Member postings for Men Ifr

Jason/Peak thanks for the replies,

Yes the Chester is quite good because it has a 26mm bore via MT4. The bore on a ML7 is quite small - 15mm maybe 3/8" perhaps but the super 7 gets a bigger bore I thought 1.5" though could be wrong - the problem is every-one wants a super 7 so they are pricey. I would have to check the boxford but to get me up and running the Chester seems like the least hassle way - and no more expensive than a boxford/super 7 it seems.

Good to know the 3 speed gearbox is useful on the Chester then.

All,

I don't own a lathe but am looking for something that will not take up too much space in my garage and will last, but also has 1" spindle bore.

I don't want to spend time fixing a worn out lathe, also don't really want the hassle of arranging delivery from hundreds of miles away so I'm considering the Chester Hobby store DB10 see here:

https://shop.chesterhobbystore.com/collections/lathes/products/db10-super-lathe

Other options would seem to be very well used Boxfords, Myford super 7 or a Colchester Bantam, all with the problem I don't know the condition and assuming ones for sale are too far for me to drive just to look at I would have to buy and gamble..

Any thoughts appreciated

Onto my next question - is it normal on say a Myford with no gearbox you have to change the gears everytime you want to change feedrate? But with a gearbox you just change the lever? Changing gears would seem like a lot of work but maybe not in practice?

The Chester (I think) has 3 gear positions but I've sent them an email what they do - they could either be very useful or next to useless - or may not change the feedrate at all - there is no information on the website and the pictures do not show the controls in enough detail.

Or this:

http://www.amadeal.co.uk/acatalog/Syil-X4-plus-CNC-Milling-Machine-with-4th-axis-syilx4os.html

£3K - but it does not run - has 'issues' with electronics - sounds like some boards are damaged and it's not possible to get replacements however maybe £3K for a (possibly) sieg x4 based machine with CNC ready ball screws and motors (though some motors may be damaged..) would be well worth it?

When looking at a mil to buy I would like to convert to CNC 'at a later date' but if that could be done sooner that would be much better...

I'm quite tempted by this but need to establish what machine it was based on and what CNC parts work or are damaged...

There's a nice looking Tom Senior here

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tom-Senior-M1-Milling-Machine-Dividing-Head/223166572981?hash=item33f5c3a9b5:g:CcYAAOSwwB5brgx~:rk:1f:0

But 3 issues:: similar to all older but better built machines:

1 - 3 phase and I don't know how easy/expensive/effective it is to convert to single phase?

2 - How difficult is it to change gear - moving belts? I find the speed dial and gearbox on My Sieg X2 type machine very easy (obviously)

3 - How do I know if the machine is worn in it's (possibly) 60 year life?

Or this turret miling machine from Warco

https://www.warco.co.uk/milling-machines/303311-vmc-vario-milling-machine.html

It s much more substantial at 415 kg compared to the similarly priced Sieg X3.5 - any idea how the quality of this machine would compare to the Sieg? (both made in China?) and I'd have to work out if/how it would fit in the garage as I think it's a much bigger machine.

I currently have a SPG 9512 see https://www.spgtools.com/viewtooly.php?pid=22 I guess the equivelent would be like a Sieg X2 - but the Sieg would have a much stronger column base.

I have problems with deflection, and have to run the gibs so tight on the Z it's difficult to move up and down. The X and Y are OK - again I have to run them tight but a handle extension for more leverage on the X and everything seems to be working OK. For the Z I've blued the Z axis and the only contact is a thin strip at the front edge of the dovetail - almost as if the angle of the head is not the same at the column...

I don't have the time to resolve these issues and am willing to pay some more money for something more accurate.

My options would seem to be:

2nd hand industrial machine e.g. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Myford-VM-E-Vari-speed-Milling-Machine-/192637275093?hash=item2cda138bd5%3Ag%3AU3IAAOSwyUtbgWyK&nma=true&si=bibyqg%252Fie21M8ZFlwacY7txlOmk%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 but would need to be single phase and it's probably too big for what i need in reality, I'm usually working on small parts.

£900 - £1250 for a Sieg X2.7 the column/bed probably isn't massively stronger than my current mill but would the manufacturing quality - gib strip contact be a lot better than my (exceptionally poor) SPG mill? This has tapered gibs, which I like the look of a lot but I'm not sure how they work i.e. they don't seem to pull a tapered strip up/down which I would expect... I could quite happily gamble on a X2.7 and not be too disappointed if it's not as good as I need.

£1500 for a sieg X3 stronger column but this seems to be the older design with tilting head (weak?) and allen grub screws for gigs (which I don't like - it's a poor engineering solution though maybe in reality they work as well as tapered gibs (though I doubt it)

£2250 for the New/fancy Sieg X3 - no tilting head tapered gibs, x and z powerfeed though sounds like the z powerfeed control is not well controlled enough for depth control while machining so would need to use the quill..

All thoughts are appreciated, really I just want a machine that is true in x,y,z and I do not have to spend a lot of time setting up or continuously fettling. The reason for an upgrade would be spending less time sorting a machine out and also less time with wasted parts due to inaccuracy..

So to recap, If I have steel with the rough black surface it's best to pickle it in brick cleaner (hydrochloric acid) and then machine.

When the steel is ready to machine (or with bright steel bar with no preparation) what would be the best way to machine? I used parallels in the vice so I can machine one surface in one go (top f the bar is proud of the top of the jaws and held by the thin side in the jaws) but if I machine one surface it bends so if I turn it over and do the other I need to take a lot off and then the 1st surface will now be bent..

Maybe it would be best to do 4 passes with a smaller cutter after one turn it over and do the other side so the warping is kept to a minimum then after the 4 passes on each side do each surface in one pass to get them flat and parallel.. thoughts?

Also how much depth would I need to take off so they will not bend with further machining?

Or just buy ground stock...

Will the black surface rapidly blunt a carbide mill as well?

Ah OK - This is what I have and yes it bent like a banana when I took one surface off the 6mm bar

Re the heating - I have a plumbers MAP torch (very useful and cheap by the way) so think I could get the piece red hot - I will try that next time first.

Also I can take the surface finish off on my belt sander it is probably worth doing that before milling as its v.quick to do both sides (and try to re-balance the stress at vintage engineer suggests) them take maybe 0.1mm off both sides on the mill..

And of course the other side is very warped so I tried machining across the part mounting it many times in an attempt to take maybe 0.1-0.2mm off rather than doing the whole lot in one go to take 1mm off the ends and 0 in the middle...

Basically that is what I have done but of course that then creates another distortion so I've gone back to both sides several times to try and get them flat.

I have some steel bar approx 6x20x150mm. I machine the surface off one side and it warps quite badly - I believe it's the surface tension.

The difficulty is I need it reasonable accurately flat and parallel so I have to take a lot of material off the other side and now need to go back to the 1st side and re-machine. I spent hours machining the surface off two of these yesterday, surely there has to be an easier way - I'm thinking there must be a type of steel stock I can buy that is reasonably flat to start with and will not distort if I machine one surface?

As usual thanks in advance for the replies

Ian

The problem is I don't have tens of thousands to buy a high end version of all the stuff I use so will be ordering another cheapo as I'll get a refund for the damaged one if that breaks as well I may start wondering but I can't be that unlucky can I?

I bought a 300mm digital caliper new for £18 which needed the zero button pressing 10x for it to zero. I got a refund for thatbought another from a diferent seller and that works perfectly in my Z axis DRO.. still only cost me £18 but is a bit of a pain chasing refunds sometimes... you have to be dilligent.

Sometimes you can buy expensive stuff and that doesn't work either £70 for and ER20 collet set - no good but has been refunded.

I bought one of these a few weeks ago - went to use it for the 2nd time and it's broke. So I would see it quite a few times while you can still get a refund to check it's going to be OK. I've applied for a refund and should get one or another one sent out. I'm having no luck recently buying stuff!

I'm struggling to get a good answer on this.

I need to make some boring head tools ( I can't buy what I need off the shelf) so silver steel would seem best as it can be hardened.

At the minute I'm just planning to machine alu with the tools I make but at some point would probably want to machine mild steel.

I have a hobby sieg X2 type milling machine and standard HSS end mills.

Sorry - thought I had explained it earlier.

Typically I've been measuring like for like i.e. 2mm collet 2mm drill bit shank.

I've been getting 0.045 - 0.07 across the set so far. I'll ring them in the morning to see what they say.

I ordered a drill chuck plus abour at the same time - I'll measure that - I wouldn't expect it to be more accurate but given the poor results from the collets you never know.

The other possibility is even through I can measure the collet holder at + 0.01 maybe the way it holds the collets makes them inaccurate..?

The ER20 collets arrived from RDG and to my dismay the 2mm hole does not look to be in the centre of the collet (where the split lines cross) this is what I could see with the chinese one I had before. - Maybe it is my imagination but I don't think so. They do seem to be machined/ground though and the chinese ones aren't but you can also see some manufacturing errors.

Anyway 1st test I check the run-out setup the same as the video I posted earlier and I get 0.045 - so only slightly better than the Chinese one.

I'll go and measure some-more and re-check the collet holder in case that's a long way out...

What's the consesus on oil on the collet and tightening torque - I'm giving a reasonable nip with a 300mm spanner I may try a few 'tightnesses' and see if things seem to get better or worse.

Only 1 more thing - I'm using a drill bit and measuring on the shank, I'm assuming that should be a reasonable method. - also it means this is likely the best possible result as the run-out is likely to get worse further away from the collet (i.e. at a drill bit tip where it actually matters...)

Edited By Men Ifr on 14/11/2017 17:33:52