Tool and cutter grinder build

I had such a great morning, I thought I would tackle another detail. I noticed I forgot to make the spring loaded index pin for the tool holder. I should have left well enough alone. I put a 1 inch square piece of steel 2 inches long in the lathe, turned the end to fit the hole in the index shield plate. then drilled the holes for the pin. thing is looking good. I put it in the mill to cut it down and fancy it up a bit. All this took about an hour. I took photos but they got lost somewhere, I can't find them. Everything is perfect so far, then I put it in the drill press to drill the two mounting bolt holes and everything went to doo-doo from there. I drilled the holes from the bottom and when I turned it turned over, the holes were out of line. The part tipped a little in the vise while drilling and angled the one hole. Aside from a cosmetic problem it is fine , but I have to decide if that is acceptable. After looking at it , I thought, No one will even notice this ..... or will they ( the problem with a perfectionist is nothing is good enough so he can't get anything done because he keeps doing it over).

I next made the index pin and that came out fine (hard to mess that up). found some springs to fit and I am ready to go. I put it in place on the side of the tool holder and marked the 6-32 bolt holes. drilled them and began tapping them and then I heard it ...... SNAP!!!!!........... THE TAP BROKE OF IN MY TOOL HOLDER. I thought this thing is ruined and I will have to start over and make a new one.:cussing: ( that is the closest I came to crying in a long time).:bawling: I tried but the piece of tap was stuck hard in that aluminum tool holder body. I let it go for a while and then came back and took it to the shop, put it in my vise, found a 1/8" diameter carbide burr, took the burr and my hammer and BEAT THAT TAP THROUGH THE BODY. Amazingly there was minimal damage. I found out what happened.... I drilled the tap hole about 4 sizes too small ( all them little drill bits look the same). :headache: I tapped the holes (after re drilling) and amazingly I got a few good threads in that hole. I installed the index pin and it looks good, not perfect but good. I'm happy with it anyway
index pin1.jpg
index pin 2.jpg Unfortunately these are the only photos. All the photos I took making it are lost and I can't seem to find them. And before you say it , yes , it needs a knob on it ....Tomorrow.

I don't think there is anything left to do on the tool holder.
 
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Everything is really coming together and looking nice.
I know the frustration of small taps very well myself
brass seems to be the creature that always waiting to eat my taps.
You had made comments about not many people replying to your build
and I had issues with that a few times on threads I have. now I just check the views and likes.
in one of my threads there are over 6500 views and 117 posts mostly me posting.
sometimes I get the feeling I'm a fool just talking to myself but the views prove otherwise.
your helping a lot of people they just find it easier to click like than to post a message.
ever since the like button became an option the posts have dropped in all threads.
Keep up the good work Mark, It's a great build project.
I like the fact you show the problems you encounter and the results and for me that is what makes
a better build thread.
Steve
 
jumps4 said:
Everything is really coming together and looking nice.
I know the frustration of small taps very well myself
brass seems to be the creature that always waiting to eat my taps.
You had made comments about not many people replying to your build
and I had issues with that a few times on threads I have. now I just check the views and likes.
in one of my threads there are over 6500 views and 117 posts mostly me posting.
sometimes I get the feeling I'm a fool just talking to myself but the views prove otherwise.
your helping a lot of people they just find it easier to click like than to post a message.
ever since the like button became an option the posts have dropped in all threads.
Keep up the good work Mark, It's a great build project.
I like the fact you show the problems you encounter and the results and for me that is what makes
a better build thread.
Steve
Click to expand...

I know what you mean , it is a lot of work making a large write up, but if it helps one person it is worth the effort and I know there are a couple of people watching this because they intend to build one. I hope I don't scare them out of it. Yes, it is a little complex and a big project, but so worth it when you save money because you can sharpen your own tools. I did learn building this grinder why it costs several thousand dollars to buy one new.

When I built my precision drill sharpener it was soooo worth it. I can sharpen a drill perfectly if I break one, it makes even new drills cut better and they don't "walk". I can't wait to see how this grinder performs.
 
With almost 9000 views I am confident there are more than a couple of people following. Although I may never build such a unit myself I am learning a lot from the thread that can be applied to many other things. Your efforts are very much appreciated. Thanks.
 
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mark_f said:
I know what you mean , it is a lot of work making a large write up, but if it helps one person it is worth the effort and I know there are a couple of people watching this because they intend to build one. I hope I don't scare them out of it. Yes, it is a little complex and a big project, but so worth it when you save money because you can sharpen your own tools. I did learn building this grinder why it costs several thousand dollars to buy one new.

When I built my precision drill sharpener it was soooo worth it. I can sharpen a drill perfectly if I break one, it makes even new drills cut better and they don't "walk". I can't wait to see how this grinder performs.
Click to expand...

Ok Mark, now you did it. I want to hear about this "precision drill sharpener" you built. :D
 
Me three..especially since I just bought a drill sharpener I don't like.
R
 
wrmiller19 said:
Ok Mark, now you did it. I want to hear about this "precision drill sharpener" you built. :D
Click to expand...

Wow, That perked up some ears didn't it. If you go to "gadgetbuilder.com" You will see all about it. It was designed by John Moran, who I believe is a member here. It is a fantastic machine. It took me about 50 to 60 hours to build and I can't say enough good about this machine. Building it taught me a lot about drill bits I did not know. The biggest thing is , it sharpens a drill to have 4 facets instead of the conical grind we are so used to seeing. I always wondered what the difference is between a $8 dollar drill bit and a $2 drill bit as they look the same. The difference is accuracy. I sharpen new bits as soon as I get them and find many times the true center of the ground point is off several thousandths. ( not so , on the expensive drills). A drill bit "walks because the chisel point on them causes them to. sharpened with the facets there is a point instead of a chisel point and they don't walk easily. the sharpened drills cut a smoother , more accurate hole with less effort.

Here are a couple photos of the drill sharpener.
drill sharpener.jpg
drill sharpener2.jpg
drill sharpener3.jpg

I built mine by trying to reverse engineer john's info on his site but lacked just a few details and he was gracious enough to assist me with what I needed. Many have built this drill sharpener and like the tool grinder no two are alike. Everyone puts their own style and twist on it.

I don't have a set of drawn plans but do have all my notes and drawings, but I cannot and would not post them without John's permission. Anyone passionate enough about this may be able to get the needed info from him.

It is a fantastic machine and I thank John for inventing it.

A note: I built this machine almost entirely from my scrap box using what I could find. I bought the ER20 collets and holder for about $30 and I bought the mini grinder at harbor Freight for about $25. .. oh and the diamond wheel off ebay for $12. The rest i s whatever I could scrounge up.
 
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