Tricks of the Trade

[Doug Gray]

My shop is so small.... How small is it.... I'd have to spend 20 minutes moving stuff around to get to the back of the spindle LOL

 

[mmcmdl]

Their are no tricks to the trade . You are in or you are out . Tools are expensive and 99.9% of people don't realize it .

That didn't come out right . As I teach and train future employees at work , I tell them there are no short cuts . They need to learn the proper technique before moving on to tricks of the trade or short cuts , otherwise they could get injured . If they get injured while training under me , who's butt is on the line ?

I take short cuts everyday depending on the job being performed , sometimes it pays off , sometimes it doesn't !

 

[erikmannie]

Save Time Cleaning Up:

I have found that a very organized shop makes for a faster cleanup. A place for everything and everything in its place.

When I clean up (“putting things away”), I start at one end and work around 360°.

I have found the work to be more enjoyable & probably safer if I completely clean up the shop before I start a project.

If, during the course of a project, I use a tool that I’m not going to use again, then I take the time to put it back. You’re going to need to put it back sooner or later, so why allow it to become clutter?

 

[Mini Cooper S]

In the trade, an air hose does the job.

I was taught as an apprentice to never use an air hose on a machine, that said, the real world doesn't work that way. An air hose, especially at shop pressure, can propel small chips into ways, gibs, and quills thus paving the way for excessive wear. throttle back the pressure and use some common sense on where you blow the chips. Personally, I prefer a shop vac, it doesn't blow chips all over the shop and then there is less mess on the floor to clean up!

One of my repeat jobs for the company that I retired from involves boring a taper inside of am aluminum pocket and putting a series of V-grooves inside. I will use an air hose to remove the chips from the bore, but as I said, very carefully.

Sorry to sound preachy, but I just don't want anyone to ruin a good machine.
Richard

 

[T Bredehoft]

I keep a ceramic (powerful) small magnet in an amber plastic pill bottle, use it to search among chips for dropped parts. Also to pick up chips when needed. Its easy to clean them off the bottle with a paper towel.

 

[tjb]

That didn't come out right . As I teach and train future employees at work , I tell them there are no short cuts . They need to learn the proper technique before moving on to tricks of the trade or short cuts , otherwise they cut get injured . If they get injured while training under me , who's butt is on the line ?

I take short cuts everyday depending on the job being performed , sometimes it pays off , sometimes it doesn't !

That sounds like wise counsel. I think the intent here is not trying to sneak around doing it the 'right' way, but more along the lines of doing it both correctly and efficiently. Somewhat like my experience from yesterday: I had neither the intent nor the desire to do it wrong, but that little tweak in perspective made the job go a little quicker and preserved a little gray matter in the process.

Around here, horror stories abound of people misusing cars, trucks, heavy equipment, chainsaws, tools and whatnot because they failed to use that one other necessary tool at their disposal: common sense. I think the last six words of folks who tried that originated in my neck of the woods: "Hold my beer, and watch this!"

Regards

 

[mmcmdl]

Around here, horror stories abound of people misusing cars, trucks, heavy equipment, chainsaws, tools and whatnot because they failed to use that one other necessary tool at their disposal: common sense. I think the last six words of folks who tried that originated in my neck of the woods: "Hold my beer, and watch this!"

and a . Both are well deserved .

 

[tjb]

Sorry to sound preachy, but I just don't want anyone to ruin a good machine.
Richard

That's not preachy, Richard. That's the kind of thing amateurs need to hear. A whole lot better that way than by learning through a bad experience.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Buffalo21]

My shop is so small.... How small is it.... I'd have to spend 20 minutes moving stuff around to get to the back of the spindle LOL

Mine is so small, I have to go outside to change my mind.......

 

[MrWhoopee]

When drilling and tapping for a set-screw over a keyway (on a hub, gear or sprocket), slide a piece of keystock through the keyway and place the sprocket in the vise with the keystock resting on the vise jaws (or parallels on vise jaws). Pick up the edge of the keystock and crank over half the width. If doing multiples, put a stop on the vise jaw and slide the keystock against it. Perfectly centered and perpendicular every time.

edit: Remember to remove the keystock once the vise is tightened.