Power Drawbar for the Bridgeport Mill - Making the Handle - DONE!

Last part of the power drawbar is the handle that attaches to the actuator from the previous video. This is the last part in the series. Happy to have this project complete.
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[@billjulian9496]

I thoroughly enjoyed this series, excellent attention to detail and it work very nicely!

[@MyLilMule]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching.

[@shawnmrfixitlee6478]

WOW , that was a great build !.. Works a treat as well So Enjoy your channel .. thanks ! 👍👍

[@MyLilMule]

Thank you for the kind words. I am glad you liked it!

[@silverbullet7434]

Ill take function over looks ..Great job

[@MyLilMule]

Thanks!

[@paulhammond7489]

I look forward to hearing it in future videos :)

[@MyLilMule]

Thanks so much for watching and the comment!

[@paulhammond7489]

@@MyLilMule Great series and one that'll save you a lot of effort for years to come. I'm sure others in the same situation will borrow your design :)

[@MyLilMule]

@@paulhammond7489 I borrowed the concept from a few different sources of inspiration. I did spend a lot of time creating the 3D model. That helped me work out some of the kinks.

[@billdoodson4232]

I like the fact that at the 7min odd point you actually tapped the hole correctly, 1/2 a turn cutting forward, back 3/4 - 1 of a turn to clear the swarf and then back to cutting forward for another 1/2 turn. You will never break a tap doing it like that and you will get as good a tapped hole as the tap is capable of.

[@MyLilMule]

👍🏻

[@Cjarka_]

I know what would look extra nice Run a copper pipe on the bridgeport for the air with the inlet in some very convenient place on the back perhaps where you could put a manifold to run another copper pipe to some convenient place for the air gun and perhaps another one for mist coolant Maybe an overkill but copper pipes look really pretty

[@MyLilMule]

Copper does look good, but it's pretty expensive right now. I have some black pipe I am using to get air into the shop. My plan was to just use more of it for the time being. But, yes, some kind of manifold would be in order. One line for the drawbar, one for an air gun. And one as a spare.

[@37yearsofanythingisenough39]

I would parkerize it rather than cold blue it. That finish is easier to do than cold bluing, and lasts way longer. As a bonus it retains an undetectable oil film that really prevent surface oxidation where as bluing does not. If you can boil water you can parkerize. If you go that route do not be concerned with all of the times and temperatures that some of the “kits” try and tell you are necessary. Just make sure your parts are degreased and bring the solution up to a temperature just below boiling. If you want black rather than the gray finish just add a little cold blue to the hot solution.

[@MyLilMule]

Interesting. Cold bluing requires nothing more than the solution and a cotton ball. And I always wipe on a coat of oil afterwards, which provides the corrosion protection. Been doing it this way for years with no issues. I'd like to try parkerizing some day, or even anodizing for aluminum.

[@37yearsofanythingisenough39]

@@MyLilMule I cold blued for years, but the finish always wore through, and caustic hot blue took too much time and the setup was permanent. After I parkerized a shotgun I never went back. Try it you’ll like it.

[@MyLilMule]

@@37yearsofanythingisenough39 I definitely will. I watched Mark Presling parkerize some stuff recently. His climate is very humid and if he doesn't, it all rusts in no time.

[@37yearsofanythingisenough39]

@@MyLilMule I believe Mark was the guy that went through all of the steps the “kit” told him to. You don’t need to go through all of that with thermometers and preheat and rinse tanks and the like. All I do is degrease with acetone, submerge it in almost boiling parkerizing solution (I have a stainless asparagus steamer) on a hot plate. Take it out after the part stops emitting tiny surface bubbles and rinse it under cold water, dry it off, coat it with oil, and you’re done. I store the solution in a gallon plastic jug after it cools off, but if you have the room I believe you could leave it in whatever vessel you heated it in. I’m still using the original solution I made up years and years ago. The zinc phosphate settles to the bottom after it cools so I just shake it up real good before using it again. I made my solution up with steam distilled water so that there are no trace elements in it, and quite often I need to add more water due to evaporation, but I don’t even measure the water just add to cover whatever size the part is. It’s as foolproof as it gets. The militaries around the world, including ours, had parkerized small arms during both world wars because it was so easy to do, and because of its durability. Old weapons from those eras usually show a grey green coloration but that was due to the lubricating oils, handling, and leaching from the oils in the wood stocks over time. Your finish will be a dark grey unless you add just a tiny amount of blue from your gun blue bottle which will convert it to black. By the way I bought my original parkerizing solution from Brownells gunsmithing supply in Montezuma, Iowa, but I saw a KZbinr make his own once upon a time. I also just remembered that you have to “condition” brand new solution one time with some scrap iron or the like.

[@MyLilMule]

@@37yearsofanythingisenough39 I'm going to look into this more. Thanks for all the info!

[@metalworksmachineshop]

👍👍

[@MyLilMule]

👌🏻

[@Preso58]

Nice to see it running. I fitted an inline oiler to mine because you sort of take it for granted and I would forget to oil it and kill it. Does all your R8 tooling eject easily? I have a few tools that get stuck and instead of the tool ejecting, the drawbar unwinds and pushes the impact driver upwards. It only happens occasionally but a few taps with a deadblow seems to loosen it.

[@37yearsofanythingisenough39]

The commercial units come with an inline filter and oiler for that very reason.

[@MyLilMule]

I haven't added the oiler yet, but it's part of the plan once I get a decent manifold and get it properly plumbed. Right now, it's a bit of a rats nest. I've had a couple tools "stick" but generally, I just tap the top of the drawbar with the air tool and it pops out.

[@stevewilliams2498]

Do the paddle leavers provide enough self centering pressure by themselves for the handle ? I imagine if you provided an indent ball somewhere it would allow you to rotate the whole assembly to line up the hexes first and then when engaged further pressure to overcome your indent would actuate the air motor.

[@MyLilMule]

It doesn't do a very good job of self centering. It's something I'd like to look at, once it pisses me off too many times. LOL. But my aim was to make something relatively simple. It's not foolproof by any means, but it gets the job done. It's not perfect, but neither am I. ;)

[@mrbean6694]

Sorry if I missed it in a previous episode. Did you do anything with the spindle break?

[@MyLilMule]

I did not. What was it that you were thinking? Always looking for improvement suggestions!

[@mrbean6694]

@@MyLilMule My machine is a cnc and some cnc versions had an air cylinder on the brake lever. If you had some form of nc air valve and a spring return pneumatic actuator. You could have the valve triggered halfway down the travel of the mechanism to lock the spindle just before the wrench engages with the drawbar.

[@MyLilMule]

@@mrbean6694 Not necessary in this situation at all. I don't even need to touch the brake lever to load/unload tools.

[@mrbean6694]

@@MyLilMule Ah thats good to know. I am still at the I want this stage and as usual over complicating it

[@MyLilMule]

@@mrbean6694 That's what I have to constantly remind myself to stop doing - over complicating things. KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid. 😂