Member postings for David Ambrose

The keyless chucks I have had from ARC have been very good. Make sure that your taper has a tang, fixed or removable, or you may get it stuck in the tailstock. I find a keyless chuck more difficult to use in a vertical drill, as you really need three hands: one to hold the bit, and two to operate the chuck.

Have you minimised the overhang of the tool and toolpost, and locked the carriage? The WM180 carriage lock clamps the carriage to the bed.

Or I could just apply my brain, and shorten the bolts. Sorted!

I have just discovered they clamp the X-axis lead screw nut! So I will need to machine the bracket plate, or use spacers. Funny how the Machine-DRO instructions ignore them.

Hi,

I am installing a Machine-DRO 3-axis DRO on my Warco WM14 mill. I need to fix the Y-axis reader to the carriage, but there are these two cap screws on the face where I need to fit the bracket, and their heads are proud of the surface. The Machine-DRO user guide shows the holes, but no screws, so there would be no problem fitting the bracket. As far as I can work out, the screws do not do anything, so can be safely removed, but I thought that I would check to see if anyone has any experience of removing them. If I hear nothing, I will phone Warco tomorrow. The equivalent Grizzly manual does not show the screws.

Edited By David Ambrose on 03/01/2022 15:16:00

It’s currently not possible to get new Calor gas bottles, only refills, due to a shortage of bottles. A colleague has now reported that Calor may be discontinuing the smaller bottles completely. Has anybody else heard this? Flogas confirmed this morning that they will be be continuing to supply the 3.9kg and 6kg bottles, so that is who I will use for my new blowtorch.

Thanks everyone - I’ve gone with Polly.

Does anyone know where I can obtain M1.6 hex-headed setscrews? I can find socket headed, but not hex. I’d rather not use 10ba as I have not got the taps.

There may be a dynamic balance interaction between the two wheels. You could try moving the new wheel round the shaft, say 10 degrees at a time, to see if it makes any difference. I recall being taught this as an apprentice.

During lockdown I treated myself to a Hakko FX888D. It’s a variable temperature iron, 70W, a joy to use, spares and bits are readily available, and it warms up very quickly.

I’ve checked the Blackgates and Maidstone Engineering websites, and cannot see any reference to Southworth kits. Does anyone know if they are still available? If so, where?

The reason for the original post was my concern that a protective layer of oil could affect the grip of the taper, and I was wondering whether anyone had any experience of this?

A simple question - should clean morse tapers be protected from rust with a thin layer of oil, or should they be completely dry to ensure the best grip?

So having tried using the crankshaft bore as a datum by gripping the standard on a mandrel, I now know how not to do it.

I bought another casting, and mounted it base-upwards in the milling vice, as vertically as I could. I machined the bottom face, and the four sides, and drilled the mounting holes. I milled the sides of a piece of aluminium, and milled a rebate on one face to take the base of the standard. I then bolted the standard to the aluminium, and can now machine all faces whilst keeping things square.

All part of the learning process.

I've reached the stage where I want to start machining the standard of the Stuart Oscillator, but I can't work out where to start. Logic says that I should drill and ream the crankshaft hole first and use this as a datum, but I can't work out how best to mount the standard sufficiently accurately for this first operation. Any option seems to involve setting up by eye, and hoping for the best. Or do I machine the base, then bolt it to a vertical plate for all other ops? Any thoughts anybody?