Member postings for old mart

Yes, Haggerleases, now you bring the title to my attention. I have all the programs on dvd.

Fortunately for people who want to try indexable tooling now, the affordable Chinese inserts and holders have improved greatly recently. I have stuff from all the major manufacturers as well as Chinese, and for hobby use, the cheap stuff from ebay is well worth the money. The only hss I have used on a lathe in the last ten years is in the form of twist drills.

There is one of these included in the tools and machinery left to the museum in a will, along with some nice vee blocks and parallels. I haven't had time to unpack them yet. They will be added to our tooling goodies.

The mount on the Siege SC6 looks a bit like a contender.

http://www.mini-lathe.com/C6_lathe/C6/c6.htm#Chuck and Chuck Mounting

We used to stress relieve steel at 190C for 4 hours and let cool naturally. Mild steel might benefit from this treatment which can be carried out in a domestic oven. As my old firm made aircraft parts, the steel we used was never mild.

Edited By old mart on 11/06/2019 11:59:41

The rubbing of the bed is proving slower than wished for, but the smooth areas are gradually getting bigger.

I have made two 3/4" X 5 ACME nuts out of 100mm of leaded gunmetal. Making them antibacklash will mean sacrificing some of the length as the design of the mill X axis means that the travel will be shorter as the nut length increases. The only way around this is to cut a little more thread on the leadscrew. I am thinking about this, two inches of extra thread would allow the nuts to be full length.

As made, the nuts have about 0.005" backlash unlubricated.

I have been selling some things on ebay recently and use an slr with a macro lens and a ring flash. Multi megapixel resolution is not required, I set the camera to 2 megapixels having found that the photos take forever to transfer to ebay if the full resolution is used. I also check each photo for the right focus and exposure before using them.

You could smooth the edges of the bend with a bit of 400 wet and dry paper before bending it so there is no sharp edge. This reduces the tendency to crack. Really sharp bends should be avoided if possible. Soft stainless steel is more ductile than mild steel.

On the other forum that I am a member of (The Home Shop Machinist) that would rate a "you suck" and rightly so.

I have a set at the museum that required a little tlc before using, I had to scrape the rust off of 90% of them. Still they are better than nothing and I am glad to have a set.

The grooving insert holder in Pauls post is for MGMN inserts which are commonly available widths of

1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4 and 5mm. Each width has a dedicated holder, and the inserts also fit in left and right handed parting off tools. I believe the grooving tool shanks only go down to 16mm, limiting the minimum hole size and are too big for smaller lathes. The tips are commonly Chinese, but Korloy also make them. The inserts are double ended.

Edited By old mart on 10/06/2019 13:54:34

Used all the time by toolmakers and jig makers, the drilling bushes are hard and quick detachable by gripping and twisting the knurled top. The jig would also be used on drilling machines for production runs.

I will try and post a couple of pictures. The chuck is unused but pretty old, made in England, definitely predating the metric 100mm versions. Having stripped, cleaned, lubricated and re assembled it is a beauty, both sets of jaws are tight and body and jaws serial numbers match. I couldn't resist the price, £45.50 including postage.

Edited By old mart on 10/06/2019 12:47:00

I have bought lots of the cheap Chinese toolholders for carbide inserts on ebay, they are almost as good as the big named brands. 

 The second letter "c" indicates a positive tip angle of 7 degrees, and the insert is held level in the toolholder and the "n" means neutral with no relief (square end) with the insert dipping down 7 degrees in the toolholder to provide cutting relief. When you get the other holder the difference will be obvious.

Edited By old mart on 09/06/2019 19:11:11

I have just bought a new 4" Burnerd chuck with both sets of jaws, model N30. Definitely imperial as the fixing screws are 1/4" Whitworth.

It came with a backplate which I have failed to identify, even by googling.

The backplate is held on the spindle by three 5/16" BSF studs at approximately 49mm pcd. From slight witness marks the flange of the spindle is 62mm diameter. A tapered projection of the spindle around 36mm with an included angle of about 11 degrees centralises the backplate.

Someone must know.

Sorry, the message was from The artful codger, as I am new to the forum, I have difficulty navigating it and mislaid the message.

You might be lucky enlarging the hole with a diamond file out of one of those cheap sets of needle files.

As already mentioned, are you sure the inserts are the same as what you have already got? VCMT have only 2 edges at a 7 degree angle and VNMG have square ends and 4 edges.

The best way short of investing in solid carbide drills is to get a set of Bosch multiconstruction drills from Screwfix (95958). I keep a set for drilling hard steel, rather than masonry, their sharp tips are not brittle like solids and they are much cheaper.

I have had a request from a member regarding lubricating the spindle bearings of the model A.

 The front bearing lubrication point is just to the rear left of the right hand end of the spindle. 

The rear bearing lubrication point is just to the right of the plunger lubricator at the left end of the headstock.

 Joining the Yahoo group for Smart & Brown gives access to a mass of instructions and drawings you can download and print out for free, as well as advice from members.

Edited By old mart on 07/06/2019 13:27:34

Can anyone tell me if there is a difference between Boxford 1 1/2" X 8 and Atlas 1 1/2" X 8 spindle dimensions? I wonder if there is compatibility between registers and thread types?

Alex, if you get a MT2 holder, it will require a 10mm drawbar. The cheapest way to make one is by getting a length of 10mm studding and a couple of nuts. You will still have to turn up and drill something to fit in the left hand end of the lathe spindle to seat the drawbar.