Weld Jig build

[mklotz70]

I started building the jig to weld up the truck brake kit brackets. I was thinking about putting this in the machine work thread, but it will be too long. This won't necessarily be a complete or in depth how-to, but I thought I'd share the process I'm going through. I'm actually hoping that some of the other welders will pop in with some ideas that will save me some grief and time later.

 

 

First up....I modified some allen bolts I had on hand...you'll see why later, but I needed the threads all the way to the head. I could have simply went and bought bolts, but I thought I'd get farther with the jig and didn't want to take the time to go get them.

 

 

 

I picked this plate up at Clackamas Steel. I figured there's no way it's gonna flex on me. I didn't really pay any attention to the fact that there isn't a square face or side on it. I ended up having to face two of the ends just to hold it in the vise. The pics with the calipers show how the plate is about 1/8" different in thickness from one side to the other. Once I got the two sides faced, I could grab it with the vise and start milling off that 1/8" to get the plate flat. I should probably just go swing by CS on the way home from work today and pick up another piece!! hhmm....now that I think of it...I just might!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even if I pick up a new piece of steel, I'll still want to finish facing this piece so I can use it for something else :)

[]2eDeYe]

I love me some jigs :D

[mklotz70]

I put some more time into the plate. I took the time and figured out the speed/feed I should have been using instead of just winging it. I ended up running just a hair under 5 IPM(inch per min), at about 200 rpm, with a DOC(depth of cut) of about .030". The feed rate was supposed to give me about a .005" cut per tooth, but when I measured the chip, it was closer to .008"x .035".

 

I still didn't get it right for the fly cut and I don't care for the finish the plate ended up with, but oh well. It's just a jig and it doesn't need to be perfect. My mill is a bit small to have done the entire plate at one time. The tall plate and bar stock leaning against the bench are pieces I picked up at Clackamas Steel. The plate weighs 75 lbs on it's own...they charger .50 cents per pound. I'll cut it down and use if for jig plates. The bar stock is for the spacers on the brackets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mklotz70]

This clip is about 6min long....just so you know before you click on it and get stuck waiting :)

 

 

 

As I got to looking at the "inch" measurements, I started to wonder if there was a metric "whole" number that would be easier to use. I have a converter on my phone :) so it gave me the answer pretty quickly. The spacing between the bolts was off .001" to get to 100mm even. The other dimension....I shortened it a few thou to get it to the nearest millimeter. I had mocked the brakes back up with the green bracket. I noticed that it's not perfectly tangent to the spindle....I decided one tab was out as far as I would want to go, so by comparing them to the print, I decided to shorten my dimension as opposed to lengthening it. The calipers are set for the shorter dimension and the print is exactly full scale....so you can see the difference is not even noticeable.

 

 

 

[mklotz70]

I found out I'm going to a school for work in a few weeks, so I really need to get this jig done so I can get the kits finished before I go. It's a 3wk school...nice vacation for me, but all progress in the shop comes to a halt.

 

I decided to make two jigs. That way once one is welded, it can cool while the other is being welded. Plus, left and right can be done at the same time to keep them in pairs. The C-clamps will be welded to the plate and then braced and welded together as well. I picked the position of the clamps based on how the welder said he'd be welding them.

 

I still need to pick up a few bolts for locating the parts and then drill/tap holes for them to go in. I'm planning on getting the bolts after work....maybe I can get these done tomorrow and over to the welder on sunday. :)

 

Thought I posted about the plate.....it was exactly 75lbs! It's 3/4"x6" and almost as tall as me....so about 6' tall :) ...okay...maybe just a hair shorter :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Farmer]

Totally coolness. I was wish I had Half your skills.

 

Larry

[]2eDeYe]

I like where this is going.

[mklotz70]

Totally coolness. I was wish I had Half your skills.

 

Larry

 

LOL! :) Thanks....but I only have half of what everyone thinks I have.....if you take half of them, I won't be able to chew gum and walk. :)

 

 

2eDeYe' date='19 September 2010 - 12:25 PM' timestamp='1284924358' post='355057']

I like where this is going.

 

The welder was just over....he likes it too. I'm getting anxious to get these finished and to the plater...I want to see them plated!! :)

[mklotz70]

Dang I love CAD!! I'm not even any good at it!! I figured out how to combine the art from the parts...basically the same file that the parts were laser cut from. I separated the pieces, then figure out how to rotate them into the positions I wanted.... SWEET!!

 

 

Printed it out full scale and viola! I could simply punch the center marks and call it good, but there's one more step I want to do. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This morning, I went back in and put all the dimensions I might need for the mill so that I can locate the holes I need to drill for the locating pins. :)

 

[mklotz70]

I'm tempted to go back and delete the first part of this thread. I'm really pleased with how this is turning out!!

 

I started out by using a center punch to poke holes in the paper drawing. I then used a sharpie to make a dot on the steel plate, through the paper. The reason for this was so that I could have a reference as I started to dial in the dimensions on the DRO....I'd know if I was where I should be. For example...if I spaced and put the X coordinates in the Y and didn't notice it. Easy to do when the two are close to the same...but the dots let me know right away that I'm on track. :) I actually took a 1/8 hole punch and put holes in the paper pattern. After I used the center drill to locate the holes, I verified with the paper pattern that I got it right. The center drill is a short, rigid drill with a countersink. It is much more accurate than having a long, flexible drill bit walk around when trying to start a hole.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I tapped the holes, then put the allen bolts in that I had previously modified...OMG!!...the plate dropped right on to the bolts!!!! Part of why I'm so pleased is that I kept the tolerances pretty dang close!! The green plates dropped right on to, but the tab holes aren't lined up anywhere near as accurately. They're close enough to use, but all of the future brackets are going to right on the money!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At first, I was only going to drill the two holes, then I decided that I'd drill all 4...just in case something happens to one jig....they can each be used for either side this way.

 

 

 

 

 

The alignment bolts were way long...I cut one off with a cut off wheel just for demo....the others, with the bandsaw. I used two nuts when I did the cutoff wheel so that the bolt would not spin and move up or down. I used two for the bandsaw cut so that it didn't jerk and bind on the last bit of cut. The nuts support it nicely. In both cases, you have a nut to take off after the cut, which will clean up the burrs a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I turned the head off the shoulder bolt so that I could keep the allen socket. After all was said and done, I think I should either cut these down or get 4 more that are shorter. I want the top of the bolt to be fairly even with the top of the tab....the way it is, the C-clamp has to get released about an inch before you can lift the bracket up and off the bolt.

 

 

 

[mklotz70]

Couple of tack welds just so that I could mock them back up and make sure that all of my measurements and CAD work was correct.

 

 

 

 

 

Holy Cow!!! They are, basically, perfectly aligned!!! Looking at the edge of the machined rotor surface toward the center of the rotor...the pads are exactly where they're supposed to be.....on both sides....and on both brackets!!!! :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I just thought they made cool book ends :)

 

 

[]2eDeYe]

Nicely done, now you can just pump them out. :D

[mklotz70]

Thanks :) They'll be pumped out....by someone else.

 

I finished up the jigs tonight...I think they'll work really well....we'll see what the welder has to say. I'll drop everything off to him after work.

 

 

I bought another set of shoulder bolts...another $15! :( But...they turned out exactly like I hoped. The vid should make it a bit clearer as to why I changed the bolts.

 

 

 

[ang94541]

Nice work!!

 

I guess those Harbor Freight C-clamps really are good for something.

[mklotz70]

Thanks :)

Yep...but they just barely work. I actually bent one at the store seeing how tight they would clamp. Hopefully, they don't need to be clamped too tightly.

[]2eDeYe]

Are you going to clamp the other side of the brackets? The heat from welding might cause the plate to bend up over there.

[mklotz70]

That just dawned on my as I was loading everything in the car last night. ...hhmmm....maybe I should so something about that. :(

[mklotz70]

Okay....as Redeye said....I needed something to hold down the other side of the plate....so this is what I came up with.

 

I got the clamp idea from a jig that ADrummond had built for the very first batch of these brackets a couple of years ago. He used the jig to drill the holes with the cnc instead of using the laser cut holes. There is a spring under the clamp to hold it up when loosened. I think this may be about it for this thread....sure would be nice to force a page break!! Anyway....hopefully, it will give someone else some ideas when it comes time for them to build a jig :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[]2eDeYe]

Simple and effective, me like :D

[Braden]

Totally coolness. I was wish I had Half your skills.

 

Larry

i wish i had half his tools!!

[mklotz70]

i wish i had half his tools!!

 

Okay....that one I can't argue with :) ....and I don't even use half of what I have...at least not lately. :)

[I'm BLUE]

Read this yesterday ...

 

Are you sure you're not part savant mklotz ? :cool:

 

 

[mklotz70]

LOl uummm.....maybe an idiot savant! :)

 

If you liked that, you might like the last few pages of this thread....

 

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/8175-mklotz70-project-mend/page__st__720

 

and I just did some work on this jig that shows up in the past post or two of this thread......which I should have put a link for here.

 

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/11459-disc-brake-kits-521520320620/page__st__240

[mklotz70]

.....so I put the link here too

 

[I'm BLUE]

Well... If you're an idiot savant

What does that say about me ... Hahahaha :D

 

Loved the video as well as the last few pages on your threads !! .. And you do an excellent job on documentation process , walkthrough , and editing :thumbup: .

 

Ah

 

That's the best use I've seen for HF c-clamps yet !! lol jk haha

 

Will rapid tap or something of the sort help prolong your file life ? :)