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Skunkduster posted:My mill uses R8 collets, but I was thinking of getting some 5C collets with hex and square collet blocks and maybe an indexer down the line to do fluted shafts and knobs. I'm wondering if getting collets in increments of 16ths of an inch will be good enough. For example, if I am trying to hold a piece that is 17/64ths, would it fit in a 1/4" collet? If not, would it be too loose in a 5/16ths collet? They have drawbacks of their own, notably needing more length to clamp down on and being front closing, but ER collets have a much less narrow clamping range.
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Feb 18, 2024 21:10
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Yeah I was going to recommend ER collects as well, I've always used them for drills and reamers when I need something more sturdy or permanent than a drill chuck and I think they have like a 1mm range? I've never used anything bigger than er32 but I think er40 gets up to an inch capacity which might be similar to 5c?
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Feb 18, 2024 21:30
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shame on an IGA posted:For the index head think real hard about what you would need to do with it that a lathe chuck couldn't handle I'm going to let my ignorance shine here and ask how do you index with a lathe chuck? I don't plan on making gears or precise splined shafts, so an indexing head is one of those "maybe some day" items that I might only use once every couple of years. In response to the other posts, I'm not dead set on 5C. If ER collets will work better, than I have no problems going that direction. I mainly want to be able to use square and hex collet blocks on the mill for situations where I make a round knob and I want to put some grooves in it for a better grip or maybe milling four or six faces on a turned object so I can get a wrench or socket on it. For handles, a knurling tool is another thing on my wish list.
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Feb 19, 2024 01:35
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I misread what you wanted to do and thought you were talking about holding work in a dividing head with collets instead of the standard 3-jaw or 4-jaw that usually comes on those.
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Feb 19, 2024 02:12
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Skunkduster posted:I'm going to let my ignorance shine here and ask how do you index with a lathe chuck? I don't plan on making gears or precise splined shafts, so an indexing head is one of those "maybe some day" items that I might only use once every couple of years. ER collets have the benefit of clamping on two surfaces (front of collet-back of collet. So as you lock it down it gives you better rigidity for the tool. We use a lot of 5C collets and in our experience you have a +0 / - 0.002" window for best behavior. We strictly buy Special Accuracy Hardinge and even then it's frustrating come inspection time. We do 100% inspection and regularly send them back.
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Feb 19, 2024 02:12
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Yooper posted:ER collets have the benefit of clamping on two surfaces (front of collet-back of collet. So as you lock it down it gives you better rigidity for the tool. We use a lot of 5C collets and in our experience you have a +0 / - 0.002" window for best behavior. We strictly buy Special Accuracy Hardinge and even then it's frustrating come inspection time. We do 100% inspection and regularly send them back. Sounds like ER is the way to go. I initially looked up hex/square R8 collet block holders and came up with nothing, but I did see quite a few hits for 5C so I assumed that was the alternative. Glad I checked here first. With a little bit of research, it seems that ER32 is fairly common and has compatible hex/square collet blocks and indexers. Keeping in mind that I'm a hobbyist with a mini lathe and benchtop mill in my basement and not a production shop, is there any reason going with ER32 would be a bad idea? Thanks!
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Feb 19, 2024 20:42
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Skunkduster posted:Sounds like ER is the way to go. I initially looked up hex/square R8 collet block holders and came up with nothing, but I did see quite a few hits for 5C so I assumed that was the alternative. Glad I checked here first. With a little bit of research, it seems that ER32 is fairly common and has compatible hex/square collet blocks and indexers. Keeping in mind that I'm a hobbyist with a mini lathe and benchtop mill in my basement and not a production shop, is there any reason going with ER32 would be a bad idea? Thanks! Not really. And ER collet chucks work really well on small lathes. Just make sure ER32 goes up to the max size you may need before you start standardizing on it. If not you can look at ER40, though I think 32 is a lot more widely used.
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Feb 20, 2024 00:43
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TerminalSaint posted:Does anyone know what kind of steel wood auger bits are typically made of? I'm guessing some type of carbon or tool steel; I assume HSS would be too brittle and overkill for wood anyway. You should be able to get that tap out and try again. I would edm this. For a one off it would be cheaper than a carbide tap or thread milling. Major downside is I usually get threads back from edm that the no go gauge pops right in. I'm mostly surprised you successfully tapped the first hole.
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Feb 20, 2024 05:06
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Me too. I wasn't terribly shocked when it broke, but I was hoping I could extract it without too much trouble since it was a pretty short through-hole. Unfortunately it was too jammed in to rotate out with a punch, and being an M4 hole I had hardly any room for drilling attempts. I went ahead and gave annealing the bit a shot. It was quite successful, much softer. I trimmed the previous attempt off and cut a new slot, it cut much easier and came out cleaner than the first one so I'm pretty pleased. From the sparks I'm thinking it's some flavor of high carbon. I'm feeling pretty sanguine about being able to drill and tap tomorrow. Given the application I'm not sure I'll even need to reharden it when I'm done.
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Feb 20, 2024 06:04
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Ice drill update in case anyone was wondering: Works like a hot drat. One of my guys did four ice checks in the time it previously took to do one.
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Feb 24, 2024 03:54
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Amazing! When you first asked that question, I was thinking of all the ways home-made carbide tooling would go wrong. But ice drilling! That was a great idea.
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Feb 24, 2024 06:15
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New machine day!
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Feb 27, 2024 17:45
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It's adorable!
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Feb 27, 2024 18:11
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My own first lathe was a very similar one, used it for years, learned lots from it.
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Feb 27, 2024 18:58
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CarForumPoster posted:New machine day! I have a mini lathe and found that Frank Hoose's videos are very helpful in learning how to use it and tune it up. https://www.youtube.com/@frankhoose/playlists Also, you'll probably want to upgrade that tool holder to a quick change tool post sooner rather than later. https://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_category.php?category=-419988835
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Feb 27, 2024 19:21
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Skunkduster posted:I have a mini lathe and found that Frank Hoose's videos are very helpful in learning how to use it and tune it up. It came with a quick change tool post... ...for ants Its the dinkiest lil thing I've ever seen. Oh well, its a start.
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Feb 27, 2024 22:47
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CarForumPoster posted:It came with a quick change tool post... I'd love to see a picture of it if you get a chance.
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Feb 28, 2024 20:08
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Skunkduster posted:I'd love to see a picture of it if you get a chance. Here it is just sitting on the compound not bolted in. Maybe 1.5” tall 
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Feb 28, 2024 20:44
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CarForumPoster posted:Here it is just sitting on the compound not bolted in. Maybe 1.5” tall Whatever image host you're using isn't showing images.
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Feb 28, 2024 22:42
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:Whatever image host you're using isn't showing images. Shows up for me? Edit: Shows up on mobile, but not on my laptop. armorer fucked around with this message at 23:02 on Feb 28, 2024 |
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Feb 28, 2024 22:45
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:Whatever image host you're using isn't showing images. It's fine
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Feb 28, 2024 22:50
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It didn't show up on phone or laptop OR VPN, so I posted.... it's fine now. Very strange.
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Feb 28, 2024 23:36
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It shows up just fine, it's just that small.
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Feb 28, 2024 23:52
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What's the best way of doing a straight "rip cut" on sheet steel? I've got a piece of 20 gauge mild steel and right now I'm planning on clamping it down and using an angle grinder with a cutting wheel. But if there's a better method/tool I'm open to it.
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Feb 29, 2024 00:02
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For 20 gauge steel? Foot shear, if you can find one wide enough for your work. Failing that, CNC plasma or laser cutter. Failing that, a circular saw with the appropriate blade. Failing that, power nibbler with a ruler clamped down as a fence to make a straight line. Failing that, some sort of grinder with an abrasive cutting wheel. Failing that, tin snips. Failing that, a cold chisel and hammer. Failing that, bend it a lot along the line and rip it apart (wear gloves; might have to bulk up first). If none of those work for you, unfortunately, I'm out of ideas!
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Feb 29, 2024 00:15
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what are the dimensions of the sheet? If it's like four feet wide and long, your options are far fewer than if it's like eight inches
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Feb 29, 2024 01:27
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Ah, it's 18 gauge. So a bit thicker than 20. I got it wrong in my first post. And it's 9 inches wide. I have a plasma cutter but it's not cnc. I wouldn't say I'm good with it but maybe this is a chance to practice. I have a 4 inch throatless shear that I just bought but it seems like it'd bend it up a bit. https://www.harborfreight.com/throatless-shear-38413.html
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Feb 29, 2024 04:05
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If you have a plasma cutter, just cut a long strip of masonite (ruler and box cutter) and clamp it onto the metal as a template and run the nozzle along the edge to get a straight line. The shear will give you a cleaner cut, if it can do the required geometry.
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Feb 29, 2024 05:02
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cutting across 9 inches with a hack saw isn't too bad, clamp to a block to prevent it from bending at the cut. You'll need to go from each side towards the middle because of the maximum depth of cut, and probably tilt to a pretty shallow cut for the very middle bit, but it's do-able. For one cut. If you're making a dozen cuts, don't do that. Another thing you can do since it's mild steel is clamp a guide and score it across your line with a carbon steel tool. Ten or so passes with a very sharp scribe or even just a box cutter, anything with a hardened edge, to gouge deep into the metal, then bend back and forth at your scribed line and it should snap off.
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Feb 29, 2024 17:42
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I just did a couple of test bends with my metal brake. They came out more rounded than I'd like. I'm hoping to roughly match the sort of mildly rounded 90 degree corners of square tube. Is that realistic? What can I do to tighten up the corners? I'm planning on trying different positions of the clamping plate. I'm also going to try scoring the outside edge of the bend to give the metal a natural break point. Anything else I ought to do?
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Mar 3, 2024 02:49
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e: nvm
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Mar 3, 2024 06:06
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Yeah pushing the toe of your clamping plate closer to the bending point will tighten that up, I think you only want slightly more than your sheet thickness between the edge of the clamp and the lower apron or whatever the name of the plate that swings up is. I usually left it set for the thickness of whatever my most common thick material was but if I needed a real crisp bend I'd adjust it. You shouldn't need to score it unless your material is too thick relative to the rigidity of your brake.
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Mar 3, 2024 15:44
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I have a cheap mini lathe and a benchtop mill and am just a hobbyist. I don't machine steel very often, but when I do, I use way oil as a lubricant because that's what I have. Is way oil (or motor oil) good enough, or is there a different lubricant that I should be using? edit: I'm talking about mild steel like A36. Skunkduster fucked around with this message at 01:28 on Mar 11, 2024 |
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Mar 11, 2024 01:24
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at those scales you can get along just fine with nothing at all, cooling and lubrication are a game for people who need to push feed rates to meet a deadline
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Mar 11, 2024 02:03
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Skunkduster posted:I have a cheap mini lathe and a benchtop mill and am just a hobbyist. I don't machine steel very often, but when I do, I use way oil as a lubricant because that's what I have. Is way oil (or motor oil) good enough, or is there a different lubricant that I should be using? You'll get some benefit from chips being less likely to load up on the tool nose. Beyond that, like IGA said, it'll be marginal. If I'm turning something I'll do a touch of oil or WD, you can definitely see the difference. But A36 always looks like poop regardless how nice you machine it.
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Mar 11, 2024 02:11
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however, 32 ounces of dark thread cutting oil is less than eight bucks at home depot and that's enough for three lifetimes of hobbyist work https://www.homedepot.com/p/Oatey-32-oz-Dark-Thread-Cutting-Oil-30204/202078159 so why the hell not I use "Lenox protool cutting lube" which costs more like ten bucks for a little bottle, but I only use a drop or two for cutting metal and that means my little bottle is gonna last decades is it better? poo poo I dunno, don't really care, if it saves me a single drill bit once, it's worth it Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 06:47 on Mar 11, 2024 |
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Mar 11, 2024 06:43
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I use superlube, because it doesn't smell like anything. And even WD40 is too strong smelling for my living room. It's weird how context changes things like that. WD40 smells great in the machine shop. Bad in the home.
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Mar 11, 2024 07:49
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I like Tricool MD1. Makes your chips smell like french fries or summer rain
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Mar 11, 2024 08:21
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Thanks for the replies. I was mainly concerned with heat ruining the end mills, so I figured it would help to add some lubricant. I'll pick up some of that Oatey dark thread tapping oil. One the subject of tapping, my mill (https://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=5550) has a tapping function on it which slows the spindle speed down and enables the buttons on the feed handle to reverse the motor. I've used it before to tap small holes in aluminum and plastic with success. I had to drill and tap some 1/2"x13 holes in 5/16 steel plate (7/16" pilot) the other day and decided not to risk breaking the tap, so I did it by hand. I know this varies based on skill and experience, but where would you draw the line (as far as materiel and size) between feeling comfortable tapping with the mill and doing it by hand? HolHorsejob posted:I like Tricool MD1. Makes your chips smell like french fries or summer rain To me, those are two very different smells. Does it depend on the material you are cutting?
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Mar 11, 2024 15:46
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If you pick up a floating tap holder and its thru holes that usually works pretty well. You can also pick up a self reversing tapping head (which isnt cheap tho) which makes blind tapping even on a drill press pretty easy. I'd be pretty nervous hand-reversing a tap in a blind hole, especially without a floating tap holder. The biggest danger is bottoming out and your tap continuing to try and drive itself down and breaking the shaft from the torque, I've never tried it in a drill press or mill but maybe some kind of clutched chuck like on a hand drill would help?
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Mar 11, 2024 17:01
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