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Copyright.... Website created & maintained by GHQP
August 25, 2011
SECURE SAVINGS VAULT
COMPLETED
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This was a simple one day project to make an interesting looking, functional and strong money box specifically for notes. The premise was that you could see what was inside, but to remove the contents had to be relatively difficult especially for a young non mechanical adept person. To open this container requires a hex alien key, something that most young girls would not have laying around. I could have also glued the ends but it would then be a shame to have to smash it to get at the money inside, especially as the material is fairly thick acrylic would require a large hammer or similar. In place of the hex screws I might also have used some other security screw but I didn't have any on hand. The ones I used were M6 Stainless Cap Screws. The heads are closely recessed into the 10mm thick acrylic ends so using any sort of pliers to undo them is out of the question.
The main part of the container was a 120mm Diameter 200mm Long Acrylic Tube, its wall thickness 3mm. No machining at all was required for the tube. The end Caps were routed out of 10mm thick Acrylic. The vertical inside rods were 8mm Diameter Acrylic. Both sides of the end caps were routed, The inside of each cap had a 7mm deep step of the inside tube diameter, in addition there were 6 x 8.5mm Dia x 3mm deep pockets for the rod ends to locate into. I also milled a 3.05mm centre location hole the full depth of the acrylic. The purpose for this hole was to use it to accurately locate the piece when turning it over to rout its other (out) side. I did this using a piece of 3mm rod (shank of a worn 3mm end mill) mounted in the
The main part of the container was a 120mm Diameter 200mm Long Acrylic Tube, its wall thickness 3mm. No machining at all was required for the tube. The end Caps were routed out of 10mm thick Acrylic. The vertical inside rods were 8mm Diameter Acrylic. Both sides of the end caps were routed, The inside of each cap had a 7mm deep step of the inside tube diameter, in addition there were 6 x 8.5mm Dia x 3mm deep pockets for the rod ends to locate into. I also milled a 3.05mm centre location hole the full depth of the acrylic. The purpose for this hole was to use it to accurately locate the piece when turning it over to rout its other (out) side. I did this using a piece of 3mm rod (shank of a worn 3mm end mill) mounted in the
spindle motor. The images opposite show this. The only thing to be aware of is setting the job so that it is parallel in the Y axis so that machining the cap screw holes and head pockets line up with the other side rod pockets. Mine were just slightly out but I had milled all the holes and pockets a little oversize to allow for some lateral movement. Placing the Double Sided tape across where the profile cut passed over meant that I didn't have to worry about cutting through on the outside profile pass. The top cap naturally has the slot for inserting the notes and I made up something to facilitate this as you can see from the images. The 8mm acrylic rods were cut to just slightly less than the length from the bottom of their respective pockets. Being clear acrylic makes it easy to measure this by placing the end caps on the tube. Each rod was drilled and taped to suit the M3 SS Cap screws. To assemble it, I loosely screwed in the 6 rods to the bottom end cap, slid the tube over and then manipulated the top cap into position. The screws only need to be just firmly tightened, the grip was good and there was no possibility of the end caps rotating.
In the photos you will also see that I warped the tube prior to starting the job with clear tape just to protect it from scratches or scuffing. The tape was later removed. Do not use clear packing tape as I experienced doing this and the tape comes of easily but it leaves the sticky part stuck to the acrylic and it is so very hard to remove, I will never do that again. Use removable masking tape or similar.
In the photos you will also see that I warped the tube prior to starting the job with clear tape just to protect it from scratches or scuffing. The tape was later removed. Do not use clear packing tape as I experienced doing this and the tape comes of easily but it leaves the sticky part stuck to the acrylic and it is so very hard to remove, I will never do that again. Use removable masking tape or similar.