My first machine shop project! (Lots of pics)

wildo

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A 6" vise is overkill for a RF45 style mill. A 4" is more appropiate for that size mill & IMO 5" max. I have a 5" GMT vise on my PM45 & it's slightly too big. Not enough Y axis travel to make use of the 5" full capacity. Better to save your money rather than getting something too big & most importantly the weight. I take my vise of the table quite often, a 6" is still light enough for me to be carried by hand but I'm glad I have a 5". I also have a 4" vise as well. I prefer the 5" though.

But those GMT 6" Premium vises are pretty nice. I'd love to have one but don't need one on my current mill. But if you plan on upgrading to a full size knee mill in the future than the 6" will be perfect.


Here's what the 5" looks like on my mill.
Img_1921.jpg


I couldn't even complete this cut without my bellows & DRO scale getting in the way. Not enough Y travel & the 5" vise is not even maxed out.
Img_7597_zpscb8b5dd7.jpg


Here's what a 6" vise looks like on another PM45 (gt40's)
View attachment 253544
 
Nice work and really nice shop, Wildo! I can tell that last photo took a great deal of thought.

As I went through the photos, the first thing that came to mind is that if making metal tops is a major interest, an ER chuck that allows you to work close to the chuck would be a good idea. The second thought was that this guy needs gravers. You could make almost the entire top with gravers and have a unique look. Gravers cut brass like butter and a round graver will produce a near mirror finish on curved surfaces.

Search for gravers and WR Smith.
 
That top looks great Wildo!

-brino
 
Nice work and really nice shop, Wildo! I can tell that last photo took a great deal of thought.

As I went through the photos, the first thing that came to mind is that if making metal tops is a major interest, an ER chuck that allows you to work close to the chuck would be a good idea. The second thought was that this guy needs gravers. You could make almost the entire top with gravers and have a unique look. Gravers cut brass like butter and a round graver will produce a near mirror finish on curved surfaces.

Search for gravers and WR Smith.

I appreciate the feedback! This lathe is a South Bend 9a, with a spindle bore of .750" so while the ER collets could be useful in some situations, I think my 5C set likely will do everything that the ERs can. That said, most of the stock I'll work with will likely be larger than .75" so I'll have to cut chunks off anyway. Generally speaking- at least for my first few tops- I don't want to be doing any second operations on them. This will likely mess up the center of mass and destroy the stable spins.

Gravers... Ah yes. I'd love to get some. But, I will say, one thing that I *hated* about wood turning is catching the work and ruining the project (even worse when it explodes in your face or is ripped out of the lathe across the garage). What appeals a lot to me about metal turning is having the tool hooked to lead screws! LOL! Naturally at some point- as you pointed out- gravers will be an obvious jump for me, but for now I'm a little intimidated to be shoving a tool into spinning metal freehand. I've seen Chris at Clickspring do it on youtube, but he makes EVERYTHING look so easy!

Thanks for the feedback!
 
I appreciate the feedback! This lathe is a South Bend 9a, with a spindle bore of .750" so while the ER collets could be useful in some situations, I think my 5C set likely will do everything that the ERs can. That said, most of the stock I'll work with will likely be larger than .75" so I'll have to cut chunks off anyway. Generally speaking- at least for my first few tops- I don't want to be doing any second operations on them. This will likely mess up the center of mass and destroy the stable spins.

Gravers... Ah yes. I'd love to get some. But, I will say, one thing that I *hated* about wood turning is catching the work and ruining the project (even worse when it explodes in your face or is ripped out of the lathe across the garage). What appeals a lot to me about metal turning is having the tool hooked to lead screws! LOL! Naturally at some point- as you pointed out- gravers will be an obvious jump for me, but for now I'm a little intimidated to be shoving a tool into spinning metal freehand. I've seen Chris at Clickspring do it on youtube, but he makes EVERYTHING look so easy!

Thanks for the feedback!

No problem. ER collets grab non-nominal sized work so I find them useful.

A graver used in brass has to be used with a flat rake angle so it does catch if you're not paying attention. But once you're used to using the tool, it is a breeze to do and it allows you to do some neat stuff. I use gravers on almost everything that comes off my lathe - ease an edge, chamfer a hole, round a profile and so on. It is useful beyond turning tops.
 
I definitely want to get some gravers at some point. There was more than "just rings" that I would have liked to do, and having straight tools made it very hard. Gravers are definitely in my future!
 
I use gravers on almost everything that comes off my lathe - ease an edge, chamfer a hole, round a profile and so on. It is useful beyond turning tops.

hey @mikey, that sounds like it's worth it's own thread. Maybe you could answer some questions; are you referring to brass projects only? if not, what materials do you work free-hand? are they HSS tools? what shapes are the business ends? how long of handles?

Thanks!
-brino
 
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Nice! Is that still the guest room?!
Robert
 
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