helmbelly
Aluminum
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2013
- Location
- New Orleans
I'm a prototyper who needs to make a ratcheting finger lever that that will attach to a 1/4" bolt, either a brass hex head bolt or socket cap screw. I plan to use delrin. The lever will torque down a two jawed clamp onto a 1" alum pipe.- it has to be easily re-positioned by hand. The part locks down with one 2" socket head cap screw and (currently) one kipping lever. Once you get them both tight - just using the kip lever permits the adjustment needed to re-position. I think I have exhausted the ready made market, been making similar things for a few years and can never get the ratcheting lever I want - so I just want to start making them.
Has anyone done this and might can point me to workable approach? I'm a small shop, Rockwell mill, 9" lathe, I'm pretty solidly tooled up for manual machining.
My approach so far is just pin the bolt head in with a roller pin.
Anyone seen parts purpose built to accomplish this with less brute force- more elegance? Some kind of press fit?
The lever does have to land within say 10am and 2pm when tightened down. I don't know how to do that. I've taken Kipping levers apart and there are cast gears I can't come close to making. I was thinking of a spring and a "push down" to operate by pushing down to over come spring and engage the hex head, that way I can return to 'noon' dead center position. But that all sounds fiddly. I'd like to plan the thread engagement and file away the lead thread. Torque it down see where it lands and then adjust the thread with a diamond file so it hits near noon o clock- or am I losing it?
Was also thinking of making a part that slips over an existing kip lever so I can steal its function while adding the shape I need- but after I pay $10 per kip lever the thrill is kinda gone
thanks for reading,
Has anyone done this and might can point me to workable approach? I'm a small shop, Rockwell mill, 9" lathe, I'm pretty solidly tooled up for manual machining.
My approach so far is just pin the bolt head in with a roller pin.
Anyone seen parts purpose built to accomplish this with less brute force- more elegance? Some kind of press fit?
The lever does have to land within say 10am and 2pm when tightened down. I don't know how to do that. I've taken Kipping levers apart and there are cast gears I can't come close to making. I was thinking of a spring and a "push down" to operate by pushing down to over come spring and engage the hex head, that way I can return to 'noon' dead center position. But that all sounds fiddly. I'd like to plan the thread engagement and file away the lead thread. Torque it down see where it lands and then adjust the thread with a diamond file so it hits near noon o clock- or am I losing it?
Was also thinking of making a part that slips over an existing kip lever so I can steal its function while adding the shape I need- but after I pay $10 per kip lever the thrill is kinda gone
thanks for reading,