carver
starting to shine!
Member since November 2019
Posts: 36
|
Post by carver on Dec 6, 2019 14:38:15 GMT -5
Does Anyone know what motor Ameritool uses in their 8" flat lap? I am looking to make a point carver and am considering buying this direct from the company or buying an alternative motor myself. They charge $139 + $25 for the speed control + rectifier which is an amount I am happy to spend unless there are better alternatives for the same price. Also does anyone know what size shaft is on the motor? I spoke with Ameritool today but the technical people were out of the office until Monday. If there is a better speed control motor available I am all ears. The motor is going to be connected to the point carver by pulleys.
|
|
NDK
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 9,440
|
Post by NDK on Dec 6, 2019 16:51:23 GMT -5
carver Have you considered a flex shaft type unit? The handpiece could be clamped down on a work surface but give you the versatility to hold in your hand. A foredom brand one will set you back a few hundred but if you want to try with little invested harbor freight sells a foredom knockoff for cheap and they're actually rated quite high.
|
|
carver
starting to shine!
Member since November 2019
Posts: 36
|
Post by carver on Dec 7, 2019 4:04:45 GMT -5
carver Have you considered a flex shaft type unit? The handpiece could be clamped down on a work surface but give you the versatility to hold in your hand. A foredom brand one will set you back a few hundred but if you want to try with little invested harbor freight sells a foredom knockoff for cheap and they're actually rated quite high. A foredom flex shaft mounted is a great suggestion for people that come across this post in the future with similar questions. I have a Foredom flex shaft with many of their accessories and it is a great tool for most peoples needs. However, I would like something a little bigger that can fit 2-3" by 1/4" diamond wheels that is a little more robust and also fit various tips in a collet system. The foredom can't have the pieces hang out far in front so water getting into the shaft becomes an issue for the type work I am thinking. I plan to mount a motor to a HPDE board and then use a small lathe headstock unit with a collet system.
|
|
NDK
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 9,440
|
Post by NDK on Dec 7, 2019 6:35:52 GMT -5
Very cool! Good luck with your build 👍
|
|
|
Post by Rockoonz on Dec 7, 2019 13:18:30 GMT -5
carver I have a Graves cabmate I want to adapt for carving, already found a good quality jacobs chuck with the correct threads to mount on the arbor shaft. I plan to use with a 2 speed motor just like the one I use for heavy material removal on cabochons, but a DC, stepper, of frequency drive motor would work as well. The Ameritool motor is definitely durable, though, and if you're comfortable with DIY It should cost less than tracking down a Graves unit.
|
|
|
Post by Rockoonz on Dec 7, 2019 13:31:08 GMT -5
Here's one of mine. It's between the little saw and the drill press and is set up with the coarse wheel for cabochons. Here's the product page for it, but DON'T attempt to buy one there, all indications are that the Graves company is not an active company right now. I would buy another bare arbor unit if I could contact someone to sell it to me. Maybe later... www.gravescompany.com/CabMate.html
|
|
carver
starting to shine!
Member since November 2019
Posts: 36
|
Post by carver on Dec 7, 2019 14:11:09 GMT -5
carver I have a Graves cabmate I want to adapt for carving, already found a good quality jacobs chuck with the correct threads to mount on the arbor shaft. I plan to use with a 2 speed motor just like the one I use for heavy material removal on cabochons, but a DC, stepper, of frequency drive motor would work as well. The Ameritool motor is definitely durable, though, and if you're comfortable with DIY It should cost less than tracking down a Graves unit. That looks great, I had never heard of the Graves cabmate before or seen something similar being sold. I will look into this further and if you know of any other similar machines I'd love to hear. I was planning on using a Taig brand mini lathe headstock which has a screw posts that you can swap out to suit your needs. I like the design of that with the water catcher as well. I had thought about using a Jacobs chuck but a collet system like ER16 used with Taig seems more secure at higher speeds when your grinding away horizontally rather than drilling.
|
|