Thanks gents. I was shooting for something pro-looking and I am pleased on all counts. It's neat to think you can do something but it feels spectacular when you actually go pull it off.
Jim- The mill is
completely manual and the chunk you see in the pics was the first thing I cut with it after picking it up a few weeks ago. I thought about getting some plastic or wood to try first but in the end just went for it. I tried to think about tool paths in advance but would have to say I get a "B-" or so. With the way I cut some features, I had a tough time with the radiusing of the corners (was basically impossible with my resources) and in the end was able to cut out most of the mistakes I made. I was smart enough to start with the bottom side...
I did a bunch of sketching with Sketch-Up (more of an illustration package, free from Google) just to have an idea of what it'd need to look like in the end and that was about it. That sketching and the little
steel mock up I made earlier were my two key items. After having a physical proof of concept to measure off and "seeing" a full rendering in Sketch Up, I was able to fill in the rest of the details when cutting metal.
At this point I will be going through the rest of the pulleys and lining everything up and once that is set I will FINALLY be able to set my motor in its home position. I am somewhat close on wiring, just need to sort the bladders, fuel systems, starter, clutch, brakes, shifter...
Won't be long now!
