Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam Skoglund
If we use a calipers to measure, and a center punch to mark the holes, is it possible to obtain center distances that will be accurate enough for the gears to mesh properly?
|
You can do much better than that if you use the dials on the cranks. If you have someone around the shop that has been using that machine, ask them how to put two holes into a piece of metal exactly x.xxx" apart and they should be able to show you.
That said, you can make gearboxes with low precision tools in some cases. We made
this gearbox without a mill. It was made using a center punch to mark the holes and a Rotex punch machine to make the holes. It's not an accurate process, so we made several plates until we had some that fit the dimensions we needed. If you have enough darts, eventually you can hit a bullseye. I wouldn't try that for a gearbox with more than one critical dimension, but it worked in that case.