Member postings for Toby Jones

Hi All,

As Peter suggested I compile this into a more comprehensive write up I shall update you all once I have it complete! Thank you peter for the relevant contacts - I shall get in touch with them once I have my act together!

For a brief update - a member on here very kindly posted me some old parts from a since gone CH10 drill. Unfortunately the quill teeth did not index on my press gear. Upon inspection it is identical in form to the Sealey quill and mates to the press gear of the one purchased from sealey on a whim. From inspecting various CH10 drills on ebay, it looks like anything PRE 95 has the early spindle and switch mounting, and post 95 has the later press gear and switch housing. It appears my 1995 model is a somewhat b*stard - taking the early spindle and later switch mounting and electronics - making it a unique challenge for parts!

I am pretty confident in stating anything nutool 95 or later is identical to current offerings by sealey, warco etc of the 5 speed drill variant - hopefully that helps anyone trying to get spares for their own machines!

I will continue to document what repairs or modifications to the drill press and likely take the very useful advice given by all in previous messages on this thread. I will post some photos how I get on! Hopefully I will get a chance this week at work to give a few things a try....

In the meantime I finally have built a substantial workbench - I may be without a drill press, but I now have a place to sufficiently hammer it to pieces until it works

Cheers!

Toby

Hi Peter

I certainly could if there is enough interest - although I am fortunate enough to still be working full time at the moment so may be as and when I get the chance!

I am still very new to the forums and how everything is set up, is that just a means of writing up and emailing off to someone?

Kind Regards,

Toby

Hi Steve -

thanks for adding your experience for ref. That cnc setup looks great! have you got an example finished pieces from it? would be really interested to see. I think I have ultimately tried running before walking, as I am currently still getting myself setup proper. I have made a start with a humble drill press, which isnt much but a start! Nevertheless, its really helpful to see how others have tackled more DIY setups and I feel more confident that I would take this approach. I think another critical thing I need to work out is allocating the space for such a machine too...

The cnc router setup looks like its coming along nicely too - would be really interest to follow how it gets on cutting aluminium and harder stuff. the "mpcnc" seems to be quite a widely used platform that people work off that ive also been following closely. The more I look into it, I think this may be my first proper CNC endeavour ( - that is, a cnc router) as it is something I could build up from rexroth profiles or other bits and bobs I can cobble or print.

I certainly feel inspired having a look through this and the other posts... but also makes me realise how much space I need to make!! one can dream...

Toby

A small update -

Before going full chop and cutting the casting, I have found some more suppliers with castings that look identical - I am convinced that the virgin castings at least still must originate from the same factory.... then it looks like some people just put in cheaper bearings or moving parts than others.

I contacted Warco, as their offering looks incredibly similar to my machine and despite my best efforts and stating that on my head be it they simply flat out refused to quote for just a quill and press gear, on the basis that it could work with a non warco machine.. - I almost felt like I had tripped on something I shouldnt!! the Warco mechanism from studying the photos online looks almost bang on identical, just with different handle knobs. I am tempted to contact them with another email address without the context of spares to see if they would be so kind enough to provide a drawing.

I also had an extensive look at adjustable hand reamers, the type which you can adjust with a nut each end to open a hole to an exact size. These look like a really useful piece of kit, and wonder if I could step them up to bore out the hole without even any drillings ops... Ive no experience with adjustable reamers so any input on them would be appreciated!

I have rebuilt the motor now, and it runs really smooth and quiet. I plan to modify a cheap bottle jack or make a screwjack with a fixture that bolts to the underside of the table to allow me to adjust the height with much greater ease. I won on eBay secondhand a machine vice that looks to be good quality (will see when it arrives) and have made my first step into tooling up with an RDG tools order of some essentials!

I hope everyone is keeping in good health - hopefully this is the last big lockdown and normality will start to creep in again in the summer!

Cheers!!

Toby

The diy gear cutting attempt 2 was short lived. Whilst I was able to make the tooth form quite nice and clean reworking a handful of them on the first attempt, the second time round has proved to be a nightmare as there isnt enough reference material on neighbouring teeth.I think if I were to carry on it would result in a very ill fitting and sloppy press mechanism, which would berate me every time I used it! Nonetheless, I have learned something so not a completely wasted exercise. That means.... plan 2!

I have the drill head on my desk, and am going to have a proper measure up best I can to work out that opening up the bore will definitely work and not cause any other issues. The other issue I have is the new pinion is just too short to on its shallower diameter, but think that could be rectified by turning down the bigger diameter to let it sit further in. Yet to work out how, but I have dropped odds and ends in to a local machine shop before who have been somewhat accomodating of my hair brained schemes for small cash jobs...

Clive - I like the idea of modifying the old shaft too as a bore guide, although am unsure how I would get it to engage on the drill. I have a standard drill arbor for hole cutting that I wonder if I drilled and tapped the end of the old shaft I could put a piece of studding into it and drop in the collet of the holesaw. Another possibly even more daft Idea is to 3d print a mandrel that I can make to a really close fit to guide it - the only concern being it failing during the drilling op...

The more tinkering I do the more I realise I need a lathe!!!! Its definitely on the list as my next item, but will lilkely be a while before I have the pennies saved! Is there such a thing as a "skills exchange" on the forums where people swap services? I am quite proficient in CAD and do a fair bit of 3D printing... Would happily exchange the latter via posting 3d printed parts/with the bits I need to rework somehow!

Kind Regards,

Toby

Useful to know that its somewhat worth saving - itll be the first piece of kit that I have outside the realm of "standard" diy power tools. There are bearings inside the quill for the spindle, but none in the drill head for the quill to ride in. I suspect the slop in mine has come from it riding against the relatively soft casting of the drill head for a good few years. I recon somebody previously had really cranked on it to muller the teeth, as it didnt look like wear as such, more sudden failure.

I like the idea of the starrett "oops" drill arbor - certainly on my list as something to have as I have previously just used a hand tapered reamer to try and remeder the issue - usually ending up with a slightly egg shaped hole! I think I will definitely give that a go if I cock up the rework on the now failed teeth, but would need to work out a jig for the pistol drill so I get it as square as possible. this may sound seriously daft, but what sort of pressing force should the teeth be able to take? I am predominantly from the shade tree mechanic/diy engineer background with some fortunate access to serious kit at uni, but no real "experience" of feel for a machine such as this.

I will keep the thread updated with the next attempt! Time to fire up the mightymig...

I appreciate the kind feedback too, certainly deterred me from throwing the towel in just yet!!

Kind Regards,

Toby

Hi all,

(Please be nice - this may look like a hack job - I am learning, but it is also because it is!!!)

I picked up a nutool ch10 Drill press the other day for £15, on the whim that if its truly knackered I will get it weighed in. I have gone done the rabbit hole... The motor runs well and after a new set of bearings its pretty quiet. Although the castings are pretty horrific. There is no flex in the table and seems to be a lot more substantial than the more modern cheap drill presses. This one has doncaster, england written on the side and was mfg in 1995 (although suspect it to be imported).

I have stripped the spindle and quill assembly, as the press was slipping. The spindle is still true but the teeth on the rack on the quill have failed. I attempted a repair by migging up the worn teeth as a super bodge and then grinding the tooth form with a dremel - to my surpise it worked a treat! as soon as it went under heavier load the unrepaired teeth failed!!! very surprised the welded ones held their own. Anyway, I digress... It appears the sealey SDM30 uses the same quill bore, which I have purchased new with a new press pinion for £15. Unfortunately the bore is too small for the new press handle... I am considering reworking the casting somehow to open it up, and then ream and install some bronze bushes on both the quill and press spindle, to make them a much better than factory fit. With a new chuck, bearings and reworked quill I think it could be quite a capable small drill!

I digress even more.... The latter requires access to all kinds of tooling which I do not have (yet!) so is likely a pipe dream/second iteration.

In the meantime, does anyone have one in pieces or spares in the shed that is going scrap? Hopefully I could combine both assemblies to get one working drill... I am reluctant to scrap it as I feel I am so close!!

Images below for open critique/mockery and viewing pleasure!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/cF7Pa7bFBVptQwcu7

Kind Regards,

Toby

Further useful context and advice - again much appreciated. The more insight I get before driving a purchase or me inevitably blowing something up can only be a good thing!

ArcEuroTrade seems to come up quite frequently, so will have a bit more of a look at what they stock..

Thanks Chaps!

Toby

Thanks for the context re the Triac - it had sounded an absolute bargain for a standard ebay purchase!

I had considered the cutting head - but not the workpiece clamping so much with respect to workable area. I think I was primarily highlighting that the majority of parts I would make would be under that (at least until I get an idea of what I am doing!)

RE Grbl, yes - plenty of printers and some router setups also run off something called marlin, which allows people to build one off printers and do all sorts of cusom control. I havent been too restricted with the firmware and control methods on mine yet, but I am sure I will eventually have a tinker! Open source stuff in that field is great, primarily because of the RepRap community.

I am fortunate enough to use solidworks both at work and in my studies, which has built in toolpath generation and machining simulation, so providing I could build a profile for the machine, I think I would have some idea for the command/control side. Ive used it a bit to get an idea of design elements for manufacture previously, and is certainly a handy feature. A couple of colleagues talk highly of autodesk software, although I have no experience of it it sounds like its a powerful tool too.

Re a Dremel router, I have spent many months umming and ahhing. after floating about on the MPCNC forums for a bit, I decided it wasnt for me - they sound great for woodwork and acrylics, but nobody has really cracked anything more - The current frame designs have too much compliance and look like they arent quite up to it. The alternative I considered was designing a much much smaller frame and build area to have much more rigidity. I spoke to a couple owners of them and with the question of mini mill or router, the majority went straight to mini mill conversions....

It does tempt me still, so may well look into it again!

Toby

Thanks for the context re the Triac - it had sounded an absolute bargain for a standard ebay purchase!

I had considered the cutting head - but not the workpiece clamping so much with respect to workable area. I think I was primarily highlighting that the majority of parts I would make would be under that (at least until I get an idea of what I am doing!)

RE Grbl, yes - plenty of printers and some router setups also run off something called marlin, which allows people to build one off printers and do all sorts of cusom control. I havent been too restricted with the firmware and control methods on mine yet, but I am sure I will eventually have a tinker! Open source stuff in that field is great, primarily because of the RepRap community.

I am fortunate enough to use solidworks both at work and in my studies, which has built in toolpath generation and machining simulation, so providing I could build a profile for the machine, I think I would have some idea for the command/control side. Ive used it a bit to get an idea of design elements for manufacture previously, and is certainly a handy feature. A couple of colleagues talk highly of autodesk software, although I have no experience of it it sounds like its a powerful tool too.

Re a Dremel router, I have spent many months umming and ahhing. after floating about on the MPCNC forums for a bit, I decided it wasnt for me - they sound great for woodwork and acrylics, but nobody has really cracked anything more - The current frame designs have too much compliance and look like they arent quite up to it. The alternative I considered was designing a much much smaller frame and build area to have much more rigidity. I spoke to a couple owners of them and with the question of mini mill or router, the majority went straight to mini mill conversions....

It does tempt me still, so may well look into it again!

Toby

Hi Nigel,

Thanks for the info - may I ask how you found a mill in that condition? I feel I would be up to the challenge of reccommissioning something provided that all the guideways were in good condition and nothing needed substantial repair. At the moment to be quite honest I dont really know what to look for (ie brand/name/websites etc) I think the size I had just plucked with what I am familiar with - my 3d printer is 150x150x200 and I havent really been bottlenecked yet by the useable workspace... Again, really useful to see an idea of costing as it gives some context to me as how much money id expect to throw at it... Arduino and open source is the future of most stuff for makers I think!

Cheers,

Toby

Hi Howard,

Thats already a wealth of information - much appreciated! I have already learned the hard way with some cheap bits (snapped taps/drillbits wedged into bits engine... or those supposed 5 minute jobs where you end up destroying what you were trying to fix) so certainly resonate with buy once and buy good - more than happy if it takes me a little while to get setup with stuff.. Glad I asked about a drill as Ive been eyeing one on screwfix for a while but suspect its made of cheese... I had certainly overlooked a bench grinder - sounds like a very useful tool!

I am pretty much sold on a lathe.. I just need to throw out enough stuff to make space for it! Interesting to know RE machinemart as I was looking at the clarke metalworker series... Warco arent too far from me so maybe when things open up ill get a chance to have a look! when you mean swing, is that the major diameter it can turn across a given length? if so 180mm sounds plenty.

Bench is currently a work in progress, which ill hopefully finish in the next month and get bolted down proper - is it pretty common to have the mini lathes just sit on a workbench rather than a large bed?

I am sure to be opening a can of worms here with names of "quality" brands - but my initial thoughts are Dormer/Cromwell/Kennedy etc.. any brands which are a big fat avoid??

I have some reasonable measuring kit already, that ive bought over the last couple of years (DTI, Digital Calipers some slips & a nice set of feeler gauges) my xmas gift to myself from machine DRO got lost in the post (mitutoyo setsquare and a rule) but they are on the list too. I do some cowboy stuff with a mightymig and so itll be nice to confirm that yes, that part is indeed welded wonky. The angle grinder appears to be quite a good friend of the mightymig... I wonder why!

Thanks again - ill do some reading tonight and see what else is on the list!

Kind Regards,

Toby

Hi all,

some useful food for thought and questions I need to properly consider many thanks!

I really need to get it down to a quantifiable list of what exactly I am after - seen a lot of the Grizzly/Sieg/Clarke etc mini mills and look like with a bit of fettling they can produce good parts, which is what twigged my interest...

I have a spare desktop machine that I could run the Gcode/CAM off and am a proficient CAD user with a fair(open to interpretation!) experience designing for manufacture of turned & milled parts.A Dream scenario would be getting a machine I could plan to convert in a year or so's time so I at least understand the fundamentals/limitations of the machine a bit before whacking some steppers on it and sending an endmill ploughing through god knows what!!!

John H - it is likely I would follow that sort of approach too (or that what I had envisaged in my head) - thanks for giving some ideas for costs - have you got any photos of the setup? would be really interested to see.

In terms of material, it would be predominantly free machining aluminium, engineering plastics and maybe some mild steels - I cant imagine milling anything more hardcore at the moment.

In terms of accuracy, I think <100microns I would be very happy with - its predominantly for me to learn as much as I can about the process!

thanks for the attached links too - any further reading to this is much appreciated.

Kind Regards,

Toby

Hi All,

Many thanks for the quick responses. Looks like ive already got a good reading list to work through!

Kind Regards,

Toby

Hi everyone,

Pretty blown away but such quick & friendly responses - its already evident its a great community!

I am down south - nr m25/gatwick.

I am still part the way through my degree, (studying in the midlands) but spend a good 90% of my time outside studying tinkering with bits of car or whatever I can get my hands on. Ive experience building engines/fabricating and have been bitten by the 3d printing bug, to which I am spending most of my lockdown churning out parts! I am on my industrial placement at the moment, and have started to save a bit of wedge to get some tools that I can use throughout my career/ life as an engineer! Ive always really tried to design as much as possible for manufacture, and have loved having a natter with the technicians/shop engineers at uni or the engineers we use at work for precise turned/milled pieces.

I am pretty limited for space, but would certainly like to get some bits and pieces that would hopefully serve me well. (approx. 1 workbench for static tools) Ive got previous for pulling stuff out the skip, so bonus points if its bits/ old equipment that just need a mild rework to get a new lease of life!

Id really appreciate some advice (or direction to the relevant thread if its already been covered in detail) on good, reliable "beginners" machinery - I think predominantly a drill press (think I could squeeze a pillar drill in...) and a bench bandsaw. I would love to have a lathe, but really dont think Ive the space (I suppose space could be made!!) Even better if its second hand!

Keen to know your thoughts on what other equipment you would class as "must have" for a young engineer. - ive the usual - calipers, DTI and a reasonable array of hand tools, but I am sure there is more I can learn about.

Thanks Again

Kind Regards,

Toby

Interested to hear experiences and total costs to purchase and convert a machine to CNC for small jobs (less than 6in square)

Cheers!

As above, links to online sites or ebay links to books etc would be greatly appreciated!

Kind Regards

Hi all,

been following a lot of the forums on here for a while to inform decisions to get home workshop a bit more kitted out. Primarily looking to do larger work but want to start with the fundamentals on smaller machinery so I get to grips with stuff.

Will continue to float around, but any bargain equipment drop me a PM!

kind Regards