2016 POTD Thread Archive

I've been busy with life for the last few months and haven't accomplished much in the shop but I do lurk once in a while.

Here are a couple of projects I'm working on.
First is DRO's for the mill / drill. I have the x and y done but still need to figure out how I'm going to do the z.
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I've also made a storage cabinet for under the lathe. I just have to get some time to make the drawer faces. Man this sure makes organizing the tools and accessories much better. I think I will paint it black to match the frame.
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still amazed that people don't know not too grind aluminum

(aluminum oxide wheel)
 
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Any nonferrous material should not be taken to the grinder (not just aluminum).
 
Depends on the wheel , and the prep of it, I prefer a Belt/disc sander on soft stuff tho..
The drawers, ied paint them same as the lathe
 
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still amazed that people don't know not too grind aluminum

I couldn't see a post where someone used a grinder on aluminum. ?

Depends on the wheel , and the prep of it, I prefer a Belt/disc sander on soft stuff tho..
The drawers, ied paint them same as the lathe

I like the idea of matching the lathe color but after doing a little work on the lathe tonight and having to change the gears, my hands got covered in black grime that transferred onto everything I touched. So I ended up having to wipe down everything. Maybe black won't show it as much. Still going to consider matching the lathe though as it would certainly look better.
 
I couldn't see a post where someone used a grinder on aluminum. ?



I like the idea of matching the lathe color but after doing a little work on the lathe tonight and having to change the gears, my hands got covered in black grime that transferred onto everything I touched. So I ended up having to wipe down everything. Maybe black won't show it as much. Still going to consider matching the lathe though as it would certainly look better.

Black shows dirt pretty well.


Quit wiping down your machines for a week or so, until everything converges to the same shade of gray. Then buy paint that color.
 
During the summer, I picked up a 'new' drill press from a friend. Bigger than my other ones, but lacking a quill stop. Most use a threaded rod that requires you to spin a nut down to set the stop point. Kind of time consuming, so I usually end up not using it. I saw a post by Gadgetbuilder that used a smooth rod with a clamping block to set the depth. That made more sense.

I had some 5/8" aluminum with a curve cut out of one end that left a usable piece when cut off from the slab. It takes a while to cut through a 10" wide piece.
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I set up my 7 1/2" rotary table and roughed out the big hole with a hole saw, followed by the boring head. The outside was then shaped with a 3/8" endmill.
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Here's the finished installation, complete with quill arm, stop bracket, rod and stop clamp. the clamp screw is a re-purposed leveling foot from an old appliance. If I don't like it, I can always make a knurled screw at a later date.
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Hey Jim that orange hammer on your mill table looked like a chunk of hot metal for a second!

I finished that lamp I was making, I thought it came out very well though sometimes people don't appreciate when you make them things...

Note, if you're in SA the scrolls and such can be had from Unique Metal Works, http://www.uniquemetalworks.co.za/Unique_Metals.html ( I didn't make them this time )
 
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