# Crazy idea or not? End mill holder for WT 15in drill press



## mattthemuppet2

Hi all,

I'm starting out in this machining hobby and I've been very lucky to be given or acquire very cheaply a bunch of cool old machinery, including a mystery mini lathe and a Walker Turner 15in floor standing drill press. I like making LED lights, especially for mountain biking, and the other tool that would be super useful for this is a small mill. However, we'll be moving soon, possibly back to the UK (hopefully not though) so it doesn't make sense to buy another tool, even if I had the money which I don't 

I was originally going to make a small milling attachment for my lathe before I got the drill press, but after that realised that an X-Y table would be a much better approach. I know that milling on drill presses isn't ideal, but it will be almost exclusively in aluminium, I can take light cuts (it's not like I'm getting paid for this!) and the WT at least has 4 radial bearings and a quill lock, so I should be okay. One thing that I'm worried about is holding end-mills in the chuck. It's a Jacobs 6A, but it's on an integral male JT3 or JT33 taper, so I'm worried about side loading causing the chuck to wander off the taper.

However, after reading about Masteryoda's very impressive drill press>mill conversions, I got to thinking. First thought was an ER collet chuck with a female JT taper and locking pin/ screw (I can grind a small flat on the JT taper to locate the screw), but I don't have any threading capability to make the collet nut and collets = money. My next thought is to make an end mill holder with a JT taper and a 5/8 bore with a set screw for the end mill flat. As I have a 6pc starter end mill set, I'd then make a set of sleeves for the smaller end mills, either retained with a small set screw or with a hole for the end mill holder set screw to go through. Changing end mills would then just require unscrewing the main set screw, drop out the end mill (sleeved or not) and put in another one.

I don't want to bugger up my drill press as it is one of the most awesome tools I've ever owned and I intend to get a small mill at some point in the future, but being able to do small milling jobs would really open up what I can do. I'm not all that worried about the spindle bearings as I'd like to tear down and rebuild the drill press at some point in the future, so I can replace them then if necessary.

What do you think? Any obvious flaws or improvements? What sort of steel would work best for this? If I can find steel pipe in roughly the right diameters that would save a whole lot of turning and boring.


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## awander

I definitely don't like the idea of side loads on a JT taper, set screw or not. 

If it was pinned, I would feel a lot better about it, but it would have to be a through pin, possibly a taper pin would be best-and then I'd be concerned about losing the area that was drilled out for the pin on the JT taper, which might lessen the effectiveness of the taper when you put your drill chuck back on.

I think the best bet would be some kind of collar that included a bearing, and pressed against the nose of whatever adapter, pushing it up onto the JT taper. This collar would have to be attached somehow to the non-rotating part of the quill/spindle.

If there is enough meat on the quill around the JT taper, you could also attach a non-bearing collar of some sort that would rotate with the adapter/quill.


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## mattthemuppet2

hmm, thanks Andy, food for thought. The spindle does have a couple of collars on it above the taper, at least one of which is used (according to the manual) to force the chuck off the taper when the chuck needs to be removed. I'll have to check the manual again.

Would incorporating this collar help? Ideally using the taper as a register and the threaded section of the spindle to hold the adapter. I'd have to double check which way the collar threads, having the adapter unscrew during use wouldn't be any better. I wonder if the upper collar could be used as a locking collar? Might just be best to pull the spindle before attempting any of this, just to see how stuff goes together as well as to regrease any of the accessible bearings.


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## awander

Got any photos?


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## mattthemuppet2

I'll take some tonight, hopefully my camera will play along as it's supposed to hit 0F tonight!


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## samthedog

G'day Matt. I know you want flexability but I would recommend against using the drill press as a mill. The machine was not designed to take side loads and this will cause it undue wear and problems later down the track. I understand the need to have a combined solution and that you want to keep the drill press. Couldn't you look at a cheaper benchtop mill? I had the same inner struggle and ended up with a combined mill / drill and a small bench top drill press as a compromise. I just don't want to see someone damage a nice old machine.

Paul.


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## mattthemuppet2

thanks Paul, I appreciate the input. However, at the moment even $60 for the x-y vise was a big stretch and something I had to save several months for, so even a small mill is out of my price range. I figure that if I baby it and lock the quill, the only wear will be in the bearings which I can (and probably should) replace in the future anyway.

Andy, found an interesting tidbit in the manual just now:

"However, when using the 7D11 collet chuck or 9D5 adapter the knurled nut is placed over the adapter or chuck after it is put on the spindle. In the case of the latter items the nut secures them to the spindle assuring their remaining tight despite the side thrust developed through their use." 

The picture of the 9D5 adapter is so grainy as to be useless unfortunately. Also, the JT>MT1 adapter isn't secured using this knurled nut as the manual states it is subject only to downward force and no side loading. Sounds like WT anticipated these machines being used for something that side loaded the spindle, otherwise they presumably wouldn't have made the adapters that are mentioned in the manual.


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## kkcalvin

This old Popular Mechanics (7/1954) article shows how to build a milling arm for drill press.

http://books.google.com/books?id=Au...g&lr=&as_pt=MAGAZINES&cd=2#v=onepage&q&f=true

I also saw a version that uses bearings to hold chuck to reduce side load but I can't find it anymore.


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## mattthemuppet2

hmm, interesting idea!

here are a couple of photos of the chuck/ spindle/ lock ring





I had a quick go trying to get the chuck off but it wouldn't budge, so I can't tell how that lock ring would keep an adapter on. It may have a lip, but I can't see it right now. There's another collar above it with 4 holes (presumably for a C-spanner) which I'm guessing is the lower bearing cover as it rotates with the spindle. As and when I need to get the chuck off I'll have to buy, make or borrow a pair of those little chuck removal wedges.


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## george wilson

O.K.,it looks like your WT drill press has the same collar as on my 1963 Craftsman drill press. These same chucks are still available from Jacobs today. I had to buy one to replace the original junk chuck on a variable speed Rockwell Chinese drill press I bought for the shop where I worked. They have eliminated any knurling these days as it is too easy to catch hair or clothing on.

So,your chuck should not fly off. I have used my Craftsman for routing wood back in the 60's,but they incorporated an annoying rubber ring around the spindle,so it jumps sideways. This was to absorb shock,they said. Just annoying in the end. I have ceased long ago from using the D.P. for routing except with 1/32" end mills when rough inletting pearl inlays into guitar fingerboards. I have the hi-lo speed attachment they offered back then,so I can get 10,000 RPM as well as crawling speeds. It does not jump with bits that small.

Long ago,I made a stacked and glued plywood fixture to clamp around the column and hold a router at the other end. It is 4" thick,and worked well. All that is passé now that I have milling machines.

Regardless of your chuck,it might be hard on your spindle bearings to do much milling. Drill press bearings are NOT DESIGNED for sideways loads. They REALLY AREN'T. If you are low on money,it might be a problem replacing them if they go bad. Aluminum is at least a relatively easy metal to mill. Use WD 40 or kerosene as a cutting lubricant. It works great,and will keep your cutters from loading up with impact welded aluminum on the cutting edges.

Also,it is NOT THE BEST thing to hold end mills in a chuck,so you know. They are more prone to slipping,and they are hard on the chuck jaws from sideways stresses. HSS end mills are very hard,and will burnish the narrow jaw faces over time,making your chuck to not run true,or not able to clamp small drill bits.  If they slip,wrap a SINGLE layer of BROWN(clay less) paper around the end mill at least. Let the end of the paper terminate between the jaws so the paper doesn't throw the end mills off center. Non clay paper holds like crazy,especially in vise jaws. Your chuck jaws might just pinch through the paper with the sideways hammering,but try it. Do not use shiny paper of any kind. It has clay in it or wax,possibly.

P.S.: The locking ring unscrews downward. Why do you want to take it off? You may have already explained why,I'll check.

Tell me,what kind of things are you trying to make? How large are these parts you want to make? How large are the shanks of your end mills? Please answer these questions. It will be to your benefit.


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## mattthemuppet2

thanks for the detailed reply George! I gave it a go getting the chuck off to see how the knurled ring could keep an adapter in place, but it wasn't having any of it so for now it's staying where it is. I've found some inch-metric bearings of the right size (recommended by another WT 15in DP owner) for ~$20 inc. shipping for a pair, which gives me some comfort at least. Replacing them doesn't seem to involved either, from the rebuild threads I've seen.

I'll mostly be using this for making LED lights for mountain biking, with the idea that I would do most of the cutting on my mini lathe and then finish off some bits on the drill press. Basically, imagine two of these heatsinks stuck side by side:





then figure out on milling the space between them, squaring off a driver pocket and joining the grooves on the sides so they go over the top. I can bore the holes out on my lathe and do the outside grooves, but some things I just can't do with a lathe. All in all, pretty light stuff and using small end mills. Essentially a DIY Lupine Piko 



Thanks for the tip on WD40, I use that a lot on the lathe and it makes a bit difference (even an audible one). I really don't want to hold the end mills in the chuck as it sounds like an all round bad idea for a bunch of reasons, which is why I'd like to make an adapter to fit over the JT taper and be held in place with the lock ring. Then I can hold the end mills in with a set screw, like you do on proper end mill holders. The end mills I have now are:


but I'll hopefully get getting some smaller ones and making a small T-slot cutter.

Hopefully the need to do this won't last long and I really am taking all the advice (including the "don't do it" advice) on board!


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## Overthehill

mattthemuppet said:


> hmm, thanks Andy, food for thought. The spindle does have a couple of collars on it above the taper, at least one of which is used (according to the manual) to force the chuck off the taper when the chuck needs to be removed. I'll have to check the manual again.
> 
> Would incorporating this collar help? Ideally using the taper as a register and the threaded section of the spindle to hold the adapter. I'd have to double check which way the collar threads, having the adapter unscrew during use wouldn't be any better. I wonder if the upper collar could be used as a locking collar? Might just be best to pull the spindle before attempting any of this, just to see how stuff goes together as well as to regrease any of the accessible bearings.




I don't know if this will help but what I did was chuck my quill in the lathe and thread the bottom boss, where the morse taper is located. Then i machined up a collar to screw onto that. I then modified an end mill holder's morse taper with a groove for a snap ring, spaced to hold a ring that will just fit inside my collar. Now I just insert my modified endmill holder and screw on the collar to lock it in place. I have run a 2" flycutter in it and had no issues of it coming loose. It is definitely not a MILL but it gets me by for the easy jobs. Hope this helps. Here are some pics. Sorry they are so dark.




You can see the threads on the quill I hope.
If you look closely you can see the snap ring.




The collar I made to fit.




Here it is assembled. I have since cut the morse taper to fit more deeply into the quill, allowing the collar to thread on more deeply.
I was going to notch the collar for a pin wrench but have had no issues of it coming loose so I will just knurl it instead.
By the way, this drill press has bearings for both side and end thrust built into it. I think that helps. I'm not sure if the collar on your press does the same thing as this or not. I have never seen one like that.


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## mattthemuppet2

thanks overthehill, that's exactly what I want to do! Thankfully my spindle is already threaded (or I'd have to buy a very large die) and that collar is supposed to hold on an accessory collet chuck or adapter, so theoretically I should be able to do exactly what you've done. I just have to confirm that the collar does work like that first.

AFAIK, this drill press doesn't have any dedicated thrust bearings, only 4 (two spindle and 2 upper bearing) radial ball bearings. You never know, by the time I get round to doing this I may have already moved and have the money to buy a 2nd hand mill


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## george wilson

So,you already have an X Y table for your drill press?

Now,that Popular Mechanics milling adapter is just about the flimsiest pice of crapola I have EVER SEEN!!!!! It would take a fly bumping into the angle irons to jerk it sideways!! There is NO bearing for the spindle,and the shaft is so thin it is pathetic.

That was BAD advice even in that day and age. And,look how big a cutter they are using in it !!


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## David Kirtley

How about mounting a small router to the drill press head as an auxiliary spindle? A $20 HF laminate trimmer or cutout tool with a single flute endmill can take on a reasonable amount of aluminum cutting.

That said, by the time you start adding a cross vise, endmill holders,  and other stuff, you start approaching the price of a small mill. Mine was only $399 from HF with coupons. The little Taig or Sherline mills are not much more.


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## george wilson

Do not leave WD40 on your lathe for a long time. It will dry and leave a deposit that is murder to remove,I UNDERSTAND(haven't left WD on my machines yet). If you could get some kerosene,it would be better. I forget what WD40 has in it that is bad. I think #2 fuel for your house's furnace is about the same thing as kerosene,but I could be wrong. Distant memory on that.

Your spindle is already threaded for the knurled collar which locks the chuck on. Sideways pressure cannot dislodge your chuck. I am tired right now,and am not sure if the purpose of that knurled collar was understood.

The collar is a regular right hand thread. You could put a spanner in one of the holes. Have the handle sticking out to your right as operator,then pull the handle towards you. 

I have never had a problem getting mine off. The chuck key on my D.P. is turned down on its end to fit into one of the holes in the collar. Weak as that is,it has always been sufficient. I hope no one has Loctited your collar on,as it was not necessary.

Let us knw when you get the chuck off,and be sure to not damage it. A new chuck is very expensive,and now Jacobs are made in China. Most Chinese chucks do not run true. Hopefully they are made to tighter Jacob's specifications.

Isn't it funny how the prices NEVER DROP when an American made product suddenly gets made in China? Nicholson files are now made in Mexico,and are dead soft. Still cost the same,though.


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## mattthemuppet2

here's the compound vise I bought ($60 with coupon):



wow, hope that gets resized on posting. I know that it's not going to be great out of the box, so I plan on tearing it down and seeing what needs to be fixed or improved upon before putting it into use. I also plan on making a set of alu step jaws for it and levers to lock the gibs on both axes (axises? axii?). It'll still be useful just for drilling whenever I get a mill, so I felt comfortable spending the money. 

Interesting idea about the router, hadn't even thought about that. I'll see how I get on with this approach first.

George, the knurled collar is actually to force the chuck _off_ the taper, not hold it on. You screw down to force it off. Then you can stick a collet chuck or spindle adapter onto the taper and hold it on with the knurled ring. All that's from the manual, I've never seen any of those adapters and the one rebuild thread I can remember mentioning the chuck used those little wedges to get it off. I guess the collar works well when the machine is new and taper is fresh, but after being on there 60 years or so it probably needs a little more persuasion. Note that the collar moves freely, it just doesn't off enough leverage to force the chuck off (it was also -14C in the garage last night, which probably didn't help). I sprayed some PB blaster on it for good measure though (you can just see it in the pics). I don't like whaling on tools - I've already found out that using car mechanics methods on machine tools = bad idea and lots of time to fix the mistake.

I hear you on WD40, got a box of it for cheap though and my lathe isn't painted, so I figure a thin layer of WD40 and 3in1 oil probably keeps the rust at bay


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## george wilson

Your chuck and collar may be different from mine,but it looks the same except for the knurling. My collar is trapped onto the chuck and definitely serves to hold the chuck onto the #33 Jacob's taper. The Rockwell drill press I replaced the chuck on was also the same. I have had my chuck off many times over the years,as I have a 1/4" collet attachment for holding router bits. It also has the same locking ring. To use this collet,which Sears also sold in the 60's,you took the chuck off and screwed the locking ring onto the spindle.

I don't even know why they offered the router collet with the rubber cushioned spindle able to jump around like it does. Doesn't seem like the safest idea,but safety back then wasn't much thought about. Osha had become used in industry,but in school shops,old square headed jointers were still allowed. Those things would suck your whole arm into them quick as a wink.

You apparently have not yet gotten your chuck off of the spindle yet,so I suggest that you hold onto conclusions until you do. Hopefully you will get a pleasant surprise!

Be sure to let us know when you accomplish this,and post pictures.


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## master53yoda

mattthemuppet said:


> thanks overthehill, that's exactly what I want to do! Thankfully my spindle is already threaded (or I'd have to buy a very large die) and that collar is supposed to hold on an accessory collet chuck or adapter, so theoretically I should be able to do exactly what you've done. I just have to confirm that the collar does work like that first.
> 
> AFAIK, this drill press doesn't have any dedicated thrust bearings, only 4 (two spindle and 2 upper bearing) radial ball bearings. You never know, by the time I get round to doing this I may have already moved and have the money to buy a 2nd hand mill




What are the bearing numbers   with two sets of bearings you could possibly be running angular contact bearings already,  they WILL carry the load for a mill.     If they are not angular contact you will be replacing the lower ones in the near term,  you can probably replace the two lower bearings with a single 520x series double row angular contact bearing and that would handle the bearing issue.   

 I don't use the lock-screw method to try to hold an adapter on the chuck taper because it has minimal contact .   When locking a Morse Taper the contact area is fairly large.  In the thread that i'm running currently in the projects section i talk about how to set up a lock-screw on a Morse taper that will hold milling loads.    does your drill press have a Morse taper or is the chuck taper on the end of the shaft.     You can get a MT1-Er16 collet adapter for 25.00 or less from ebay, a mt2-er25 taper can be had for about 30.   pinning the Mt does resolf the problem of the taper coming loose.


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## mattthemuppet2

thanks George, it's still a mystery! I have a few projects to get through first (more shop lighting, live center for the lathe, this'n'that) then I'll get onto this. Getting the chuck off will be the first step as I'll need to know what I'm working with to design the adapter. Certainly having even light milling capacity is going to be a huge improvement over doing things by hand with a dremel, that get's old pretty quickly (and freezes my fingers to the bone!).

I plan on finishing my daughter's light this weekend, fingers crossed, then onto the next project!

- - - Updated - - -



master53yoda said:


> What are the bearing numbers   with two sets of bearings you could possibly be running angular contact bearings already,  they WILL carry the load for a mill.     If they are not angular contact you will be replacing the lower ones in the near term,  you can probably replace the two lower bearings with a single 520x series double row angular contact bearing and that would handle the bearing issue.
> 
> I don't use the lock-screw method to try to hold an adapter on the chuck taper because it has minimal contact .   When locking a Morse Taper the contact area is fairly large.  In the thread that i'm running currently in the projects section i talk about how to set up a lock-screw on a Morse taper that will hold milling loads.    does your drill press have a Morse taper or is the chuck taper on the end of the shaft.     You can get a MT1-Er16 collet adapter for 25.00 or less from ebay, a mt2-er25 taper can be had for about 30.   pinning the Mt does resolf the problem of the taper coming loose.



I think that they're just deep groove ball bearings. Here are the ones others have recommended for the WT 15in:
http://www.vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/5-8inch/kit966

The taper on the spindle is a male JT33 according to the manual. After reading your post and PM I thought hard about making a collet chuck (didn't make much sense to make a JT33>MT1 adapter to use a MT1>ER collet adapter) but doing the male threads for the collet nut is beyond my abilities right now. Seemed to make more sense just to make an 3/8 end mill holder - I can't see myself using larger end mills than that!


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## Overthehill

Quote:
The taper on the spindle is a male JT33 according to the manual. After reading your post and PM I thought hard about making a collet chuck (didn't make much sense to make a JT33>MT1 adapter to use a MT1>ER collet adapter) but doing the male threads for the collet nut is beyond my abilities right now. Seemed to make more sense just to make an 3/8 end mill holder - I can't see myself using larger end mills than that!









Matt, I'm sure that you will do just fine cutting threads even if it is your first time. I was as nervous as a three legged cat on a hot tin roof when I cut the threads on my quill as it was my very first time. They turned out just fine, although maybe not perfect as far as the books go. For me it was the last tiny cuts that counted. As far as your drill is concerned I thought that you probably had a number 3 morse taper like mine. If not, I'm sure you will find a solution. I know what worked for me so I thought I would pass it along. Milling with it is by no means accurate, but like you say, and for me too, it's better than a hacksaw and file and rotory tool. Enjoy whichever works out for you, that's what it's all about. :thumbsup:


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## mattthemuppet2

thanks Overthehill! Sadly my inability to thread isn't just because I don't have the skills, but also because my lathe doesn't have a leadscrew 

I have a few projects to get to first, but this is definitely on my list. I'll post up a progress thread whenever I get started. Hopefully by then I wont get hypothermia everytime I work out in the garage!


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## d.brown

george wilson said:


> I had to buy one to replace the original junk chuck on a variable speed Rockwell Chinese drill press I bought for the shop where I worked.



Do you mean Delta? Rockwell sold in 85' to Pentair who revived the Delta name. Rockwell never made/sold Chinese machines & always used Jacobs chucks. Although the chuck they used with the treaded collar was the lower end plain bearing chuck.

David


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## george wilson

It has been several years. Might have been a Delta. It was variable speed reeves drive. The blasted thing made a lot of noise. I think I bought a better belt for it,but it was still so noisy I ended up just clamping a plastic 6" Irwin type clamp across the housing to quiet it down some. At least with the new Jacob's chuck it finally did run true. I think something about those variable diameter pulleys was not concentric. I just did not feel like tearing it apart and messing with it.

Yes,lower end plain bearing Jacob's chuck. The same as my 1963 Craftsman DP has with the locking collar. I paid $125.00 on sale for it. Guess you could multiply that by 10 now. I was making $2.50 an hour teaching shop at the time. At lease,the chuck did run true,and does so to this day. Last year the original motor pooped out.


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## d.brown

george wilson said:


> Yes,lower end plain bearing Jacob's chuck. The same as my 1963 Craftsman DP has with the locking collar. .



Is that by any chance a model 150 Craftsman DP? They made that from the mid 50's thru the mid 60's & it was a really nice machine. Like you, I don't want to rain on Matts parade but doubt that using a dp as a mill will give very satisfactory results. I think the lack of rigidity from the x-y table pictured will only compound the problem. I've found that even if you have the right machine, you're only half way there. Good quality tooling is a budget buster. It's not a cheap hobby. The shop I have took 30 yrs. to put together.


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## Dranreb

If it helps here is an Atlas DP parts PDF that shows their milling attachments, I once attempted a little milling on mine, gave up very quickly as lack of rigidity was a big problem, probably OK to use on wood though.

View attachment Atlas drill parts identification.pdf


Bernard


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## george wilson

Yes,I think my drill press is the 150. Those numbers ring a bell.


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## mattthemuppet2

no worries about being honest guys, I wouldn't ask for your advice if I thought you'd be anything else  I'll give it a go and if it does turn out to be completely miserable as least I'll have learnt something and have an X-Y vise for drilling. One day I'll have the funds and stay in one place long enough to get some proper tools, but until then I'll have to make do with what I have.


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## schor

I used an end mill on my dp and it worked (sort of) to mill some cast off my compound to make room for a quick change toolpost.

[video=youtube_share;fK1wQwrnCa4]http://youtu.be/fK1wQwrnCa4[/video]

And here's the fail.

[video=youtube_share;RDLmFl_zDf0]http://youtu.be/RDLmFl_zDf0[/video]


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## mattthemuppet2

thanks for the videos Steve!


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## mattthemuppet2

*Finally got the chuck off*

it took a lot of grinding and a dead bench grinder, but I finally made the wedges and got the chuck off. First time didn't work as the collar just dug into the wedge, but after heating the wedges to straw/ purple and then dropping them in some old oil they were just hard enough to force the chuck off. In fact, I was about to call it a day as I was getting uncomfortable with the amount of force I was putting on the vise when it popped off.




wedges



knurled collar



place where collar threads



up the taper's skirt, so to speak, so you can see how the collar would hold something onto the adapter



so, I've never worked with steel before - what would be the best type to use? I've heard a lot of people talk about 12L14 as being a good all round steel. I'm assuming that I won't need to harden the adapter, is that right?

Plan is to find a piece of rod about the thread ID of the collar, machine it down to leave a step so that it slips through the collar. Then bore the taper, turn it around and bore the 3/8th bore for the end mill, then drill through and tap for a bolt that I have laying around (if I need to get it off the taper with any force). Then drill and tap for a set screw to hold the end mill (mine have flats). How does that sound? Anything I'm missing?


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## Overthehill

It looks to me that the collar is meant to be unscrewed to assist in removing the chuck. It doesn't seem to be holding anything on unless there is a morse taper up in the quill. Regardless, the idea you have presented seems sound to me. Remembering that it will work on soft metals only and with that, keep the tool holder as short as possible. All the best, and good luck. :thumbzup:


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## mattthemuppet2

Overthehill said:


> It looks to me that the collar is meant to be unscrewed to assist in removing the chuck. It doesn't seem to be holding anything on unless there is a morse taper up in the quill. Regardless, the idea you have presented seems sound to me. Remembering that it will work on soft metals only and with that, keep the tool holder as short as possible. All the best, and good luck. :thumbzup:



yup, that's supposed to be how it works, although after a few decades it's not so effective  The collar is supposed to hold on a spindle adapter or a collet chuck, which were available at the time, so there's some precedent to what I'm proposing I guess. The collar thread ID is a hair over 1in, so I found a length of 1" 12L14 on Exact Metals for not much money (plus a bunch of other useful stuff) which will minimise the amount I'll need to take off the outside of the adapter. I also measured the gap between the inside surface of the collar and the bottom of the spindle nose when the collar has all the spindle threads engages and it's ~4mm, which would make a suitable shoulder for the collar to hold.

Adapter should be ~2 1/2in long - 1in for the Jacobs taper, 1 and a bit inches for the end mill (single end only) and a bit in between. Almost finished tarting up the X-Y vise so that it's tighter and smoother. Once I've done that, I'll make a couple of leadscrew end plates with cartridge bearings and thrust washers. It's not going to be perfect, but it should do for what I'll be using it for.


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## iron man

Do not leave WD40 on your lathe for a long time. It will dry and leave a deposit that is murder to remove,I UNDERSTAND(haven't left WD on my machines yet). If you could get some kerosene,it would be better. I forget what WD40 has in it that is bad. I think #2 fuel for your house's furnace is about the same thing as kerosene,but I could be wrong. Distant memory on that.



Kind of late to reply on this but the left over residue from WD40 is just mineral oil unless there is some dirt or something else in the air it should not be hard to remove.


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## 4GSR

WD-40 dries and leaves light brown rust on every bare metal surface.  Especially in high humidity areas.  Its ok to clean with it, but apply oil after using it!  

It's banned from my shop!!!


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## mattthemuppet2

interesting  My lathe is already light brown so it's kind of hard to tell if WD40 causes any rust. That might be different in summer though, as there's no humidity to speak of right now, just snow.


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## george wilson

O.K.,then. your threaded collar does NOT capture the chuck like my old Craftsman drill press does. Too bad. The feature of capturing the chuck is a useful one for resisting sideways forces like routing or milling.

Now that you HAVE gotten the chuck loose,it will probably come loose much easier in the future,so be mindful of that. All those spiral end mills do exert a downwards force on the spindle when cutting,too.

I don't think you are risking much of an injury trying to mill with the chuck or a collet. Just don't run the drill press at a real high speed. If the chuck does come loose,you want it to just drop off and not go spinning about a lot with a sharp cutter in it.

This milling on a drill press is not something I recommend any way. But,if you seem set on doing it,and have no other means of milling,be careful. You could get a nasty nick!!

P.S.,your heating to a straw or purple color is completely the WRONG way of hardening steel. You only SOFTENED it. It was just by luck that the chuck popped off. If there was a little oil left on the wedges,THAT is probably what helped pop the chuck loose by lubricating the wedges.  First of all,only HIGH carbon steels will harden at all. Mild steel does not contain enough carbon to harden. Your steel is "mystery steel". No telling what alloy it is. There are long discussions of hardening steel elsewhere,some of which I wrote. But,to be brief,your steel needs at least .40 carbon in it. It must(to be simple) heated to an orange heat,quenched in water or possibly oil(water cools the steel faster,but you need to know if you are dealing with oil or water or air hardening steel). Get a book on heat treating steels.


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## mattthemuppet2

thanks for the advice George, I keep on learning 

I won't be holding an end mill in the chuck, especially now that I've had the chuck off, I'll be making an endmill holder with a JT33 female taper to be captured by that threaded collar. It won't prevent me destroying the spindle bearings as I've been warned, but it should keep the endmill where it's supposed to be.

I've no doubt you're right about the "hardening", but I thought it was worth a shot as my previous attempt failed. Either way (or in spite of what I did), it worked, which was the only thing that mattered  I'll look more into hardening when I have the need and funds to by the proper steel.


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## iron man

4gsr said:


> WD-40 dries and leaves light brown rust on every bare metal surface.  Especially in high humidity areas.  Its ok to clean with it, but apply oil after using it!
> 
> It's banned from my shop!!!



 Thats really odd I have used that stuff for years and never seen anything like that before.. I guess it is something to watch for.. Ray


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## george wilson

I was the master toolmaker for Williamsburg museum and was there for 39 years. I have hardened hundreds of things and worked with several tool steels. You do need to buy a book on hardening the common tool steels,though. W1,and 01 are the most common types. 01 means oil hardening. W1 is water hardening. 01 is safer,warping and changing size LESS than W1. W1 is the most treacherous tool steel there is. Upside: W1 will get sharper than any other tool steel,BUT,it loses its edge quicker,too.

01 is the easiest steel to find for sale. W1 is getting harder to find as it isn't very sophisticated,and being treacherous,is used little these days,except by knife makers. Good for gun springs also,in the lower carbon content types,like 1070 and 1080. Blacksmiths like these lower carbon types as they are easier to forge weld without burning up.

If you want to make something,just get some 01. Heat it orange hot with a MAPP gas torch,and quench it in most any light oil. Do not use OLD motor oil,or you'll get a thick,black layer on your steel,that is HARD to remove. Vegetable oil,peanut oil are good. I just use automatic transmission fluid. Draw the part to straw color(polish it clean first to show the bare metal). Straw for a hard tool,or cutting edge. Purple for threading taps(to cut threads),blue for springs.

There's a lot more,but I don't feel like going on .

Exactly what is the diameter of your threaded part of the spindle,and how many threads per inch? Measure the thread diameter as close as you can.


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## mattthemuppet2

thanks for the input George, it is appreciated. I know just enough about hardening metals to know exactly how little I know about hardening metals. It is very interesting though and something I'd like to learn later on. I'll measure the spindle thread diameter and pitch tonight as it's a garage night. I'm hoping to finish filing/ stoning/ lapping the base of the X-Y vise tonight (the rest of it is sliding much more smoothly now) so that I can start machining the new lead screw end plates this weekend.


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## george wilson

You are LAPPING the sliding surfaces of your vise? Be advised that you should not do that in the future. The abrasive gets into the cast iron,and continues to lap it,eventually wearing the surfaces out. The correct way to make your surfaces slide more smoothly is to scrape them. But,that is an advanced skill area. Only hardened steel(I mean FILE HARD) can safely be lapped. So,if you get a lathe or milling machine,do not try lapping or honing it with abrasives of any kind. You will hasten their demise.


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## Dunc1

There are a couple more references to milling with a drill press (not saying that I recommend it)
Pop Mech, Jan 1969 has a ball bearing support arm to resist lateral forces

Pop Sci Jan 1952 has a how-to tips article


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## John Hasler

george wilson said:


> You are LAPPING the sliding surfaces of your vise? Be advised that you should not do that in the future.



Thanks for the warning.  I was about to do just that.


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## mattthemuppet2

ditto ^! It was Mother's Mag polish, so hopefully no long term harm as it's about as mild an abrasive as you can get. Yup scraping is way way beyond my abilities and equipment right now - I don't even have any method of measuring the surface. I'll definitely bear that in mind for the future though, thanks.

Didn't get any garage time last night as we took the kids to see Annie at the theatre (my youngest was completely captivated!), but I did measure the spindle threads as 1 3/64in and 20tpi.


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## george wilson

Remind me to check a 1/4" collet attachment I have for my Craftsman drill press WITH the threaded collar. This gizmo was for holding router bits. Has a #33 Jacobs taper. I never use it any more. PM me if I forget.


P.S.: I have measured my collet chuck attachment. The threads seem to have a maximum diameter of 1 1/16",and ARE 20 TPI. The threads on the collar,when pulled upwards,start  pretty close to 1/8" above the top end of the hole of the #33 Jacobs taper. (This wording sounds poor,but I have a headache right now.)

The collet is split into 2 halves,with a 1/4" hole. Actually,1/4" shank end mills would be on a more appropriate scale to use on that small drill press.


P.P.S.:  Note that the diameter of my threads is as close a guess as I can make. The collar has a bevel inside it that sort of obscures the diameter of the internal threads. I didn't feel like taking my chuck off.

It looks like my attachment might fit your drill press.


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## mattthemuppet2

george wilson said:


> Remind me to check a 1/4" collet attachment I have for my Craftsman drill press WITH the threaded collar. This gizmo was for holding router bits. Has a #33 Jacobs taper. I never use it any more. PM me if I forget.
> 
> 
> P.S.: I have measured my collet chuck attachment. The threads seem to have a maximum diameter of 1 1/16",and ARE 20 TPI. The threads on the collar,when pulled upwards,start  pretty close to 1/8" above the top end of the hole of the #33 Jacobs taper. (This wording sounds poor,but I have a headache right now.)
> 
> The collet is split into 2 halves,with a 1/4" hole. Actually,1/4" shank end mills would be on a more appropriate scale to use on that small drill press.
> 
> 
> P.P.S.:  Note that the diameter of my threads is as close a guess as I can make. The collar has a bevel inside it that sort of obscures the diameter of the internal threads. I didn't feel like taking my chuck off.
> 
> It looks like my attachment might fit your drill press.



that sounds completely awesome George, I'd be more than happy to buy it off you if you're not going to use it. Even just some photos to get another idea would be really useful.

It also sounds something like what was available when WT sold this drill, as a collet chuck was mentioned in the manual.


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## george wilson

I can't guarantee it will fit your drill press. Mine was made by Seeley thermos bottle makers,IIRC. Send your address in a PM to me. I don't want any money for it. But,I do want to know if it does fit when you get it. It is much like new,except for a little sawdust.


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## mattthemuppet2

george wilson said:


> I can't guarantee it will fit your drill press. Mine was made by Seeley thermos bottle makers,IIRC. Send your address in a PM to me. I don't want any money for it. But,I do want to know if it does fit when you get it. It is much like new,except for a little sawdust.



that's incredibly generous of you George, much appreciated. PM on it's way. Don't worry, there'll be picture documentation as soon as it gets here


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## george wilson

Matt,your collet chuck is in the mail. If you unscrew the nose,you can pull out the 1/4" collet,and the larger collet will take 1/2" end mills. Sorry,I was in a hurry to send it and could not find any 1/4" end mills to send with it,except for solid carbide end mills. They would likely snap off very quickly in your setup. They require very rigid circumstances to not break as they are very brittle.

Let me know when you try it,and tell me if it fits your drill press. If it does not,I would appreciate it if you'd return it.


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## mattthemuppet2

george wilson said:


> Matt,your collet chuck is in the mail. If you unscrew the nose,you can pull out the 1/4" collet,and the larger collet will take 1/2" end mills. Sorry,I was in a hurry to send it and could not find any 1/4" end mills to send with it,except for solid carbide end mills. They would likely snap off very quickly in your setup. They require very rigid circumstances to not break as they are very brittle.
> 
> Let me know when you try it,and tell me if it fits your drill press. If it does not,I would appreciate it if you'd return it.



George, that's simply awesome, thank you so much! I'll check it out as soon as it gets here and I'd be more than happy to return it if it doesn't fit. The extra collet was a really bonus too! Do you think it would be possible to make a 3/8in collet too? That would really be the icing on the cake 

I finished tarting up the vise at the weekend and fixed my grinder (melted switch), so the next job is to make up new leadscrew plates with proper bearings. I was going to start tonight, but I really should get going on a manuscript my boss is hassling me about, so it'll have to wait until I gain some traction with that.


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## george wilson

All you need to do is turn a STEEL-NEVER USE BRASS,it is slippery and the end mill WILL suck out and ruin your work and possibly break the end mill,cylinder 1/2" O.D.,and 3/8" I.D.. Slit it once and use it in the 1/2" collet.

I had some old end mill bushings I could have included had I known you'd want them(IF I could find the box). But,postage is nearly $5.00 a pop. They would still have needed slitting as they were designed to be used with a set screw,and have an opening in their sides for its passage.

The bushing will no doubt close a little bit upon being slit,so make them out of hot rolled steel,not nice,smooth cold rolled. Cold rolled looks nice,but it is full of stresses from being cold rolled. It is much more liable to warp and make trouble than hot rolled. You may still have to force the bushing open a bit,even with hot rolled. Don't force it too much,or it won't go into the 1/2" collet,which you certainly do not want to harm. THE COLLET IS NOT HARDENED. Be careful with it. Sears stuff was cheaply made!! And is perhaps even worse today. At least,it runs true,and I hope the collar threads on. You can count yourself lucky if it does fit. Even .001" too small,and the threads will not screw on.

If you can't tell what you have because it is old and rusty,heat it up red hot with a Mapp gas torch,and let it AIR COOL. Then,it will be like hot rolled. An effective,simple way to concentrate your torch heat is to take 2 or 3 DRY bricks,or white fire bricks if you have them. Put them together to make an interior corner. Put your piece of metal in the corner. The torch will heat a much larger piece of metal red hot that way.

BE SURE your bricks do not let the torch heat run down between them and set fire to a wooden table beneath them. It would be better if you stacked up the bricks 2 bricks deep to form the floor of your corner,and do not use a flammable work surface. You can easily ruin a piece of furniture by scorching it,even if it doesn't catch fire. Your wife might give you a dirty look if you do that!!!  If your kitchen stove has a PORCELAIN top,you could do it there if you have no other place in this cold weather.

P.S.: If the collar won't work,and IF the wall of the #33 Jacobs taper in the attachment are thick enough,you could at least drill the adapter and thread a set screw into it. Drill a divot in the taper of the drill press for it to fit into.

Lastly,DO get some SMALL DIAMETER end mills with 1/4" shanks to use. Those big ones are too large for the strength of that drill press and that not too sturdy milling slide. You don't want to destroy what you do have to use,or bend the spindle,etc.. Take this advice seriously. Use only HSS. Carbide is too brittle and WILL break if everything is not very rigid. You,being a beginner,might break it anyway. It is part of the learning process. HSS is brittle too,but not as brittle as carbide. Chinese HSS is more brittle than usual.

Is State College near Kutztown? I think I have passed through a college town many times on the way to the extravaganza flea market.


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## george wilson

Some more needed advice: Place paper strips in the jaws of the milling vise to get a much better non slip grip on your work. Use brown paper bag paper,or even newspaper. Do NOT use shiny paper. It has clay in it which is slippery.

Since you are trying to hold round objects,they will be risky to hold at best without slipping. Aluminum is a slippery metal. Brass is very slippery. If you have to hold those lights on their round surfaces,I would take a piece of hard wood and drill the correct size hole in it to hold the light(or bore it in the lathe). Then,saw it in half. Grip the round light in the hole you have made. Hardwood will be strong enough for what you are doing. It is not the greatest way to get high precision,but I do not think you need real high precision for what you are doing. They did stuff like that in the old days,and it will still work just fine.

I looked at your set of end mills. The 3 smallest size ones should be o.k.. The shank diameter doesn't matter,just the size of the cutter.

Double end mills with 1/4" shanks will suit deeply enough into that collet. Larger shank double end mills won't.

Do not let any oil get into the holes of the collets. The spiral end mills can suck out of the collet. That attachment I sent you is not the strongest outfit ever made. You should clean out the 1/2" hole. It has a bit of old oil in it. I was in a big hurry and did not clean anything off.


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## mattthemuppet2

fantastic advice George, thank you. For the 3/8>1/2 bushing, I have a couple of pieces of mystery steel rod I can use, one of which looks like a DIY counterbore about 12in long. Would this make sense 

- cut off a small piece (2-3in long), normalise with a MAPP torch (probably on my driveway or in the garage away from anything flammable) and then leave overnight to air cool.

- turn down to a bit oversize, then drill/ bore out to 3/8 or a little undersize? Slip fit with the end mill shank or a slight interference fit so that the bushing is forced slightly open when it's cut and an endmill is inserted?

- cut length ways, insert endmill and chuck it cutter end in the lathe, with the chuck holding the non-turned OD of the shaft. Turn down to 1/2 for a slip fit into the collet. Remove any burrs.

Thank you for all the warnings, I really do want to take it easy and avoid either hurting myself or my tools (or is it the other way round ). The limitations of my tools are pretty huge and hopefully I've already worked out most of my stupidity on my lathe, but I'll still be playing attention, don't worry. I had intended to make a set of aluminium jaws for the X-Y vise, mainly to avoid marring the work. Would that help with workholding? Good idea on using wood, I've done that before to hold a torch in my bench vise and it worked very well.

I'm keeping my eyes open for 1/4in shank end mills, but they're not very common compared with the 3/8 and 1/2 shanks. I have my eye on a few end mill lots on eBay that have some 1/4 shank end mills, so we'll see how that goes. Just in general, would 4 flute end mills be better suited to my marginal set up compared with the 2 flute ones I have? I read somewhere that 4fl = less vibration than 2fl. I've also been reading up a lot on spindle speed, end mill size and depth of cut to get a rough idea where to start, although obviously the literature is geared towards proper mills.


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## george wilson

If you are only milling aluminum,2 flute end mills are generally used on it. That is because large cuts can be taken in aluminum,and the 2 flute design allows much more room for the larger bunch of chips. However,you will be taking lighter cuts and slower feeds with just the drill press. 4 flute end mills would not get clogged in your setup. The 4 flutes will take longer to get dull,too,having twice as many cutting edges(unless your mills do not run true,in which case just 1 flute might be doing all the cutting.

I do not recommend aluminum jaws. They will be slippery,and just as hard as the aluminum you are cutting. So,they'll likely damage the work just as much. Perhaps worse than smooth jaws of steel. Use the paper to help get a better hold.

You don't HAVE to get 1/4" shank end mills. Just get end mills with small cutting diameters. The shanks don't cut. They don't matter.

No,do not make your 3/8" hole a bit too small. You will have a hard time getting the end mills into the bushings. If the bushings do close up a bit when you saw them,make the inside diameter just a bit LARGER. Keep the 1/2" outside diameter the same,though. I'm talking only a few THOU larger on the I.D.. Make the hole too large and the collet might not fully close down tight on the bushing. Collets do not have much range of sizes they will hold. If the bushing you will be inserting into the collet is too small,just the front edge of the collet will be gripping it,leaving the rear end of the bushing to waggle about and the cutter won't be held correctly,or run true.

Edit: I changed "you" to "thou".Spellcheck made that word wrong for me,making nonsense of a sentence. Thou = .001". Short for thousandth ,which is trouble to type out every time.


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## mattthemuppet2

thanks for the advice George, lots to think about!


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## george wilson

I hope the big snow storm doesn't slow down your mail!! It has already started snowing here,and we are just on the eastern fringe. Hope the ice does not get us. I hate ice storms more than anything else,since trees fall on the owed lines.


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## mattthemuppet2

on the contrary, it was sitting next to my plate on the dinner table when I got home last night. Even better, IT FITS! It's like it was made for it - snug fit on the taper, then the collar pulled it up onto the threads until all the threads were covered. I'm am so chuffed, I really owe you one (at least a beer or two!) 




and close up




The 1/4in twist drill in there is just for reference. I'm really excited about this and you've saved me a bunch of time and money. The generosity of strangers is humbling indeed.


Oh, also got a few minutes last night to start making the new leadscrew plates from some scrap 1/2in aluminium plate I scrounged from a scrap bin




you can just see one of the bearings in the background




Faced flat one of the cuts, if I get time tonight I'll face flat the others and then start drilling and boring. Also have to make the brass thrust washers from some plate I scrounged. Very very excited


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## george wilson

GREAT!!!!!

Well,at least you do not have to worry about the chuck coming off. I am very happy that it actually did fit your machine. It will make your milling safer,at least. If not easier on your spindle bearings. They will last longer if you just use small cutters. I could wish that the whole thing was not so long and drawn out. I guess it needed to be to clear the #33 taper,and accept a decent length router bit shank. I'm not convinced that thing could not get bent if too large a bit was used,and grabbed on something. So,be careful with it. I don't see many of those floating around. Never saw one on Ebay,or in a flea market.

There was no need for it to continue to lay around unused in my shop. I haven't used it since the 60's,I think. The sawdust (which I was in too big a hurry to clean out) is vintage sawdust.

I'm wondering if your drill press was threaded the same as mine and some others to make for the possibility of using a chuck with a captured threaded collar. Must be some reason why it fit this device.


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## george wilson

I was hoping to see some milling being done this weekend!!


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## mattthemuppet2

Sorry George, still working on the bearing plate for one of the leadscrews. Nearly finished it but got called away to dinner party with my wife's friends. Its slow work when your max doc is 0.2mm  I did get the vintage saw dust cleaned off the collet chick though  hopefully I'll be making some small test chips by this time next week!


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## george wilson

I hope you saved he vintage saw dust. Anything vintage brings big money in a Pa. flea market. After going to them for 40 years,I have decided that people in Pa. never throw anything away.

Perhaps if I had signed the sawdust it would bring a lot more. Anything signed brings much more money,even if no one has any idea who the signee was!

But,I'm afraid those dear days are dead. Last year I made a pilgrimage to Kutztown and Adamstown and found hardly anything worth buying. Everything now is on Ebay,it seems.

One thing that really got a laugh from me was a vender who had several unrelated stamped sheet metal micrometer adjusting spanners. He represented them as a collection!! Talk about gilding the lilly!!


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## mattthemuppet2

george wilson said:


> I hope you saved he vintage saw dust. Anything vintage brings big money in a Pa. flea market. After going to them for 40 years,I have decided that people in Pa. never throw anything away.
> 
> Perhaps if I had signed the sawdust it would bring a lot more. Anything signed brings much more money,even if no one has any idea who the signee was!
> 
> But,I'm afraid those dear days are dead. Last year I made a pilgrimage to Kutztown and Adamstown and found hardly anything worth buying. Everything now is on Ebay,it seems.
> 
> One thing that really got a laugh from me was a vender who had several unrelated stamped sheet metal micrometer adjusting spanners. He represented them as a collection!! Talk about gilding the lilly!!



I was thinking about giving the dust to my daughter so it'll then become an antique heirloom  I'm not sure I count as much of a Pennsylvanian though, I haven't even killed something to eat it yet!

Making good progress on the vise, so getting slowly closer..

http://www.hobby-machinist.com/show...or-fettling-a-HF-X-Y-vise?p=181479#post181479


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## mattthemuppet2

almost finished the vise, just have to bring it in to work to mill a little clearance for the top axis bearing plate




George - my friend at work gave me a nice chunk of steel of some sort about 3 x 0.75in (all mine were too small a diameter) which I spent 10 to 15min heating last night with my MAPP torch. It changed colour some (sort of dark purplish/ brown) but I started getting too cold after a while. Did I get it hot enough to relieve any unknown stresses?

I'm planning on making a few different collets - 3/8, 3/16 and 1/8 as I just bought some new mini HSS end mills with 3/16 shank. I'm guessing there's no point trying to harden them, as I don't know what steel I have, right?


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## george wilson

You need to heat it until it goes PAST blue and turns a gray color. I kept a can full of sand at my heat treating area years ago,when I was doing things by simple means. I'd point the MAPP gas torch down into the sand and get it good and hot. Then,heat a part till it was gray,and quickly bury it in the hot sand. Let it cool overnight slowly to anneal.

Why are you heating a piece of steel at all unless it was file hard? Tool steel comes annealed. You make your part,then harden and temper it.

For larger pieces of hardened tool steel,I have put pieces 12" x 3" x 1",3 or 4 of them into my wood stove well stoked with wood. Left it with just a little air to get in,so it would get real hot overnight. Let it fully cool in the morning. Worked real well at annealing my big hunks of steel.

Are you making collets for the adapter I sent you? I wouldn't bother hardening them. Nothing on that adapter is hardened anyway. I never bothered to harden and bushings or the like that I made back in my beginning to hold end mills. Just DO NOT make them out of brass. The end mills will pull right out,or slip to some degree. Use only steel for collets or bushings,and do not let oil get on them.


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## mattthemuppet2

Hi George, 

just taking your advice for working with mystery steel/ cold rolled steel that might spring or twist as it's cut. It's not hard in any sense as a file will happily mark it.

Yes this will be for making collets for the chuck you gave me and I was going to make a bunch of different sizes at the same time. I'll leave them as they are after I've finished them. I'm really looking forward to getting started as I have a couple of lights that I really want to make.


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## george wilson

For making small round parts I wouldn't be concerned about the steel warping.


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## mattthemuppet2

ok, thanks George. I'll get to this as soon as I've put my bike back together.


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## mattthemuppet2

got started on the collets for the collet chuck, but boy is steel hard work on this lathe. 0.1mm at a time is the most I can take without frequent stalling, even using dark tapping fluid, so going from a 22mm shaft to a 16mm collet takes a loooooooong time.

here's my "lathe" with 6in caliper as a reference 



and the shaft, with collet nut





I'd turned down the minor diameter to fit inside the collet chuck, but I need to take a hair (well, quite a lot less than a hair) off to fit - it was 1am at this point and I thought it would be a good idea to get some sleep! That HSS bit seems to work the best. I have some 1/4in indexable carbide bits, but the HSS bit freshly stoned cuts a lot more cleanly and stalls a lot less. You can see the rotation of the compound handle in the finish even though it's a very smooth finish.


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## george wilson

That is a nice little antique clock maker's size lathe. BUT,how do you cut threads with it?

Tighten up your compound's gibs a bit,if possible to get rid of the marks on the work left by the screw rotating.

You are perfectly right: HSS tools will cut more easily. I wouldn't even think about using carbide on it. Carbide isn't as sharp as HSS(except in special cases),and it takes more power to cut it.

You need to spray some belt traction spray on your little belt. Get it at an auto supply store. Be sure to spray it on BOTH sides of the belt evenly. It may slip like crazy until it dries. Then,it will grip like mad.

I use some stuff called "Beltraction". I'm sure they sell something to work on slipping automobile belts. Do you have a Tractor Supply near you?

If you can get nothing,take a lump of rosin and hold it against each side of the belt until it gets abraded into the belt. Violin rosin will do fine.

P.S.: I just noticed that your primary drive seems to be the large pulley resting against what looks like a rubber wheel on the motor. Very bad. You need to get a pulley for that motor,and a belt going to the large pulley. Then,you could get decent power. But,you'll have to reverse the direction of your motor. You can get some of that red colored link belt that can be assembled to fit whatever length belt you need.

What is the diameter of the motor's shaft?


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## mattthemuppet2

good tip on the belt traction spray, I never even thought of that. There's a TS down the road so I'll go check it out at the weekend.

The carbide bits were a Christmas present before I got a bench grinder and stones to make my own bits, but I don't use them much any more. They're handy for alu sometimes as they break the chips nicely, but that's about it.

As for the lathe, it's not much but it's better than nothing! Thread cutting = taps'n'dies  I have seen a trick that Taig and Sherline users use which is to drill and tap a hole with the thread pitch you want in the piece you want to thread, then chuck that bolt in the tail stock and thread it into the piece. Then, you leave the compound just shy of snug, so that it'll move and push the tailstock up against the compound. Turning the piece screws the rod in, which pulls the tail stock and therefore the compound towards the chuck. Never tried it as I've had no need yet, but it's an interesting option.

Yes, that large pulley does run on that old crack crappy rubber wheel on the motor shaft. Yes, it's not a good idea and I'd love to put a pulley and belt on there at some point, but I haven't yet figured out a simple way of tensioning the belt if I do. Reversing the motor = swapping the wires around on the motor with some knowledgeable advice I presume? I'd also really like to replace the countershaft (if that's the word) with a new shaft and ball bearings, as it's worn where the shaft runs on the outer bronze bearing and makes a fair bit of noise. Lots of projects, very little time! No idea on the shaft size (1/2in?) but I can measure it tonight. Making a pulley would be theoretically simple


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## mattthemuppet2

finished the first collet "blank"




I'm not even going to tell you how long just that took, it's too embarrassing. Needless to say, my lathe wasn't very happy with me! I'm going to turn down the next one, then face, drill and bore them. One 3/8in and one 3/16. I'm not sure my boring bar will be able to do the 3/16 one, so hopefully I'll be able to drill it accurately. Then slit the collets with my Dremel and they're done. I know most people would have done the drilling/ boring before parting off, but there's enough run out on my lathe that I didn't trust it that far out from the chuck.


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## mattthemuppet2

george wilson said:


> What is the diameter of the motor's shaft?



1/2 dead on with a screw flat on one side. Couldn't make it to TS this weekend, but the wife is going to check it out this week as she needs some other things from there. Going to high speed for the last OD cut down to 1/2in made quite a big difference - I could do the same depth of cut (0.1mm) but at a faster feed with no stalling, which helped a lot.

Finished the 2nd collet blank last night, so hopefully tonight I'll start the next set of operations on them. By the time I finish that I should have my mojo back to finish the work on the vise.


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## mattthemuppet2

*DONE!*

finished the last collet, a 1/8in, today in the workshop at work which took a fraction of the time the other ones took  No pictures of the 1/8 collet, but here are the 3/16 and 3/8 collets next to the 1/4 one George sent me




here's a little fixture Bob made me on the mill while I was teaching a class




holding real live end mills






and in George's collet chuck





woohoo! The collets are a very slight wiggle slip fit (3/8 less than the others) and the end mills are a tight slip fit. The test cut I did with a 1/4in end mill went very well


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## george wilson

Looks good!! You are making progress.


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## mattthemuppet2

Thanks! Slowly getting there


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