2017 POTD Thread Archive

Got a Barnes lathe this past weekend. Thiught I was going to get to use it a little today. Instead ended up taking the thing apart. I dropped the set screw that holds the bull wheel to the driven shaft. Also received some new lighting and some new thrust bearings for my mini Mill still sitting bench. The lathe did need a good cleaning, so productive I guess, but I was hoping to only break this machine down once and restore to my liking, I guess if that's what I really wanted I would just get a new machine.

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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.
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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.
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Here's what a 6" vise looks like on another PM45 (gt40's)
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Well I spent yesterday making the parts for the new dial on the mill. I have to run out this morning to fix something at a friends. But will post pics later today. I will also be working on an indexer attachment for my lathe so I can scribe the lines on the dial. Pics for that to follow later also.
 
OSHA who is that, THey did not need safety, they new better Notice no gloves.
 
Gives a whole new level of meaning to the phrase "back to the old grind" :)
 
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