Member postings for MW

Perhaps he's referring to wicking properties; ability to absorb moisture?

I wish I could get another micro lathe but then I would be neglecting the sherline ;'(

Michael W

Thsnks Michael, It's good to see you back again,

Definitely a lack of age, I could muse from what I know about my rudimentary introduction in steel making, how it started off as such an unreliable process, due to the fact that iron is only ever found in an oxide form in nature.

If I were a wood worker, I would probably place my bet on carbon steel giving a nicer cut.

But for metal working, there's just something about HSS that makes it so versatile that it can be used satisfactorily for nearly any material and that's why I recommended it there and why I would recommend anyone to use HSS in a foundation sense.

Michael W

Definitely stick with mitty-witty-tuyo when it comes to hand measuring equipment, I've put mine through hell, the only thing that's prone to wear is the thumb wheel insert for the Vernier.

The batteries seem to be magic as i'm still on the first and I ALWAYS forget to turn it off.

The only advice I can give is with buying, if the price looks too good to be true, then it probably is, always stick with the approved suppliers to avoid the disappointment of buying a fake,

it's worth it to just buck up and pay the cash, I've found.

Michael W

It's important to understand there's no equity between what material you choose to cut with vs. knowing how to sharpen tools.

So learning how to sharpen and change the qualities of HSS tools is definitely worth the experience. There's no replacement of HSS when it comes to taking the finest of cuts from a sharp tool.

Michael W

Air tools can be great if you're at a factory where they're compressing air anyway and much cheaper per unit cost.

Having said that, it's not without it's problems at times, moisture in the system, pressure drop at peak demand...

Tends to be seen much more in industrial environments, rather than a home workshop, they're noisy and expensive to run and pretty terrible in terms of power efficiency (get the electricity to run the compressor, in order to use a tool rather than just running the tool straight from the power). 

Michael W

Edited By Michael-w on 28/08/2017 00:07:04

If it's all you can get then fair do's, Sherline have a system that counts the handwheels, but it acknowledges the shortcomings of this, allowing you to program an axis offset. and it reads it all from one "readout" hence the name.

Glass scales, with an independent readout are normally considered the ideal. I use the system sold by arc. 

If you want one on the cheap, I believe you can get some magnetic, Vernier type scales with a little readout unit from machinedro. This would also take into account the backlash of the slide. But they probably wouldn't last as long, as well as the batteries to contend with of course. 

Michael W

Edited By Michael-w on 27/08/2017 23:53:57

The U.K army seem to have them, albeit described slightly differently: **LINK**

Michael W

Edited By Michael-w on 26/08/2017 12:46:34

hmm, i'd prefer something tool-like (or voucher towards tools) myself, as a prize rather than a discount for something i'd buy anyway.

Michael W

Edited By Michael-w on 23/08/2017 16:16:55

I agree with XD; you could go all fancy and make something you want to be proud of but to be honest, I've made collet racks and tool holders just out of scrap soft wood and steel angle brackets, I'd rather use what's to hand than spend money on new materials. 

i'm not trying to win a prize for it, I just want a place to put my things.

In terms of tools to use, large drills or wood bits for small inserts and hole saws for large / or morse taper inserts. Just deburr it all by hand with a sharp blade.

(In my case I prefer kennedy red plastic handled blades from Cromwell, but it really doesn't matter.)

Michael W

Edited By Michael-w on 21/08/2017 20:52:16

Just make sure you catch them on a good day, they're running at full capacity most of the time!

Michael W

I've got a 20mm boring bar, not far off it and I wouldn't consider myself a professional user.

Have I used it? Well yeah, once or twice but obviously big stuff doesn't come round often as much as smaller stuff.

(My lathe machine is far from a top-of-the-line or professional ones you occasionally see, but definitely bigger than a mini lathe.)

My guess would be that those screws on the surface are preloading the tension of the internal bar inside the tube. 

Michael W

Edited By Michael-w on 19/08/2017 22:33:12

This tensioning idea does make sense if you're going to try and bore a large and long cylinder, say 250mm long, guarantees are you're not going to have the same size one end as you do the other, regardless of dialling in the cut.

Michael W

Come to think of it, lathes and mills are pretty old too! 3D printers are based on 70's technology and that's treated like the new kid on the block.

One of my favourite English planes was the dehavilland vampire. 

Michael W

Edited By Michael-w on 17/08/2017 16:07:15

Now it's in Brandon, and you all know that's the gleaming heart of humanity. Glorious Brandon reign eternally.

Wonderful little lathe though.

Michael W

It largely depends on what kind of atmosphere they've been sitting in, a dank or moist environment will rust even protected chucks far quicker than ones sitting in a bone dry environment with no protection.

I find some kind of thick viscous grease will protect chucks quite well when they aren't in use, you might want to rub them down when you do use them.

Michael W

DP

Edited By Michael-w on 17/08/2017 12:20:16

Yes, beneficial in moderation but not without a catch..

I forget (May have been Carl Sagan) who once said "It is good to have an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out"

Michael W

I would just run a small sharpening stone up the side of it or maybe a diamond lap or file, normally on 1/2" theres plenty of room to do this without scuffing up the geometry.

Michael W

Given the environment, I think it's more likely an old oil spill

Great lathe, Btw, Rik; now you've got to put it through it's paces. 

Michael W 

Edited By Michael-w on 13/08/2017 21:00:25

Welcome to M.E, Levent

I would start with some of Tubal Cain's (Tom Walshaw) books on simple stationary steam engines, I've found them to be a decent introduction.

Of course, you can always post questions on here and the frequency and knowledge of the people on here makes this place a genuinely good tool to have in your arsenal, so to speak. 

Michael W

Edited By Michael-w on 13/08/2017 20:45:49