Machinists Corner

[Duuuuuuuude]

Originally Posted by tarmo120

You are a great at DIY stuff. But actually to get anything done, you just have to have balls to do it.
That goes for machining too. Don't baby it, feed it.

DIY is the shiznit.

I wouldn't say it took balls to make that, though I get what you're saying. To me it kind of comes down to risk assessment. What am I going to be out if I screw it up? In this case, not much.

The first step is always the hardest.

Originally Posted by crawlerhawk

nice job Chris, looks like it will hold up just fine

Thank you sir. I think it'll do well, and I'm already planning on doing the other nut too.

[tarmo120]

Just out of curiosity, how much did you end up paying for the mill?
I want one, but the locals here only deal with industrial grade heavy machinery.
And I doubt online stores are willing to ship it.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Originally Posted by tarmo120

Just out of curiosity, how much did you end up paying for the mill?
I want one, but the locals here only deal with industrial grade heavy machinery.
And I doubt online stores are willing to ship it.

$1100 (used), and it came with a vice, a clamp set, and a handful of endmills.

I bet that if you poke around a bit you might find something locally.

[rlockwood]

Originally Posted by tarmo120

Just out of curiosity, how much did you end up paying for the mill?
I want one, but the locals here only deal with industrial grade heavy machinery.
And I doubt online stores are willing to ship it.

Sieg seems to ship directly from their factory in china to people in the US.. bet they'd do the same to someone in estonia.. or you might even give grizzly a shot

[tarmo120]

Ok, will take a look there. Thanks

[tarmo120]

I was wondering today. What accessories should a lathe owner/user own?

I have dial indicators 0.01mm and 0.005mm accuracy along with a magnetic base.
Quickchange toolpost. Some HSS material for grinding tools, some carbide cutters.
Drilling chuck for the tailstock along with drills and endmills both HSS and carbide.
3-jawed chuck(w. internal and external jaws), micrometers 0-25mm, 25-50mm, internal snapping gauges.
Standard and digital calipers. Oh and a few dead centers and one live center for the taikstock.

I know I should get a independent 4-jawed chuck, but what else should I need.
A faceplate maybe?

[dude26]

hi guyz

I just want to say I back to school (I'm 34) just for learning milling on a CNC

[WooPigSooie]

I'm glad this thread exists! I started back to school this fall in machining and I'm sure I'll have questions in the future. The program I'm in covers metallurgy, hand mills/lathes, 3d modeling (solid works), tool pathing (mastercam), writing g-code, and CNC mills/turning centers. I hope to learn as much as I can in school and continue to learn as I enter the field of machining.

[SMR 510RR]

Originally Posted by tarmo120

I was wondering today. What accessories should a lathe owner/user own?

I have dial indicators 0.01mm and 0.005mm accuracy along with a magnetic base.
Quickchange toolpost. Some HSS material for grinding tools, some carbide cutters.
Drilling chuck for the tailstock along with drills and endmills both HSS and carbide.
3-jawed chuck(w. internal and external jaws), micrometers 0-25mm, 25-50mm, internal snapping gauges.
Standard and digital calipers. Oh and a few dead centers and one live center for the taikstock.

I know I should get a independent 4-jawed chuck, but what else should I need.
A faceplate maybe?

Depends what you are making, you have a good base setup. My suggestion would be to keep building up your tooling as you find yourself needing something. If you dont have collets that would be my next investment, they are very handy and great for small parts (generally 1" or under) and you can put a collet stop in to get a quick repeatable setup for working on multiple parts. I dont know what kind of lathe you have, some have the drawbar already and the spindle direcly accepts collets and some dont, check out your machine and if it is an option definitely go for it if you work on smaller parts.

Other than that, a knurling tool, threading tools (ID and OD), I think you have most of the major stuff.

[tarmo120]

I have a lathe that seems to be chinese origin. I believe it doesn't have a drawbar. Usually I do hobby stuff, but sometimes I have to rebuild some gardenmachinery. Like wheels and motor parts and such. Things wont go above 10'' usually.
So far I haven't don threading so I might hold on those things. But where to get a good knurling tool?

[rlockwood]

Originally Posted by WooPigSooie

I'm glad this thread exists! I started back to school this fall in machining and I'm sure I'll have questions in the future. The program I'm in covers metallurgy, hand mills/lathes, 3d modeling (solid works), tool pathing (mastercam), writing g-code, and CNC mills/turning centers. I hope to learn as much as I can in school and continue to learn as I enter the field of machining.

Often the problem with most schools is that they're too broad reaching, while its good to get a general idea of all processes, most companies dont expect one person to run every machine in the shop-- they'd prefer somebody (atleast at the start) be extraordinarily accomplished at the task they need fulfilled. Most of the processes you're looking at are very interconnected, so it sounds like a well-focused program.

Most of the schools around here seem to think its necessary that you learn all forms of metalworking, which means they mass-produce piss poor machinists/blacksmiths/welders.

If you're spending the time to learn solidworks, I think its worthwhile to learn one of the integrated CAM packages.

[SMR 510RR]

Originally Posted by tarmo120

I have a lathe that seems to be chinese origin. I believe it doesn't have a drawbar. Usually I do hobby stuff, but sometimes I have to rebuild some gardenmachinery. Like wheels and motor parts and such. Things wont go above 10'' usually.
So far I haven't don threading so I might hold on those things. But where to get a good knurling tool?

Any machine supply place should have one.

I have had good luck with purchases from shars, a quick search for knurling returns a bunch of options.
shars.com

This one is cool, does a bunch of different patterns, cant say how well it works though. Should be fine for hobby stuff.
shars.com - Swivel Knurling Tool Holder

You will have to verify that the ones built into a holder will fit your toolpost (I am assuming that you have a QC toolpost already, if not that is your next investment).

[tarmo120]

Yeah, I bought the multifix QC toolpost. I like the multipurpose knurling tool. Have to look whether they ship worldwide.

Thanks for the info.

[dkf]

I much prefer pinch knurling tools (scissor type) especially on manual lathes. The cheaper push type knurlers put a lot of unnecessary force on the lathe as well as the workpiece. On really large diameter you do not have much choice though.

[SMR 510RR]

Originally Posted by tarmo120

Yeah, I bought the multifix QC toolpost. I like the multipurpose knurling tool. Have to look whether they ship worldwide.

Thanks for the info.

Didnt realize you were not in the US, I am sure there are some machine tool distributors in your area that could help you track down whatever you need. There may be a european distributor similar to shars, everyone knows the swiss take machining seriously so cant be too hard to get something closer than the US.

[bobm]

You might mention SHARP cutting edges/tools

[sfpumps]

hi guys im not sure if im in the right area for this question...... but i have a xr10 with axial cnc light weight gears. im trying to drill out the existing holes to around 3mm for weight saving. what sort of drill bit should i be using, i have snapped two standard drill bits so far. Thanks Steve

[Joshie]

I drilled mine out with a carbide tip drill bit. It was like a hot knife through butter

Originally Posted by sfpumps

hi guys im not sure if im in the right area for this question...... but i have a xr10 with axial cnc light weight gears. im trying to drill out the existing holes to around 3mm for weight saving. what sort of drill bit should i be using, i have snapped two standard drill bits so far. Thanks Steve

[sfpumps]

Originally Posted by TURBO_deo

I drilled mine out with a carbide tip drill bit. It was like a hot knife through butter

Thanks, were would you pick them up, bunnings?

[Joshie]

That's where I got mine from