Home made bench dogs

[VW mick]

Guys

I'm making some bench dogs .ive ordered a length of 20mm aluminium .its a bit too thick for the holes .I've measured the mtf top with the vernier and think the rod needs to be about 19.7 (the rod is a full 20)

Question is any ideas how to reduce the diameter ?

My idea is to cut into short lengths and put in wood lathe and use some emery paper

What do you think ?

I don't have a metal lathe

 

[mouppe]

I think you'd have an easier time turning a wooden dowel to the appropriate diameter on the lathe.

Any particular reason you want metal dogs?

 

[Kev]

The trick is going to be keeping it even - where a metalwork lathe shines!

 

[shed9]

You will have very inconsistent and sloppy results simply reducing it down with abrasive. You will not be happy with the results at all.

You can turn metal on a wood lathe but its not something I would attempt myself without a proper tool post.

I have a fairly decent metal lathe (>700mm between centers) and honestly I'd rather just buy them in. When you weigh up the cost of graded alloy or a stainless, machining lubricants and time - For the cost of them I can't see a real saving here.

 

[E30Mark]

You could ream the holes out to 20mm... or some people use electrical conduit with good results. Personally I've just bought some  [smile]

 

[VW mick]

Yes you guys are probably right

Just had an idea ...you know what it's like

I've not given up yet ..I'll keep you posted

 

[wow]

Just had an idea ...you know what it's like

I've not given up yet ..I'll keep you posted

I don't know whether to be excited or terrified, but I can't wait to see what you come up with?

[popcorn]

 

[VW mick]

Well had a go at the home made dogs .worked out ok am not 100% happy but this is the first try ?I've at least got a method now

 

[VW mick]

Posted without the pictures sorry

 

[anthonyz]

Great jig for cutting the lengths on the chop saw. Usually not comfortable cutting aluminum on mine but your jig would be a great option.

Here is a video making some dogs on the lathe, the hardest thing is cutting 20mm to length if you don't have a dedicated metal saw.

 

[VW mick]

Just another shot of the jig I made to cut the ali bar to length .I wanted to be able to clamp  the bar and the off cut  .also have a stop so I could do multiple pieces the same size
It did actually work well and was safe to use

If it's not obvious from the pictures the green block is a piece of MDF I glued some abrasive to to make a flat pad for reducing the bar down to size .it did take a while

I really must get the hang of posting in the text .so I could explain things better