Milling an E-clip or Snap Ring Slot Redneck Style

[Edwin Hackleman]

I know this sounds goofy but I thought I'd run it past the forum. I never have bought a milling machine because I figured my shop room was limited. Now I have an idea for milling a slot in a short 5/8" dia. round rod (mild steel) to accept either an e-clip or a snap ring. The rod will just fit in the drill press chuck.

So, what if I slowed the drill press down to its minimum speed and rigged up a jig to hold a hack saw blade horizontally? Seems like the thickness of a hacksaw blade would be about right to machine a slot that the E-clip would fit right into. The slot's depth would only have to be about 1/16".

Anybody ever tried this? What says the forum?

[bgosh]

Do you have a lathe? I think that in the drill press there would be a lot of pressure on it.

[CLETUS]

That is going to depend on the thickness of the snap ring and the thickness of the hacksaw blade.


BTW, that isn't redneck style.... that is just a hack job.


If I didn't have a lathe and was forced to use a drill press, I'd think about using a dremel with a cut off wheel instead of a hacksaw.

[daddo]

Edwin Hackleman said:

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I know this sounds goofy but I thought I'd run it past the forum. I never have bought a milling machine because I figured my shop room was limited. Now I have an idea for milling a slot in a short 5/8" dia. round rod (mild steel) to accept either an e-clip or a snap ring. The rod will just fit in the drill press chuck.

So, what if I slowed the drill press down to its minimum speed and rigged up a jig to hold a hack saw blade horizontally? Seems like the thickness of a hacksaw blade would be about right to machine a slot that the E-clip would fit right into. The slot's depth would only have to be about 1/16".

Anybody ever tried this? What says the forum?

---

If I were to try it that way, I would run about 1,200 rpm and use the hacksaw blade backwards to pull the cut instead of pushing the cut. Pushing the cut will probably cause jumping. Take your time. You may use a little oil to reduce some heat and make a smoother cut.

The blade will want to wander if it isn't fixed against a flat board- or better, sandwiched between two boards fixed flat on the table and the drill press w/rod lowered to the right height.

I sometimes use the hacksaw on the metal lathe to cut through stock when the proper cut off tool is dull. It will work with practice.

[JR1]

I agree with LIL. You will need a way to maintain constant pressure and alignment on the blade. You will need a depth stop function as well even if it's only a mark on the blade. I can't think of any easy way to widen the slot if the blade is too narrow. A second cut to widen the slot might work if the blade can be aligned and supported; but if it doesn't I can't think of where to go from there.

BTW in programming this is called a hack so you have a hack saw hack

[Edwin Hackleman]

Thanks for for all the encouragement. Note that I said a shop-made jig. I would spend some time making it so that I could control the pressure that the hack saw blade exerts on the rod. Note that the blade could rest on the drill press table and thus remain dead flat. The cutting speed would be slow enough so that I could check slot depth several times.

I recall years ago hooking up a gear motor to my band saw so that I could reduce the speed 10 to 1 for cutting metal. That worked because faster speeds clog up the metal-cutting blade. That's also why I elected here to drop the drill press speed to bare bones.

The design is for using an e-clip or snap ring and a washer as an alternative to a cotter pin with a hole drilled through. It's a lot easier to take on and off than a cotter pin that gives up after awhile. Heck, Stihl even uses these on chain saw clutch drums.

p.s. My name worked to my advantage in my business career. I programmed computers for over 30 years.

[Axehandle]

I agree with using a dremel with one of their thin cut off wheels. A hacksaw blade has set and unless you are using a very girthy snap ring or e clip there is going to be a lot of slop.

Could use an air powered die grinder with a cut off wheel too. Those wheels tend to also be thicker though I always use the ones that are 1/16 which I think you can get pretty close to in size with a snap ring.

Another option is to vise up the rod and manually hacksaw a few kerfs in it and have the snap ring ride in those instead of having the slot all the way around the rod. Granted, that is a hack job and I would not encourage it though it would work. It would have to be a snap ring though not an e clip.

[daddo]

It was a hack job using duct tape and plastic bags that got the Apollo 13 back to Earth and saved lives. So I wouldn't just call anything out of the normal unworkable.

The hacksaw and the drill press was a good idea and it works. I know because I did it.

My video skills stink as well as my camera, so bare with me.
I cut a little too deep and didn't measure as I supposed you wouldn't have a way to do it that way either.

Try it this way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIL3ddpH...e=youtu.be

[mike4244]

If you do not have access to a lathe then hacksaw it by hand.Tape a piece of paper 2" wide or wider next to the area you want the groove.The wide paper will layout a square to the work line.
Start the hacksaw,saw down to what you think is the correct depth.
The blade can be marked for depth,rough depth but good enough for a circlip.Turn the stock a bit and repeat until you have a groove all around.Try a circlip,if it needs more depth, saw a bit more.
I would not try any power tool to make the groove,only a lathe can do this under power with any hope of accuracy.
You might want to contact a machine shop and see if they will do this for a small fee.
mike

[blackhat]

Don't get carried away. Your jig doesn't have to be anything more than a small piece of board with a rod sized hole drilled in it and clamped to the table. Light pressure to start the cut.