THE LEGS Part VIII
The Upper Feet.
For the Upper Feet, I used four 1-1/2 aluminum rods about 1/2 thick.
Before tackling the tapering, I had to drill holes for the Foot Pins. I turned the drill press table at a 90 degree angle and drilled straight thru with a 1/4 bit.
I'd first thought of mounting each part in the chuck and filing them down to a taper, but discovered that was going to be extremely time consuming. So I decided to mill them instead. I devised a mounting plate which I bolted each part to from underneath. I then, clamped that unit to the rotary table and rotated the drill press table to approximately 11 degrees.
Next, I drilled 1/2 holes down the center which will later be milled to 3/4 to accommodate the Caps.
Because I couldn't mill the Caps as a single part, I made then into two parts and would epoxy/bolt together later. The top plates were cut from a 2mm aluminum sheet and the posts from a 3/4 rod. I milled straight channels into the posts, so the Foot Pins could slide into.
Next, I milled the center holes to 3/4 so the posts can pop into. I then epoxy the posts to the top plates. Later on, the Foot Pins will be bolted to the Caps by drilled holes in the center of the Pins.
I needed something to run up & down in the Lower Foot Chambers, so traced out 1-1/2 circles onto a 1mm aluminum sheet and a 1/4 wood board. I won't cut these out until I have the Chambers milled. These discs, along with the Foot Springs, will eventually be bolted to the Upper Feet where they'll held down in the Chambers.
WHAT'S NEXT? The Lower Foot Caps.