I don't need no stinkin' hex key!

[OccupantRJ]

My son has a 4 wheeler he got hold of cheap, but the swingarm bearings were worn to hell in it. Neither of us had a 17 mm hex key on hand to remove the parts from the frame, so I made one for him. A2 tool steel was used in it's as purchased state, as I felt that would do the job without dealing with heat treatment. I whipped the tool out in 25 minutes start to finish, during my lunch break. The pics show the tool, access area, tool in position, wrench on tool, and the remains of what once were the bearings and seals. My son really liked the tool and the way it worked. An inexpensive index fixture was used on the mill to cut the flats, and the cylindrical blank was turned on the lathe. Both ends of the tool are the same size so a 17 mm wrench is used to turn it. Nothing like a home made tool that works well. Quick fix, and good points with the son. I hope this inspires someone just starting out that machining and mechanical abilities are a good mix to acquire.
These pics were taken with my son's cellphone.

RJ

 

[A_Pmech]

Nice work! Nice deburring too.

Once you have the luxury of machine tools it's impossible to live without them.

 

[ghnl]

I see it says, "17 mm" on one side. Does it say, "Made in the USA" on the other side?

 

[Griff93]

Man that's cool. I keep thinking about getting a set of 5C collets and some collet blocks so I can easily machine hex shapes on stuff.

 

[e-tek]

No pics of the make in process?

 

[OccupantRJ]

Man that's cool. I keep thinking about getting a set of 5C collets and some collet blocks so I can easily machine hex shapes on stuff.

That was done on a $50 indexer, I think it came from Enco. It will index in one degree increments, and uses 5C collets.

 

[OccupantRJ]

No pics of the make in process?

e-tek, I did that on my lunch break at work, no cameras allowed there without special permission, then dropped it off at my son's house on the way home. He was nice enough to take pics of it's use for me to post. There will undoubtedly be a time at my home shop where I will provide progress pics on something similar. I sometimes cut the top of a socket in a hex, for access to tight spots.

RJ

 

[larry_g]

The sign of a good machinest... Spend $50 to make a $5 dollar tool. Keep up the good work.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[bimmer1980]

nice work!

I've been thinking about one of those indexing tables for my mill... any recommendations on one? i.e. out of the enco catalog, which one owuld you recommend?

 

[z28snksknr]

The sign of a good machinest... Spend $50 to make a $5 dollar tool. Keep up the good work.

lg
no neat sig line

In his defense, I would say a $15 tool.

 

[OccupantRJ]

nice work!

I've been thinking about one of those indexing tables for my mill... any recommendations on one? i.e. out of the enco catalog, which one owuld you recommend?

I think this one might be the one I was using, as it's very similar. It is an extremely handy, economical mill accessory. It is basically for horizontal usage, but could be adapted for vertical. See link.

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAKA=505-2280&PMPXNO=951647&PARTPG=INLMK3

 

[fatrhino]

is that an older Suzuki?

 

[Tantara]

For those of us without a mill you could use a bolt with a proper sized head with a bolt welded on the other end.

I do think it is a great looking tool.

Brad

 

[OccupantRJ]

is that an older Suzuki?

Honda four wheeler. Not sure what size. He brought me a bolt head that fit to size by.

 

[OccupantRJ]

For those of us without a mill you could use a bolt with a proper sized head with a bolt welded on the other end.

I do think it is a great looking tool.

Brad

Thanks. He was going to do that, but he does not have a welder. When he asked me about using my welder, I volunteered to knock a tool out for him.

 

[BigE]

The sign of a good machinest... Spend $50 to make a $5 dollar tool. Keep up the good work.

lg
no neat sig line

In his defense, I would say a $15 tool.

In further defense, he used the machine tools at his work to make it. So he's probably only out the material used.

In an aside, I think that's what makes a great workplace. If they can and will allow you to use company resources assuming it doesn't impact the company, it can go a long way towards workplace morale. Makes me wish I worked for an exotic car dealership.

 

[OccupantRJ]

In further defense, he used the machine tools at his work to make it. So he's probably only out the material used.

In an aside, I think that's what makes a great workplace. If they can and will allow you to use company resources assuming it doesn't impact the company, it can go a long way towards workplace morale. Makes me wish I worked for an exotic car dealership.

Even though I have most of the machine tools I need at home, it's still nice to be able to knock out a small part in a few minutes at lunch. I pay for what major materials I use, but most of the time, I can grab a freebie piece I need out of the scrap metal bins, as I am in charge of the disposal of excess materials, also. I cleaned out a warehouse of excess materials and equipment last week, enough to fill a 48 foot open top semi trailer, totally at my discretion, and the company owners told me to make sure I got what I wanted for myself before the scrap truck hauled it off. I did. I'm also a keyholder of the company, and can go in at odd hours if I need to use anything special, like spotwelders, punch presses, and such. I'm in charge of all plant equipment and facilities, and design and scratch-build some of our specialized equipment. All together, that makes for some great perks, especially if you are a workshop junkie like me. Also, I have worked 4 days a week for 29 years, which leaves me a lot of hobby time.
Relative to having a $50 tool to make things, then I'm in deep sheet, if you are supposed to total up the value of all your equipment that you use for making things.

RJ

 

[s_ontario]

I just usually take a bolt that fits and bend it to a 90 then forget where i put it and have to spend 10 seconds making another one

nice work

 

[willy3486]

For those of us without a mill you could use a bolt with a proper sized head with a bolt welded on the other end.

I do think it is a great looking tool.

Brad

About 20 years ago I worked in maintainence in a factory. We had a huge injection molding machine that the ram was about 6 feet wide. It needed about a 2 inch allen wrench to get the ring around the piston off. It was a rush job and we couldn't find any allen wrenches that size. I asked the boss why couldn't we just weld a bolt to a nut that size then use a wrench to get it off. He said it sounds so good it might just work,go make one. I did and we had no trouble getting them off. If you have the stuff to make something niice then make them but if not improvise.

 

[z28toz06]

My son has a 4 wheeler he got hold of cheap, but the swingarm bearings were worn to hell in it. Neither of us had a 17 mm hex key on hand to remove the parts from the frame, so I made one for him. A2 tool steel was used in it's as purchased state, as I felt that would do the job without dealing with heat treatment. I whipped the tool out in 25 minutes start to finish, during my lunch break. The pics show the tool, access area, tool in position, wrench on tool, and the remains of what once were the bearings and seals. My son really liked the tool and the way it worked. An inexpensive index fixture was used on the mill to cut the flats, and the cylindrical blank was turned on the lathe. Both ends of the tool are the same size so a 17 mm wrench is used to turn it. Nothing like a home made tool that works well. Quick fix, and good points with the son. I hope this inspires someone just starting out that machining and mechanical abilities are a good mix to acquire.
These pics were taken with my son's cellphone.

RJ

not for nothing, but it takes me much less time to whip my tool out.

If you have a 1/2 hour lunch break that left you enough time for a hot pocket!

Seroiusly though, I wish I had your talent.

 

[OccupantRJ]

Thank you. I'm humbled. What talents I have were gained through necessity, as I grew up so poor we could not even afford to pay attention. Whatever I got I had to either earn or make, and I still do that to this day, even though I can now afford most things I might want. I really like the concept of cheering on others interested in creative things, hoping to stimulate their imaginations, and willingness to try new endeavors. I've been lucky enough to train over 30 young guys in the trades through the years, and have really been fulfilled by it. My signature line represents my philosophy in life.

RJ

 

[66 Shorty]

Nice work, I made one a little easier with a metric bolt that had a 17mm head & the nut to go with it. All I did was threaded it together & welded it. Worked like a dream! Yours looks way better though.