Is it my turn? Anything to do with lathes, mills and other shop tools

... holding milling cutters in the lathe, no drawbar for the grizzly (yet), not thinking the $360 collet changer makes much sense. The spindle is MT5 and I have an mt5 to mt2 bushing. I guess I could just chuck em in the 3 jaw, but MEH...

Gary, I've successfully milled using the 3-jaw, for the smaller cutters. It's important to have the cutter run true, else most of the cutting will be done by one flute, which could chatter and give unexpected cut depths.

... 2M I see there is an Atlas 618 Yahoo group.

Yes, gads, another black hole. I'm on another Yahoo group, unwieldy, would rather it be a forum format like this...
 
Garry, as a hobby machinist I am enjoying this thread. I have found youtube very helpful in particular Mr Pete's clips. He is a retired teacher and his lessons are pitched right at my level.
The scariest thing I have done on my lathe was to turn on centres a solid bar about 450mm long down from around 65mm to 62mm diameter.
In the picture a RD 350 cylinder is set up on my mill to have its fins cropped.
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+1 on Mr. Pete's videos. Lots of good, easy to follow/understand info for hobby shop guys like myself.
 
well I've made two theaded parts, a first for me. The youtube videos were a big help, working in soft material also a good thing!
.First was an oddball gas fitting for a Harborfright tiny-TIG, this second is part of a rescue for an old lamp at the folks place.
Didn't have a thread cutting bit for a boring bar so ground this holder a bit to cut the thread inside the cap.

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Ha Ha

My tooling cost has dropped in half to about $1,000 a part, LOL
 
Good job on the threading there, Gary.

Yes, single-point thread cutting is challenging, and you must keep your wits about you. Years ago, as I was learning thread cutting, checking the cut depths, thread pitch, and cross-checking with a nut, I got a bit confused, and found myself in a predicament.

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Dear ol' dad looked over my shoulder and said:

"Yup, that's what we call a screwup."...
 
Speaking of time sinks, this will chew off a bit of a dreary January day.
http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/threads/65419-old-machinist-tips-tricks-please-chime-in-)
It could pay off big one day if you remember the kink exists.
I have a bathroom reader. A book called Power kinks. I'm pretty sure a nephew bought it with a totally false idea of what it was about. It details ways around problems found in steam power houses in the1800's using whatever was at hand. Great stuff.
 
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Speaking of time sinks, this will chew off a bit of a dreary January day.
http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/threads/65419-old-machinist-tips-tricks-please-chime-in-)

Yes some very good points there! The first one had two that I have used often over the years.

Did not read through them all so it may be in there somewhere is on trick I have used many times.

Ever have the need to clean out the threads on a hole but don't have the correct tap? If you have a spare bolt of the correct thread size take it over to the grinder and grind a couple grooves down the length of the threads, so it looks like a tap! The groove gives a place for dirt and rust move to to let you clean out the hole. A grade 8 or if metric 10.9 works a bit better.

This is also handy when you have a bolt hole that is too deep in a casting for a normal tap to reach. Just find a nice long bolt and make it into a thread chaser.
 
Thread cutting on a lathe..... My lathe lacks a backgear and brake so the slowest it goes is 200rpm. Consequently I cut my threads with the tool upside down and the lathe running in reverse. This avoids me overshooting and running into the chuck. The main mistake I made when first cutting threads was feeding the tool in at 90 degrees so that it cuts on both edges. I soon learnt to feed in at approximately 60 degrees so that the tool only cuts on the one edge.

I only use carbide for rough deep cuts and boring. Perhaps I am old fashon in that I prefer to use HSS, or it may be due to the fact that HSS is easy to keep in perfect cutting order - Can be touched up with an oil stone very easily.
 
Thread cutting on a lathe..... My lathe lacks a backgear and brake so the slowest it goes is 200rpm. Consequently I cut my threads with the tool upside down and the lathe running in reverse. This avoids me overshooting and running into the chuck. The main mistake I made when first cutting threads was feeding the tool in at 90 degrees so that it cuts on both edges. I soon learnt to feed in at approximately 60 degrees so that the tool only cuts on the one edge.
After making a somewhat rough cut thread on brass I found the tip to use the compound set at 29.5 degrees to feed the tool for subsequent passes! I need to add some reference markings to my compound. Also got a beginner's tip to not disengage the half nut rather stop and reverse, leaving the tool in place. The grizzly will turn 70 RPM so it's just doable. Lathe came with a new set of half nuts and I think there's a reason. Had the nuts self disengage when I stopped the lathe. A repower with a 3 phase motor and VFD would be sweet. I like that upside down reverse idea!
 
where there's a will...
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For a current project turning a rotor down from 300mm to 267mm. A cheap ebay 16mm carbide holder with a clamp and mutsubishiWNMG0804 Carbide Insert held in an XL BXA clamp. Was a reach to get the tool out to 300mm in the 12" lathe. Didn't have a LH holder so improvised. I tried the LH holder and carbide from Grizzly but they just chattered and made a mess. This set up did the entire cut dry on one tool edge. A rigid tool matters. Filled a feed sack with straw colored stainless swarf.
Also made an adapter so i can use the milling attachment from the south bend on the grizzly.

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Turns out this is the mark 1a version, one with an offset to move the vice closer to the lathe center will be more useful. I may drill and tap the cross slide out on the left for a bolt down Mark 2a version.
 
yet another toy followed me home. Got lucky on CL first guy was a no show, I was 2nd in line.
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After a full strip down, clean and reassemble. Probably hadn't been cleaned since it was new, a couple years decades ago.
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10" Will probably just use on the drill press, for now.
 
Rut roh.
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5+ years sitting in a pole barn didn't do it any favors but I'm a scrubbing and oiling.
Almost went for a Bridgeport but when I measured my garage ceiling... This is "just right" for the space. About 6' to the top of the motor.
It's got an R8 quill some chinese collets and a 6" vice 1HP 3 phase. Everything has some pretty thick "patina". To see if it runs I'll put it on the VFD from the buffer.
 
First project is getting it in the garage and running. LOL spent the morning on it, everything is freed up and moving smooth. about 2 cans of pb blaster. a quart of mineral spirits, lots of working the bed and ways with fine stones, etc etc hopefully power it up tomorrow.
P.S. I got a chunk of aluminum and a brembo caliper. :rock:
 
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