2015 POTD Thread Archive

For the first time in a year, I have crunchy little chips all over my shop floor. I replaced the ZX-25 mill/drill with a new RF-30. It doesn't come with any T-nuts to attach vises, etc., to the table. I finally got some of my stock back from the 'restoration company', including a piece of 1" x 3/4" bar stock - perfect size to fit the slots on the table.

I had already set up the arbor on the big mill with a matched pair of 4" x 3/4" cutters that Shawn had sent me. I cut a 6 1/4" piece off the bar stock and put it on the vise. One pass had the job done. I like big machines.



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Then, off to the RF-30 to drill and tap for six T-nuts.
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I got most of the cuts done, but the last one will take a different setup. Then, I just need to mill the ends smooth. It feels great to be using the shop again!
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Since other folks continue to show the jobs they've done right I figure I can continue with my misadventures in metal working.

I finished making the arbor for my horizontal mill and now needed some spacers for it. Being both cheap and a bit lazy I looked in the scrap pile for a piece of pipe that might fit the job. I had a piece that I'd found at the dump. It would just need to have the surface skimmed and the ID bored out about 1/16". Great!

The end I looked at had been hammered on so I flipped it over to cut off a piece from the other end on my bandsaw. It seemed to be cutting a little funny.

When I was done cutting the piece I looked at it. It was full of dirt and my saw blade missed hitting the pebble that was wedged in it by about 1/32".

Apparently the other end was hammered on because somebody had used it as a garden fence post.
 
If you have a surface grinder I would do the residual turning trick, where you rotate the part and take a pass rather than traverse the part, it looks pretty and ensures flatness and the faces will be more parallel
 
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