2014 POTD Thread Archive

[NodakGary]

Had some fun in the shop today. I have always had to hunt for the right shim to use with my cutters for the lathe. So,today, I measured the floor of the four-post tool holder to the center of a test piece mounted in the 3-jaw chuck and found it to be .525 inches. I found some aluminum that measured just about right when I set the cutter on the aluminum and used the height gauge set to .525 inches. Then, when I two-part epoxied the cutter to the aluminum and cut/filed the right side of the enhanced cutter smooth I was very happy with the result. The cutters are the type with the soldered-on tips which won't be changed from sharpening. I looked at some hss cutters I had ground and could see that they might be reshaped during sharpening or I might grind them to a different cut. So I didn't do anything with them.
As you might well guess, I don't have a qctp to precisely adjust the height of the cutters, but, I am quite satisfied with these cutters now being quick to grab and knowing they are on center for cutting.
NodakGary

 

[Pat of TN]

Worked on a new chuck key for my lathe chuck today. Got it down pretty far; it takes a long time to get steel from .750 down to .375 on a 6" Atlas! Hopefully I'll finish it some soon.

 

[Smudgemo]

I used my bicycle frame building skills to make a VFD control box mount for my Benchmaster. Bronze brazing, slip-fit tubing and a seatpost binder (give a bit of adjustment.) I was able to utilize existing holes, which is great because I don't care for drilling/tapping a machine if I don't have to.



-Ryan

 

[GarageGuy]

Back in message #940 I showed a spindle thread protector I made for my Logan lathe when using collets. I knurled the edge of that thread protector, but didn't care for the finish it left. I made another one and used an index tool on my mill to put some nice ball grooves in the sides. I like the finish and feel of this one much better. I went right around the index and put the slots 30 degrees apart, and skipped the slot where the spanner hole is.

GG

 

[TomS]

Made me a milling vise speed handle today. I used material I had on hand and bought a 15 mm deep socket that fit my vise. Bored the hub for a light press fit with the socket, cut the socket to length, pressed it into the hub, then welded the two on one end. I then finish machined the hub OD to 2-1/2" and faced it to 1" width. Moved to the mill and milled three equally spaced 15 degree flats on the OD, and drilled and tapped three 3/8-16 holes for the handles. The handles are made of 1/2" CRS 6-1/2" long turned and threaded each end 3/8"-16. The knobs are made from 1-1/4" diameter mild steel. I struggled a bit to get them to where they are so I'm going to get some aluminum and remake them.

It works great but I may shorten the handles a couple of inches. I'll use it for a while before I make that decision.

 

[Flammable_Solid]

I stiffened up the cheap Shop Fox machine stand with some ⅝" plywood and some stamped angle.



Note to others, don't waste your money on the Shop Fox stand. After improving it, the total cost is just slightly less than a "real" mini mill stand.

I also aligned my spindle and column, per the great instructions on MachinstBlog.com

While doing the alignment, I kept getting some really odd runout measurements. It would run at ~zero for the first 6" of travel, then run out to 0.045". I took it all apart, cleaned it all again (wow there is a lot of grease on these), oiled it up again, reassembled and still had the same problem. I found two issues, the z-axis scale would run into the head and some burrs on the column gib.





For tomorrow, I need to bolt the machine base down to the table, then reassemble the mill.

 

[melsdad]

This was a quick and simple washing machine manifold bracket I made for my mom's new laundry room. Not at all fancy, just a piece of aluminum angle with the corners radiused and a few holes in it.



sent from my hand held hickymajig

 

[Jimmy]

Just got my mill back together today

Tore down the lower end to remove all the grease and adjust the gibs and feed screws. Have .003 to .005 backlash now on X and Y feeds. Had to trim some of the Y gib off to keep it from hitting the rear wiper. I'm starting to like the old girl!

 

[jmhoying]

Re: Just got my mill back together today

Tore down the lower end to remove all the grease and adjust the gibs and feed screws. Have .003 to .005 backlash now on X and Y feeds. Had to trim some of the Y gib off to keep it from hitting the rear wiper. I'm starting to like the old girl!

Glad you have it working good. I also had to trim the rear of my gib and feed screw on one that I had. It still wasn't enough, so I talked to a local re-builder who gave me a small piece of plastic shim stock (.006 thick), that I glued to the gib. It was a perfect fit and was what I should have done in the first place.

 

[Jimmy]

Re: Just got my mill back together today

Glad you have it working good. I also had to trim the rear of my gib and feed screw on one that I had. It still wasn't enough, so I talked to a local re-builder who gave me a small piece of plastic shim stock (.006 thick), that I glued to the gib. It was a perfect fit and was what I should have done in the first place.

I don't know if the gib in mine was origional or not, but it was too long when I got it. It was pushing the back wiper away from the saddle when I got the machine. When I got it out, it was exactly the same length as the saddle itself. There was no room for adjustment without having it sticking out one end or the other. After trimming off about a half inch, it fits perfectly.