CNC Router

Phoenix Build Pictorial

DAY 4

Day 5

Here you can see that I got the correct size pipe now and it is mounted to the walls and base.

This picture shows the trolley brackets. Holes had to be drilled to allow for the bearings to mount.

Here I am drilling the holes in the trolley brackets.

I've completed the two trolley brackets and these are the tools that I used to construct them. As you can see I used a center punch with a hammer to mark the locations for the holes to be drilled. This helps in making sure the drill bit does not walk. But considering that I was using a drill press, I doubt that the drill bit would walk anyway. But I figure it was good to center punch the holes anyway. The file was used to smooth out the surface after the holes were drilled.

The trolley bearings attached to the trolley bracket with threaded rod. Here I am using a hacksaw to cut the threaded rod. I used two nuts screwed on the rod and clamped in my vise to not mar the thread rod threads. It worked out nicely.

Ok, the trolley brackets now are complete with the bearings attached.

The trolley base has been cut to size according to John's plans and the location of the holes have been marked. You probably can't see the hole marking but they are there. The pencil lines on the base are nothing, I was going to use my circular saw and cut out the base. The lines would have served as a guide, but I ended up using my table saw instead.

The hole have all been drilled in the trolley base. You can probably now see their location.

A major milestone has been accomplished, the trolley has been temporary mounted to the pipe. I have not aligned the trolley yet, but I just could not resist not mounting it to see how it rolls.

Again the trolley rolling on the pipe. It actually glides along quite well and I am surprised at how effortlessly it rolls. Next will be the construction the pipe guide that will allow me to set the proper height. Once the proper height is set I will remount the trolley and adjust it for tracking. John's plans detail how to properly setup the pipe and trolley and according to him, once that is setup, the rest of the construction is a piece of cake. We will see....

Ok a little recap. So far I have constructed the Phoenix's base and deck. Along with the motor and bearing walls which serve to mount the base and deck together. The pipe centering blocks are also mounted and the centering screws are screwed in and waiting for me to setup the proper pipe height. The trolley has been completed and the holes have been drilled to allow for mounting the Phoenix's X and Z axis. So far nothing in the plans has been too challenging and it has been a really neat project. Soon I will have to paint the MDF as suggested in John's plans to seal it. More updates soon to follow.

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