Member postings for Chris Mate

Hi, basicly I observe 2 types of play, and unlike the X/Y horizontal axis, you got something that wants to come down with the play involved, the return spring also play a role.(I will look further into this tention)
.
1-The play between quil rack/pinnion type gear, I can adjust this more tight, but tightness gives you a false imression of where the quil heigt may be, so if you misjudge, I believe a utter can pull it in soewhat depending on baclash left after you adjusted it stiffer-I now understand this trick.

2-The play between the fine adjust workgear mechanism. Now they have fixed pressed the round scale and it has 2x bearings. Not much I can do here, this play is in the design.-I now understand this too.

Because its vertical operation the quil/spindle will move, because you misjudge the direction of the play , and made the quil movement stiffer, then lock it down, in this case you may lock it down with unforseen play in the wrong direction, and a cutter may pull it in somewhat....I annot say I like this situation at all.

Note: I took the fine adjustment mechanism off and apart. It looks new & well made no play in bearings.
The grease was stiff not expected, so clean and regrease.

I will spend more time on this, then do a test cut with dial indicator fitted and see if I cut what I think I should have by measuring the part.(Face cutting)

Thanks for the replies. At the moment I cannot see how a DRO fitment to the quil(Z2) will be accurate here and to be trusted, I will look at SGW's version, the DRO will experience the same as my dial indictor, and yes the stop is the only real flimsy setup on this mill/drill. I did roughtly modified it(This was done few days after I fitted the mill)by letting it slip in an aliminium channell, and replaced the top switch(Removed) with a proper quality switch mounted lower portion secure to indicate the top of the quil position for tapping. This one ectually came with a broken top switch because of the flimsy stop, the stop just crashed the switch as it swivels around.

Thanks for the replies. What confused me, was the quill had a "fine adjust" which you engage specially to make that function work, that what lead me to use the quil for fine adjust face milling as experiment, I then soon realise it will be difficult to mill accurately this way.

The other way is the head dovetail use for up & down. I must say I forgot of the round column mill/drills, I had such an option(Cheaper) but for the reasons mentioned did not buy it.

I think I may have a selution then for the coarse adjustment by using the handle to crank.
-Some time ago, I gave it a thought to to add a 90 degree small gearbox in series with a car steering wheel universal joint, and maybe need a second one to extend that crank handle to the front like a knee mill.
-My choice would be a 1:1 ratio, but now on 2nd thoughts maybe another ratio for finer adjustment.
-Then instead of using the crank handle again, use a wheel to crank it.
-I will look at a wheat eater gearbox, not 90 degree, but angle I was offered for use some time ago, just did not get to it, it may be suitable or not.

Note:Another negative effect I noticed using the quill fine adjust, is if you lock it, and turn the small wheel engaged for that, the quill will not move, BUT however the quill may "fall" down a it to the turn you gave as soon as you release the lock, and ob some cutters this may cause a biting problem, more that you intended.....

-I think I am going to give this extention of the crank handle a thought again for the head adjustment, you get these small gearboxes in different ratios..

Edited By Chris Mate on 09/03/2022 23:04:57

Hi,
ZAY7045-ZX45 type mill/drill.

I want to know exactly how I wind the quill down from a given point.

How do you deal with the quil play before & after you lock it down regarding the Z-Axis accuracy.

I bolt a sturdy bracket to the quil, then place dial indicator on it. I also limit the travel equal to the dial indicator travel, which now travel in reverse moving the quill down.

I can stiffen the quil play before lock down with a provided bolt, however even with this I dont get the indicator not to indicate a variation off the zero mark I set.

Now I cannot see how I can solve this as a result when fitting DRO to the Z-Axis.

How do you deal with this-?

Reading a manual:
Note both my larthe and mill, the manual is pretty useless and difficult to see properly, poor printing(China).

Cannon:Perfect manuals
I remember once reading the small manual of my Canon 70-200IS lense after I experienced plenty out of focus/movement where the parts should be still but like panning a propeller plane, the propeller must show movement but the plane's body should come out well.

So as I started reading the manual I found a place where the manufacturer desribe that if you pan/follow moving objects horizontally, you should disable the horizotal axis stabilization, which in this case is in the lense not the camera. The camera/lense tries to stabilise the moving picture you are actually panning horizontally..
-Rembering that either way is important.

Now:I just wonders if the same apply to youtrube videos, because I saw a lot if the creator pan horizontally the picture frames jerks, wonder what their manuals say-?

Sometimes things stay the same, sometimes opinions change over time due to experience, where experience may be area dependant as well.
I thought of this before, why bother to join any forum and ask questions, just view a video(s), read a book, a manual, or google it.

In short, I believe if you unsure about something after reading, asking a question in current time, always reveals interesting answers from different angles, time periods, latest take on things. Some of the answers may trigger new thoughts ideas.

Sometimes something somebody has said/reply was all you need to really understand something, that was not that clear from a book, manual or google or previous forum replies.

I have seen over years if everything function ok, you can read and theorise to no end, till you suddenly faced with a problem that can not easily been resolved, its then when you need to start thinking forward step by step and identifying all steps in time. In work I always welcomed questions, because it made me change the answers/explanations slightly to make it more understandable, which obviously the courses people attended did not do properly.

So you still have to have an open mind about any info received.

Hi, Interesting you mention delution. I was advised to mix around 12%(Manual milling) by experienced guy, and he said no rust he had no problems over the years, replace it every year. I don't have a problem mixing it heavier, although I understand you cannot go too heavy like over 15%...Maybe there are others knowing more about maximum percentage for manual milling. I am not going to blast the chips away like CNC milling with a closed cabinet. Minimum I can buy of the stuff I want is 20 Liters so I have plenty to experiment with. I think contamination stuff landing back in your tank plays a big role, especially if your pump remixes it and then sit still for periods.

Hi , I looked at those, but I wanted to experiment with something no moving parts and no extra space. I am just a slow home shop, and those although they work well will be too cumbersome for me.
If this turns out a nuisance, I have another simple fixed idea doing the same thing, however the oil won't spill over if oil level drops, thats my next option.

Edited By Chris Mate on 25/02/2022 21:14:43

Hi, I also completed the Coolant Floating Oil Catch Can.(Experiment to be)

The theory is it floats with a small side reservoir(Round) stabalised by few floats attached at such a level to the coolant level, that extra dirty oil from the top is contained here in this area alone and spill over in small reservoir from which I extract it. I will see how this works, if it turns out theres another real similasr non floating selution using same filter assembly and also containing the dirty oil in small area keeping it out of the rest of the Tank.

A fishtank airbubble is added ad the bottom to aerate that section as well to keep good bacteria in check(Theory)

Note:
The Coolant tank was modified with 4x bearing wheels riding on tracks in or out. I pull the tank out on a steel plate easily removed for easy non spill events. I also fitted a Coolant Level, a drain tap, and 2x fish tank air compressors added in tray/drawer above coolant tank to arerate areas in coolant tank.
THe blue marked pype is going out to 3x filter system, the green pipe marked coming back is just a backflow from pump through filters to stirr tank with coolant I do not use controlled by two taps near headstock.

See Photos:

Edited By Chris Mate on 25/02/2022 20:53:02

Ok so I had a stainless chip tray made for the mill table when the vice is used.

I have tested it by face milling a block of steel 5mm off one side and 2mm opposite side at 900+ RPM-Spindle. This effort contained all the chips. I used cutting fluid.
I am sure it will contain the coolant later on as well, which will leak down near vice to the bed then with a pipe bak to coolant tank.
I think I am very happy with this, and I can see well what is going on.

PartsNothing bolts down, every part just slides in or sit on another, easy & fast to remove.

1-Stainless Chip tray with 4x plastic feet rest on table.
-It moves with the table.
2-Stainless back plate resting on this tray. The size of the backplate can be changed for when quill & head is higher positions. This size will cover most work around the vice.
-It moves with the table.
3-2x Facermask shields used left & right of the quill to limit chips in tray area.
-These move with the table, can be easily just positioned as required.
4-The original perspex cover that came with the mill was used and slip in behind the vice on the tray.
-This moves with the table.
5-A leather piece was cut to fit around the vice to keep chips away from vice/table gaps.
-This moves with table/vice.
6-A leather piece that slip in behind the quill/spindle to catch chips near cutting tool fitted.
-This moved/stay with the quill position.

Photos added:I reduced photos size from 10mb down to 1.5 +/- to upload by loading and just resaving them in paint-jpg.

Edited By Chris Mate on 25/02/2022 14:03:59

Hi, Dave Wootton,

I originally wired two stops to switch off lathe, the one is for carriage with toolpost near chuck(Fixed).

Then a moveable one with sliding rod towards carriage from headstock-bed..I used this one in conjunction with a dial indicator. So if I overshoot the dial indicator mark slightly on repetition, the lathe switch off and need to be reset, in series with all safety switches.

None of these cover you if you move the topslide or change tool in toolpost while you in this current operation, so one has to be aware of anything moving towards each other all the time.

Actually I feel somebody new shoulod practice these spacial awareness possibilities with the lathe power unplugged, so you just realise the possibilities up front ....

What are your rules from experience with using a carriage stop-?
Spacial awareness:
I would like to make a "Carriage" stop that could sense pressure(Adjustable but accurate) to switch off the lathe, or disconnect the feed to prevent a crash if the topslide or crosslide were moved in such a way during the operation to cause a crash,.. to prevent a crash.

Facebook adverts confused me from the 1st time I looked at its "market place" for small items.

Sometimes the prize next to item is at a zero value in my currency, making it seems free. If I phone the number, thats not the case at all(Towns near me). Some prizes looks too low as well.

So I was wondering if Facebook themselves convert currencies, and that converter is not functioning well for some countries apart from possible scams-?

Some random thoughts...I am retired and decided to do somthing completely different for a change, now I regret not starting many years ago. By doing a course you be off in a more structural way more quickly & books etc, but in the mean time you may think about a few random things....

When I started with a lathe, I looked to videos to see the work atmosphere, how they talk about the lathe sections etc you use to make a part, how you sharpen HSS tools basic, cutting fluid use, lathe safety. I did this for about 3 years. I have seen different approuches, braveries, systematic approuches etc.

Then the big problem, which lathe to buy-? Can I move & handle it alone, or dependant on others-?
-How large is the hole through the spindle for long stock, are you limited to which dimentions-?
-Cutting treads and changed gears-?

-What happens to the accuracy of the lathe bed if I bolt it down to anything-?

-Which toolpost-?

-After I bought the lathe, for sfety reasons I made a place for my lathe chuck key with a switch, if not in position the lathe is tripped and cannot run. I never regretted this move.

-Have respect for spacial awareness, meaning can something run accidently into something else if moved where, this can catch you out. Be carefull when using auto feed, you may have changed something within you original vision of whats coming,......can it accidently catch you out-? was the tailstock locked and in the way-? Has a toolbit or topslide position changed, and catch you out.....?

-Never rush into a job, take time too understand your moves, slow in the beginning then faster later on.

-How heavy cut should you take for your lathe-?

-Rough cuts...
-Final cuts..To get to your final dimention.

-Positioning of the tool height-?

-Backlash....? DRO's & measurements

-Parting off......? Speed type pf tools.

-Lathe height, not to strain your back. (I got advice about this, and not regretted it)

-Lathe lighting to see better-?

-You keep on learning in circles as time goes on.

-What is the smallest part you can make-? The smallest part I had to make was an oiler insert for the lathe I bought.
-What is the largest part you can make-? THe largest part I made was a steering wheel to crank the lathe manually if I need to do that, I have seen other do this .

Edited By Chris Mate on 15/02/2022 19:22:48

Edited By Chris Mate on 15/02/2022 19:25:15

Edited By Chris Mate on 15/02/2022 19:25:42

Edited By Chris Mate on 15/02/2022 19:26:11

Edited By Chris Mate on 15/02/2022 19:29:39

I fitted 3x LED lights shining down from the roof towards cutter area( 1x LED screw in types) from over my shoulders+ One from the left side downwards and from the right. I can anglke them around. I found they provided too much light where I dont want to see, so I fitted covers over lights to more direct the light. Theres enough light now. I am still working on it, however its good enough, the light with the mill was useless removed it.
I have enough strong light, just want to diffuse it more & channel the side beams more to cutter area which stay in same place luckilly. The lathe was easy, just flurecent from above general light plus 2x similar LED lights swinginfg in any way, I can see in bore cutting it with one of the LED lights.

Hi, If I understood the original test correctly, its only the difference indicated when the spindle changed direction in turning by hand, and that happened anywhere in one circle the spindle turn. So that mark/identify this argument, ignoring other forms of runout. This was an up/down movement not expected.

Now I would like to see if this particular induced up/down movement is from the spindle. So in my suggested method, if it shows on the tool set indicator as soon as direction is reversed any place in one circle, what would the 2nd dial test indicator indicate on a flat surface not on the outside but on the top side of a surface machined that can only reflect up/down movement of the spindle under correct circuimstances. If it needs to be grinded ok, then so be it for those that can do it. My idea is still measuring on a round but flat surface unlike the tool set indicater pointed upwards towards a roundy pointed surface.

Note:Maybe the idea I suggested must be cut in a lathe 1st, then placed in the spindle a re-cut truely with lathe cutters positioned to do that. I have seen another guy on youtube cutting on a mill like in a lathe, then you know it runds true to the spindle, and only the up/down movement in question should reveal or totally disappeear and changed to a new direction based on true cut to the spindle in question-?


I am I correct understanding it like this-?
 

Edited By Chris Mate on 09/02/2022 20:32:52

Hi, just further curious about this.

Say you turn a test piece in a lathe with with a round tip as had already been done, but now above the round tip you turn a 5-10mm thick quare shoulder on this test piece and insert it in thec spindle.

Now you add the set indicator at the bottom touching the round piece, and add another dial test indicator resting on this turned shoulder. Now my question is what does the 2nd indicator indicate as the lower set indicator is deviating as the rotation is reversed-? I am I right to assume if the dial test indicator show no deviation, nothig has happenned in the spindle as it was reversed by hand-?

Edited By Chris Mate on 09/02/2022 16:49:15

Edited By Chris Mate on 09/02/2022 16:49:49

Edited By Chris Mate on 09/02/2022 16:50:32

Hi, put your lathe in freest neutral and do the same test there, see what you get-?

2nd thougt:It would be most interestring to know....
1-if theres a difference with new bearings after installation new mill-?
2-And bearings that run a while in th same direction, minimal in other direction if any-?
2-Bearing that runned both directions evenly -?

Edited By Chris Mate on 07/02/2022 15:00:00

What is the tool/indicator set called you use-?
With the round point used, it moves when you change direction of spindle and then stable at new indication which ends up either one of two readings, made me think of the inside of the bearings....The play/space between balls in bearing and how much movement there is only when direction is changed(Not referring to other plays in a beasring)-? I was wondering what bearing frequency checker would reveal as a cause ?

Edited By Chris Mate on 07/02/2022 12:55:15

Edited By Chris Mate on 07/02/2022 12:56:18

Interesting..
 

Edited By Chris Mate on 07/02/2022 12:18:13

Edited By Chris Mate on 07/02/2022 12:19:01

I have a DELL WIN 10 PC as well. This PC disk activity light is on the side, so I cannot see it. I put a small mirror so I can see the disc activity. There are two reasons I look at this like this:
1-To see quickly if theres any disc activity and if its continious and expected or not. If its going on and on I try to find the reason.
2-If you shut down Windows, you cannot see from Taskmanager the disk activity, which is important when switching the PC off. One should not switch the PC off after shutdown when there is still disc activity going on.

I also found that if WIN 10 updates, and it starts to "hang" at a certain % like even at 90%, the selution is to unplug your network cable to router, wait 1-2 minutes and reconnect it, then it always resumed the update till completed.

I also found with my Win 10 PC, if I switch the plug on wall on and immediately switch on the PC, I may encounter a slow boot up, if I wait 1 minute, its always fast every time.

Edited By Chris Mate on 04/02/2022 20:15:09

Edited By Chris Mate on 04/02/2022 20:15:47