Drill press

Most general engineers will agree with me that a important piece of equipment is a drill press.

DEL-YO 1000 concrete lathe plans

Here are first drafts by Ben Bidwell of my Del-Yo concrete lathe. Dave lee is working on another set and has actually managed to draw the mould I have made. It is below.

 amazing hey?!

As soon as I work out how to convert pdf I will post  accurate dimensioned drawings by Ben Bidwell 

Here they are.

Yahoo groups mutimachine/concrete lathe prize

I would like to sincerely thank, the yahoo groups forum members who made possible the 4500 SA rand prize awarded to me for the development of the first concrete lathe based on the groups concept. Pat Delaney, you are a genius!
Although my machine does not exactly resemble your outline it is, as we have discussed firmly built upon the very unique engineering principles you outlined.

DEL-YO drawings and plans

Ben Bidwell is going to have a crack at putting my Del-Yo lathe into a drawn format. Hopefully with 3D views. He is CAD proficient. I have started updating my sketches with the final sizes taken off the mould. Here are a few more pics and sketches.

DEL-YO mould

This weekend saw me completing the cutting and assembling of the concrete mould. Now it's a lot clearer how it will look. Instead of a solid bed, you will note I have made a hollow bed.  This is to save weight as well as to allow space for a heavy concrete saddle, the lead screw and a gap for shavings to fall through. You will see from the photos that I have still not cut any of the core holes for the spindle headstock, leasure and ways. As before, I am adjusting and modifying as I go and want to see how it all looks when together. However. I think my marked holes are going to turn out to be correct. The first two photos show the mould without the headstock and tailstock end enclosures. It's easy to see how the headstock will join to the tail end through the way supports. The hollow way supports are also easy to see. They are quite substantial....250mm by 130mm in section and I think machining resonance will not be a problem with this type of bulk.
Next month,  I will buy the reinforcing rebar and cement and aggregate. I also need to purchase more screws and fasten the mould shuttering more firmly as well as fit the shuttering which is missing on the insides of the leg supports

Naming the Beast

I am involved with many other interested engineers and mechanics as I build this lathe. I have given a lot of thought to naming this lathe. It's getting awkward just calling it "the concrete lathe". I have therefore decided to name my particular machine a "DEL-YO 1000"
This is am anagram of letters in recognition of "Yeoman" and "Delaney" I believe that the concept deserves due recognition to the innovators who started and put this together. It is also going to be 1000mm bc. Of course, unfortunately many important players such as the draughtsman Tyler Disney, and members of the multi machine yahoo group discussion have played important roles in my final design are not included. But hey!  They are certainly included!

The Cross Slide and Saddle

Because of my access to machine tools, where I can, I am fabricating my lathe as accurately as possible. Without doubt, a dovetail section cross slide is definitely going to be more accurate. Therefore I have machined my cross slide with dovetails and will cut a brass gib key for it.

The plate I have used is 20mm x 140mm X 650mm long. I am making a long cross slide because I intend to mount a grinder on the back from time to time as well as use it for milling applications. Progress for me is slow! The materials here in Africa are expensive. This month I bought that steel, some of the other cross slide steel and the chip board for making the shuttering for the concrete main frame. That used an eighth of my disposable monthly salary!