Archive for April, 2008

y-belt-clamp

Saturday, April 19th, 2008

I had a couple of y-belt-clamps that I made earlier split.  It appears that the MDF is a layered material and the way I cut it destroyed much of its strength.  I decided to remake all 4 y-belt-clamps with the board oriented differently.  I started with 25 mm x 25 mm blocks that were 3/4″ thick.  This is much thicker than needed, but I don’t have a safe way to cut pieces this small.

First I drew a centerline (12.5 mm) on each block.  Then I drew two perpendicular lines at 6 mm and 19 mm from a side.  I drilled two holes where these lines intersected.  I drilled them with a 5.4 mm bit all the way through the block.

After that, I drilled two more holes in the same spot, but with a larger bit.  I set the drill press to stop 4mm from the bottom of the block.  I used a 3/8 inch bit.  This was just large enough that I could fit a washer into.  Slightly larger would have been better, but the next largest bit I had was 1/2 inch and I didn’t want it that large.

I had to use a screw and nut to force the washers to the bottom of the hole.  Once there, they are permanently stuck in the block.

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