Quarantine Projects!

[Weldo]

As mentioned before, the aluminum thread is pretty snug going in. I wanted test out the concept before I welded everything together so I figured if I force the thread into the nut it'll grind in its own clearance. Brilliant, right? We all know what happens to tight fitting aluminum parts in steel, it galled severely. Now the damned thing is stuck super super tight so I had no recourse but to cut it off and bore it out on the lathe... Man, everything was going so smoothly up until now!

Luckily I have a 4 jaw to hold the part.




Drill size for the 3/4-10 thread is 21/32" So I stepped up to that. I drilled about halfway into the nut and checked it out. The drill was peeling out the aluminum from the threads pretty well but it was also cutting into the nut threads. So I stepped down to 5/8" to finish the hole.




Here's the little chunks that I had to beat out.




Now the threads are compromised but I want to continue on. I don't have any other nuts of this size and I'm not confident enough to try internal threading. What a pain in the ass. This is supposed to be relaxing!




Anyway, soldier on. I can always cut the nut off and weld on a new one once the world goes back to normal.

I trimmed up the body to a closer shape and mocked up the last piece. Some edges were beveled for weld penetration since I want to grind it smooth later.




All welded up.




Getting inside here was tough. I had to increase tungsten stick out to dangerous levels! When gas shielding becomes less focused the arc tends to be less focused as well.




That's where I'm at currently. I have to now make a handle. I have a 12" length of 3/4" round bar but it's 304 stainless. I figure I'll try that out. These will be my second ever lathe cut threads so we'll see...

 

[macardoso]

Now is a great time to practice your single pointing! It isn't hard, but you do need to practice.

For internal threading, invest in a Left Hand indexable threading bar and learn to thread away from the chuck. It is just as easy as normal threading, just backwards. Much less stressful!

 

[Weldo]

For internal threading, invest in a Left Hand indexable threading bar and learn to thread away from the chuck. It is just as easy as normal threading, just backwards. Much less stressful!

Yea I could see that being true! I'd get nervous about that boring bar bottoming out in the hole with only a split second to stop it!

I recalled that these will be my third threads on the lathe. The first was that aluminum thing and then I did the threads on my collet chuck. They were metric so I had to spin the lathe by hand to back the tool up and take another cut. What a pain! I got inpatient and tried to take too much off at once. The threads did work but they're not as clean as they should be.

 

[macardoso]

Yea I could see that being true! I'd get nervous about that boring bar bottoming out in the hole with only a split second to stop it!

I recalled that these will be my third threads on the lathe. The first was that aluminum thing and then I did the threads on my collet chuck. They were metric so I had to spin the lathe by hand to back the tool up and take another cut. What a pain! I got inpatient and tried to take too much off at once. The threads did work but they're not as clean as they should be.

Well you get the premise then!

Seriously, just start doing some practice pieces and you'll learn it isn't as hard as many make it out to be. If the whole thing about the compound being at 29.5 degrees confuses you, just skip it and feed in directly with the cross slide. Works fine.

Get some thread wires and a decent micrometer and practice hitting the tolerance of the threads. There are tables in Machinery's handbook for this, or you can use this website:

UN imperial screw thread calculator

theoreticalmachinist.com

Almost all your threads will be 2A/2B. 1A/1B is very loose fitting (think nuts and bolts), while 3A/3B is super tight (think aerospace or MIL SPEC fasteners). The "A" means an external thread and can be measured with wires. The "B" is an internal thread and needs a mating gauge to check it. You can buy these, but making them for a job is rewarding and great practice. I'm made about a dozen Go-No thread gauges from scrap steel to check internal threads. They have threads on both ends, one is cut to the minimum spec for your internal thread (that's the GO) and the other is cut to the maximum spec (that is the NO-GO).

Internal or external threading away from the chuck is a great skill to have. I use it whenever I have to avoid a shoulder on the part. Also lets you create a much smaller thread relief.

 

[vtcnc]

Got this lil' guy on eBay a couple of weeks ago...downloaded the grainy "before" photo from the listing. There was little rust around the corners and the centers were almost seized up.

BEFORE


AFTER

 

[Bamban]

Not a project per se.

After running the PM1440TV for a few days now, decided to check some alignment stuff. Here is how she runs using a Pacific Tool and Gauge alignment bar that is ground round.

Instead of using a dead center in the spindle, just single point cut a center.

I did not take a picture nor a video, there is a difference in the runout at the TS side between using dead center as compared to using an el cheapo live center. Might have to upgrade to a Royal someday.


Watch "PM1440TV HS to TS Alignment Chuck Side" on YouTube

Watch "PM1440TV HS to TS Alignment TS Side" on YouTube

TS is higher.

 

[C-Bag]

Strap wrenches and chain wrenches are very handy. So far I've been able to use my oil filter wrenches for all the stuff I've needed something like a strap wrench. I think I have 5 different size filter wrenches. The beauty of their design is handles swivel so you can get into tight places.

That is commendable to include all your punts in your wrench built. Seems like that's ALL I did in my ball turner build so I didn't want to clog the bandwidth with my constant punts. Keep up the good work.

 

[Weldo]

Internal or external threading away from the chuck is a great skill to have. I use it whenever I have to avoid a shoulder on the part. Also lets you create a much smaller thread relief.

When threading away from the chuck you have to run the lathe in reverse, is that correct? Mine doesn't have reverse, but I'd like to try adding it by adding a switch to reverse the electric motor.

@vtcnc nice restoration! What is that thing anyway? I'm not familiar with such a tool.

@Bamban it's always good to check alignments. I actually have never done mine! I dis and re assembled my lathe before I even knew you had to align them. I did take great care in leveling it when bolting it to the floor but I've never checked alignment!

 

[vtcnc]

@vtcnc nice restoration! What is that thing anyway? I'm not familiar with such a tool.

Centers. Put your round part between centers, place this on a surface plate, and check runout with an indicator.

 

[macardoso]

When threading away from the chuck you have to run the lathe in reverse, is that correct? Mine doesn't have reverse, but I'd like to try adding it by adding a switch to reverse the electric motor.

That is correct. If it is a 4 wire single phase motor (+ ground) then you should be able to reverse it. I find being able to reverse mine to be a useful, albeit seldom used feature. Very helpful for metric threading when you need to reverse out of the thread.