You could spend part of the time doing the traditional Asian"
machine tool mantra" of taking it apart, stoning or filing burrs off of
sliding parts, replacing the screws with ones of good metal and the
like.
This will make it a better machine. The sort of thing which the
factory *should* have done, but the Asian factories typically do not.
Yes. I'll be following the advice at the mini-lathe pages.
The "modified compound" was what the web site you pointed me to
was offering to allow the use of an AXA sized toolpost on this small a
lathe. With the standard compound, the toolpost will be too high, and
you won't be able to adjust the tools to centerline.
Ok. There are several sellers of this tool post/holder set on Ebay. And
it has to be "milled to fit". :-( Perhaps I should hold off on the tool
post. BTW. I found the AXA-16N in the MSC catolog(for $152.25).
So I'd have to decide wether or not to stick with end mill holders or
get another set of collets(3C) for the spindle. Hmmm. The end mill
holders would seem to be more reliable, but the 3C would allow me to
work hold.(I did win that 5C collet chuck on eBay that I may be able to
use for light work at least).
Yes!
Hmmm. Ebay: 7593078186
(Perhaps I can make a "collet block" tool holder for indexing). :-)
Yes -- that would be a good task to get started learning your
lathe and its capabilities.
It's limitations make me wonder if I should bother getting precision 5C
collets or just regular 5C collets.(Even after a tune up).
Ok. Let's see. No "DoveTail Drill Chuck Tool Holder".All I need is the
Morse Taper #2 toll holder to allow me to use the center and regular
drills that I'd normally use on the tail stock, correct?
Yes -- with the problem of getting lateral centering each time
you use them which I mentioned before.
I'd like to mention that reamers, taps, ect. can also be put into that
holder.
I still don't know what a "chip breaker" is.
Oh -- I thought that you were asking whether you should get one.
It is a geometry in the insert or toolbit which causes the chips to curl
more than they can tolerate, so they break off frequently. Otherwise,
you can wind up with long spiral chips, which look pretty, but which can
get tangled up in the spinning workpiece and the chuck. And they often
have rather nasty sharp edges. Your stainless steel is probably one of
the flavors which will make the nasty ones.
I'll also have to come up with a good system for waste disposal.
An end mill grinding fixture is only for the square ended end
mills. For a ball end mill, you will need a serious tool and cutter
grinder, and quite a bit of time to learn to use it properly. I don't
have one, and have never had a chance to learn one. It will be a lot
cheaper to just buy new ball end mills as needed -- or if you are
dulling them a lot, find a service which will sharpen them for you.
Good. One less worry. BTW, the guide in the MSC catalog points to 3
flute end mills as the best choice for what I want to do with stainless
steel. I guess that I can plunge jussst about any 1/4" ball-end mill
into Delrin. But the depth would have to be consistent between holes.
Which reminds me, I also need to get a carriage stop.
* MT2 Rotabroach Arbor(@#$%! And I just brought a Rotabroach).
?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=7591760352
I was discussin it in another thread.("Using A Rotabroach Cutter In A
Lathe")
*Please* -- when you post eBay auctions, just post the auction
number (7591760352 in the above), rather than the whole URL. That is
all that *I* use, and nobody else seems to be following this thread any
more.
Did you notice that this one is in England? The currency
exchange can be a pain, and shipping can take forever.
Yes, I noticed. But there doesn't seem to be another supplier.
It looks interesting -- though it is probably made for a mag
base drill, not a lathe.
I assume you mean the cutter portion and not the shank.
* Steady Rest(Micro-Mark OEM)
* Follower Rest(Micro-Mark OEM)
Good.
* Face Plate
Does this not come standard with the lathe? The other two
*should* come standard with it, but probably don't.
You mean the rests?
The face plate should come standard with the lathe. The steady
and follower rests will have to come from the importer (Micro-Mark in
this case) as they don't cross over to other machines very well.
Yes. I'll be getting only the items that I have to get from Micro-Mark.
And the 60 degree center reamer set was for when I was thinking of
making a tool holder that could be centered by having a rear hole in
the smae shape as the tail stock center.
That is the function normally performed by the center drills.
(Also listed as drill and countersink in the catalogs.) That reamer may
be needed for precision center holes when working on a precision
grinder, but not for normal lathe work.
Ok. I'll just stick with getting over/under hand reamers where
needed.(And just line the center drill up with the tail stock center).
lathe Dog?
Not *one* lathe dog, but a set of lathe dogs to handle the range
of sizes which you expect to turn between centers.
And this is the one commonly mentioned item that I've not yet read
about a purpose for.
O.K. Think of a workpiece held between centers (a ball bearing
live center in the tailstock, and a solid center in the headstock).
This holds the workpiece perfectly on center -- but what turns the
workpiece. The surface area of contact between the headstock center and
the workpiece is too small to put any significant torque into it. A
lathe dog has a hole which slips over the workpiece, with a setscrew to
clamp it to the workpiece. The dog typically has a bent tail which
engages a slot in the driver faceplate. Some have straight tails, and
are driven by a bolt run through the faceplate and held by a nut.
Ok. I assume that each will encompass a small range of diameters so I
won't have to buy one for every 1/16" of an inch. :-)
Rotary Table?
Dividing Head?
Index Plates?
Once you get a milling machine -- and the machine's size will
determine the size of what you want to get.
Actually, I've been studying these items because I've been working on
designing a small indexing jig for drilling/slotting plastic(Delrin),
and I'll probably pick up some index plates to use in it's design.
Note that the typical index plates are designed for different
gear ratios on different index heads. Mine is a 40:1 ratio, some are
20:1, and some are 90:1. You need to match the index plates to whatever
gearing is present in the index head which you buy or make.
My idea is actually a little different. Basically all I need is a plate
with 36 equally spaced holes and another with 10 holes. Actually it
probably would be best to just make what I need.(The only other end
mills I'll need will be for gear cutting).
BTW. Since it was cheap and I'm getting a lot of other stuff from the
seller, I bought a little 5C spin index to experiment with.(#)
And as far as milling machines go. I was going to get the Micro-Mark
cousin to my lathe, but I've seen too many of them show up on eBay
broken.(So I'll wait).
Trammel
This suggests delusions of grandeur. Think of that as a very
large compass -- and none of your machines are large enough to take you
beyond the range of a normal machinist's divider.
Actually, the items I was looking at int he HF catalog are quite small.
Hmm ... normally a trammel is designed to take the place of a
compass or dividers where a standard design is too large to be easy to
use. There are trammel point sets designed to clamp onto a standard
yardstick for a cheap way to do it. I have a nice Starrett one with a
spare bar to allow handling a radius of up to 18", IIRC.
I'll be using a ruler. :-)
Die?
Not just one. How many threads will you need to cut? One die
for each. (Assuming that you can't cut the thread directly on the
lathe.)
I've been looking at sets. All I need to make are standard holes from
1/8" to the larger bolt sizes. I still need to find a site that deals
with the nomenclature.
Beware of carbon steel dies. They are too brittle, and will
break or will chip teeth. You want HSS taps and or dies. The dies are
only needed for making external threads, which you should be able to do
on the lathe. The taps are more useful to you because internal
threading on a lathe of the smaller sizes is quite difficult.
I have still not figured out the corresponding tap diameters for those
numbers under 1/4". Also, I'm still keeping my eyes open for a good
bench block.(They seem to range from just over 2 inches to jsut over 4
inches).
The dies can be used to smooth down a thread which was cut just
a little oversized.
Ok. But I guess that I wouldn't *need* them if I cut the thread
correctly.
Bench Block? + ?
Hand Reamers?
Cutting/Tapping fluid?
Bandsaw?
Bench Grinder?
How much will your apartment floor hold? Even with small
machines, you're building up a collection of tools there. The bandsaw,
and a *good* bench grinder will weigh as much as the lathe, I suspect.
Well, the floor can support me and I weight well over three times what
the basic lathe weighs.(And well over twice it's length). :-)
But the bandsaw and the bench grinder are of similar weight to
your lathe -- or heavier.
The basic machine is only 90lbs(which I think is lighter than most in
it's class). So much for that "more massive bedway" statement in their
advertisment.(They do call it's .47 hp motor powerful).
:-)
Anyway, The bandsaw would be for cutting that 1/4" thick stainless I
mentioned.
So you would need a vertical bandsaw for that. The horizontal
ones are good for cutting overlength stock to a reasonable length for
what you intend to do with it.
And a vertical bandsaw which will run at speeds appropriate for
stainless will be big and heavy. Proably 600 pounds or so, at a rough
guess.
600?!?
What about 4" long cuts through 1/16" thick stainless steel?
Thanks a lot.
Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.