Member postings for Kevin Muir

I have an accurate lathe boxford 4 1/2", I have a mill but it is not up and running yet and a pillar drill. I also thought about making a collet for a variable speed "dremel" to hold each tube to assist with the grinding of the inner profile against the form tool with the grinding paste and against the strop with polishing compound . The inner profile at the ends of each tube does needs to be a radius and not a countersink, apologies

I should have made that clearer. Thanks Kevin

Edited By Kevin Muir on 22/09/2020 11:28:23

Edited By Kevin Muir on 22/09/2020 11:28:48

Edited By Kevin Muir on 22/09/2020 11:29:18

Hi for a lurker who has been learning a lot from the excellent content on this forum.

I have a project which requires me to round over and polish the ends of small bore stainless tube to leave a perfectly smooth finish on each end of the stainless tube. The tubes are in two different diameters, 1.6mm OD x 0.8mm ID and 1.4mm OD x 0.6mm ID. The outside radius is very easily achieved with fine files, home made emery boards with 1200 grit wet and dry paper and polishing paste and a suitable polishing strop made from leather.

Does anyone have advice on how I can form the inner radius of the stainless tubes?

My thoughts on a possible solution for this problem could be a long way away from the best solution but I will share my thoughts with you all as I have no previous experience of this type of task.

I thought about making a form tool from silver steel with the correct radius (or as near as I can achieve) then harden and temper the tool. I will then use this tool with fine grinding paste to grind the inner radius.

The actual volume of stainless that has to be removed is very small hence the form tool and fine grinding paste approach. The inner radius geometry is not super critical but a smooth burr free finish is very important.

If anyone has any advice on a better approach to this task, please share your experience, all advice greatly received. Thanks Kevin

Hi

Thanks for the reply, I have a friend in the USA who is scheduled to be in the UK for a few days in a few weeks and I can order the taps and dies from a USA supplier (if UNC is my best option) as they are made in the USA and HSS, I have good quality HSS right hand UNC sourced in the UK but UK made left hand taps and especially dies in HSS are fairly expensive. The same specification made in the USA can be sourced much cheaper except for the postage. With the postage being FOC if a friend brings them over I should be onto a winner but it will still be about £50.00 for only a few taps and two dies all in left hand hence my question on most suitable pitch.

I have used Tracy Tools several times and had great service I just thought HSS would be better for 01 or D2 steel if I end up making a few sets of jaws. With the cost increasing by a factor of 4 for this specification from Tracy Tools I am cheaper sourcing the tooling in the USA if 24 tpi is deemed to be better for this application.

Kevin

Hi

I am in the process of making a fly tying vice, the design of the jaws is a little like a small toolmakers clamp, twin screws with opposing forces. My design will use left and right hand pitch threads for the front screw with the adjuster wheel mounted between the jaw plates pulling the two jaw plates together to lightly clamp the hook in place. I will be incorporating a cam at the rear screw location to give a fast acting tension cam forcing the rear of the jaw plates apart.

My question is should I use 24 tpi, 32 tpi (M5 metric) or 36 tpi (M4 metric) for the front fine tension screw?

The jaw plates will be approximately 12mm high and about 1/4" thick near the front tension screw location, possibly slightly thinner once fully machined.

Ideally there should be a little slop in the threads to allow a little movement in the front tension screw assembly to allow the tip of the jaws to move sufficiently to lightly hold the hook before binding up.

I was going to try 10 X 24 OR 12 X 24 UNC for the front screw or M5 x 0.8 or M4 x 0.7?

Any ideas on the best option?before \I order expensive taps from the USA?

The jaws will be made from 01 carbon steel (ground flat stock) or D2.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Kevin.

Hi Guys, thanks for the warm welcome.

On checking last night I noticed that I had already registered many months ago but often watch from the sidelines on most of the fishing forums, I will try to post when I feel I have something worth adding to a thread in the forum.

A recent advert in the classifieds forced me into getting back on the forum.

Hi

I am a recent lurker who has been reading lots of great posts from many of the long standing members of this forum and it was time to introduce myself.

I live and work in Aberdeenshire, I have owned a 4 1/2" Boxford for over 15 years and usually get involved in making bits and pieces for fly fishing and fly tying.

I mainly work on small diameter work in non ferrous materials and have a love hate relationship with Titanium, very slow to work on my Boxford but is is a fantastic material to handle when finished. I am working on a travel fly tying vice at the moment and will try to upload a few photos when I get it finished.

I will be looking for a milling machine in the near future and may pester the members for advice on possible options.

regards

Kevin.

Many thanks for all of the advice.

I will let you know how I get on with the collets.

Before I but a regular set of ER25 collets in 1.0mm steps, I thought I would ask one last question about them. I noticed a supplier was offering ER 25 collets in 0.5mm steps, is there any advantage in buying these over the regular 1.0mm step metric collets and a few Imperial collets? Are there any sizes the 1.0mm step metric collets struggle with?

I am milling a block (25mm x 50mm x 34mm) of titanium nto a rather odd shape on the dividing head, "what a tedious job". After reading all the horror stories about milling Titanium I have been taking very small cuts and using lots of oil applied with a small brush.

I think that my approach may have been too cautious but It is working out fairly well with almost no heat in the part I am making.

I have to make one final finish pass with an 8mm carbide ball end cutter on all of the curved faces to get the surface finish I am looking for, hence the request for information on ER collets. I will buy a whole set rather than just the collet I require for this job as I can use them in the tailstock of the lathe for accurate drilling and reaming. Hopefully the final product will be worth it.

Thanks again for you advice.

Kevin.

Hi folks, I am new to this forum but have enjoyed reading a lot of great posts on the forum for a while.

I have been using my 41/2" Boxford lathe for many years and now need some advice regarding collets for a mill and also for my Boxford.

I am looking for a set of ER25 collets for the Mill, I have a couple of collets but would like a full set to ensure the best accuracy while using drills and reamers in the mill.

I have read all of the posts on the forum about ER collets but I am really looking for feedback from people who have bought ER collets and can confirm how accurate they are and from which seller. There are some amazing deals for the ER collets about but are they just junk and a waste of money or can they compete with higer priced sets. Are you getting a significantly better product by spending three or four times the price?

I am also looking to make a collet holder for the Boxford with either ER32 (like the one Double Boost made, great video on Youtube) or possibly ER40 collets. While the Boxford can only accept about 20mm through the headstock, the use of ER40 collets would allow me to grip up to 1" diameter bar which would be great.

Has anyone tried both ER 32 and ER40 collet systems on their Boxford?

Sorry for the long winded first post.

regards

Kevin.