tailstock4
Cast Iron
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2013
- Location
- Oklahoma, USA
I have been working on my arbor presses - a Greenerd 3 1/2 and a Greenerd 5S. The 3 1/2 is a ratcheting type lever but has no brake. For years I had a counterweight and cable rigged up off the ceiling. I never really liked that because when you moved the lever, it would move the handle and wouldn’t ratchet back which required one hand to hold the hand wheel which left no free hands.
My solution was to fabricate a brake out of what I had laying around. The brake when it is all the way off provides only a slight resistance, just enough to hold the ram. With the brake all the way on, it is pretty much locked. And it will hold any variable force in between.
I used a leather coaster (which was smooth on one side and rough on the other) for the brake material. I debated whether the friction plates should be smooth or have ground in serrations. I left them smooth because I was worried that the serrations would cut the leather. What do you think about smooth or serrated?
My solution was to fabricate a brake out of what I had laying around. The brake when it is all the way off provides only a slight resistance, just enough to hold the ram. With the brake all the way on, it is pretty much locked. And it will hold any variable force in between.
I used a leather coaster (which was smooth on one side and rough on the other) for the brake material. I debated whether the friction plates should be smooth or have ground in serrations. I left them smooth because I was worried that the serrations would cut the leather. What do you think about smooth or serrated?