* GadgetBuilder.com * © 2008-2018 John Moran
Last Modified:
April 2010 Group Picture
There are hobby machinist groups scattered around the USA including a small HSM group in Connecticut. Our CTHSM group is congenial and freewheeling:
no rules, no dues, just people getting together to learn new techniques plus share thoughts on machining and other topics that arise. Meetings are held in
member shops, nominally on the second Sunday of the month at 2pm. Anyone interested in attending a meeting please contact me
(via the link below on this page)for more info and travel directions.
The November 10th meeting was at Frank's shop in Plainville, CT.
At left is Frank's (new to him) straight line machine. In the center is a closer view of its working area and at right is an even closer view showing the work itself. This machine's work is driven left to right (as the work is lowered) by a replaceable cam to produce the patterns shown. A very sharp tool is pressed into the work by the operator as the work is lowered. There are a number of adjustments which allow varying the patterns produced by a single cam and, of course, changing cams adds more variety. The work can also be rotated to produce a sunburst type pattern - lots of variations are possible. Click the pictures above to enlarge.
Frank's Turnado, as purchased from Eccentric Engineering in Australia. The table bolts to the cross slide in place of the compound. The bit holder is moved around on the table to freehand shape the work, similar to a graver. The attachments allow cutting concave or convex curves as well as patterns and tapers. Two examples of what this setup can do are shown in the lower part of the picture.
We got a chance to see the Turnado in operation at this meeting and to try it ourselves. In some respects it is like a graver in that it allows cutting freehand curves as guided by the operator. But it extends this capability by allowing one to cut spheres, concave and convex curves, and can follow patterns.
The December 8th meeting will be at Paul's shop in Darien, CT.
As usual, bring items for demonstration and/or discussion. Plus items for the sale/swap/free table.
Home shop machining is often a solitary hobby, as are most hobbies now according to "Bowling Alone".
The CTHSM group is an attempt to get area HSM's to know one another and thus make our hobby a little less solitary.
The much larger NEMES HSM group is 2-3 hours away so we share some members and occasionally have visitors from that group.
The CTHSM group has been meeting since November 2008, mostly on the 2nd Sunday of the month at 2pm, but we deviate from this with some regularity. The January meeting is not held since Cabin Fever conflicts, February has seen a couple meetings cancelled due to weather, the May meeting is on the 3rd Sunday to avoid a conflict with Mother's Day, and we don't meet in July because many members are on vacation. Over time our meeting schedule has become predictably irregular...
This page was last modified .
If you have a comment on my site or its
contents, click here scroll down and
click again.
Pictures from our unusual "Music Machine Meetings"
.jpg)
