Fender brace, 1st milling project

[burninbriar]

If Bulldog is still around, he will get a kick out of this one.
I finally got my turn tables mounted and most of my tooling issues straitened out. The first pic is a drawing of the piece.
Second pic is making new jaws for the vice to compensate for the base that is worn off square and the excessive jaw lift when its tightened.
The next pics are just the order of progress. I squared the sides, flattened the face with the fly-cutter then squared the ends.

Now I'm debating how to continue now that the plates are flat,true and parallel. My plan of attack is to cut the to the widest length and width detentions, then drill and tap the bolt holes.( the bolt holes are not clearly marked on the drawing but I'm sure you can figure out where they are.) Next will be to drill the 1.625" hole with the boring bar, then put it on the rotary table to shape the outside dimensions and last I will cut the slot in the clamps.

If anyone sees a problem with my plan, please let me know. This is my first project.

[burninbriar]

This is a more descriptive drawing of the brace. I couldn't find it when I started the first post, then it popped up when I went to check a dimention.
Oh well.

To fill you all in, this is part of my headlight project, hears a link to it.
http://www.millermotorsports.com/mbo...dlight+project

[burninbriar]

Well, I finally finished the braces.They came out real good except for the corner rounding, I'm sure its due to using a cheap Chinese rounding mill. I could see it did not turn true and it felt like only one of the 4 flutes was actually cutting metal.
The inside radius and all the flat stuff is very smooth but the corner rounded portions feel like snake skin. The first picture shows this very well, although the piece is not complete. The other pics are the finished pieces. I'm not sure what to do about the rough texture of the rounded parts to make them smooth without distorting the shape. Was thinking maybe hand sanding with 320 paper?
Any suggestions welcomed.

I just hope when I finish this project, my health will be good enough to still ride. I had to go to the doctor after testing out the riding mower for the neighbor kid that mows our lawn now.

I have pictures of the whole process of making these if any one is interested in seeing them

[bob_e95482]

Nice work, Briar.

[burninbriar]

Nice work, Briar.

Thanks, any suggestion on what to do about the snake skin texture on the corner rounded parts?

[paulrbrown]

Briar, Scotchbrite wheel [#9N] for bench grinder,for the snake skin removal, it does a great job of deburring, sometimes called a convoluted wheel. about 50 bucks but lasts a very long time is is great also for deburring edges, hope this helps, Paul

[Bulldog]

Hey guys,
Pete,
The Bulldog is still around... Things here have been real busy. (were still going 7 days a week) I don't have alot of time to respond much any more but I still try to read most of the post.
Your work looks great! I have been keepinng up with your milling machine saga. Looks like you got things worked out and your definitly moving in the right direction. Good job!
I'll try to get in here more often.
See ya,
Bulldog

[lramberson]

Pete, Project looks great, I like the textured look, it would be the custom touch for me.
I would like to see the whole process, so I will be the first to ask for the full photo essay.

[monte55]

Good job..............most that have not machined before have not a clue what it takes to make a part like that. When I made my cnc table, I'm sure glad I had a lathe and mill.

[lish189]

I'd love to see the pics of the whole process. What mill is that?