Thread: Spot Facing with a Visit to Fantasyland

My little Hercus mill is an early model with the serial number OL-8. The knee was never fitted with the Kipp locking lever subsequent models had installed on the vertical gib. Previously when I used the mill I replaced one of the knee's two gib screws with a Kipp lever to facilitate its locking. Not really ideal but it worked. ( Please ignore the nasty paint job!!! ) The second photo is of Pete F's later model mill showing the revised knee casting.

2012-01-21 015 - Copy.jpg Peter Flemming's Mill 1.jpg

Anyway, not long ago I was rumaging through a box of Hercus mill parts sent to me a decade ago as a gift from F W Hercus. A lot of the parts are for the much later 3 slotted tabled mill but amongst them was a gib, the gib that accommodated the locking lever.

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To take advantage of the gib required the drilling and spot facing of the knee casting. The drilling could have been done using a drill press, the spot facing probably not as readily. I used the 13.

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Now this is where the foray into Fantasyland occured. I wanted the diameter of the spot facing to be around 3/4" and the only suitable (?) cutter I had that could be held in a collet chuck was a dovetail cutter. Having the cutter held in combination of collet chucks was at best optimistic where as in reality it was ridiculous!! The Chinese ER chuck with its hollow 1/2" arbor held the cutter with some flex when facing at 500 RPM but when I slowed the mill down to about 120 RPM in hope of achieving a crisp edge to the recess, the cutter chattered and chipped off too much paint along with providing a finish more suited to a fluted citrus juicer.

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So then I did what I should have done from the outset. Laziness is not a virtue.

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BT

Hi Bob, Guys,

Nice work, though it wasn't until that last picture stopped me wondering why, after all that setup work, you didn't do that in the first place.

A dovetail cutter is not really suitable for face cutting, particularly on a loooong extension like that.
Still we live and learn

Originally Posted by BaronJ

Hi Bob, Guys,

Nice work, though it wasn't until that last picture stopped me wondering why, after all that setup work, you didn't do that in the first place.

A dovetail cutter is not really suitable for face cutting, particularly on a loooong extension like that.
Still we live and learn

Bob,

You will never be alone in fantasy land...we all visit there from time to time....They say imagination is much more important than knowledge
That was some recovery at the end
allowing you to move on with renewed enthusiasm
Love it.....tom

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Originally Posted by Anorak Bob

Laziness is not a virtue.

I dunno Bob. It's served me well for decades.

Originally Posted by BaronJ

Hi Bob, Guys,

Nice work, though it wasn't until that last picture stopped me wondering why, after all that setup work, you didn't do that in the first place.

A dovetail cutter is not really suitable for face cutting, particularly on a loooong extension like that.
Still we live and learn

I thought the same, lol

Originally Posted by BaronJ

Hi Bob, Guys,

Nice work, though it wasn't until that last picture stopped me wondering why, after all that setup work, you didn't do that in the first place.

A dovetail cutter is not really suitable for face cutting, particularly on a loooong extension like that.
Still we live and learn

Hi John,

I've pushed my luck before albeit with a slightly more rigid setup. It worked because it was a slot not a hole and the bar was an inch in diameter.

IMG_20180525_113611903 (Large).jpg IMG_20180525_120055708 (Large).jpg

In the case of the knee I couldn't use anything larger than an ER25 chuck to hold the noodle-esque ER16 chuck due to a lack of clearance.

Nice work.
Funny enough I've been designing a system for my mill locks over the past week as well.

I have 2 locks per axis but there a pain to reach, then the DRO usually runs a little when tightening either one, so both locks will tighten together.

I've made a rough model up of the Y axis to check leverage ratios etc which works fine, now I'm doing the Knee as I have to walk around the table to lock it.
It will consist of the 2 being linked and a bell crank system to a single handle at the front of the Knee.

Dave J

Originally Posted by Dave J

Nice work.
Funny enough I've been designing a system for my mill locks over the past week as well.

I have 2 locks per axis but there a pain to reach, then the DRO usually runs a little when tightening either one, so both locks will tighten together.

I've made a rough model up of the Y axis to check leverage ratios etc which works fine, now I'm doing the Knee as I have to walk around the table to lock it.
It will consist of the 2 being linked and a bell crank system to a single handle at the front of the Knee.

Dave J

And you blokes are having a go at me for being lazy!!!!

Post some photos Dave.

Originally Posted by Anorak Bob

Hi John,

I've pushed my luck before albeit with a slightly more rigid setup. It worked because it was a slot not a hole and the bar was an inch in diameter.

IMG_20180525_113611903 (Large).jpg IMG_20180525_120055708 (Large).jpg

In the case of the knee I couldn't use anything larger than an ER25 chuck to hold the noodle-esque ER16 chuck due to a lack of clearance.

I liked the idea of the extension and will use the idea when I need it for a small end mill etc, or as you have shown here.

Have been going to buy one for a long term toolpost internal grinder, but will now go shopping as it has other uses lol

Originally Posted by Anorak Bob

And you blokes are having a go at me for being lazy!!!!

Post some photos Dave.

The bodgy setup at the moment I won't post up as it was a experiment with whatever was laying around and fitted (M10 threaded cupboard feet onto scrap flatbar etc, lol)
But will once it's a finished project I will.
Just for laughs I might include a photo of it in the post just for you.

Dave J

Post ém Dave, even your bodgy setups are brilliant.

Phil

I'm loving this!

Bob, I get a kick out of you and your "laziness"

I almost feel normal now!

Simon

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