Mike if you are handy with a band saw and flat file, use that. NOT recommended! I have never been able to file a flat surface.
What I used for my first couple of steels was my table saw. The big secret here is to get the workpiece fastened securely enough so you are sure it stays put. and then take small cuts.
Here I am using an old tenoning jig that I head made years ago for cutting wood tenons. It slides in the tracks on your saw table.
- Z-setup~halfcut.jpg (39.63 KiB) Viewed 1875 times
This is cutting a 4-hole bell crank. You can see where the part that goes on the cross shaft is already cut and here is where the bellcrank is bolted to the jig. I am about half done cutting the 1/8" slot in the middle of the leg where the collar and pull rod goes through. I am using a good quality dado set, in this case only one blade 1/8" wide is used. I cut 3/32" deep at a time. Don't get greedy and the saw will thank you for it and walk through it like butter. Push slow but steady..get your own speed and comfort level worked up as you advance.
To cut the 3/8" cutout for the legs that go on to the 3/8" cross shaft, I had the bell crank material lying flat and secured in another jig made for that purpose. I used a dado set totaling 3/8" width of cut. Here, I took only 1/32" deep cut at a time. This is a safe method but I must emphasize again: MAke sure the piece is fastened down very securely and take shallow cuts.
- Z-tighten.jpg (46.53 KiB) Viewed 1875 times
