So I built a "pivot lathe"/polisher today out of a door hinge.
Here is the video of the operation:
[video=youtube;RTH5lk-uKoY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTH5lk-uKoY[/video]
The pictures are mixed up, and I don't know how to organize them. At the end of this is a list of what each picture is.
Okay, so it really wasn't that hard. There are a couple of things, though. First, I would rather have not used wood dowel. I only bought the wood dowel because the hardware store did not have 5/16ths brass rod. I'll be ordering some brass rod soon, so I can have more reliable rests. Also, I didn't know this, but there are two different qualities of wood dowel; I bought the cheap quality, not thinking about the hardness of the wood when I bought it (I just thought about saving a buck). So while I'm waiting to order the brass rod, I'll run back to the hardware store and spend a few extra dollars on the better wood dowel, so it will be more resistant to cracking when drilling it out.
If anyone is curious, the inside diameter of the hinge, where the hinge pin goes, is 5/16".
The best part of this is when I hooked the spring up to the bench, and ran the fishing line to it. I found that wrapping the fishing line around the arbor twice is best for a solid movement without any slipping. It works so fluidly I was really surprised. I honestly thought I would be struggling with learning how to move properly to make it work. Using a spring is hundreds of times better than using the bow! Also, if anyone is curious, the spring I used was the skinny long spring. I read somewhere here that someone used a door spring, but I really felt like that was way too strong. I used the one that had a good amount of soft, lengthy stretch to it, as to prevent any undue pressure on the pivots while on the resting points.
Also, I'll be adding one more tightening screw to the right and left rests. They'll be located on the sides, as to prevent any side-to-side motion (I noticed some).
Finally, does anyone have any recommendations? I am really proud of my ugly little tool here, and am excited that I haven't paid a ton for a professional tool. I'd like to make it better.
Oh! And please excuse my work bench. Its usually very clean and fairly organized. But with this kind of work, I was shuffling around a lot and kindof throwing things around here and there, making a mess of things.
Pic 1 is the cutting wheel I got.
Pic 2 is what was revealed when cutting into the door hinge. I stopped cutting here because I didn't want one of those ball bearings to sling out like a bullet.
Pic 3 is after cutting everytihng away to make space for the gear
Pic 4 is teaching my kid how to use a drill press
Pic 5 is the hinge after removing the other side of it
Pic 6 is the 5/16ths wood dowel I bought
Pic 7 is the hinge after cutting away
Pic 8 is the preliminary cuts into the hinge to cut away space
Pic 9 using a punch to get that hinge pin end out
Pic 10 is which hinge I bought (at Lowes), in case anyone wanted to use the same one
Pic 11 is drilling for the tightening bolts
Pic 12 is the same thing
Pic 13 is tapping the hole for the tightening bolt
Pic 14 is first setting up to see how it came together
Pic 15 is the bow, which is a coat hanger with 25lb fishing line wrapped once around the arbor
Pic 16 is the springs I bought (for better operation), in case anyone wanted to use the same one.
Pic 17 is one of the rests I made out of the wood dowel
Here is the video of the operation:
[video=youtube;RTH5lk-uKoY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTH5lk-uKoY[/video]
The pictures are mixed up, and I don't know how to organize them. At the end of this is a list of what each picture is.
Okay, so it really wasn't that hard. There are a couple of things, though. First, I would rather have not used wood dowel. I only bought the wood dowel because the hardware store did not have 5/16ths brass rod. I'll be ordering some brass rod soon, so I can have more reliable rests. Also, I didn't know this, but there are two different qualities of wood dowel; I bought the cheap quality, not thinking about the hardness of the wood when I bought it (I just thought about saving a buck). So while I'm waiting to order the brass rod, I'll run back to the hardware store and spend a few extra dollars on the better wood dowel, so it will be more resistant to cracking when drilling it out.
If anyone is curious, the inside diameter of the hinge, where the hinge pin goes, is 5/16".
The best part of this is when I hooked the spring up to the bench, and ran the fishing line to it. I found that wrapping the fishing line around the arbor twice is best for a solid movement without any slipping. It works so fluidly I was really surprised. I honestly thought I would be struggling with learning how to move properly to make it work. Using a spring is hundreds of times better than using the bow! Also, if anyone is curious, the spring I used was the skinny long spring. I read somewhere here that someone used a door spring, but I really felt like that was way too strong. I used the one that had a good amount of soft, lengthy stretch to it, as to prevent any undue pressure on the pivots while on the resting points.
Also, I'll be adding one more tightening screw to the right and left rests. They'll be located on the sides, as to prevent any side-to-side motion (I noticed some).
Finally, does anyone have any recommendations? I am really proud of my ugly little tool here, and am excited that I haven't paid a ton for a professional tool. I'd like to make it better.
Oh! And please excuse my work bench. Its usually very clean and fairly organized. But with this kind of work, I was shuffling around a lot and kindof throwing things around here and there, making a mess of things.
Pic 1 is the cutting wheel I got.
Pic 2 is what was revealed when cutting into the door hinge. I stopped cutting here because I didn't want one of those ball bearings to sling out like a bullet.
Pic 3 is after cutting everytihng away to make space for the gear
Pic 4 is teaching my kid how to use a drill press
Pic 5 is the hinge after removing the other side of it
Pic 6 is the 5/16ths wood dowel I bought
Pic 7 is the hinge after cutting away
Pic 8 is the preliminary cuts into the hinge to cut away space
Pic 9 using a punch to get that hinge pin end out
Pic 10 is which hinge I bought (at Lowes), in case anyone wanted to use the same one
Pic 11 is drilling for the tightening bolts
Pic 12 is the same thing
Pic 13 is tapping the hole for the tightening bolt
Pic 14 is first setting up to see how it came together
Pic 15 is the bow, which is a coat hanger with 25lb fishing line wrapped once around the arbor
Pic 16 is the springs I bought (for better operation), in case anyone wanted to use the same one.
Pic 17 is one of the rests I made out of the wood dowel
















