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

@Ratranger
I use super slim leds in my vapor blasting cabinet as well. No issues so far. Microjet water sprayers help keep the glass clear as well. I still keep a small hand squeegee in the corner of the cabinet for occasional wipes.
 
And now for something completely different
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The change gears were really getting on my nerves.
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So a gearbox is the new order of the day.
Convince me you are serious in PM, or can contribute and I'll share code an BOM.
The current boggle is sourcing pinion/spur gear stock.
All the gears are 24 DPI 14.5 degree pressure angle.
I'd rather cut off and finish the gears myself as individual gears are $25 and up.
If I'm going to the bother of building one I may as well build a few, or at least the parts for a few.
Anyone that has 6" tooling they can spare can also contact me in PM.
I'm not comfortable releasing the code in public as nearly all of it isn't mine. It may not seem like much on the surface but there are hours of work here without counting the years of experience that led up to it. In short I will reasonably protect the intellectual property and the author will know where each copy is.

I'm getting construction help from the usual suspects.

Tooling , unique and ubiquitous is from Joel @ mymachineshop.net

If you make chips you need to know these guys
https://www.standardcutting.com/
Service parts for the lathe are from TMcNett@clausingsc.com

The machine shipping is through Fastenal, Blue Lane. Michelle is great to work with.

Additional support from https://www.facebook.com/groups/956121484439805 The atlas group on FaceBook

Robert Downs WA5CAB and the members of https://www.hobby-machinist.com

These guys do amazing things in miniature and have been a great help.
https://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/
Many thanks to the patient and humorous knowledge of the members at https://groups.io/g/atlas-craftsman.

https://www.dotheton.com

The membership here

I can't do these things without family.
Mom
Keith
John
Ben
Sinon
Ryan
Rob
Dave
Chris , how do you put up with me ?
Gary , why do you keep picking up the phone?
Pete , I haven't quit yet!
Dennis (SK)
Morrie (SK) Jim , I love you brother. I can't say enough about ...

Fantom the wonder dog

And very special Thank You to Wonder Woman for putting up with me.

Okay , so it reads like a rehearsed acceptance speech. It needed to be said. it's my post and I can do what I want with it.

So starts another chapter in
Meanwhile, out in the garage.
And so it goes ...
 
Being able to have access to a cnc to program and run saves a lot of time and a lot of money.
You are very skilled and talented.
Love seeing your work.
 
Hey guys, good to be back on here! I haven't been riding much this winter and got out of the habit of logging on here. I also went through my own version of hell at work with testing for the Omicron variant, but that is finally subsiding. I see there have been some nice changes to the site. So many more emojis!
I also wanted to update you on my winter project, getting that little South Bend 9A moved and running in my shop:

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I may have gone a little overboard with the tool board.. I quickly found out that lots of tool are needed when running a lathe and it is best to not put them in the chip tray. If there is one thing I love it is organizing tools.

I am having a blast learning how to use this thing. I did get a copy of "How to run a lathe" and have gone through most of it. I am currently working on my first real project with it, this wobbler engine:

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I have a lot of learning to do, but am making some good progress:

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I was going to ask, I have had a terrible time with knurling. Anyone have any good resources/tips to point me towards? I am currently using a knurling tool built into an AXA holder and it looks like total 💩. Fast, slow, coarse, fine, hand-feed, auto-feed - all of it terrible!
 
Knurling is almost an art. Never used the more rigid type ones built into the tool holder like you're using, always once that would pivot to apply more even pressure to both rolls.
I've always used more slow to moderate speed and generally with either flood coolant or some form of lube.
Most of what I've done is aluminum, used to knurl what would become track hoops for automated welding equipment for pipe welding. We would make these up to 48" diameter on an old Scottish Mitchell of Keighley lathe that we put an 8" riser block under the headstock and compound to increase the turning diameter to make this size.
The knurling tool was also special made and used 2 standard medium pitch diamond knurl rolls with 5/16" ID. Flood coolant was used always as even at the slowest headstock speed the little rolls were spinning fiendishly fast, I would hold my fingers against the ends of the pins the rolls spun on to feel if they were getting hot. If one of them seized up it would stop and there would then be a trench in the surface and would have to turn the diameter again and start over.
I found a lot of success canting the roll tool at a slight angle instead of applying the face of the rolls flat against the work. This would help getting the roll to bite and make a deeper impression with less pressure.
Getting the pattern to match at the first full revolution was always the trick so you wouldn't end up with a double or triple impression.
I would dial the compound in to engage the roll and let it make the first revolution, verify that the pattern matched then engage the apron feed.
Reversing the feed and applying more pressure at each end of the run.
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Getting the pattern to match at the first full revolution was always the trick so you wouldn't end up with a double or triple impression.
Yes! I believe this is my main problem. I am also having issues getting equal pressure on both knurling wheels. I set the height on the quick-change, knurl, mess it up, turn it down, and wash/rinse/repeat. I think it is about time to invest in a new knurling tool... Any thoughts on the "pivot" type:

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versus the "scissor" type:

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I like the idea of taking the strain off of the cross-slide and carriage and am leaning towards the scissor type, but thought I would ask first. Thanks!
 
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I like the idea of taking the strain off of the cross-slide and carriage and am leaning towards the scissor type, but thought I would ask first. Thanks!
That would be my inclination. I have a Chinese one where you push it in from the side like your top one. It works... but my Atlas protests sumpin fierce at the side loading.
Gotta link to the scissor type you've pictured there?
 
Can you work between centers or get a steady rest behind the piece?
Start with smaller well supported aluminum for testing, move up till problems start appearing?
 
With light duty lathes cocking the tool a few degrees so the rolls contact on a corner rather than the full width helps as the pressure is reduced and it allows the roll to bite into the material easier.
 
This:
locking the carriage with the jam bolt may help.
and this:
cocking the tool a few degrees
made a discernable difference:
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Still not great, but there is some resemblance of a geometric pattern there. It still looks like one of the wheels is biting more than the other... I have not put a center on it because I have been working very close to the headstock and figured it can't be flexing that much. Is brass that soft?

Gotta link to the scissor type you've pictured there?
I found this one on eBay that is a scissor-type and has interchangeable wheels. Locking the carriage will get me past this project, but I would like to be able to run a long knurl down a tool handle in the near future. What kind of noob machinist would I be if I didn't make a hammer?

This has been on the project list for some time....
This looks awesome, but I think I need a little more experience before tackling something like this.

Gary, those forums look like an excellent resource. My MO when it comes to tasks that involve any sort of artistic talent are to reject that and apply more science and math. Calculating the lines per inch of the knurl sounds much better than "getting a feel for it". Thanks for all of the feedback, fellas!
 
Knurling is almost an art. Never used the more rigid type ones built into the tool holder like you're using, always once that would pivot to apply more even pressure to both rolls.
I've always used more slow to moderate speed and generally with either flood coolant or some form of lube.
Most of what I've done is aluminum, used to knurl what would become track hoops for automated welding equipment for pipe welding. We would make these up to 48" diameter on an old Scottish Mitchell of Keighley lathe that we put an 8" riser block under the headstock and compound to increase the turning diameter to make this size.
The knurling tool was also special made and used 2 standard medium pitch diamond knurl rolls with 5/16" ID. Flood coolant was used always as even at the slowest headstock speed the little rolls were spinning fiendishly fast, I would hold my fingers against the ends of the pins the rolls spun on to feel if they were getting hot. If one of them seized up it would stop and there would then be a trench in the surface and would have to turn the diameter again and start over.
I found a lot of success canting the roll tool at a slight angle instead of applying the face of the rolls flat against the work. This would help getting the roll to bite and make a deeper impression with less pressure.
Getting the pattern to match at the first full revolution was always the trick so you wouldn't end up with a double or triple impression.
I would dial the compound in to engage the roll and let it make the first revolution, verify that the pattern matched then engage the apron feed.
Reversing the feed and applying more pressure at each end of the run.View attachment 210036
Not sure how much knurling that orbital TIG welder is going to do but it kinda looks like knurling.
 
Try setting the tool a bit high low to compensate for flex in the carriage?
You can kind of envision how the carriage will rock back as you force the wheels into the work with the cross feed.
 
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Not to harp on a theme but tool position matters, do everything you can to get the wheels centered over the carriage instead of out in front of it. I had dad's (smaller than your's) old south bend for years and really wanted to keep her, but trying to get any heavy work out of that high wobbly carriage on badly worn ways was a study in frustration.

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went to this
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then this, big enough for my work.
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Just like motorcycles the trick is knowing when it's big enough to do the job, but not so big it's a pain to move around!
 
Not sure how much knurling that orbital TIG welder is going to do but it kinda looks like knurling.

The circular track that the weldhead runs on is knurled for traction of the drive rollers, doesn't show well in that small photo. I'll have to see if I can find a better pic.
The weldhead is used on all diameters of pipe or tube from about 6" to ones large enough to weld the seams on large vessels, 20'
There was also knurled flat straight sections for doing long linear seams.
 
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