Knowledge You Can Build On — Est. 1998
Dremel Pantograph
john lucas
Spent the day routing coins with the Pantograph. Slow going. The bit is so tiny I have to make light cuts to avoid breaking it. Found out my design isn't perfect. Couldn't fill in the E on one coid and got the A too thin on another one. Oh well that will just add to the aging once I start finishing and antiquing them. The coins are 1 1/2". I've still got about 20 to 25 to do.
Re: Dremel Pantograph
Brad Vietje
Cool, John. What does the text say? -- looks Greek to me (literally).
Safe spinning,
Brad Vietje
Newbury, VT
Re: Dremel Pantograph
John K Jordan
Thanks for the picture of the gizmo - that shouldn't be too hard to make. I have a wooden one but have occasionally wished I could put something like a Dremel on one. Mine uses a sliding support pin on one elbow which needs a smooth surface. I suspect yours has a sturdy pivot point to keep it rigid.
Hey, have you thought about gentle grit blasting to "weather" the coin surfaces? Depending on what it did to the grain, I guess.
JKJ
Re: Dremel Pantograph
john lucas
John I'm using the 3M stars and some hand sandpaper to abrade and "wear" the coins. It seems to be working but I only had a little bit of time to play with 3 different coins. I put in a 12 hours day today and I'm tired so had to quit.
Re: Dremel Pantograph
David Walser
...I put in a 12 hours day today and I'm tired so had to quit.
12 hours? Good thing you've retired!
Re: Dremel Pantograph
John Stegall
John, wooden gears dot ca has plans plus a lot of video on making it...I think
Re: Dremel Pantograph
John K Jordan
Thanks, I see pictures of several interesting designs there. It is "woodgears", BTW, although I discovered someone will gladly sell me the "woodengears" domain name!
I remember browsing that web site once before. Oh, way too many interesting things I'll never get to. :-( I'd love to make a wooden clock from scratch some day. I built a cardboard one from a kit once.
EDIT: oops, I just saw your email.
After looking at that design I wonder if I can't just use the Foredom rather than the Dremel. The speed would not be as high but the mass of the handpiece would be less. Or maybe the higher speed would be useful.
I bet CNC guys get a laugh from threads like this.
JKJ
Re: Dremel Pantograph *LINK*
Leo Cuellar
Very cool, John. The long days do wear, but it looks like the effort was worth it. You might consider picking up a new shop assistant, apparently, they are trainable without programming skills 
Robotic arm
I was just getting ready to mention CNC
Dick Coers
About $3000, computer included, will get you something that will work John L.
Re: Dremel Pantograph
John Stegall
JKJ, not sure where the stray "en" came from, probably my fat fingers or the gremlins hiding in my iPad. I believe there is a pantograph somewhere on his site using a hand piece, not sure if it is a foredom driving it or not. It could be another site. A starting point anyway.
Well that's pretty cool *LINK*
john lucas
MY friend Brad Sells carves very large things and bought one of the industrial robots. I don't know if he ever found someone to program it. He wants to be able to sit back with a joy stick and control it. Seems most of the programs are for specific tasks.
http://www.bradsells.com/
Re: Well that's pretty cool
Leo Cuellar
The neat thing about a robot like this one, is that it could actually work with the pantograph the same way you are doing it now. *Note to self - don't let the robot know where the liquor stash is*
I've seen Brad's work before, pretty awesome!
And you can use them for playing pool *LINK*
Dick Coers
But, they appear to be show offs!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH08-JQwsZQ
