Methods of cutting gears?

Discussion in 'General foundry chat' started by Zapins, Mar 15, 2020.

  1. For clock sized gears there's also the option of using a hand shaper along with a rotary table to rotate to index the blank. For clock sized gear teeth a hand shaper would cut a tooth in 1-2 strokes for a single tooth cutter ground to the right profile.

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    Last edited: Mar 18, 2020
    _Jason likes this.
  2. Jason

    Jason Gold

  3. Zapins

    Zapins Gold

    I'm going to get a dewalt scroll saw tomorrow and use it to rough out the gear shapes.

    I'm interested in making the gears out of brass or bronze, but it seems people have lost their god damn minds on the price of 0.25 inch thick brass sheets. I see $550 for a 2x2 foot section thats not enough to make one clock so I'm looking at over a grand to make the gears in brass at that rate. Thats crazy. Do you happen to have a better source of brass?

    I mean you're right I could just make it out of steel worst comes to worst, but brass does have a longer life and a certain interesting color quality. It should also cut easier on the saw.
     
  4. Perhaps this is crazy but why not lost foam cast the the gears out of brass. Or at least cast the blanks if it is a small clock. . If you have access to a CNC router to cut the foam or better yet a CNC hot wire. Or you can buy a gear cutter and use that to cut/profile the foam.
     
  5. Zapins

    Zapins Gold

    I could print the gears out and cast them, but I don't know how the accuracy of the castings would be. Would they warp with the casting process? I don't know.

    Maybe thats the way to go tho not sure
     
  6. You won't know until you try.
     
  7. Zapins

    Zapins Gold

    Tough to get home and do some casting with the corona virus issue and no holidays for some time (my foundry tools are at parents house over 3.5 hrs away). Casting is usually something I do a few times a year, mostly spend the year stocking up my wax models in preparation.
     
  8. Jason

    Jason Gold

    That price sounds about right. I bought a small sheet of .125 silbronze. 10"x20"
    cost me about 90bucks. I ALMOST made those 2 huge lanterns out of silbronze. They would have weight a ton! It's the price of copper screwing us.
     
  9. Jason

    Jason Gold

    oh.. and make a small clock!! Duh! :p
     
  10. Melterskelter

    Melterskelter Gold Banner Member

    Make the FIRST clock out of cheap steel. Do all your learning (formally called prototyping I think) in steel. Engine turn the steel gears---they will look nice enough or blue them or learn how to "fancy" blue them with multi hues as was done on vintage guns and some fine measuring tools etc. Once you have "cut your teeth" on the steel, you will know better what you want to do in brass and be ready to do it well.

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    BTW, Thank You!!! for your service putting your life on the line doing so ---your medical service which right now is, in my opinion, equally heroic to military service. And yes I did my military service in the early 70's in a very safe environment and yet I am still honored as a "veteran." Your current "duty" is far more hazardous and should be honored.

    Denis
     
  11. DavidF

    DavidF Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    Zap, do you have the plans for the clock??
    What's the diameter of the largest gear??
     
  12. Zapins

    Zapins Gold

    Thanks Denis, its weird to get praise for my work. Most people don't treat us well at work, more like servants. So it feels weird :)

    Whats Engine turn?

    I'll be making the gears from https://www.woodenclocks.co.uk/clock-6/ (pdf here: https://www.woodenclocks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Clock-6-2PR-2.pdf) The max gear size is about 6 inches it looks like so not terribly huge. I thought they were bigger. I also don't like the frame he has made and will be casting my own custom frame, maybe more like clock 9 or maybe I'll just make my own one entirely out of bronze. I want to incorporate the octopus sculpture into it somehow. Still thinking of different ways to attach it to the clock. Maybe have the octopus holding up gears with its tentacles as the frame of the clock? Or maybe have it climbing on the clock in some way.
     
  13. Melterskelter

    Melterskelter Gold Banner Member

     
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