We spend the first half of the day on the manual Acer mill roughing the outer dimensions of the eyelet plates.

One of the skills we learn in the department is how to read a vernier caliper. The technology is old, but vernier tend to produce more consistent measurements than digital calipers. Digital calipers are also sensitive to the coolent used in machining.

We are allowed to order up to 10 parts to be made by lab staff. Lab Manager Bob Stark finished making the bearing plates for use today. We had to take his work and press fit in the two bearings that support the shafts for the spool and the spooling guide.

It is important not to damage the bearing during this operation, so we drill out a hole in a tube slightly smaller than the outside diameter on the lathe. This ensures the pressure will not be applied to the center of the bearing. If pressure was applied on the inner ring of the bearing, the bearing would come apart and the steel balls would end up on the floor.

Later on, we continued making eyelet plates on the Fryer CNC mill.