"In the world of spuds today"

[Moonbogg]

JSR let me know if you want me to make you some drawings. It would be fun to help you with one of your projects. Not that you need it or anything, but it would still be fun. The main benefit is you can see the assembly before machining it to make sure nothing interferes and everything fits together etc.

[mrfoo]

The one I linked to has the benefit of the vise screw claming downwards, preventing the jaw from tilting when it is tightened. It's rather small though, 4"or 6" would be better.

I do all my milling on the lathe, which means it's all a bit restricted in terms of space, I clamp onto a plate on the milling slide. Most of the time I use finger clamps, but if I need full, unfettered access to the surface of the piece I have some low-profile side clamps, which are effectively one side of a milling vice. Here's some on a real big-boy milling machine :

do you own a dial indicator? You'll really need one …

Amen to that. I've found that the chinese brand "shahe" (link to their aliexpress store) are extremely good, on a par with the Mitutoyo gear we have at work, and at a fraction of the cost. Possibly not up to my Roch stuff, but I'm partial to Roch, and I paid a lot of money for it so it must be good. Seriously, though, Shahe instruments, particularly the "analogue" ones, are great - proof that the Chinese can and do make quality gear, but you are paying a bit more than for the super-cheap craptacular shite.

A DTI (finger / lever indicator) is more useful than a plunge indicator in most cases, but you really need both. And some micrometers. and …

[Gippeto]

@Lab, Not sure which vise you're referring to. I've not bothered to actually measure, but have not had any problems. The new one does lift enough to loosen the parallel despite adjustment. Snugging in stages and some love taps with a dead blow is standard practice to counter this. I do have a 2" tool makers vise, and am familiar with how they clamp...I would LOVE to have a 4". Been wanting to make a two piece vise similar to what Mr Foo posted...it never ends lol. This Old Tony on youtube made a nice one...

A DTI (finger / lever indicator) is more useful than a plunge indicator in most cases, but you really need both. And some micrometers. and …

That list grows pretty fast the more you think about it doesn't it lol.

[Labtecpower]

That list grows pretty fast the more you think about it doesn't it lol.

Maybe we need to wait for JSR to test the precision of his machines before we start talking him into throwing money at trinkets he might need in the future

Now whe're talking nice clamping tools, at the job we've collected a nice range of Erowa clamping systems. Now I can put stuff from my CNC mill directly into the lathe, measure it on a mitutoyo CMM, put it back on the mill and be sure it's in the exact same spot as it was before. Definitely a game changer when making complicated parts.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

It took some tools to bring you out of the ... metalwork?

This one is slightly more expensive, but looks way more precise to me. It's very much like the vices I use in the workshop. Also has some nice triangular cutouts in the jaws for clamping round parts.

Fair point, that's the one I ended up going for. It's the same style I have on the Sherline.

JSR let me know if you want me to make you some drawings. It would be fun to help you with one of your projects. Not that you need it or anything, but it would still be fun.

Thanks for the offer, I'll keep it in mind

Also, do you own a dial indicator? You'll really need one to properly align the vise with the machine X-axis, and to check the flatness of the bed relative to the X and Y slides.

Actually I don't. My milling experiences have mostly been "that looks about right" escapades guided by 1-2-3 blocks, perhaps it's time to move to the next level!

the chinese brand "shahe"

Huh, something like that?

Do I need one of these to use it?

Maybe we need to wait for JSR to test the precision of his machines before we start talking him into throwing money at trinkets he might need in the future

I threw about a thousand dollars at eBay this morning, now we wait...



A word about lubrication, should I do the JSR thing and go with 30W motor oil like this dude?

[mrfoo]

Yep, that looks about right as far as lever indicators go. You'll probably want a plunge indicator as well, though. And a couple of mag bases. Then you can make up some indicator holders for the lathe toolpost, and maybe one to clamp to the ways.

For tramming the mill, all you really need is a piece of bar with a clamping hole for a plunge indicator, and some way of holding it in the spindle. No need to go spending loads of money, making crap like that is what you have machine tools for.

As far as oiling goes, you could spend loads of money on expensive way oil, even more expensive bearing oil, and so on. Or you could use engine oil. It might not be quite as good, but even fish oil is better than no oil. Apart from the stench. On my Schaublin, which has a bearing headstock, I use motor oil. The ARE gets Dexron II, which is apparently nicer to plain bearings than "modern" motor oil, something to do with the additives. Not sure I really buy that, though, my motor has plain shell bearings and it does pretty well on el cheapo crapoil.

What chinese stuff usually needs, though, is a teardown and thorough clean to remove all the grinding dust the tongs leave in there, which combines with the oil to make grinding paste. Might as well deburr all those knife-edges they leave all over the place at the same time, too.

[Labtecpower]

Or you could use engine oil. It might not be quite as good, but even fish oil is better than no oil. Apart from the stench. On my Schaublin, which has a bearing headstock, I use motor oil. The ARE gets Dexron II, which is apparently nicer to plain bearings than "modern" motor oil, something to do with the additives. Not sure I really buy that, though, my motor has plain shell bearings and it does pretty well on el cheapo crapoil.

Older oils (GL4 as opposed to GL5) tend to be better for brass and bronze parts, the additives in hypoid oils tend to eat them away somehow. Some simple 75w90 GL4 gear oil however is more than adequate for keeping the straight cut gears in your machine's gearbox alive, and lubricating the ways.
For more expensive equipment like the Schaublins, DMG's and Mahos at the job I tend to follow the lubrification specifications religiously, the ceramic spindle bearings in the DMU40 cost more than a schaublin lathe I believe.

[Moonbogg]

JSR, if you reverse the jaws, how large of a diameter can you turn on your lathe without using a face plate? Of course, I'm thinking of cannon chamber size here, hehe.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

What chinese stuff usually needs, though, is a teardown and thorough clean to remove all the grinding dust the tongs leave in there, which combines with the oil to make grinding paste. Might as well deburr all those knife-edges they leave all over the place at the same time, too.

Manual recommends the following:

ten days after the machine is put into normal use, it is necessary to change the oil in the headstock.

Do you think that's enough?

JSR, if you reverse the jaws, how large of a diameter can you turn on your lathe without using a face plate? Of course, I'm thinking of cannon chamber size here, hehe.

Swing over carriage is 5 inches, we should be good for some big bores

Here's a question, forgive me if it's stupid:



I don't seem to have any way to move the saddle longitudinally beyond wheel #3, and it's not a very fine movement, so what am I supposed to do for the latter? Used the compound slide? In the diagram there is a handwheel on the leadscrew but this seems to have been eliminated from the design.

[Gippeto]

Manual recommends the following:

ten days after the machine is put into normal use, it is necessary to change the oil in the headstock.

Do you think that's enough?

Changed the oil in mine before I ran it in and after. Now change it yearly. Doesn't hold much oil so it's cheap insurance. Don't forget to change oil in the apron as well.

JSR, if you reverse the jaws, how large of a diameter can you turn on your lathe without using a face plate? Of course, I'm thinking of cannon chamber size here, hehe.

Swing over carriage is 5 inches, we should be good for some big bores

Here's a question, forgive me if it's stupid:



I don't seem to have any way to move the saddle longitudinally beyond wheel #3, and it's not a very fine movement, so what am I supposed to do for the latter? Used the compound slide? In the diagram there is a handwheel on the leadscrew but this seems to have been eliminated from the design.

Yes. Can make a mount for a dial indicator and clamp it to the bed way as well. Useful piece of kit, and many ways to mount/use them.

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1OK ... 66&bih=625

Could also mod a cheap digital vernier caliper into a small dro...

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Changed the oil in mine before I ran it in and after. Now change it yearly. Doesn't hold much oil so it's cheap insurance. Don't forget to change oil in the apron as well.

Do you think that would be enough to remove any residual debris from manufacturing though?

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1OK ... 66&bih=625

Could also mod a cheap digital vernier caliper into a small dro...

Very interesting! Cheers.

[Gippeto]

If you find "chunks" or an excess amount, a fellow would be wise to tear it right down. Significant investment, and "An ounce of prevention..." as the saying goes. The oil coming out of mine was reasonably clean.

You might also consider adding a magnet to the drain plugs.

[mrfoo]

Could also mod a cheap digital vernier caliper into a small dro...

Very interesting! Cheers.

One of my ongoing projects is to try modding the linear scale from an inkjet printer. "Stock", they are generally good for 600dpi, which is just over 0.04mm in scientific measures. My plan is to try and sin/cos the output rather than using quadrature direct, which means I should be able to get down to 5 micron level relatively easily. 5µ because it's twice the precision I work to.

Loads of other cack on the plate before I get to that, though.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

If you find "chunks" or an excess amount, a fellow would be wise to tear it right down. Significant investment, and "An ounce of prevention..." as the saying goes. The oil coming out of mine was reasonably clean.

It seems like it's relatively easy to remove the top of the headstock, worth taking a look

You might also consider adding a magnet to the drain plugs.

Already purchased

One of my ongoing projects is to try modding the linear scale from an inkjet printer. "Stock", they are generally good for 600dpi, which is just over 0.04mm in scientific measures. My plan is to try and sin/cos the output rather than using quadrature direct, which means I should be able to get down to 5 micron level relatively easily. 5µ because it's twice the precision I work to.

Clever!

[mrfoo]

The reason for doing that rather than modding digital calipers is because I'm going to need real time feed, the main reason is to feed an electronic leadscrew setup. Neither of my lathes have threading capability...

As for stripdowns, I've never had a piece of chinese gear that wasn't chock full of grinding dust. Just saying, like.