Member postings for Roy M

I made a 150mm 'height gauge' and got good results.

Purchase a £7.50 digital calliper, remove the non moveable jaw and clamp into a slot machined in an appropriate sized base.Set height to zero on a standard block.
It worked for me!

Roy.

I am surprised that nobody has suggested that you take a good look at the swarf. This can tell you lots about what is going on with your cutting. Is it even, is one side ragged, is it chipping or stringing ? All these are indicators of your cutting conditions and tip condition. Don't forget that the tool only makes swarf and just leaves the job behind! With the type of insert shown, the swarf should be coming off in tight spirals, like 'neat clock springs', (as described by an ISCAR rep). Also, if you are just using your parting tool for 'jobbing', you might like to consider using a 90deg tool, as opposed to an angled approach .

Roy M.

Nigel Taylor 2. Great minds think alike! I can't understand why these are not available commercially, I have searched several trade catalogues over the years but never found anything similar. Roy M

Zan, some valid points. I have made a few of these for production use and non has failed. I did add a pin to locate in the keyway as a belt and braces add-on for cnc work but there was no signs of were on the pin. I have used this design successfully with a 150mm dia X 8mm staggered tooth side and face cutter without using a key,(on a Bridgeport), I think that an important factor to consider is the clamping force that can be applied using an M10 thread with a full size hex key, as opposed to the normal wimpy arrangement! And the low profile clamp makes working closer to the vice-jaw possible, giving better support of the workpiece, thus reducing as much vibration as possible.Roy M

I posted some pictures and a 'how to make' explanation for an excellent arbour that I designed. The thread was- 'Slitting Saw Arbour, A useful workshop project'. Posted on 16/01/2017. I used this design professionally both on Bridgeport and CNC machines. You may find it interesting. Roy M.

Doug, with reference to your comment about the lack of inspection in Cinese factories, I read somewhere, (and after consideration have no reason to doubt the claim), that nothing is scrapped, just sold on as substandard to a supplier who chooses the best bits, then sells the rest on. Eventually, the dregs are unsaleable, but in between there is an awful lot of dodgy stuff in the marketplace that is visually the same, but rubbish.

Roy M.

Andrew, I have a selection of part-off tools to re-home for beer money. (just retired). Contact me if you are interested. Roy M.

I have worked professionally on Bridgeport machines for probably the best part of 40 years, lastly on E-Ztrak. Usually what happens is that the key shears, you order one from Bridgeport, you use the machine while waiting for the key, weeks later the key arrives, having not noticed any detriment to operating without said key. Then you fit the key. Two weeks later, the key shears, you order one from Bridgeport, then when it arrives, you put it in your toolbox forever.

Roy M.

Mathew Reed. I bought a drill grinder from Lidl, because it was only £15.00. It says it can grind drills from 3mm dia to 10mm. I wanted it to grind small drills.

Here is a report. The main body construction is adequate. It comes with 3 detachable 'units' for use as a knife sharpener, a chisel grinder, and drill sharpener. The chisel grinder works ok and gives a good square edge to the chisel prior to honing, it has an adjustable angle table. The drill grinder is interesting. The drill is secured along a vee groove using a thumb nut, and so the centre line of the drill changes ,(relative to the fixed rest on the grinder), depending upon the dia. This is a big dis-advantage. As the construction of the holder is only plastic there is a lot of un measurable movement which leads to very poor results on small drills. Aligning the drill ready for re-grind using the instructions and stops on the unit is really not very good and if you don't know how to grind a drill to start with, the unit, in my opinion, would be un usable. However I got good results when grinding a 10mm drill, which is the interesting bit. For £15.00 you get the opportunity to reverse engineer the drill grinding unit and make it accurately from steel, improve the drill alignment system and end up with a really good workshop project and a drill grinder that you could trust. As an off the shelf drill grinder it is of little use,in my opinion, but then I don't have a problem grinding drills off-hand. Hope this has been of some use. Roy M.

Here is how we used to drill and ream holes over any distance, usually better than .002" when making airframe jigs in the aerospace sector using drill bushes. You will need two 'drill bars', essentially these are gauge plate 150x 20x 12. With a slot for clamping. In one end is a reamed hole either 12mm or 1/2" depending upon the O.D. of your slip bushes. You pick up your first position using the optical centre finder, clamp the bar in position, then drill and ream to size. The second position is established by using a dowel in the fixed drill bar, then, with a dowel in the second drill bar, position using either a micrometer or inside mic., clamp bar in position, then drill.

I still have all the kit to dispose of after 20 odd years! Roy M.

They could be ejector pins from an injection mould tool, or quick change punches from a press tool. The scallops could be for retaining the pins/punch in the platen/die-set. Roy M.

Hello Leigh, and welcome! I have pretty well a shed load of kit to dispose of, having just retired as a toolmaker. I have accumulated lots of tools and gadgets. If you have a particular need, message me.😊

Mike, you can get 1/16" square key steel, this is really tough,but not sure of the hardening process. It's normally nominal size plus. RoyM

I don't know whether anyone out there is familiar with this dodge, which I have to good effect. We all know about keeping your newest cutter for your finish cut, thus prolonging its life, but instead of struggling with dull cutters to hog material off you can try this. Use a ripper cutter but keep it keen by off-hand grinding along the inside of the flutes with a suitably thin grinding wheel. The ends can be off-hand ground as normal.

Roy.M

I would quite enjoy submitting a write up,I expect I will have to redo the drawings first.

Really constructive comments so far, and it was the shortcomings of what is commercially available, that drove me to make my own. Normally, I find, that 'universal' usually means 'compromised'.

I have posted a thread on slitting saw arbor.

A recent enquiry regarding slitting saw holders prompted me to post my design for such a device. I developed this holder about 15 years ago, it works well and I have also made a couple that have been used successfully in a production environment. If you make this,you will have really useful bit of kit. It is self tightening but a key could be added if you had to reverse the cutter direction,(I never needed a key). I had drawings, but can't get them onto my new system so I offer photos and explanation as a substitute.

The main body diameter is 39mm. and the shank dia is 20mm. this is to accommodate the M10 x 85 cap-head screw that clamps the flanged nut from the back, enabling close proximity to the work-piece. The locating spigot is 25.35 dia x 1.5mm.with a minimal u/cut. Overall length of body 32.5mm and the shank length is 60mm. fFats are machined on the body (34 a/f)to assist with tightening. The body is bored to 19.05mm x 27.5 deep.

The flanged nut is 39mm dia.x 5.5mm thick and the body is turned to 19.00mm dia x 22 long. the flange is under cut 1.5mm deep.

The general concept can,of course,be modified to suit. Replacing with ​an M8 cap-head screw would enable a smaller dia shank, for instance.

Unless you are doing a lot of long screw cutting,I found that leaving the drive engaged was far less stressful, although this depends upon how the lathe responds to quick stop and reversing.

I have bought, (for convenience or cheapness), several adjustable spanners over the years, most of which are now probably tin cans. However, in my professional kit I have a 12" Bahco adjustable wrench which never binds up, always stays parallel and has doubled up as a kinetic persuader on occasions. It has been in weekly use since 1973.

I am currently working on a universal friction free module that will render the wheel obsolete. RoyM

Just in addition to all the good advice offered on this post. What has not been mentioned here is that it is possible to encounter 'lift' on the moving jaw, not from the jaw moving on the vice, but too much clearance between the surfaces of the dovetails on the vice body. By taking up this clearance using the gib strip, the lift can sometimes be eliminated. If the problem is definitely the jaws shifting on the vice, then the workpiece can be forced onto the parallels by tapping down the jaws after tightening. Roy M

Edited By Roy M on 03/01/2017 21:01:52