Member postings for Robin

I too enjoy Joe Pie, it all works when he does it. Sadly I need CNC to get the same results. I don't have enough years left to get the practice in and do it his way.

Those Americans all seem to be using pre-hardened steel stock, usually from McMaster Carr. It can only be cut with carbide insert tooling giving an instant mirrorlike finish.

humph

Robin

Abomb can be fun because he was given that enormous gantry mill with full CNC and just about manages to drill a few holes so long as the factory send someone to program it for him

Which Vevor tool would you choose given the opportunity? That mag drill sure looks like fun.

best

Robin

Nothing wrong with the mighty RF30.

The only complaint against it is that the round column is not keyed to the head so you lose position when you wind it up and down. That is really easy to work around.

The best modification for it is a flashing neon sign fixed to the start button. This should read, "Have you tightened the bolts?

best

Robin

I have bought junk on occasion but hope springs eternal so it is easy to get caught out. Probably best not to risk buying a new set of ER40 collets then, unless I am feeling flush and can afford high-accuracy

best

Robin

I just bought a Chinese MT5 ER40 collet holder for a specific job on my lathe and after much cleaning of the spindle taper it is the most accurate collet I have ever had the good fortune to meet.

The shank through hole looks like a rough casting and is as hard as the top of Gods' head but I cannot detect any run out at all on the collet.

So is this sample of one typical?

Are ER40s actually better than ER32s?

Do these things get less accurate as they diminish in size? As I descend into the "hobby" market and start counting the pennies?

Have fun,

Robin

Have you looked at RDG tools recently? I am feeling tempted by their universal cutter grinder because of the price tag and the big pile of accessories it comes with.

This is not a recommendation, I am no expert on this stuff, I am actually just fishing for clues myself

If you tidy up, how will we know if you are using it?

'scuse my ignorance, 'Universa'l meaning you can rotate the table in the Z axis?

So much to learn, so little time left

Robin

Has anyone ever played with a Deckel?

Might you trade some of that American Bridgeport solidity for a bit of Continental, double-jointed flexibility?

When Gotteswinter starts twisting his Deckel horizontal table through all its' degrees of freedom I go a bit slack-jawed and drooly

When you say "Emergency stop switch and brake" do you mean dumping the kinetic energy to a resistor bank or physically applying a brake?

I have a brake pedal that stops it dead from 800 rpm, haven't tried faster just in case it explodes.

I want to fit a VFD to fill in the gaps between the gear selections, but what about the brake? Can you get an instant off, stop doing anything, from a VFD? Don't want it to work against the brake rather than just letting it happen

Robin

I don't think AI will be a problem.

If machines could take over the world it would probably be by ruining our economies with fake alarm stories on social media, promoting a cashless cryptocurrency base and tricking stupid Chinese lab workers in Wuhan to cook up plague pathogens.

A big alarm bell to listen out for would be when rich people started trying to leave the planet

Robin

Exquisite

There is a Holtzapffel lathe, with lots of the kit, up on that auction site. Made for a Victorian gentleman hobbyist wood turner, but who would want it now you can't get the ivory?

Robin

I have one very like that.

I keep it attached to a Baker rifle lock that was specially designed not to need one.

I have a strange sense of humor

I wonder if it was to align the head on an RF30?

I will see your Wikipedia and raise you Jesus Christ, "You're far too keen on how and where but not so hot on why."

This may sound like an ad hominem logical fallacy to some, but I have come to realise that "Climate Change" has nothing to do with the old-fashioned, experiment-based, fallacy-avoiding science, there is a science nouveau based on consensus, how many followers you have on social media and shouting a lot when you are asked where you got your numbers from'.

Everyone is hoping for a powerful El Nino this year to push the unco-operative satellite temperature record up above the pesky 2016 el Nino high. Nobody is to ask awkward questions like, "How did the heat get from the troposphere to the sub-surface Pacific?" We will just be jolly thankful when it does.

I can't decide whether to be killed by global warming, Covid, Putin, AI, Super Volcano or stagnation of the Gulf stream.

So many to choose from my head is spinning.

I would buy a ticket to Mars from that nice Mr Musk if only dogs were allowed

Cadbury's is okay, I am a button addict. Still have not forgiven Nestle for changing the taste of the Rolo though

I seem to remember Cadbury's shifted production to Poland sometime before Brexit. Wonder how that's going for them

Robin

All new, I didn't want to get stuck with a lemon.

I understand that the rotating top slide is what makes it a "universal mill"? It certainly makes the slide very easy to remove

It had heavy iron handles on the X and Y screws, sprung to disengage when not in use. I replaced them with lightweight 3D prints and lost the springs.

I have made 2 mistakes so far... The Y-axis motor gets in the way of one of the slide locks. I used overly powerful springs declattering the splines, makes the quill a bit stiff.

Robin

I am having enormous fun with it. I removed all the wiring, replaced all the lead screws, added the missing Z-axis DRO, fixed a few niggly bits, and went a bit wild fixing the Z-axis handle.

I still have to finish the main circuit board, fit the central lubrication pump, and program in the pendant. I will then run out of fun stuff for a while and start on the more mundane bits.

Interesting to see the model T, wondering if the HV could be based on it. I can see them replacing the gearbox with stepped pulleys and a VFD. Unfortunately, instead of two VFD's they went for one VFD, 5 contactors, and a mile of wire. It did not last. When it arrived it was already pulling the earth leakage circuit breakers and pretty soon after it gave up altogether. I replaced one duff VFD in the cabinet with 2 new VFD's up on the ram and it works beautifully. The only thing left in the cabinet was the suds pump contactor. The only thing left in the big fancy switch box was the suds pump switch.

I ramble