HAYDEN CEVELIN'S 2020 HIGH SCHOOL UPPERCLASSMEN LEVEL WINNING PROJECT

MACHINING A VISE:

Travers Tool is thrilled to announce the high school underclassmen level winner of our 2020 Travers Tool For Schools Scholarship is Hayden Cevelin, a student at Enoree Career Center in South Carolina. Hayden''s project demonstrated a variety of machining applications, and innovative thinking as he altered blueprint dimensions to allow his project be constructed of steel.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

I TOOK THE FOLLOWING STEPS TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT:

  1. Followed blueprints to ensure vise parts were built to spec.
  2. Adjusted dimensions to allow the vise to be made of steel.
  3. Heat treated upon completion to allow greater durability.

For my machine tooling project I have chosen to machine a vice and I would have to say it was by far my favorite project to date. Typically in my machine tool class we would be restricted to using the blueprints the teacher assigned to us, however this time, it was left completely up to us to decide on what we should do. We were given an opportunity to show our skills, our patience, and our determination through something of our choice. I have always wanted to make or create something that could test my machining skills and possibly show me places in which I might need more machine tooling experience. I have devoted the past few weeks and my two years of machine tooling experience in making this tool & I must say that I am very satisfied with the amount of work I have been able to accomplish in this project.

During this project I used all of the basic milling and lathe tools, and many specific drills, and have even gained experience on some tools that were new to me. All of my measurements are within the tolerances and I managed to use my stock very conservatively. The two small lathe parts were both made from one scrapped part I found in the metal bin and I made the circular shape with a normal lathe cutting tool and a file to get it just right. The two parallel jaws and their base were made from under one foot of 4x2 steel stalk. The original blueprints made the dimensions too large to be made out of the steel we had been supplied, however I decided to continue with the project and altered the dimensions to be more narrow in shape so I could continue with the stalk I had. I also had to change a few details since some tools required weren't on hand however the tools usability has not been compromised. I plan to heat treat my vise as my final touch in order to harden the steel and make it more durable since I plan on using it once I finish.

PERSONAL ESSAY:

Nearing the end of this project I realized how much hands on work was necessary to complete it & I'm excited to see that it has turned out great and everything has gone as planned. I now feel determined to recreate it once more before the end of this school year and work even harder so that I can refine my skills and feel more confident about my future in machining. This project may have turned out great, however there are many minor defects about it that may not affect the integrity of my part, but are enough to encourage me to retry and perfect my machining capabilities and fine tune the quality of my work. Machining is where I plan to spend most of my career and it is the financial backbone of my plans for my future. I have many things I can fall back on and don't solely rely on machining as my one plan, however I take my projects seriously if not just as seriously as I take all my dreams and goals. I did this project for more than just the scholarship, I did it to prove to myself that I was taking the right steps to become a real machinist and was taking this class seriously enough to make a career out of it. This is my future if i play it right and now that I have tested my skills, I know what needs improvement and now I'm only closer to perfecting my performance. I know that if I work hard enough now, I will be grateful in the future. With that I hope that my work will at least receive your admiration.

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