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Unread 15-01-2003, 21:24
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dlavery dlavery is offline
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FRC #0116 (Epsilon Delta)
 
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Quote:
Originally posted by Ken L
With only drill press, or even a mill without digital read out, I fear you may not have the necessary skills and tools to fabricate a good enough gear box.
Hmmm. Guess me and my drill press with an X-Y table are going to have to go back and redesign our gearbox from scratch.

Just as a point of reference, in the hands of a skilled machinist (almost an artisan), amazing things can happen. A century ago, toolmakers regularly made precision pieces to within 0.1 mil on a regular basis, by hand. By using the right techniques, it is possible to hand grind a surface plate to one MILLIONTH of an inch accuracy. For 300 years, watchmakers have cut and filed gears by hand, with great precision.

Don't underestimate the ability of a highly skilled technician with simple tools (and don't overestimate the ability of an unskilled fool with exotic tools!).

-dave