Machining

I have a Shoptask 1720 XMTC Lathe-Mill-Drill. I make occasional use of this for making parts for my old motorcycles and any other excuse I can find. I am a rank beginner with this tool with very limited training. Hopefully these pages will be helpful to other beginners.

I have made up a rear spindle and sprocket carrier to adapt a Honda CB750 front wheel for use as the rear wheel on my Ariel VB motorcycle. This will allow me to use the disk brake on the rear and saves me having to find a decent 55 year old original wheel. I have also used the mill to clean up faces on Ariel engine castings, particularly on the NH cylinder head after repairing some rocker box damage with Lumiweld. (Lumiweld hint one: use a MAPP gas torch on large alloy things. Propane is not hot enough.) (Lumiweld hint two: don't use MAPP gas on small alloy things like gearbox filler caps. MAPP gas is too hot. Melt...).

I am using the PTC Pro/Desktop Express software for CAD. PTC used to give this software away for free. The CAD drawings and 3D images here are created with this software.

My next project is to make Ariel rocker caps and Burman gearbox oil filler caps. I plan to machine these from Fortal round stock. Both of these items have become very hard to obtain. The original components are cast from some gray alloy which is pretty much impossible to polish, and the casting method of manufacture leaves the hex flats slightly slanted, making them very easy to round off. Fortal is strong, polishable and machining should give accurate hexes.