"How Miniatures are Born" Topic

Would a bench mandrel work also?

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Yep – or the portable shafts that they also sell. You just need to have it on hand when designing your mounts in order to align the motor pulley and mold pulley as well as the clearances for both and the belt (nothing quite like finding out a support brace is right where you need to run a belt after everything is put together…though that was on a go-cart when I was a kid).

Designing a vertical mount looks to be a pain in the .

Do you know if that shaft is keyed or threaded?

Would probably need a hub machined for the bottom disc..

Designing a vertical mount looks to be a pain in the Bleeped text.

Don't over think things. A vertical mount is called a wall…in this case a small wall.

Do you know if that shaft is keyed or threaded?

Both IIRC depending on which end of the shaft you point up.

Would probably need a hub machined for the bottom disc..

Don't over think things too much. The threaded shaft works to your advantage. Small plate with a hole in the middle. Tap it for threads. 4 smaller holes around the perimeter. Flat head screws countersunk into the mold plate through the threaded plate with lock nuts on the back.

Granted, if you had access to a welder – tack the plate onto the bottom and tack a nut onto the plate. Use a second nut on the shaft to act as a lock nut for the plate (tighten the two nuts together…the pressure between the two pushing against each other and the threads holds it tightly in place).

Yep. You're right. I am over thinking it. Very good point about the wall/vertical mount.

If the bench mandrel is keyed, I could use this as my hub
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I believe Tractor Supply also carries the equivalent.

That will work. With that particular one, you don't actually need a keyed shaft (at least what is pictured). The set screw will hold it tight enough for spinning, and probably provide a measure of safety since should you end up with a sleeve caught, it will hopefully slip before it shatters your arm.

Hold my

An actual keyed hub would have a notch in it that corresponds to a notch in the shaft. A small rectangular bit of metal is inserted into the two notches which locks both pieces together.

I love this thread and I love you guys. :)

How does this drill press look to you?

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2/3 HP is pretty good…

Again, you don't need too much fancy stuff going on. That one should work, but you should be able to get the same thing while saving $20 or $30 by skipping on the laser marker.

The 2/3 HP bit is also a bit of a red herring. It means something, but not the same as it does in something like an infernal combustion engine. There is more that goes into the design that makes a simple HP rating irrelevant. You want more power than a hand drill – but after that…it isn't too important unless you are looking at spinning really heavy things or things that are off balance or otherwise would have a higher resistance to motion (remember, unless something is broken – you shouldn't have much resistance to motion on the mold itself).