Machinists Corner

[Slowkrawl]

Magnum Combination Lathe, Milling & Drilling Machine [MAG-LH009] - $2,099.99 : KMS Tools & Equipment from Vancouver BC, Selling quality tools at affordable prices all over Canada. Largest powertool, handtool and woodworking machinery retailer in Cana
That is the machine that kind of caught my eye. From the little bit of reading I have done on the interwebz the 3 in 1's are either all built the same or very similar. Jack of all trades, master of none. I don't have much room left in the garage and a lathe/mill are what I am really looking for.
I did see the machinery handbook on amazon but I wasn't sure if that is what I needed. I am going to look into doing a hobbyist machining course at the local college if they do offer one, but I'm not holding my breath. I want to have a half assed idea how to run it before I buy it haha.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Watch the MIT vids if you haven't already. Good stuff there.

[Slowkrawl]

Found the MIT vid's, thanks for the heads up. I havn't made it too far into them but from the 20 mins or so I watched he is pretty explanitory and knows he is talking to noobs like myself. Tried to find the machinery handbook tonight, looks like I'll have to order it. That's an expensive wad of paper! lol. Any thoughts on the magnum 3 in 1? I'm not really in a rush to buy, but I can get that locally and probably for a good price.

[xsputnikx]

Hey guys could use some input from some of the pros. I have a strong tinker background. Took a course in machining before but life just got in the way for me to finish the program.

I have built a reprap printer and using it to teach myself solidworks and how to handle stl files and convert to g code. And extruding printed plastic into a 3d part but i need stuff for metals. Tools I have are drill press, bench grinder and a crappy gasless wire feed welder. I plan to eventually build a diy CNC but not really sure if there is any of the (hobby level) cnc kits that can handle working with metals Most CNC milling diy ones I see people use for wood. I really want some more tools for creating my own parts but for someone who is budget oriented what do u guys suggest? What are the must have items that even if they cost more are worth it . Don't mind spending more if its going to save me in the long run but just trying to get a good comprehension.



sent from old rotary phone using tapatalk

[1tonscout]

If I were you I would look at getting a manual milling machine and lathe. From there you can invest in stepper motors and controllers to convert the manual machines to CNC. There are small CNC mills that are capable of making aluminum RC car parts, but they are very limited.

[stelerzman]

I just got one of these and working on getting it in optimal condition.


There are some videos on youtube.

[Duuuuuuuude]

My machinist buddy let me take home a rotary table to try before I buy. It's way bigger than I need and kinda too heavy, but it's cheap...so I'm on the fence about it.

I cut circles in some scrap plastic to get a little familiar with the thing, then decided to see what I could do with some aluminum in the usual sketchy Eyeball Engineering fashion. Here's the result...





What it was cut from...



Here's the table...

[Die-Laughing]

Awesome

I say buy it! You'll have to make something someday that's going to fill up that table and you'll be glad you have the big one. You'll need the clamping space.

[Calderwood]

Link to the MIT videos?

[Duuuuuuuude]

Originally Posted by Die-Laughing

Awesome

I say buy it! You'll have to make something someday that's going to fill up that table and you'll be glad you have the big one. You'll need the clamping space.

It dwarfs my table...hangs over each side about 4" and probably weighs 100lb+. I really gotta want to use it to haul it over. Its also much too large to stand up on end and use vertically.

But its cheap.

Originally Posted by nigels_world

Link to the MIT videos?

MIT TechTV – Machine Shop 1

[1tonscout]

Originally Posted by Duuuuuuuude

My machinist buddy let me take home a rotary table to try before I buy. It's way bigger than I need and kinda too heavy, but it's cheap...so I'm on the fence about it.

I cut circles in some scrap plastic to get a little familiar with the thing, then decided to see what I could do with some aluminum in the usual sketchy Eyeball Engineering fashion. Here's the result...





What it was cut from...



Here's the table...

what kind of fixture did you use to hold that?

[Duuuuuuuude]

Originally Posted by 1tonscout

what kind of fixture did you use to hold that?

Plain 'ol table clamps. I cut the material oversized in length and machined a notch around the bottom for the clamps to grab onto.

[C*H*U*D]

Originally Posted by Duuuuuuuude

...It's way bigger than I need and kinda too heavy...

Work out:

100 for 100

Originally Posted by Duuuuuuuude

...but it's cheap...so I'm on the fence about it.

Buy it!

In all seriousness, if that's your first try at making something, then you need to get this thing. It's obvious you know what it can do, and what you are doing. I say get it.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Originally Posted by C*H*U*D

It's obvious you know what it can do, and what you are doing.

You would probably be horrified and/or mildly amused if you were ever to watch me make something like that.

[CREEPERBOB]

Buy one man, you won't regret not having it when you need it .
The one I bought is very used after the year and a half I have had it.

Originally Posted by Duuuuuuuude

My machinist buddy let me take home a rotary table to try before I buy. It's way bigger than I need and kinda too heavy, but it's cheap...so I'm on the fence about it.

I cut circles in some scrap plastic to get a little familiar with the thing, then decided to see what I could do with some aluminum in the usual sketchy Eyeball Engineering fashion. Here's the result...





What it was cut from...



Here's the table...

[CREEPERBOB]

What you said . Ditto

Originally Posted by Duuuuuuuude

You would probably be horrified and/or mildly amused if you were ever to watch me make something like that.

[Duuuuuuuude]

So I did some careful digging around and determined that this is a 12" Bridgeport RT12 table...unless someone made clones of them. It's missing its metal i.d. tag but the 5 rivet holes are there.

A clean example:



It needs a little lovin', but for the price I'm willing to give it a good home.

I also need to sort out a way to clamp down and center parts, short of bolting a vice on top of it.

[CREEPERBOB]

Just need some T nuts and regular clamps you use on the mill table.
The center hole should take a Morse taper or similar and you would center it just as any other part or tooling from the mill head.
Nice table.
I have a BS-01 dividing head that I do my work on, comes with dividing plates, faceplate, tailstock for turning between centers (gears etc.) and rotates from 0' to 90'
I also have a 4" 3 jaw chuck and 2- 4 jaw 6" chucks (inside outside) for it.

[CREEPERBOB]

You may want to check that the oil level is up and clean too, looks like its missing the locking lever too to lock it in place to keep it from rotating.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Its missing both locks, new ones shouldn't be hard to make. I'll be going over it this weekend to see what's what and get it in shape.