cm length of wire. Soldered it to the board. Bent it. and shoved it along the side of the circuit board. Why? After putting it in at an angle, and using equal pressure on both sides, its literally pressed in. Meaning, next to impossible to get out. Meaning, Pretty darn tight wire connection to the host XD WORKS!!!

Then a couple pictures for now.

http://i.imgur.com/i78sYLU.jpg -- Full Res Beam Shot

I'll have more detailed pics later. These are just off my phone for now. But yeah. Another issue/thing noted was it was fully pointless to have the heatsink cut in half. Having little reason to attempt threading things at this stage, I decided to go the lazy way. Thermal paste. JB-Weld. And since its a semi-press fit the epoxy holds it solid. But again, many notes taken so version 2 wont have glue -_- Erks me...

In the end though, The laser works great. I've yet to play with it, as I'm awaiting for full epoxy curing. But it seems to be a beast and the heatsink, having copper literally formed into it, is doing a great job. Once all together its rock solid, no rattling sounds if shaken, etc. This is a momentary fire laser as I'm more a fan of side-press fired lasers, so they are turned off when let go. This way if i decided to do hand-etching/drawing on materials, its very simple. I was never a fan of being able to toggle a laser, set it down, and walk away from it. It may be fun for beam perspectives, but that's what lower power green lasers are for. Not 3W burning lasers. I prefer seeing this OFF when not in hand.

Next step is to mod a case for this...As it doesnt have lock features, and needs to be kept far out of reach from anyone besides me.

 

[The Lightning Stalker]

Believe it or not, you're actually doing very well. Almost every build has its snags, especially when making
your own custom host from scratch (believe me, I know).

 

[crazyspaz]

So glad to see its completion! What i really like about your design, is that it seems to take some of the most visually pleasing aspects from a traditional "rifle" host, but gets rid of the crappy bits, and replaces them with a smooth, yet solid and rugged looking (and feeling, I'm assuming) beautifully manipulated piece of aluminum. Having no lathe experience whatsoever, I am always really amazed when anyone on the forums- Sinner, MrCrouse, Eudaimonium, etc.- unveil these amazing hosts that they made from a chunk of metal. I hope you take pride in this, even though it maybe didnt go exactly as you planned it to

Hope to see more!

 

[jbtm]

Thanks for the words ^^

I'm more/less just surprised it came out, period. Going off the fact that my school's first year class, the most advance thing we did was turn diameters to specs, Thread reliefs, and cutting big diameter threads with big tooling. The class never went over how to make 2 custom parts thread together...how to do inside threading...how to do boring...knurling...and so forth. A lot of that I either had to learn by playing ( boring bar...simple concept... ) or watching YT videos for little tips. The threading I just calculated with solidworks, and most of the time it didnt come out because as you thread, sometimes you push material outwards so your threads become a larger diameter. Well, I was able to take a few deeper passes which eventually, made them fit. extremely snugged, no wiggle room. The 2nd year class that i made it in, the rules were "Build anything you want, if your doing work, you pass" So the teachers were fairly impressed seeing the host as parts screwing together.

http://i.imgur.com/wVnt4VX.jpg This was the most complex thing we did in the first year class. Only CRS. Never were teached aluminum, so that was yet another 'first time experience'

So the fact it came together, period. was enough for me. During the off-time of this project, was the light saber..
http://i.imgur.com/NFacGpQ.jpg

All good fun. I'm more curious to see how much they allow me to play around with the machines there without being a paid member. Cant really afford a maker space cost until i get set into a better job, but im the only one there who really knows how to use a lathe to these levels..so in a sense I get to play, and with me being 22 and all, they see it as a 'im a good role model for the maker space for new comers' because they can sit there and say "Look what he made using our space, our tools, and look at the other stuff hes made" bla bla bla Sometimes that gets me into places ( Like The Geek Group ) For free membership. But I left them ages ago