Making an engraver with our own hands
Engraving will decorate any product, whether it is jewelry or household items. Engraving work is done on metal, wood, stone and even glass. You can, of course, buy ready-made equipment, but you can make an engraver yourself.
What will be needed
To make an engraver with your own hands, you need the following.
- A flexible shaft, on one end of which is attached to the nozzle. The flexible shaft is a cable that transmits rotation, which makes it possible to work a homemade tool. This part is sold in specialized stores. You can also use a cable that is attached to the speedometer of a car or motorcycle. To make the engraver work, you will need a nozzle. It is removed from the drill or made from a textolite bar.
- An electric motor that runs at 220V. You can use a washing machine motor for this, the turntable from a tape recorder will also work. The best option for a homemade graver – a motor from a sewing machine. It is equipped with a rheostat, with which you can adjust the frequency of rotation of the flexible shaft.
- Tools, which will be used for engraving. Dental instruments can be used. Other tools will also be suitable. It all depends on the work to be done.
How to make an engraver from a DVD drive
The DVD drive is used to make a laser engraver or CNC machine. To make a homemade tool, you will need:
- A debug board with a USB cable;
- DVD or CD;
- Plywood 6-10 mm thick;
- self-tapping wood screws;
- laser module;
- joystick;
- computer power supply;
- TIP120 or TIP122 semiconductor triodes;
- 2200 ohm resistor;
- connection wires;
- jigsaw;
- drill;
- wood drill bits 2, 3, and 4 mm;
- soldering iron;
- rosin;
- nuts and washers 4 mm;
- screw 4X20 mm.
The process of making a handheld engraver is as follows.
- DVD or CD drives are disassembled by removing the internal mechanism.
- The optics and the mechanism board are removed.
- Cut off the wire, which is coming from the stepper motor. Solder the wires in its place.
- Cut a square with a side of 8 cm from plywood and glue it to one of the actuators.
- The plate on which the laser will be mounted is attached to the other actuator. Both plywood and plastic are good for this.
- The body of the engraver is made from templates printed on a printer. The materials used are plywood or plastic. Holes are drilled in the blanks, into which self-tapping screws will be screwed.
- In the resulting parts, holes are made to attach the drives. There is no exact marking, since mechanisms come in different sizes and can be arranged in different ways.
- Blanks connect with self-tapping screws, pre-drilling 2 mm holes to prevent the plywood from cracking. Plastic parts are connected with iron corners and screws.
- To beautify the appearance of the tool, the engraver is sanded and painted. You can use aerosol or acrylic paint.
- The pads are cut off from the power supply. The green and black wires are shorted. Twist or put a switch between them for convenience.
- Then take out the red, yellow and black wires to connect the load.
- The engraver is attached to the power supply with double-sided adhesive tape.
- The joystick and the button are attached to the debug board, then the wires are led out and attached to the plywood case.
- Special circuits are used in order to place the electrics correctly.
- The laser is connected through transistors. The laser is screwed to a plastic plate to keep it firmly in place. First, the cooling radiator is attached, then the laser is inserted inside, which is then fixed with screws. Then this construction is attached to the engraver body.
- Then the software for Aurdino is downloaded. It is better to download a new version so that the mechanism works properly.
It should be remembered that the laser can cause damage to the retina. That is why you need to wear protective goggles when setting up and checking the engraver.
Also, the creation of an engraving machine from a DVD drive requires not only accuracy, but also knowledge in electrical engineering, as well as awareness of the software. After all, the normal operation of a CNC machine depends on the setup of the programs by which the execution tasks are set for the engraver.
Making a drill from a blender
Kitchen appliances are often used to make various tools. An electric engraver can be made by yourself at home. For this purpose, you will need:
- a blender;
- A cam chuck with a key;
- A nozzle under the cam chuck;
- file.
The manufacturing process consists of several steps.
- First, the blender body is disassembled. Then remove the factory nozzle and cut off part of the body. Then the blender is turned on and the diameter of the working part is ground to the desired size. To do this, use a flat file for metal work.
- After that, the body is reassembled. Then attach the nozzle to the shaft of the blender. On it with the help of screws fasten the cam chuck.
In order for the made of a blender graver to work properly, “left” drills are used. All because the motor of the blender rotates counterclockwise.
How to make a drill
It is possible to make a powerful engraver from an ordinary drill. For this fixture will be required:
- A clutch cable or brake cable from a motorcycle;
- An old gun for assembly foam;
- a faucet to release air;
- a long screw;
- two bearings;
- metal or copper tubing;
- soldering materials;
- hacksaw for metal;
- drill;
- grinder;
- soldering lamp;
- hammer;
- sandpaper.
To make an engraver, you need to follow the instructions exactly.
- To begin with, an elongated bolt must be turned into a tube. In order to do this, the drill is clamped in a vise strictly by the handle. A tap is screwed on the screw to drain the air. Then turn on the drill and drill 2-3 mm drill a screw. Drill precisely in the center to the stop.
- Next, take two files and gently sandwiched between them, remove the surface of the screw while rotating the drill. It is necessary to leave 6-8 cm of untouched thread close to the chuck.
- The tube is sawed off at the edge of the thread and clamped in a vise. Then the air drain valve and the first bearing are screwed to it. Then fix the tube with the second bearing.
- The handle of the graver is made from an elongated part of the assembly gun. It is shortened to the size of the screw, adding 2 cm without taking into account the length of the trigger.
- A hacksaw is used to make the holding mechanism. On the shaft clamped in a vice, a cross-notch is made on the side of the intact thread. The trigger is ground to a cone to make it easier to work with the engraver.
- The clutch cable is removed from its sheath. One end of the cable is inserted into the hollow tube drilled from the screw. Then the joint is heated and the void is filled with tin. This procedure is done with a blowtorch. The bearings are then clamped.
- The part is covered with a scrap from the mounting gun as a cap.
- Then the outer sheath of the cable must be put back on. The sheath is put on the cable and pulled as far as it will go. The back side of the cable is placed in the brake tube and pressed with a hammer.
- A flat file is used to make the edges on the steel tube. This is done so that drills and cutters can be tightened with a wrench.
Making an engraver is not a very simple task. However, it will help to save a lot of money. In addition, the self-made tool can be safely attributed to the universal.
Another way to create an engraver with their own hands from a motor from a printer is presented in the following video.
Everything ingenious is simple: a manual graver with their own hands
Very often a home craftsman is faced with the need to make a small notch on a metal or wooden part, engraving on a keychain, polishing in a hard-to-reach place. In such cases, cumbersome power tools can not cope, so we have to turn to specialists, paying for their services. Today we offer our dear reader a simpler solution to such a problem, which is described in the article by the author of YouTube channel “MAGEM”.
A little about the hand-engraver: purpose, tool features, necessary materials
Manual graver, called in common parlance boromachine, is a universal electric tool that can perform the tasks of a grinder, graver, drill or even a cutter. However, its peculiarity is that it gives the opportunity to work with very small parts and in hard-to-reach places. For its manufacture in a garage or workshop conditions will not need a lot of material, although some parts will have to buy more. But the final cost of the device will not exceed 200 rubles, which can not fail to please.
Let’s start with what you need to make it.
- An old clutch or brake cable from a motorcycle (can be found in almost any garage).
- A used foam gun.
- A Mevsky faucet and a long screw that will be screwed into it.
- Two bearings with an inner diameter slightly smaller than the screw.
- Copper or steel tube – the brake line of the car.
- Wire solder.
- Metal hacksaw.
An ordinary drill will be used as the drive. In addition to the above, it is necessary to prepare a grinder, blowtorch, hammer and sandpaper.
Preparation of parts of the future drill
You should start with making a tube from a long screw. To do this, you need to clamp the drill in a vise (this should be done by the handle, for the body can not be clamped in any case). In the chuck is fixed a bolt without a cap, and on its threaded side is screwed on the Maevsky valve – it will be used as a guide. After selecting a drill suitable for the opening of the valve, the drill is turned on and the screw is drilled exactly in the center for the maximum possible length.
Further work requires the utmost accuracy. With two files, between which will rotate clamped in the chuck drill screw, you need to remove the thread so that the resulting bushing could be put on the bearings. At the same time, about 6-8 cm of undamaged thread should be left on the side closest to the chuck – this is very important.
With the help of files the screw is ground to the necessary diameter PHOTO: youtube.com
Assembling the inside of the graver mechanism
After sawing off the screw on the edge of the thread, we screw the Maevsky valve on it and put on almost to the stop the first bearing, clamping the sleeve in a vise. Then the tube is put on, and then the second bearing fiixes it. The inner part of the drill is ready.
Put the bearings and tube on the shaft PHOTO: youtube.com
Working with the assembly foam gun
From this tool, only the outer long tube will be needed. From it you need to saw off a piece, the length of the ready-made inner part without the Maevsky tap, adding 2 cm. This will be the shell, which will serve as the handle of the graver.
Measure and cut off the tube of the required size PHOTO: youtube.com
Making a collet mechanism for clamping cutters
To make a mechanism that can hold thin drills or cutters, a metal hacksaw will be needed. The finished shaft is clamped in a vise and a cross-notch is made on the side of the remaining thread, its entire length. Now, if the Maevsky valve is tightened tighter, the resulting petals will be compressed.
The Maevsky cock itself is turned to a taper for easy work with the engraver.
We grind the Mayevsky cock under a cone, after what it will be much more convenient to work with PHOTO: youtube.com
Work on making the flexible shaft
Here it is necessary to first release the cable from the shell, but you can not throw it away – it will be useful later. The assembled inner part of the rotation mechanism is clamped in a vice, then one end of the cable is inserted into the sleeve made from a bolt. Now you need to heat the resulting connection and fill the inner void with molten tin. A blowtorch will help in this work.
The sleeve with the cable is heated, and then molten solder begins to seep into it PHOTO: youtube.com
It remains to tighten the bearings, make sure that the connection is good, and then you can continue with the assembly.
The connection is checked, and the bearings are pressed as tightly as possible PHOTO: youtube.com
Next, a piece of tubing sawed off from the foam gun is put on top of both bearings. Essentially, the rotating mechanism itself can be considered complete at this point. All that remains is to protect the operator.
The tube is put on top of the bearings practically right up to the tip PHOTO: youtube.com
Protecting the master while working with the drill
Now you need to put the cable guard in place, but it’s not easy to do. After the tips are cut off, the wire starts to unravel. This is where the same solder and a blowtorch come in handy. The jacket is put on the cable and pulled all the way through. Because the outer tube is slightly longer than the inner tube, the guard goes inside. The back side of the cable is placed in the brake tube and pressed in with a hammer.
Crimping the back edge to be clamped into the drill chuck PHOTO: youtube.com
The finishing touch: the wrench slot
Tightening the cutter or drill bit in the collet chuck will require ensuring that the wrench can work with both the shaft and the tip. If the edges were already there on the Maevsky tap (they are left off the edge), they need to be made on the sleeve. This issue is easily solved with a flat file.
Grinding of faces for a wrench on the sleeve PHOTO: youtube.com
Briefly about making cutoff cutters
To make such consumables is quite simple, and therefore it will be more convenient to show it exclusively on photo examples.
A thin long screw is inserted into the hole, which is fixed on the back side with two nuts PHOTO: youtube.com
When the cutter is ready, it can be installed in the engraver by tightening the collet chuck with wrenches PHOTO: youtube.com
To summarize
The work of making a manual electric graver from a drill with their own hands is not too easy. However, if a home maker still decides to take it on and bring it to the end, he will get a unique tool that will be useful always. It is unlikely that such a device will be idle. And if we compare the cost of a similar factory-made product, the importance of such an engraver in your eyes will increase at times.
And this is the work he successfully performs PHOTO: youtube.com
We hope that the information provided by us today will not leave indifferent any home craftsman. If there are still questions on the subject, ask them in the comments below. Our editorial staff will be sure to answer them.
