I've got some round mild steel that is the perfect diameter for an item I want to make. (0.187in dia) I have an 5 inch length that is a bit out of round. Suspending one in in my mill with it's drill chuck, the other end moves 0.028in when I turn in slowly. I know I can get a larger diameter piece and turn it down but I was curious if there was a way to true this existing piece. Its just some that I bought at Lowes so, would annealling it help?
thanks,
Q
It might be that your drill chuck is the problem. Do you have any rod that is 0.187 that you know is round? That you could chuck in your drill chuck to compare with the piece you think is out of round. Try laying your piece on a flat surface and verifying it is straight.
I do not think annealing will help.
Dan
-It might be that your drill chuck is the problem. Do you have any rod
-that is 0.187 that you know is round? That you could chuck in your
-drill chuck to compare with the piece you think is out of round. Try
-laying your piece on a flat surface and verifying it is straight.
--I do not think annealing will help.
Me neither. Try a dowel pin, tungston, long shank drill, or rotary file in the chuck and look again.
Depending on how solid your drill press is, you might try spinning and tapping EASY with a hammer to true it up, or roll on a flat piece of steel and tap it straight with a hammer. It's only 3/16, it shouldn't take much to move it.
And before everyone kills me, be careful hammering on a drill or lath chuck. Unless it is something tiny like this, you will proabably the "run out" in the chuck.
If you're looking for precision ground round stock, you AREN'T going to find it at Lowe's! And is it out of round or just bent? My bet would be that it's bent.
If you need precision, get a dowel pin. If you need it machinable, order some drill rod or drill blanks. Much of that hardware store stuff is drawn shafting and machines like bubble gum. If you can use it as-is, great, just don't try to do elaborate machining on it. A lot of it is retailed as drill rod and is no such thing. Get something with a pedigree if you're going to do some machining. I speak from sad experience.
Stan
Does that mean out of round, or bent?
If bent, one way to remove a gentle bend is to heat it, and quickly chill the (inside, I think) of the curve with an ice cube. If it were bigger, 'flame straightening' would be the recommended procedure.
I'd start, though, with a soft (brass?) hammer against a soft anvil, or maybe even some shims and a vise.
Thanks for the good ideas. I don't have any thing that I know is true that is that small but I do have one a bit bigger. I'll check the chuck. It's the chuck for my mini-mill. So far the mill seems to be quit true. But it is good to have a way to check. I'll see about getting something that is better qualtity, its just that I had this and was curious about making it work. I'll give this differential heating/cooling method a try. Hadn't thought about the piece being out of round, either. I've got a dial guage that I might be able to use to check that. Thanks for the idea.
QGot - is it from a center-less grinding company ? Or just from stock.
I'd roll it on glass or a surface plate and see if it rolls odd. Is there a bur on the end ? Do you have swarf in the chuck ?
And buying from Lowe's - it is rough stock - lucky it is that round.
If you really want a good shaft that is that - you can order one from center less places to a length. The diameter will be y +/- values or Y 0/+or- values In other words - .187 +/- .001 or .187 +0/-.001 etc.
The last might be a pin - has to be .187 or smaller.
Mart> I've got some round mild steel that is the perfect diameter for an
Go by an local machine shop and see if they have a pin gauge..a spare they will give or sell you cheap.
Dowel pins are pretty good gauges as well and they only cost a few cents.
Gunner
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Sorry for the delay in reporting back. Had a family issue to attend to. Anyway, I checked and the majority of the error is actually in the chuck. Thanks to those that suggested it. Rolling the item on a pane of plate glass along with the rod that I know is true showed that the piece from lowe's is actually quite true. Thanks for all the help.
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