Atlas 12/36 Question

[ChuckB]

From all that you've said, I think you need to concentrate your energies on perfecting your tool bit shaping/sharpening.
What type of grinding wheel are you using? It should be fairly fine grit and the finished edge should be smooth and sharp.
You could also use a belt sander if you have one.

Steve Fox

I agree Steve. I dont have a decent wheel on any of my grinders, but I will get one.

Exactly which one would you recommend for a standard bench top grinder with 6 inch wheels???

I do have a bench top belt sander, but its too difficult to get the side and top reliefs. The grinder is a lot more eaiser for me. I realize that its not really too hard cutting HSS.. I can see me getting good at it with a little practice.. even with the grooved, uneven wheel I can do a pretty good job.

 

[wa5cab]

Also buy a wheel dresser. It isn't too effective at truing up a badly out of ballance wheel but if that isn't the problem, it will give you a nice flat surface to work on.

Robert D.

 

[ChuckB]

Also buy a wheel dresser. It isn't too effective at truing up a badly out of ballance wheel but if that isn't the problem, it will give you a nice flat surface to work on.

Robert D.

I had to make due with a heavy steel bar the other night, it kind of worked, but I want to get one of those too. I also need to get a better touch up stone.

 

[ChuckB]

Keep barking, the coon will stay up the tree and out of your garbage.

Funny you should say that.. I have been trapping and releasing varmits quite a lot lately.. There is one racoon that is terrorizing our property.. tried to trap him with no success, I might have to just shoot it..

 

[wa5cab]

When you buy a wheel dresser, get a good one. No more often than you should have to use it, it should last forever. I've had mine 40+ years. And DO wear eye protection when you use it. It throws grit like crazy.

Robert D.

I had to make due with a heavy steel bar the other night, it kind of worked, but I want to get one of those too. I also need to get a better touch up stone.

 

[ChuckB]

Just an update... I was given a lot of good info in this thread. I have been practicing with different speeds and also spending time sharpening HSS. I now realize that with an old machine and just learning, that things might not be perfect, but with effort, they will work out. I got an old Craftsman drill press that came with my SB 10L purchase that was missing the quill lock. The seller told me that If he found it, he would give me a call. I never heard from him. Wait!! .. that's a good thing! I realized after a while that I have the capibilities to make one! Very basic and within my means. Plus, I have another vintage Craftsman drill press that used the exact same one, so I copied it! My first attempts looked promising, but when I got close to the size I needed, I ended up going too far. I didn't consider the "spring" that was taught to me in this thread.. and plus I made other errors. Anyway, with persistance and patience, it all came together. Now, mind you, this is very basic for most of you, but I felt an an accomplishment. Here is how it turned out. I made a handle out of a 1/2 inch wrench and welded it on. Tried it in the drill press and it was perfect! I will keep practicing and hopefully get better. Thanks again!

 

[wa5cab]

Chuck,

Looks quite decent. When I first opened the message and glanced at the photograph, I thought I was looking at a tailstock ram lock. How did you do the flat bevels?

I noticed that you didn't put the 45 deg. bevels on the two lock plungers that you made. I don't recall what type tool post you are using but if you have a 4-way turret or a Quick Change, buy a "D" style (90 deg. included angle) brazed carbide cutter and dedicate one position in the turret or one QC facing holder to it. Grind away the left side of the base metal under the carbide so that you can use it on the ID of small holes. Use it to break sharp edges and put bevels on the end of shafts and tubes. The bevels like on the non-working ends of the original locks would take about 10 seconds to do, including tool change. I made one of these about 30 years ago and still use the same one.

Robert D.

 

[ChuckB]

I did the flat bevels freehand using the bench grinder and then a belt sander. As far as the edges, it's hard to see, but the one towards the wrench is slightly beveled.. the other one was, but I had to shorten it slightly so most of it went away and I didn't bother to redo it. They worked fine the way they were. I also did that freehand using the belt sander. Didn't want to rechuck them up because I was using a 4 jaw.

 

[wa5cab]

OK. But just remember that real production parts usually have matching bevels both ends of shafts or cylinders. So if you want your work to look professional (may or may not make any difference in how well it works of course), you need to be able to conveniently do them.

Another comment - 4-jaw chucks are indespensible when you actually need them. But take comments in these lists of the type "I use my 4-jaw chuck all the time because my 3-jaw has .005 runout" with a grain of salt. Five thou runout in the chuck, although slightly more than a really good 3-jaw can do, only really matters when it really matters. And it really usually doesn't. It wouldn't have made a bit of difference in the parts you made. If you are making a part that has two or more diameters that need to be concentric and if you have to remove the part from the chuck for some reason (maybe to flip it end for end), just mark the part where the #1 jaw is and when you re-chuck it, match the mark.

Of course jaws can become bell-mouthed but 4-jaw chucks are just as susceptible to that as 3-jaw's.

Robert D.

 

[ChuckB]

Thanks Robert, I have a 3 jaw chuck that I would prefer to use, but it needs work. I can chuck up a piece of long steel and when I pull it up and down, it doesn't come back to the original point. I have seen the piece change position and wobble when making a deep cut. The 4 jaw is pretty new and I use it most the time.

As far as not being happy with my finish, I saw a YouTube video about feed rates for Atlas lathes and the person states that .0042, the slowest rate for my lathe, is too fast a feed rate for a really smooth finish, so maybe I am expecting too much. (?)