Atlas Horizontal mill

Green Frog said:
They pioneered selling stuff online before there was an online! Mail order was the first internet sales platform before the internet existed.
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Yes Sears and Montgomery Ward are/were two companies that had they not been so grossly mismanaged could have been Amazon. They already had the warehouse and distribution network but just lacked the management vision to realize how important the internet was going to be. Unfortunately I personally believe most large companies end up with CEO's that surround themselves with like thinking yes men/women and board members that are no more than drinking buddies and golf partners. They serve on each others boards and vote themselves pay raises and bonus packages.
 
The Ace Hardware I frequent has square head bolts. And a lot of other odd-ball items.
 
I just read this thread from the beginning and realized I started it almost exactly 2 years ago! Met some nice folks and made some friends along the way too. Thanks to you all for joining the ride and sharing along the way!
 
Froggie, I tried the collet and failed (repeatedly). Both the atlas square bolts, and all the bolts I measured had shanks that were about .244-.245 and that was enough difference that my 1/4" collet wouldn't hold the bolts securely. I was very surprised at the sensitivity to diameter. I'd heard somewhere that you could go -.008', but they are cheap collets so maybe that's the problem. I've attached a picture of how I aligned the heads. It is the second cut, so I'm using the 90 degree side of my angle block.

Machining Bolt

Machining Bolt

Making a square head bolt for an Atlas Mill overarm clamp. This is the second cut. The first...
 
I hadn't even thought about the industry standard .005-.010 undersized shank of the bolt... so it will easily enter a quarter inch hole drilled with a worn bit, I guess. We have some collets that will easily draw down that much, but of course they aren't for the 5-C collet blocks. :( Is anything as simple as it first appears, ever?? :rolleyes:

Oh well, the struggle continues... if it was easy, anybody could do it! :cool:
 
You might try a 15/64" collet. It'll be a tight fit but if you can get it into the collet, it might hold it securely.
 
I was just commenting to someone the other day. You can buy 1/8,3/16, 1/4, 5/16,..... sets all over the place. Which is what I bought to start.
But no one sells fill-in sets, like 5/32, 7/32, 9/32, 11/32...
 
Yeah, when I was trying to assemble a set of 4-C collets for my Lempco (Sheldon) lathe about 10 years ago, I was able to easily find good ones down to the sixteenths, but the 32nds were fewer and farther between. I think I finally got them all, though. I kinda gave up at the 64ths level, taking only those collets that showed up in other lots, rather than actively seeking them out to buy, usually one at a time. Those in the middle of the run might be worth having though, just for occasions such as this. ;)

If and when I get to that point, I'm hoping to get one of the new-made Vertical Attachments that are being currently offered and will most probably order it to use #2MT collets so I can use the same collets and tool holders that fit the spindle of the mill. If my little home shop has two different sizes and styles of collets in stock, I think that should be quite enough, thank you very much! :frog:

My latest "challenge" is that my Z-axis seems to be broken or disconnected. I unlocked the gib on the knee, but nothing happens when I turn the crank. I can feel a little resistance from somewhere, but the table doesn't go up or down as it should. Fortunately, it appears that the knee and table can be rather easily disassembled without getting into the main body of the machine, so perhaps I can fix just that and leave extensive internal renovations for later. (He says with the confidence borne of ignorance. :confused 3:)
 
For 3AT, 3C or 5C you can buy singles. 30 odd years ago I bought the entire set of 5C. Most have never been used but if I ever need one, I have it. You can buy singles of the 5C (and 3AT and 3C). There's about a bzillion of them on eBay right now. And a few assortments.
 
Yep, but most advertisements skip over 4-C like they don't even exist. :mad:

Of course the #2MT collets serve a different function, and getting a set by sixteenths is pretty reasonable. :encourage:

:frog:
 
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