I can't believe how much better a good dial indicator is!

Very cool. Ever see the Steam Powered Machine Shop on YouTube? I don't know which episode it is but I think that's the kind of indicator he used. I'd never seen one before and he uses mostly equipment that would have been in a machine shop in 1925. The whole thing is facinating and a little scary with the whole place run off one 5hp steam engine and all those line shafts and belts.
 
That is neat. I will look for that. Seems that the old stuff had a lot of merits we wouldn't know much about. But manufacturing back then produced stuff that would last. Cast iron vs plastic.
 
Yes I found it. It is the Old Steam Powered Machine Shop video #17. Makes sense that he would use an antique indicator, Boulet or other make, since everything else in that shop is antique. It would take some getting used to to put up with all the clatter in that shop and still be able to think and perform. Back in the day I can imagine itt was good pre-training for raising kids.
 
It seems as though he was raised in a machine shop. I really like watching all the different jobs he does. Lots about steam too. He seems to take jobs nobody else can do. I think we'd be shocked at how small the shop and compact the shop is but he has everything. I'm more a fan of manual technique than CNC, so this whole thing fascinates me. I've sat my 87yrld dad down a couple of times and we've watched for hours. I alway pick up something.
 
While I am happy to not have to fire a boiler, fill oil cups and shift drive belts, I admire this machine shop practice of the past. And the thing about DIY has always appealed to me as I enjoy working with my hands. One day there will be something like a microwave oven that we put a basket of screws and metal scraps in and when the bell rings out comes a finished engine. Everyone will have muscle atrophy and boredom of the mind. Here is my Harbor Freight (Central Machinery) lathe set up for pool cue shaft work plus whatever work. While I have added accessories since this photo, it shows the basic out-rigger and roller rest scheme. The lathe is mounted to a 2 x 12 and the outriggers are 2 x 4 with a 6" window sill bed for mounting the roller rests. The 2 x 12 is set on top of a small cone drawer two shelf homemade cabinet that used to be a cartridge reloading bench. Improvements and accessories to this lathe have been 20 TPI kit, tailstock cam lock kit, apron gear chip guard, hand made shim to remove cross feed screw slack, (WHOA Tennessee just got a TD trailing still by 3) OXA Quick Change Holder kit, carriage stop, follower rest, and homemade collets etc. (WHOA TN just picked off FL). So this is an old pic. My lathe room is small with about 8 x 6 usable space. When I need to mount a house cue in the lathe I have to slide the end of the setup out into the door opening so I have space to insert the house cue into the back of the chuck/spindle. The cabinet is set on a piece of carpet to allow me to slide it out and back. I always thought if there's a will there's a way. The wall of my shop is covered with antique tools and implements. Photos .... 1. left side (spindle end) outrigger with cue shaft in roller rest or tip/ferrule work. 2. Right side outrigger with cue shaft set up for sanding/resizing/re-tapering with piece of carpet to catch dust. 3. Harbor Freight Lathe. Wish I had a longer bed but the 7 x 10 is just fine. Wayne


POOL LATHE SHAFT ON ROLLER REST.jpg POOL LATHE RESIZING SHAFT 4.jpg Wayne's cue lathe B.jpg
 
Some of my shop wall. The full wall can be viewed on the slide show near the bottom (scroll to) of my website http://waynescuefix.weebly.com/ The panel is a piece of plywood covered with burlap wrapped behind and stapled. With burlap, the screws and screw brackets can be used to mount/hang the tools and any screw can be removed without leaving a noticeable hole. There are several panels on this wall with tools. This wall is behind me as I sit at the lathe and there is a cast iron stove stand against that wall with a double 3/4" plywood top I use as a bench for the drill press and the grinder. The top of the drill press can be seen at the left. Just swiveling in an old office chair gives me access to either the lathe or the grinder bench. Usable space in this room is only 6 x 8.

TOOL ROOM B9.jpg
 
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Love your setup and especially the addon steady rest. I'm going to have to keep that in mind for an upcoming project.

Some folks enjoy working with what's at hand. I just hate to do things the hard way. So i constantly struggle with figuring what I need and can fit in my shop and try not to get carried away. Discontent is the modern disease that drives the consumer society for the latest and greatest. Makes for a lot of junk.

I don't see the steam powered machine shop as necessarily the hard way. He just has more of an involved process :) Not all old things have intrinsic quality, but I know it when I see it, use it and feel it. My buddy down the street apprenticed as a gauge maker and repairer in Germany after the war. His brother was a master machinist and taught apprentices and he showed several of the gages, dividers and tools they had to make. You could feel the quality.

I don't work in as small a shop as you as I have 19x20 garage, but in order to do the different processes I do everything has to be on castors. The only machine that isn't is my 9x20 lathe. But I do everything from welding, fabrication, machining, powdercoating, some woodworking and other stuff. All on a smaller scale. So I have to have a lot of ventilation and my garage door is always open for the light and air.

Old tools and used Chinese machines are how I get by. They have been cheaper and just like you I upgrade as necessary. Usually when I run into the limits of bad adjustment, wear or bad design and need more precision. Without the net and resources like Long Island Indicator, YouTube and the great tips I've gotten off this site I'd be lost. Most often I wouldn't have known where a problem was or how to fix it without my trusty dial indicators and test indicators.
 
Great setup. I have a workshop outside 20x30 tin covered shed but it is not suitable for machinery as it is not sealed and not insulated and has open eaves for ventilation. I have a Rockwell standing drill press and a Sears radial arm saw in there and after 27 years they have rusty posts and carriage and will need some work before being usable properly. I was younger when I built it and saved a lot of money that probably should have been spent.
I ordered a Last Word crystal from Long Island Indicator service. They have the Starrett parts but cannot contract to repair Starrett devices. There is a lot of helpful info on their website.
Here is a hefty antique indicator I got last month. I am hoping someone can identify it as it has no markings.
UNKNOWN ANTIQUE GAUGE 1.jpg

UNKNOWN ANTIQUE GAUGE 3.jpg

My favorite antique indicator remains the Koch. patent 1906.

ANTIQUE KOCH INDICATOR .jpg
 
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I'm still really green to machining as most my career I was a car mechanic. I did a lot of engine rebuilding and used mic's and DI's and other gages. But the old stuff like what you have I'd never seen till the Steam Powered Machine Shop. There are several antique stores and every once in a while an estate sale and more often than not I'm totally stumped by some tool. Maybe somebody like Mr.Pete could have your indicator on his channel and somebody could chime in who made it and how it was used. I have a tendency to think things would have been crudely made back then, but then I find something like this Darling, Brown &Sharpe angle gage. It was a somewhat pitted, but it works perfectly and smoothly. Check out the date, and I'd never seen Darling, Brown & Sharpe, just Brown & Sharpe. How'd they do that?

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Wayne I like your roller rests. Did you make those rollers?
Mark
 
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