Member postings for not done it yet

Yes, but don't expect it to be so easy unless you have the right quality tools.

I doubt the cheap 'epay' hacksaws, blades or drills would make the job enticing! How fast will your drill run at, what is the run-out at the chuck, and will it hold a 1mm drill bit, per eg

Agree with JS. I decided to buy ER32. 20mm collets and down are large enough for my machine. (Taking JS's advice too - I may eventually get a ER 20, or smaller (for where a smaller holder would be better 'cos the Clarkson may not be grippy enough for non-theaded cutters (and possible workpieces on accasion) when I use up my current stock of miscellaneous cutters). I think the Clarkson will take larger than 1/2", though?

The specs on some chinese collets is good enough for me (I won't buy unspecced items), so I will likely get extra charges at point of delivery - at least for the larger set - but still a fair bit cheaper than typical examples from the UK middlemen, especially those that don't give the specs!

Edited to add that the '16' presumably would not in

clude milling plastics, wood or other soft materials.  Cast iron can be a softer than some steels, so I only take these numbers as an 'indication', and use some common sense.  After all, many use flycutters of rather larger diameter...

Edited By not done it yet on 13/02/2017 18:33:02

Not moved one of these but have shifted a lot of heavy items.

As Gordon, use a sack barrow if at all possible. Consider a stairwalker if negotiating several steps. Get plenty of timber packing pieces to make it easy to secure holding to the barrow (use a set of ratchet straps from the likes of L*dl).

The fewer components the better, if assistance is at hand for rebuild. An engine crane is a good aid, too!

And wear those "toe'tectors"!

Tried the local rewinding shop in your area?

I think Mike is spot on. Calpers (either vernier or digital) are OK for general use, but you cannof beat a micrometer for accuracy and total confidence that you have the spot on correct result. Mitutoyo or not.

While I like my 150mm mitutoyosI also often use my 4" digi of chinese origin as it is more handy at times. It has never given me any problem or eaten cells at a fantastic rate. Bought at Lee Valley in Canada, so likely specified to a quality, rather than the cheapest on the market. Cost me either $25Ca or £25 equivalent (can't remember which, but I think the former). That was back when the Canadian dollar was cheap for us.

Definitely Gary is the 'bee's knees' where Centecs are concerned.

With a vertical head (which it appears to have been fitted at some time) the Centecs are a super machine. That one, the second variant in the series, is not so desirable as the later two, particularly the 2B.

But as a start that machine may be recoverable. The bare castings come up for sale regularly, so a new baseplate (bolts on from underneath) should not be a long term issue. Accept that the table is small, the head space is limited, speed is by pulley change, perhaps a little awkward to raise/lower the bed (compared to later models) and go for it, would be my suggestion - especially at that price!

Look out for a vertical head and you potentially have a good intro to vertical milling. The Mklll heads (with quill) often fetch rather more than the cost of this item! Up to £600 on epay!

If I was starting out on a tight budget, I would have taken it home by now, at that price. It does look as though it may have had a hard life (not seen side guards like those fitted, so expect it has done a fair bit of horizontal work with flood cooling). You won't know until it is stripped and cleaned up a bit - that is for sure, unless obviously worked to death.

any moisture in the workshop as it warms up such as your breath or from cutting fluid will condense out on teh cold metal.

That is why I have installed a small dehumidifier in my small partitioned-off and insulated workshop area. Just works a few hours at night on E7, but warms and dries it sufficiently to avoid condensation. Probably need air con in the summer!

Re painting - no item that may show signs of failure (before actually failing, hopefully) should be surface coated with paint. This is apart from the aethsetics and practical problems of alignment with other parts. Blueing or blacking would be acceptable, but expensive - and eventually wear in places. I know I would not operate a chuck if there were any signs of cracks developing.

As I see it, and I am no expert, threading stainless can be a bear. Grades might cut reasonably easily or just work harden. A good finish may be difficult to achieve. Carbide likes higher speeds and loadings, so may not be a better option. Perhaps better to rough cut and finish with a die? But try it and see is the best way to find out!

Possibly a case for a four jaw chuck (more grip) or even a collet to hold the workpiece. It may depend on the quality and size of your machine. There is a big difference between getting to grips with lathe threading methodology and then changing the materials to something more difficult.

One advantage with using a cutter on the lathe is that you can at least resharpen your tool! Not all dies on the market are of high quality. A lathe cutter is guaranteed to cut a concentric thread, too.

I recently had an example of an old imperial die, which cut a thread (fairly heavy cutting on a hard bar), but a new die of chinese origin simply would not cut a similar metric thread on the other end. The bar did not machine easily, but that old british die was in a different quality band to the brand new imported item. I sourced the die because I thought it was the easy option at the time. Not an expensive mistake, but I won't make it again, hopefully.

Edited to add that others got there before me

Edited By not done it yet on 09/02/2017 19:22:56

That "Industrial lathe accident " on youtube gives me the willies !!

I've watched that before. Nothing really to do with pipe. His loose clothing rippied off him. He was lucky it was a pipe, perhaps, or he could have been going round with the chuck and pipe!

All those dimensions are on the screwfix webite reviews for that machine. Probably been there for some considerable time. Sometimes one cannot help by telling them exactly where to find the information.

Why bother with the intracacies other than the lettering? Cast a simple embossed disc and machine the rest?

Please, if you are going to post a quote - don't include your additions within a supposed copy from mine. It is no longer a quote!

Apart from that, what is your point? Advice was factual.

HOWARDT is correct. No vernier scale on these items (might be on very large, high quality boring heads). Scale simply shows fractions of the screw thread pitch advanced each turn. They may be in metric (tenths/hundredths) or imperial (any increment).

Over 500 views and only one other reply! I would suggest the thread is almost entirely disfuncional!

No pics, post meandering, no directions to any pics, no size, no material info. Only a few might know or work out that the pics are in an album and the thread at the start of the thread is the lid thread and not the posting!

Lou

sy design. The removable filler should have been at one of the grooves, so no joint would be seen. One hole is often used for a salt cellar or the holes spell a large 'S' for salt In a bigger hole size than for a pepper pot. It should be stainless - damp salt attacks all sorts of metals and a high chrome and nickel gra

de of stainless is even likely required (even silver salt cellars need to be lined to prevent corrosion)

.

C'mon, help us out if you want some hi

nts.

Looks alright for a first attempt. Making the first is a pain. If you were to make ten at a time, the method would soon be refined and, as they say, 'practice makes perfect'. You will get used to the lathe - and the cutters, speeds, depth of cut, feed rate, etc - and as experience increases you will wonder why that first project took so much effort?

Soo, it was the thread which was lousy, not your salt shaker.

I would be choosy and buy the best cutter holder within budget. You can source your inserts from any of your choice, but if the holder is not a good fit to the inserts, is flexible, slightly the wrong angle, poor threads in the screw hole, etc. you are stuck with it.

At the same time, if you total one - due to inexperience - it can be an expensive lesson!

It really depends on the intricacy of your work. Bigger tools are great for long, straight surface cuts; smaller ones are necessary for those jobs where access is more diffiCU

lt.

I think there must be many more discussion threads on this topic than just the one you have listed. Plenty of u-toob expanation/discussion, too. I expect you will eventually buy a set, then end up buying better ones in the future, or realise they are not always all they are claimed to be.

Edited By not done it yet on 06/02/2017 17:42:11

Why brass? Why not use steel? I didn't think you needed both to be brass to avoid any chance of sparks?

what is it's footprint ?

Go to screwfix website and read the reviews.

First priority is safety.

Books, videos, clubs, fora, etc are all good, but do things safely! Think why the explisive experts are those that make the final detonation connectons at the end of the wires remote from the explosives, or light the longesf fuses first!

If you have no idea, don't do it. Find out how to do it safely first.

I would initially ask 'Why replace? Why not repair?"

What is stopping another 32 years good service from this unit? New bearings are cheap. Start winding switches are cheap. The same quality or durability will likely not be available at the price of that one, nowadays!

Basically one doesn't use a micrometer to meaure large distances (the name gives it away

). Tape measures for long distances (multiple metres to parts of a metre), rulers for short (part of a metre down to millimetres), engineer's ruler for more accuracy(to half a mm), then dti's. Some dti's come in tenths of a mm, some in hundredths and some in thousandths, so you, as the operator choose the relevant measuring stick! Choice depends on accuracy or precision of the measurement required.

One often need measurents in two dimensions. Easy to move a tape measure for measuring sides of a rectangle, per eg, where the accuracy required is less. But setting up to measure tiny distances moved means the measuring instrument needs to remain in position during any change in length. This means that sometimes two instruments are needed at the same time. Conclusion? Keep all four!

Sooner or later, you will need two at the same time. They are eating nothing and only need careful storage. One may get unfortunately damaged in use, or even totalled, requiring another to be purchased before further progress. One might well be attached to a stand semi-permanently and an alternative set up is required at the time.

Do you only possess one tape measure?, only one page-sized ruler? Only one pen

cil to mark a line? Thought not! Keep both of each is my advice.  EDITED TO SAY PUNCTUATION, OR RATHER LACK OF, IS NOWT TO DO WITH ME,  unable to set paragrahs properly at all!

Edited By not done it yet on 05/02/2017 06:52:20