Speed Triple Single Sided Swingarm Installation

Now watch the attached video to see how the turning tool should be oriented to your workpiece.



Don't try to take too much material on facing cuts with the right handed tool or it will dig in and cut a dished face. Generally on carbon steel you can tell when you are getting to the right surface footage when you start getting blue chips. sfpm=(rpm X dia. in inches X 3.14)/12 You may not be able to get there dependant on how fast your lathe will turn. Also, be careful that you don't throw the part b/c you don't have too much grip on that short step of the chuck jaws. Helps to turn the jaws around and use the long side to get a longer bite of the bar.

It doesn't really matter if you can't turn fast enough, except that you will not get a shiny finish. Also, for steel it helps if you leave 0.012" or slightly more for your finish cut if you want the shiny finish.

I hope that this helps some, and don't be afraid to ask if something I said doesn't make sense. Let me know what specific problems that you have and we can work it out one at a time.

BTW what did you give for your combo machine. In a perfect world I'd have a Bridgeport and a Monarch 10EE in the garage, but alas I'm stuck doing these projects when the boss will allow at work. I've been thinking of one of these small machines for the house for little projects.

I do have both right and left turning tools. There is no provision for tool hight adjustment- I had to make shims to raise the tools to the right hight :S I also need to know how to cut the inside holes. I have a 3/4" drill bit for a center pilot hole, but I need to enlarge it to .987" throughout, then open up the outside face to accomodate the pivot flange. I believe I need another tool to cut the inside hole, but I don't know which one. I blew 15 bucks at harbor freight on a set of boring bars, but either they're crap, or I'm not using them right. Most likely a combination of the two :laugh:

It was $350 11 years ago. The same machine is now $600, but you can always find a 20% off coupon in Popular Mechanics for Harbor Freight. I can't come anywhere close to cutting on my machine like that youtube clip! I have always wondered which face of the tool to cut with. I've got the overall o.d. and the ends faced. Now I need to cut the inside hole. How do I go about it Josh?

I wouldn't expect that you could take that deep of a cut. Monarch made a bad ass lathe. You could turn that lathe in the video on its side and it would still cut straight. I just wanted you to see how I want you to use the right hand turning tool. Shims are perfect to adjust centerline. Just remeber that the closer to center that the cutting edge is, the better it will cut.

As for your hole and counterbore:
1) Can that machine push a 3/4" with no pilot hole?
2) Drill the hole out as big as you can. Beg borrow or steal a 15/16" drill to open the hole as big as you can before you start boring.
3) The boring bar should work. Did you get the 9pc set at HF?
4) Use the shortest bar in the set that will reach to the back of the hole, and it should be the largest diameter bar that will fit in your drilled hole.
5) Again make sure that you are on centerline, and that only the cutting tip is making contact. If the bar is tilted wrong, then the flank of the cutter will rub and cause all manner of problems.
6) Make all of the heaviest cutting moves in the Z axis (Cutter moving toward the chuck.) Cuts with the cross slide (x axis) should be lighter.
7) If the bar is chattering, ringing, singing, etc. then slow the rpms down and increase your infeed (turn the feed handle faster, I'm assuming this machine doesn't power feed.) Also, try taking a smaller depth of cut.
On the counterbore side, keep taking cuts in Z and increase the ID on each sucessive cut. Try to stop all of the rough cuts about 0.005" to 0.010" from the finished depth. Then take your finish cut on the ID to the finish depth then feed down the inside face with the cross slide. Just make sure that the tip sticks out at least as far as the amount of stock left at the bottom.

Here's a time-lapse video of a boring bar at work.

SWEET! That is invaluable information to tool like myself. I do have the 9 piece boring bar set from HF, but before you told me, I was trying to enlarge the center hole by pulling the tool in the Y axis (?) No, I cannot push cut a 3/4" hole with the lathe. I do have a 3/8" pilot drilled already, but it is not dead center, and I don't have a tailstock chuck to put my pretty new 3/4" bit into. If I had a good lathe and the proper attatchments, I would have bought a 63/64" (25mm) bit which would have been perfect. Since I knew I couldn't garantee a perfectly centered hole, I went with the 3/4" so that I would have room to center and finish the i.d. hole on the lathe.

I have done it! I created one new (right side) swingarm pivot bushing :woohoo: I must confess, were it not for the invaluable information generously donated by testerossa, I would still be struggling to figure it out. You don't want to know how many hours I put into making this one bushing, but it was worth it! Thanks a million Josh!

And here is why the pivot had to be so big- to fit the giant swingarm pivot head :ohmy:

Man, so much of this is going right over my head...but I'm loving every minute of it!

Adam, You're welcome. I'm just glad that I could contribute some to another's build. Bushing looks good. I guarantee that you could make the second one in half the time.

DoubleDub, it would make more sense if you had your hands on a lathe. Btw a lathe is one of the most useful tools that you could ever have, if you have the space and money.

I'm willing to talk anyone through using their own lathe or mill. Once you start to learn how to use the cutting tools, then it opens up all new possibilities.

testarossa is right having a lathe is very handy.i have a big lathe and a small mill and couldn't be without either just for my own projects,much less helping others with their's.
but you do have to be careful with home shop metal working because it gets just as addictive as this bike building stuff,not to mention expensive.i am consantly buying tooling and new whatsits for the shop,or lusting after new tools.keeps me outta the bar tho :laugh: .
those bungs turned out good and everytime you look at them from now on through the life of the bike you will feel proud,plus to be able to remember they were the first and they are actually usable.
which is not always the case for the first try at building a particular part.
i know for myself sometimes it is the second or third part that is usable.i recently built a full set of custom spacers for a custom harley and i built five spacers and had five near misses.oh well they will be put to use somewhere else.
everything is looking good so far,good job.

Well Josh, your instructions made all the difference between another piece of scrap, and a successfull part!

And DubleDub, I would have a hard time understanding my own thread if I didn't have the parts and problems sitting here in front of me. Basically, you know the little steel sleeves that your stock swingarm pivot rides on through your frame? I just had to make new ones for the new swingarm. Simple as that

Blackbanshee, that last part was my 2nd attempt! I already junked my first attempt after many hours of effort, and I would have lost #2 but for Testarossa's instructions :woohoo: But thanks, I am trying terribly hard. I think it may be important I get this right :laugh:
Your both right though, a lathe opens up many possibilities for custom fabrication. BUT, owning the equipment isn't enough, you gotta know how to use it! :blush:

Congrats porche. Well done. Learning is the best part, isnt it.