Member postings for samuel heywood

Thankyou All.

Michael~ i'd already found that page, i'm still non the wiser though.

Hans~Yes I did find a reference to a c45 carbon steel on the web, presumably a more modern steel than the material in question.

I can assure you the material in my possesion is some form of HSS & supplied in a typical tool blank section.

Have you tried manual feed rather than powered feed?

Might be worth a try, see if it makes an difference.

I only ever engage the leadscrew for screwcutting, though i'm probably in the minority??

Also you could try~

**LINK**

Works for me every time i'm having problems with finish.

I made something similar for my mini lathe.

At the time i didn't know of any sources for cast iron stock, so it was made from square en3 steel.

It is significantly more rigid than using the compound slide & i've not had any issues from it being steel.

However if i was doing again (& i may do that someday) i'd go with cast iron.

....ask yourself how good is good enough?

Your mileage may vary, but most of the time my cheap Aldi calipers are good enough.

I have had a couple of jobs where i had to reach for the 'special' Japanese 1/10 thou reading micrometer.

Though i am the opposite of an 'expert' i was under no illusions i was actually measuring accurately to 1/10 thou..thankfully .it was a comparative measure i was after & worked out nicely.

Edited By samuel heywood on 22/02/2023 00:12:42

Only got a couple of 'new' M&W tools

My 12" rule (thin) is the best rule i ever had,niot cheap but woth it.

Only i seem to have lost it , so will have to buy another to ensure i find it again!

Also have a tiny 30mm x 40mm M & W square~plenty good enough for me.

I would suggest it is somewhat unfair to assume Far Eastern manufacturers cannot produce goods of comparable quality to Western manufacturers.

If M & W has specified a standard, i'd assume the manufacturers are working to it.

The reason many (consumer) far eastern goods are 'cheap & nasty' is the importers generally want the goods for the lowest price possible~ kinda supply & demand.

Something just came to mind~ we're really doing this all wrong!

Women are much better @ carrying heavy weights, whilst us blokes are better @ pushing & pulling stuff.~ it's all in our physical makeup apparently.

Know a fair few gents who've had a hernia, including myself, but not met a lady that has...yet.

So next time the lathe needs moving get the missus & one of her lady friends to do it.

But don't forget when her car needs a bump start you should be the one pushing.

OP can correct me if i've got him wrong but i believe he is talking about the machining marks~ rather than being straight vertical lines, they are rippled vertical lines.

Now i did fix this, but still can't remember how.

When i say fixed, i guess i mean it went from being VERY noticeable to having to look quite closely to see the effect.

Would tool run out cause this? Though i doubt I could have fixed that issue.

Sage words.

All getting a bit 1984 'doublespeak' these days if you ask me. " War is peace, freedom is slavery" etc etc..... for "smart (whatever)" i generally read "dumb,"

I believe cotton readily absorbs & holds water? Ditto wool, though i seem to recall woollen holds onto absorbed water rather than giving it up again.

Rust City?

I may be wrong but merely cite it as a possibility.

Good grief! I hope you've beefed up the floor joists a little.

Mini lathe is an easy one man lift if you take the chuck & tailstock off....for some reason similar weighted mills seem rather more awkward??

Good question from OP.... as everytime i eye the SC4 up i realise there's no way i'm ever moving that about single handed.... upstairs!

So mini lathe will stay for the forseeable future.

Last weeks cheap purchase was some Sandvik C45.

It was cheap so intuition told me to buy now worry later.

A web trawl has revealed nothing of note or very helpful except it appears to date from the 70's /80's.

My best guess would be it was a forerunner of WKE45 (for which there is info available on the web)~ but that's just a guess.

Anyone remember this stuff please? Any info appreciated.

I remember getting that effect when i was starting the learning curve (this is on a mere X1 mind you. )

Sorry, but i can't remember how i fixed it 5yrs ago!!~ was due to play or backlash or flex somewhere in the system.

I'm sure someone can pinpoint the EXACT cause for you.

& if my little X1 can do it, I'm sure your X3 can.

Thanks~ Definitely must be doing something wrong then!

Wheels are rebalanced & dressed, so no idea as to what though.

Thanks for posting Rik, I now know what i need~

always had good eyes for close work,been struggling a bit the last year.

I'm a southpaw, but had to learn to use right handed ones as that's all you got at school~ But they were available to buy way back when.

Now got some L/H ones for those awkward wallpapering momments.

Thankyou all.

Quite suprised that carbide is the favoured option for hobby use.

Actually I was expecting tales of doom & re-directed towards HSS.

Oh & thankyou To JasonB for pointing out i might need to crank the handwheel pretty fast with a 6 flute mill~ I hadn't realised going too slow will blunt an endmill.

Appreciate all the input. eg:

Use something to hold the toolbit~ certainly got got hot fingers a few times!

Also, not to dunk the tool bit, but let it air cool. Have been dunking in water thus far.

Still would like someone to chip in with roughly how long it should take to grind an average 3/8" toolbit?

Because it does seem to take ages.

Similarly, it was very noticeable to me that rechargeables gave a much quicker flashgun recharge cycle rate.

....& Minolta photographers seem to have be the worst culprits for leaving batteries unused in situ for extended periods judging by the examples i've seen.

Sorry, yet another question...i'll stop asking soon, least for a while, seem to have a head full of engineering at present.

Please share your toolbit grinding tips & tricks, i'm sure quite a few beginners would benefit from it.

When i bought my mini lathe, ooh, must be 10 years+ ago now, pre ground hss tool bits didn't seem to be available.

I started with some Chinese brazed carbides,,,,less said about that the better!!!!

So i quickly needed some hss blanks & a cheap grinder.

According to the specs, my mini lathe would take up to 3/8" toolbits.

Working on the theory bigger is stiffer that's what i went with along with (intuition must have prompted me ) some 'half size' 3/16" ones, just your basic chinese hss.

Some might scoff but i've found these to be adequate for most things, a couple of times i've machined unknown quantities which have quickly blunted the chinese hss & i've had to dig deeper. Trueing up my spindle register was one such occasion (had burrs roundthe bolt holes for starters)

Plenty of info on the WWW about grinding basic turning tools, so don't be lazy~go look!

After grinding a couple of 3/8" bits i kinda realised why smaller bits in toolholders are often favoured~ it takes forever!

That's my tip #'1~ use the smallest bit that's realistic.

Am i doing something wrong??

Literally hours to grind a 3/8" bit , don't ask how long a hssco8 took!

I have got the patience,I just don't want to upset the neighbours excessively.

Really am i getting something wrong? Any way to speed things up a bit?

That's another tip for beginners~ wear ear plugs, the bench grinder should run fairly quiet but once you get that hss engaged it gets pretty vocal!

Tip #2 if you're grinding an external threading tool definitely use a smaller tool bit, the cutting forces should be fairly low so no iron girder required~ it will enable you to get closer to that often present shoulder...& don't set the point to the midpoint of the tool either (I got that right 2nd attempt )

Pre ground tool bits now seem more readily available, tried a couple from Arc recently, decent enough~ hardly seems worth grinding your own for the price? except you may need something not available off the shelf.

I've barely scratched the surface grinding my own as yet (no pun intended), It is kinda fun & rewarding (was very suprised & pleased with my home grown threading tools) but it does seem rather tedious.

My two favourite home grown tools are vertical shear (fine finishing) & a neutral/chamfer tool which i elected to use zero top rake on~ it still cuts steel ok,so long as i don't push it hard. See below as to why.

Both these tools are more or less infinitely re~grindable/ re~honeable. They will outlast their maker, that's for sure.

Please kindly share your tips & tricks.

Forgot one more tip #3~ I usually use 4" blanks~ if you think about what you are doing & grind appropriately you can have a tool at each end & a quick rotation of the toolpost will bring the second one into play. MIND THOSE FINGERS THOUGH!

As a slight aside, i seem to have a fixation with the number six in engineering.

For me itseems to equate with beauty or at least aesthetics in engineering. For example.

Six jaw chuck , six flute end mill. both elegant, .... & both probably don't really belong in a home workshop!