Stomis
Professional Amateur
Its really heavy lol.
Dicking around with the single point on a scrap piece of pipe.
Ive got a lot to learn but the possibilities are endless
CK5
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New addition to the tool arsenal.
- Thread starter Stomis
- Start date
Its really heavy lol.
Dicking around with the single point on a scrap piece of pipe.
Ive got a lot to learn but the possibilities are endless
I'll be over sunday hunk o' billet in hand...
nice!!! 
Cool. Id love to have one of those.
Cool!
Get a right hand tool and feed towards the chuck...
Get a right hand tool and feed towards the chuck...
Stomis
Professional Amateur
No joke. Come the **** over and we'll play with it!
Do you have any good literature? Im a total machining noob. Ive got to pick my bosses brain. I noticed my boss doesnt really single point anything at work and Im assuming thats why I was getting grooves with the autofeed turn on.
readymix
3/4 ton status
I have about 100 pounds of new carbide tooling in my garage. Might have something you could use.
No, unfortunately I don't but I'm sure there are some decent tutorials on YouTube.
Basics first to rid your cut of "grooves"...
Get a right hand tool and always machine towards the chuck.
Check your tool height to ensure you're in the center. Check it against the tailstock or face something solid and pay attention to it as you approach the center, you'll be able to see if your tool is sitting too high or low.
Turn your spindle speed up or turn your feed rate down.
Be as rigid as possible. If you need to machine something back 2", hang it out 2-1/8". Don't let your material hang out any more than necessary.
Very cool! that looks like it could be a lot of fun
Stomis
Professional Amateur
Ok thats a good start. I have gotten the jist that you should rough cut just a tad over finished length and then obviously meat for the chuck. Im going to have to look at my feed rate. I think theres just low and high. I had already turned my spindle up by 2 settings but I have no knowledge for a basis of what's too fast/slow for a given material.
A1971Blazer
1/2 ton status
Nice little starter machine tool........
..........it will make you hungry for bigger and better.............good to see someone interested.......for the last forty years all I have made is........ metal chips.......
you can make some really nice stuff with the right tools...!
search in Amazon and look for some books on the basics....youtube has hundreds of machining videos too.
..........it will make you hungry for bigger and better.............good to see someone interested.......for the last forty years all I have made is........ metal chips.......you can make some really nice stuff with the right tools...!
search in Amazon and look for some books on the basics....youtube has hundreds of machining videos too.
Stomis
Professional Amateur
Hey in reference to sharpening tools. I know I need to pick up a green grinding wheel for a bench grinder for the tool steel stuff. Should I be dressing the wheel with anything?
That would be awesome!
readymix
3/4 ton status
I'll post some photos tomorrow so you can see what I've got.
Forget the green wheel. First, it's not really good for tool steel. It's mostly for carbide tooling, but not particularly good at that either. It'll move the material, but leaves a relatively rough chipped edge when you look under the microscope. So you would need to do a LOT of finish work with a diamond lap to get a nice edge. Diamonds wheels have become relatively inexpensive, and even the very cheapest of them (but not "diamond coated") are better than a green wheel.
Other than that, good advice already. Rigidity is king, and your starting behind the ball more than a little with that type of machine, so do everything you can to keep things rigid. You also likely want to use HSS for most of your cutting. Easy to grind (particularly on a wheel like the Norton 38A with around H hardness), and MUCH lower cutting forces. Plus you can get bits pretty cheap at any shop auction, usually pilled in a 20 lb box for $10 or so.
Oh, and getting on center, if your starting with a round piece, just lightly (don't chip the tool!) grip a 6" machinist's ruler between the edge and the part. Looking down the bed toward the headstock, you can easily see when it's vertical, and that's when you're on center. Even a tiny bit above or below will make a visible change in angle. Of course the real fine tune is to face to center and look at the remaining pip, adjusting till it's gone.
Other than that, good advice already. Rigidity is king, and your starting behind the ball more than a little with that type of machine, so do everything you can to keep things rigid. You also likely want to use HSS for most of your cutting. Easy to grind (particularly on a wheel like the Norton 38A with around H hardness), and MUCH lower cutting forces. Plus you can get bits pretty cheap at any shop auction, usually pilled in a 20 lb box for $10 or so.
Oh, and getting on center, if your starting with a round piece, just lightly (don't chip the tool!) grip a 6" machinist's ruler between the edge and the part. Looking down the bed toward the headstock, you can easily see when it's vertical, and that's when you're on center. Even a tiny bit above or below will make a visible change in angle. Of course the real fine tune is to face to center and look at the remaining pip, adjusting till it's gone.
Also, as shown in the pic, that is a left hand brazed carbide tool being applied wrong. You are cutting with the clearance angle edge, which may not be relieved sufficiently for the cut since it's normally ground for max support. That bit can typically be used for cutting left to right, or facing OD inward. If you want/need to cut in that orientation, you'll need to grind the edges to achieve proper geometry. But generally you'll use a different bit (opposite, or "right hand") to cut right to left on the OD. And you are hanging the bit out much more than needed. Rigidity of everything is important, try to remove anything that can flex, and keep all forces transferred directly through the steel stack into the base casting (as much as possible). Anything overhanging is hurting you, but you'll need some overhang for clearance, you just want to minimize it. And eventually you'll learn to work so close to the chuck (again, minimize overhang) and tool post that it will scare people. Just remember, it's also easy to "crash" like that, so make sure you KNOW where you are and that you are going to have enough clearance. I generally rotate the chuck with the tool post in closest needed proximity to make sure it doesn't have a chuck jaw that's going to hit tool, post, compound, cross slide, or saddle. You want JUST enough room not to hit, and pay close attention, maybe setting a stop on the way to help keep you out of trouble...
Stomis
Professional Amateur
Wow awesome tips Baddog. I appreciate it. So my cut should be moving the direction of the short edge of the cutting tool correct? In that picture I was cutting away from the chuck which as Ive been told is not ideal, so was that correct or incorrect for that tool?
As far as minimizing the deflection factor I definitely feel you on that one. Doing an ID cut today on these spindle brackets I made. First time I had quite a bit of stick out trying to sneak the bit into the work and keep the tool post clear of the work. Second one I said screw that and slammed the tool post 1/4in from the work and set the tool back in. Cut so much better.
Heres what I made today. Dana 44 spindle pockets/brackets to put a 10bolt/dana 44 outer on a ford 8.8. Or well, any rear with a 3.25 axle diameter really. More pics in the s10 build thread.
As far as minimizing the deflection factor I definitely feel you on that one. Doing an ID cut today on these spindle brackets I made. First time I had quite a bit of stick out trying to sneak the bit into the work and keep the tool post clear of the work. Second one I said screw that and slammed the tool post 1/4in from the work and set the tool back in. Cut so much better.
Heres what I made today. Dana 44 spindle pockets/brackets to put a 10bolt/dana 44 outer on a ford 8.8. Or well, any rear with a 3.25 axle diameter really. More pics in the s10 build thread.
That would be correct for that tool, but not generally the best plan of attack. The way it looked, I thought you were turning toward the headstock, my mistake.
While lathes are certainly capable of cutting that way, and there are times when you'll want to cut that way, it's not typical. Cutting toward the spindle will put the forces into the stack, rather than pulling it away. Just like turning in reverse (without a threaded spindle) is sometimes also extremely useful, but the forces are working against you by lifting the carriage/cross-slide/etc. Much more dramatic problem, but easier to visualize.
Over time you'll get used to the machine and keeping it all in tight working close to the chuck will become second nature. And I've got to say, that part is at the ragged edge of what that machine was intended to handle, so everything is working against you. Congrats for accomplishing a successful outcome. But if you can, try learning on something more appropriately sized and it will likely give you better results and satisfaction while becoming accustomed to the machine. Then you can start pushing the limits.
Anyway, good luck, and welcome to the addiction. For me, machining was more like heroin than a hobby...
While lathes are certainly capable of cutting that way, and there are times when you'll want to cut that way, it's not typical. Cutting toward the spindle will put the forces into the stack, rather than pulling it away. Just like turning in reverse (without a threaded spindle) is sometimes also extremely useful, but the forces are working against you by lifting the carriage/cross-slide/etc. Much more dramatic problem, but easier to visualize.
Over time you'll get used to the machine and keeping it all in tight working close to the chuck will become second nature. And I've got to say, that part is at the ragged edge of what that machine was intended to handle, so everything is working against you. Congrats for accomplishing a successful outcome. But if you can, try learning on something more appropriately sized and it will likely give you better results and satisfaction while becoming accustomed to the machine. Then you can start pushing the limits.
Anyway, good luck, and welcome to the addiction. For me, machining was more like heroin than a hobby...
Stomis
Professional Amateur
Lol yeah this is probably the biggest part I'll even make on it, and knowing it is capable of making something like this makes me happy. Im going to look into the wheels you suggested also.
Also, if you are seriously interested in pursuing building those skills, I would suggest joining one of the dedicated boards. I mostly prefer Chaski these days. Slower and more laid back with some great advice available, though some chafe at the relatively tight reins keeping things focused and as generally accurate as possible. If you want more activity and interaction, the Home Shop Machinist is hard to beat. It runs fast like CK5, but you'll have a lot more drama and are left more to your own devices deciding what is really good advice/practice or not. Then there is Practical Machinist. The guy running it can be a bit of a jerk, but somewhat like Chaski, that's mainly because he has a vision of what he wants the forum to be, and deviation from that vision is not much tolerated. He's really not bad if you follow the rules, but you won't find much support for you or your machine there. It's targeted at professionals, though those with the better quality home shop grade machines are well represented. But with the exceptions of real industrial class machines, Chinese imports (and particularly 3-in-1 type machines) are actively culled and generally driven out. There are others with various slants, but those are the big 3. I'm on all 3, though not particularly active.
My biggest single piece of advice for you in starting out, is go over to the Chaski forum and look at the "library" (high value threads) for the threads on how to grind HSS, the creation and use of "chip breakers" (actually chip control to be more accurate), and how to modify a bench grinder to make grinding HSS *MUCH* (can't stress that enough) easier faster and more productive.
Mill work is a whole different world.
My biggest single piece of advice for you in starting out, is go over to the Chaski forum and look at the "library" (high value threads) for the threads on how to grind HSS, the creation and use of "chip breakers" (actually chip control to be more accurate), and how to modify a bench grinder to make grinding HSS *MUCH* (can't stress that enough) easier faster and more productive.
Mill work is a whole different world.
Stomis
Professional Amateur
Away to read I go!
