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

[Bjorn]

Interesting to read your experiences! I get the feeling that the machine might have a lot to do with the results.

O bought one of these hss blades holders, thinking it would be the best due to rigidity and being close to the support of the toolholder. Bit I've never liked it. The blades are quite hard to find and expensive. And it doesn't curl the chip into itself, so chips are binding more.

One other thing I like to do: always set the tool a bit Below center height. The reason for this is that when the tool is cutting, and pressure builds, beige Above center height results in the tool being dragged into the material. Usually snapping the tool.

But setting it below Centre height, just pushes the tool Out of the material.

Try it and see if it worked for you!

 

[Jim]

Only problem now is it doesn't count threads. At least not accurately. The gear has too many teeth. Unsuccessful so far, but I need to find out how many teeth an Atlas uses. Anyone have one off an Atlas they can count for me?? Once I know that I can tell my (as yet undelivered) Bambu Labs printer to spit one out.

Bambu P1S 3D printer finally showed up. I've a steep hill to climb on learning CAD, but found a gear generator on Makers World where you input all your parameters and it'll generate the gear for you. Here's my first try. Good start I guess, but still a ways to go. I told it the hole diameter (9.35mm) but for some reason it completely ignored me and didn't make any hole in the middle. Also the teeth pitch is off, but that's on me. I know what I did wrong and how to fix it. At least it got the teeth count right...

We'll get there.

 

[Downeaster]

Jim, do you still need a tooth count on the threading gear? If so, I can check my Atlas in the morning.

 

[Jim]

Thanks, DE... @Ratranger gave it to me... 16T

 

[Jim]

Try #2 was a bust. After 3 or 4 layers it was obvious It still wasn't making a hole, so I cancelled it and shitcanned the tiny little blob.
Looked around on Makers World and found a different gear generator. This one allows for more parameters.... including allowing for a shoulder/boss on the top of the gear.
https://makerworld.com/en/makerlab/...e&unikey=192f6d20-d804-489e-b6e7-9d53a11ba436

Try #3 is getting more like it. The teeth portion is too tall and the pitch angle is off slightly, along with the circular pitch distance.... but at least it put a friggin' hole in the center.

Readjusted the wayward parameters and try #4 is growing up out of the plate as we speak.

 

[Jim]

#4 looks good except for the tooth pitch angle. Dropped that from 6° down to 5° and sent it back to the printer.

 

[Jim]

 

[Jim]

Looks like #5 is a keeper. Also adjusted the hole dia to give me a few thou interference fit. Pressed it in place and I now have a functional thread counter.
I think me an' this Bambu are gonna get on famously.

 

[atom4488]

Interesting to read your experiences! I get the feeling that the machine might have a lot to do with the results.

O bought one of these hss blades holders, thinking it would be the best due to rigidity and being close to the support of the toolholder. Bit I've never liked it. The blades are quite hard to find and expensive. And it doesn't curl the chip into itself, so chips are binding more.

View attachment 364213

One other thing I like to do: always set the tool a bit Below center height. The reason for this is that when the tool is cutting, and pressure builds, beige Above center height results in the tool being dragged into the material. Usually snapping the tool.

But setting it below Centre height, just pushes the tool Out of the material.

Try it and see if it worked for you!

Nice looking tool holder... the readily-available and cheap AXA holders are not nearly as nice. Interesting comment about the below-center tool height. I'll definitely try that. As things stand now, with the small chuck and chatter-free parting operations under power feed, I am satisfied with the status-quo. This will of course change as soon as I need the capacity and reversible jaws of the larger chuck to hold a workpiece that will then need parting-off !!!

 

[Bjorn]

Looks great Jim! Drawing up a complete gear with little CAD hours under your belt is no easy task! It's great there are so many "generators" and places to find models.

Just pick a CAD software, and and project you want to design. It really helps to have motivation for learning. Especially in the start up phase where it's hard haha.

It's great to be able to design what you want, and not be relaying on others people work.

 

[Bjorn]

Nice looking tool holder... the readily-available and cheap AXA holders are not nearly as nice. Interesting comment about the below-center tool height. I'll definitely try that. As things stand now, with the small chuck and chatter-free parting operations under power feed, I am satisfied with the status-quo. This will of course change as soon as I need the capacity and reversible jaws of the larger chuck to hold a workpiece that will then need parting-off !!!

Yeah it's a special toolholder. Hard to find actually. But not worth it in my opinion haha. And a one trick pony....

Well looking where you started, that sounds like a big improvement! And maybe set the expectations, parting off will probably never be great on small non rigid machines.

 

[Jim]

A masonry bit. Never dawned on me.

 

[gggGary]

We won't talk about the valve face grinding "experiment" yet....
Suffice it to say I'm headed out to the SOIR looking for an early exhaust valve.

 

[GLJ]

Suffice it to say I'm headed out to the SOIR looking for an early exhaust valve.

You can use a later valve if you use the later style keepers.

 

[Wagner73]

Okay, not a mechanized shop tool but a shop tool nonetheless.

There are a lot of mentions thru many threads of clearing, renewing, cleaning old threads using - primarily - a tap. This is generally good advice and I had done this in the past as well.

However, taps (and dies) are designed to cut virgin threads, and sometimes they even try to cut existing threads a little bit when you might not want them to(!). Aluminum is perhaps especially vulnerable for obvious reasons.

Some years ago - and I assume many of the experienced folks here know this already - I discovered thread renewing kits. These are designed to clear, clean, reform threads without cutting.

I find with some lubricant (I usually use grease) they do this job amazingly well. Especially handy for tapped holes in wheel hubs e.g. brake discs, sprockets, dust covers, etc.

 

[grouchie77]

Okay, not a mechanized shop tool but a shop tool nonetheless.

There are a lot of mentions thru many threads of clearing, renewing, cleaning old threads using - primarily - a tap. This is generally good advice and I had done this in the past as well.

However, taps (and dies) are designed to cut virgin threads, and sometimes they even try to cut existing threads a little bit when you might not want them to(!). Aluminum is perhaps especially vulnerable for obvious reasons.

Some years ago - and I assume many of the experienced folks here know this already - I discovered thread renewing kits. These are designed to clear, clean, reform threads without cutting.

I find with some lubricant (I usually use grease) they do this job amazingly well. Especially handy for tapped holes in wheel hubs e.g. brake discs, sprockets, dust covers, etc.

That almost looks like a form tap for "rolling" threads in holes. I hardly ever use cutting taps in stainless, I either form tap up to ½-13 or I threadmill any size over that.

 

[Wagner73]

That almost looks like a form tap for "rolling" threads in holes. I hardly ever use cutting taps in stainless, I either form tap up to ½-13 or I threadmill any size over that.

All good! But tapping, cutting, threadmilling is all about creating new threads and the antithesis of this, which is simply about restoring or preserving corroded, aged, or goobered-up existing threads.

 

[Jim]

Kinda lame, but I always take a bolt the right size and cut a flute into it with a cutoff wheel. Actually does a great job of cleaning up threads without enlarging 'em.

Your restorer kits is obviously the better choice, Wagner.

 

[grouchie77]

All good! But tapping, cutting, threadmilling is all about creating new threads and the antithesis of this, which is simply about restoring or preserving corroded, aged, or goobered-up existing threads.

Yes, but I've taken a forming tap and used that to chase threads before. Works every time, and there's no chips to clean up.

 

[Wagner73]

Kinda lame, but I always take a bolt the right size and cut a flute into it with a cutoff wheel. Actually does a great job of cleaning up threads without enlarging 'em.

Your restorer kits is obviously the better choice, Wagner.

Your solution would work perfectly. The restorers are essentially that, a bolt with four flutes cut into it.