On Tue, 07 Sep 2004 00:20:46 -0500, Don Foreman
wrote:

Well done!

Thanks.

But a few follow up notes,

THis hammered home the one thing I don't have, and that's a good,
small, cylindrical master square. Something 2 1/2" to 3" diameter,
maybe five or six inches tall. I had one in the gage lab, and while I
seldom needed it, having a good supply of precision angle plates, when
It was needed, it was worth it's weight in gold. I'm thinking right
now, a piece of 1045, turned, centered, hardened and ground, solid not
hollow, I want the weight.

Secondly, it's a small machine, and even though it has the power to
pull a 3/8" endmill, full cut and 1/4" depth of cut, it doesn't have
the rigidity for that. 1/4" endmill, no problem. Finishing with a
1/8" endmill, as fast as it will go, .010" left for clean up and climb
cutting worked beautifully. (2024 aluminum, pocket milling 1/4" deep
with no object other than to remove metal.) Across the bottom of the
pocket, you can see the individual passes, but I can't feel anything
other than a nice smooth cut.

The gibs on the column have to be a little tighter than I'm used to,
but if they're not, when you tighten the lock, the head will move
slightly. Not really a problem, just more than I'm used to.

I reground the gib strip, mainly because I didn't like the way it
looked, and didn't like what my micrometer showed me. Maybe didn't
have to, but I did it anyhow. (Tapered and wavy, about .002")

The "fine downfeed", with the handwheel driving a worm, which drives
the pinion, and neither the pinion or rack being what I'd call
precision, using a dial indicator to show the actual feed seems to
make more sense than trusting the dial. There is also a rather sloppy
universal joint in this shaft, which makes using the indicator make
even more sense.

(Next victim, the HF $40 drill press.)