Member postings for not done it yet

In a similar vein to AJ, he means ‘anneal’. Heat treatment can cover a multitude of separate events, so can be hardening or softening.

I use couple of wedges, one from each side, to loosen the MT, if a light tap (with a white- or yellow-metal mallet) does not free it off. Wedges are strung together to prevent droppage and it only needs the drawbar to be loosened, so the cutter and holder cannot drop out completely until under-control removal.

Move it back to somewhere you can lift it. Then move it back at ground level? Only need bars/pipes underneath it in that scenario

In your current position it will depend on where the mill is suspended from. Single point in the middle or two points virtually over the supporting structure. It’s not, so far, really a maths problem at all.

Agreed. I don’t often use mine - but when needed, it is there.🙂 I now don’t have to bother about the finish on some parts from the mill - particularly fly cutting - if it can be sorted on the surface grinder. Extra time, but it is only a hobby.

Edited By not done it yet on 16/05/2023 09:16:09

You don’t normally want, or need, to move the welder. But you do need to move the welding torch from one end of the job to the other. That is why they are different lengths, with the torch being the longer by quite a degree.

Welding torch and lead is much lighter than the welder.

Nice, shiny, chinese kit. Agree that mark-ups look to be fairly excessive (but maybe there is a high warranty failure rate?). OK for many, but I knocked up a satisfactory long-travel power feed for my little mill for less than thirty quid and some of my time.

One based on this vid: LINK but to suit what I had to hand and a mod to the feed screw.

Not parallels but a gander at emmas spare room machineshop vid on youtube - of her reviewing a cheap set of angle plates might be enlightening for anyone considering buying cheap. Easy to find as it is, I think, the only review she did - she was just too honest and showed what rubbish the kit really was. Here is a LINK .

I use the Arc set, almost universally - but they can be awkward if drilling to closer than 5mm from the edge.

If I want any more, I may purchase a wavy set and make/finish any, like those in the warco link, on the surface grinder. Mine would likely be case-hardened mild steel, rather than through-hardened - unless I’ve got some suitable tool steel close to the size(s) needed.

User selection is always a relevant factor. The warco ones are a bit naff if your vise is a deep one, little point in paying for 150mm if every thing will be satisfactory with 100mm parallels, wavy ones are softer (spring steel) but may be relevant for drilling close to an edge.

For raising items from the mill table, I also use old bearing races and other precision parts recovered from used items. ‘Spacers’ made on the milling machine can be perfectly adequate for most operations, I might guess?

I generally don’t care about the box, after unpacking. What annoys me is that very few tools have any means of storing the tool neatly - like somewhere to affix the plug or some means supplied to wrap the power lead around the tool, for mains-powered tools.

Agreed with what Robert had to say.

Well documented instances of single phase motors, affecting operation, include Raglan lathes which didn’t operate too smoothly while running at reduced speed and Centec mills (on its factory stand - maybe not all types of stand) which suffered from substantial noisy vibrations. Three phase motors improved the operation of both those machines. 50Hz vibration cannot be seen to improve the finish obtained finish of the product but the finish may well be better without that added vibration.

Looks like a good machine once the wear is accepted or attended to.

Also a good way for the vendor to sell two machines with one auction cost.

Question: How far can the head be rotated, to lower it?

Obviously Steve at landylift doesn’t move this mill every day of the week but he will have moved quite a lot and will be a very safe pair of hands while it is in his care. He is also very helpful with delivering as close as possible to final position, apparently.

Good luck with your new acquistion!

Firstly, this is a case of ‘don’t believe all you read/see on the internet’. It helps to look for corroborative evidence.

This is basically nothing at all to do with the motor - only the lathe, by virtue of idiot operators. Myfords were limited to the original top speed to avoid early spindle bearing failure. A small increase in speed may be possible due to the design engineers conservatism on that front. Not sensible at all on a worn machine, mind.

Here is an analogy from fairly early in the last century.

Early petrol engines could operate on gravity/splash lubrication. Oil dippers on the big ends scooped up oil for the big end bearings and splashed oil around, that could be directed to the crankshaft main bearings. This system was OK for many engines of the day. Diesel engines (heavier loadings on the crankshaft bearings than petrol equivalents) were generally limited to lower engine speeds (of around 850rpm).

Later, engines were fitted with pressure systems from an oil pump. Some diesel engines were OK up to about 1600rpm without a pumped feed to the bearings but these employed a low pressure oil pump which sprayed oil to the crankshaft bearings from suitably positioned nozzles. I have one (1930/40s?) petrol engine that can rev to 2200rpm using that system.

Eventually all larger engines adopted a direct pumped lubrication system, allowing the engine maximum speeds to be steadily increased.

Of course, there were other design changes as well - replacement of cast iron (to Aluminium) for pistons is one such progression.

Drip-feed of plain bearings is reckoned only be good to about 1100rpm, tops. For Newton Tesla three phase conversions, engineers will have programmed the VFD to limit the motor maximum speed.

This part is needed for my clock, with a pendulum is intended to swing in a low vacuum, as low pressure as I can manage.

I think SOD means he actually wants a high vacuum. It is still only about 14psi, but permanency is the hard bit.

Clickspring has a youtube video on making a square broach. Have a gander at that?

Would need to start with bar at root two times 5mm.

Edited By not done it yet on 11/05/2023 18:49:13

Probably of cheap chinese origin - sub-standard production runs of good LEDs. The lifetime guarantee only lasts until they are connected and powered up, in a circuit!

I don’t think these bearings should actually just ’slip’ along the shaft. There are fairly precise tolerances for bearing fit to shafts - usually needing to be press fitted. Yours may need loctiting if loose on the shaft.

and the link from NDIY is interesting.

I only added that link because it was the first I came across. I know there are UK sources of such feed/lead screw materials. HPC Gears are the usual UK company that can supply, but there are others

HPC Gears offer a 300mm length of 1/2” ACME LHT for 43 quid (no idea if it includes VAT/ delivery/etc. Personally I find them expensive, but good (and they do need to make a profit!).

I don’t particularly bother about a bit of backlash. Adding another ~1/2mm of cut takes off another ~1/2mm.

My lathe used square feed screw threads (still does). Does it really matter what thread-form is employed - as long as they work? Raglan obviously made a considered choice when they did that, back about 80 years ago.

I’ve also made a ‘zero backlash’ feed screw nut by the ‘‘heat’n’squeeze’’ method, using acetal. Never actually used one, but they have been by some. The threads definitely need ‘easing-off’, IMO, mind.

I do wonder how long a high quality Whitworth or UNC arrangement would work for most hobby machinists - maybe not appropriate for those who use their lathe all day, everyday - but for the more intermittent users it may last a looong time.

Probably correct regarding the resurrection of old machinery for a lot of buyers.

I had time on my side and waited until I found my lathe, which has not since been ‘resurrected’ (was in very good working order, with a good range of extras - and at the right price).

The only myford I might be interested in would be the 254, which was pretty well based on my machine, anyway.🙂

One might take a look at rotors (for workshop made wind turbine generators. Extreme care needed when handling those! A ‘nasty nip’ would not be relevant if they got out of control!!

I have a 4(?)” vise similar to those shown in the first reply. It gets used occasionally, but is not my favourite by any means.

My favourites are the type ll as marketed by Arc. I have two - the 70 and 90mm. Some don’t like them at all, of course - a bit like Marmite?🙂 The smaller one is generally fitted to my smaller mill, as that mill needs all the help it can get where the z axis is concerned.

They do require more careful fixing to the bed and are not so simple to use (compared to simply winding a handle), but that does not bother me one iota.

There are other machine vises around the workshop. These include a smallish Abwood (about 80mm?), a tilting Abwood and an original Centec.

If I were to find other type ll vises (smaller or the 120mm) on an auction site, I might well make a bid if at the right price - as I have ‘borrowed’ the shallow vise from a Drummond shaper before now (on the Raglan).

One more possible advantage of the type ll may be that they can be mounted at a position of choice, rather than only at the nearest appropriate T-slot.

Dave,

Exactly my thoughts but I declined to put up the first reply.

Andrew,

It seems like the valve issue may be the first issue to attend to. It may be the only one.

I am like quite a few others on here. I’ve not done much in the workshop lately.

Health issues in our household have severely limited time available. To be honest, things started to go wrong in 2018, then covid seclusion followed, and now recurrent illness to contend with. Allied with getting older by the day (just like everyone else, of course ) doesn’t make things any easier…