Thread: What did you learn today?

Originally Posted by BobL

Err - - - - - I did that.

Yes its free machining (well the salesman called it "machining mild steel")- sorry I should have said that

I do still get the feeling it's mining prices around here even though the boom has well and truly gorn.

I visited H&F recently just after their sale the salesmen serving me told me the sale figures for WA was a big fizzer so I told him you'll have to drop the prices a bit more and he looked at me like I was an idiot.

Last year I paid $75/m for 75mm diam crappy black bar at a regular steel merchant.

One way of determining whether it's 1214 free machining BMS is to leave it under your back verandah today. If it's orange with rust by tea time it's 1214.

BT

A first for me today (but old hat to many I'm sure). I'm turning the ends on 1200 to 1600 long 10mm round and needed to support the material sticking out from the headstock. Made a bush for the headstock tube and cobbled up a bearing block on a stand further out from that. Works well.

That looks pretty neat Bob, - a good solution for the occasion.
Rob

Thanks for the idea Bob, I did this ONCE and cleaned up half my bench, by stuff vibrating off, before I could switch the lathe off.
Kryn

We use a similar setup to that at work some times. We would normally use acetal or nylon bushes in the support, but your setup with the bearing is probably better.

Originally Posted by snapatap

We use a similar setup to that at work some times. We would normally use acetal or nylon bushes in the support, but your setup with the bearing is probably better.

6m 12.7 diameter

Originally Posted by welder

6m 12.7 diameter

Haven't done anything that small. We have done 6M lengths of 3/4" and 1" pipe.

Queensland's first railway line ran from Ipswich which is about 40km west of Brisbane, to Grandchester another 40km west. That was opened in 1865 and 150th anniversary celebrations were held at Grandchester today.

It was a good day out, but to me the really cool thing was that the loco that made the original run still exists and made that same run 150 years later.

Hey,

Newbie mistake 101 ?

Have been learning how to use my Rong Fu 30 circular column mill.

Opened up the top today and ...... Oh no ... shock horror ..... I've broken it !! Damn ! - the top of the drawbar has been sucked down deep inside the guts of the machine ............. how will this mill newbie ever fix it ? ...............

Sudden idea ................ wind the quill back up to zero - Bingo ..... top of the drawbar reappears .... panic over.

So anyway - what a stunning and amazing bit of gear - eats metal - far more effective than my little Hercus lathe - quite astonishing - I cannot imagine what it would be like to have one of those huge mills with the moving knee - they must be amazing.

Am working my way through Harold Hall book - done T nuts and simple clamps - tomorrow is DIY paralells then some toolmakers clamps, and a sharpening table for grinder, and one of these and two of those and and another thingie etc. etc. etc.

I can see that I may become a tad frustrated now and then with belt changes for speeds and losing the alignment when I change heights - there are workarounds and its gotta be character building and will make help me put together the specs for the next milling machine - had to start somewhere.

Seems to be quite a lot of people out there who have done lotsa work on improvements and then continuing to use their old circular column mills.

Think I'm kind of happy that I bought this one instead of a brand new X1 for the same dollars.

Oh yeah ... Have been using the brick we made in the scraping classes at the start of the year as a big solid square for aligning work on the mill - is that what I'm supposed to do with it ? - its so heavy that it sits there stable and I dont need to grow a 3rd hand to hold a flimsy square whilst I'm trying to set up work on the angle plate - works very well.

Bill

Bill, you'd be more than glad you bought the one you've got rather than the X1, if mine's anything to go by. It spends more time in pieces or waiting for parts, than working.
Up to now, there has been several drive gears in the gearbox including a set of metal ones it chewed up, 2 X circuit boards, these are now in Qld awaiting repair, motor drive gear X 4, the intermediate gear X 3. The only ones making money out of my mill, is Australia Post and the spare parts places , I think I've spent around $300 on postage for parts and posting off, plus close to $1000 for parts.
Kryn

Originally Posted by bob ward

Queensland's first railway line ran from Ipswich which is about 40km west of Brisbane, to Grandchester another 40km west. That was opened in 1865 and 150th anniversary celebrations were held at Grandchester today.

It was a good day out, but to me the really cool thing was that the loco that made the original run still exists and made that same run 150 years later.

Nice, but they should have cleared the tracks of follage before sending the loco through!

There must be a few steam whisperers up north that kept the original loco in such good nic.

Simon

Originally Posted by steamingbill

Hey,

Newbie mistake 101 ?

Have been learning how to use my Rong Fu 30 circular column mill.

Opened up the top today and ...... Oh no ... shock horror ..... I've broken it !! Damn ! - the top of the drawbar has been sucked down deep inside the guts of the machine ............. how will this mill newbie ever fix it ? ...............

Sudden idea ................ wind the quill back up to zero - Bingo ..... top of the drawbar reappears .... panic over.

So anyway - what a stunning and amazing bit of gear - eats metal - far more effective than my little Hercus lathe - quite astonishing - I cannot imagine what it would be like to have one of those huge mills with the moving knee - they must be amazing.

Am working my way through Harold Hall book - done T nuts and simple clamps - tomorrow is DIY paralells then some toolmakers clamps, and a sharpening table for grinder, and one of these and two of those and and another thingie etc. etc. etc.

I can see that I may become a tad frustrated now and then with belt changes for speeds and losing the alignment when I change heights - there are workarounds and its gotta be character building and will make help me put together the specs for the next milling machine - had to start somewhere.

Seems to be quite a lot of people out there who have done lotsa work on improvements and then continuing to use their old circular column mills.

Think I'm kind of happy that I bought this one instead of a brand new X1 for the same dollars.

Oh yeah ... Have been using the brick we made in the scraping classes at the start of the year as a big solid square for aligning work on the mill - is that what I'm supposed to do with it ? - its so heavy that it sits there stable and I dont need to grow a 3rd hand to hold a flimsy square whilst I'm trying to set up work on the angle plate - works very well.

Bill

Nice work Bill, It's an amazing journey when you buy your first mill. Looking forward to seeing you tackle the boring head when you get to that part of the book.

Simon

I learnt that a chuck slowing down while turning when tool applied to the surface may NOT be slipping belt, motor dying it may just be that the grub screw on the pullley has come loose.

Don't let inexperienced people push the cycle start button before the program has been proven!!

This crash happened at work a few weeks ago and although I knew that the turret was misaligned, I did not expect to see a broken crosslide casting. The crack/break could not be seen until I removed tooling and turret in preparation the relatively simple process of replacing the bent dowel pins.

I now have a much larger job ahead of removing the crosslide to survey any other damage and then trying to locate a replacement slide. This is a generic FEL 1640ENC CNC Lathe of Asian origin.


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Originally Posted by Techo1

Don't let inexperienced people push the cycle start button before the program has been proven!!

This crash happened at work a few weeks ago and although I knew that the turret was misaligned, I did not expect to see a broken crosslide casting. The crack/break could not be seen until I removed tooling and turret in preparation the relatively simple process of replacing the bent dowel pins.

I now have a much larger job ahead of removing the crosslide to survey any other damage and then trying to locate a replacement slide. This is a generic FEL 1640 CNC Lathe of Asian origin.


DSC01363.jpg

DSC01364.jpg

DSC01365.jpg

oops...wasnt me honest

Hope all goes well in sourcing parts and hope not to much more damage