Member postings for mechman48

Hi pgk & welcome.

You have a nice sum for your budget & that should be more than adequate to get you started.. '

'A good second hand machine is better than a bad new one and a good new machine is better than a worn out old one'.

I can see the sense in this & can concur with its sentiment. as for measuring instruments.. decide what accuracy you will be needing, digital mics & verniers a more than adequate for the hobbyist but you have to bear in mind they do vary according to what the temperature in your proposed workshop is, plus any machined metal will also expand as it's machined so you will have to take this into account ( apologies for granny & eggs syndrome ). I have a Mitutoyo digital 0-25mm that I use as a master plus a 8" Mitutoyo vernier, again used as a master, but have also got other mics & verniers digital & analogue that I use when 'roughing out' also spring callipers, again used for roughing out, I always have a 3" digi vernier in my top pocket for general measuring & I do check with analogue mics on finishing cuts & compare with digital & have in general found that they compare within .01 / .00039" of ea. other. I have my garage insulated & use a couple of small oil filled rads to maintain a temp of about 14 - 16*C in winter & all my measuring equip't is usually warmed up to that by the time I get started, but it looks like you've got your insulation sorted.

As for lathes & mills I bought a Warco WM250V-F & a WM 16 mill at the Harrogate exhibition in 2012 ( usual disclaimer ) as a package so got some discount & the Myfords on sale were silly money, without any add ons, so far I have had decent service out of both. It boils down to what you want to make, all I can add is go for the biggest you feel you can work with & need, & to reiterate..' you can always do small stuff on a large lathe etc. .... I would go for DRO's as they will eliminate any inbuilt discrepancies re. backlash, I fitted a set to my mill & have not looked back... am now looking at a set for my lathe... again personal preference, I would also consider a small..ish bandsaw, I bought myself a 4" x 6" from Mach. Mart on one of their VAT free days ( again usual disc.   as at my age didn't take kindly hacksawing through 2" Ally bar or 75mm Brass round.. a very useful addition.

As a parting comment I can only add to ensure you have enough security measures fitted to you 'man cave' as sure as tomorrow comes some low life WILL have a go at your stuff, especially as you're in the wilds, don't ask how I know! so good hunting & once you're sorted just enjoy, if I can help with anything else just drop me a pm.

Cheers

George

Exactly what I mean re the burglar...

George.

Pete/ Ian S C

That's precisely the point I was trying to make; it's the UK's legal system that prevents us from taking action to do anything to protect ourselves & homes ..& that is tied into the EUHR, as you say in Italy you can shoot an intruder... in UK it is illegal to own a handgun/rifle without just cause... it is illegal to put up razor wire on your boundary fence... it might injure a burglar/trespasser .. it is illegal to embed broken glass onto backyard walls.. ditto razor wire.. if your dog bites a burglar you as the owner are liable for injuries received... & as proved in a publicised court case, when a burglar was shot & killed whilst committing an act of burglary with an accomplice it was the homeowner who was punished by a jail sentence... &, if you're lucky enough to get a conviction the perpetrator usually pleads their human right to freedom/family life/compensation for injuries received while committing an act of burglary etc, etc, so it's not the lack of support for change in the judicial system, it's the lack of enforcement by the government to adopt / fall in line with the EU system, with priority give to the EUHR side which in turn makes it a criminals charter, there are plenty of people who would love to eke summary justice at the time...but we're not allowed to otherwise we're the ones in the wrong...Thanks to you Tony & Cherie Blair!.

Apologies for the soapbox stance... lost the thread for a mo' there, lets get back to ME.

George.

Peter I use prescription bi focal glasses in the den, have been wearing glasses all my life so nowt new to me, Use varifocals for normal day wear. As mentioned get yourself a face shield if you don't want to fork out for prescription glasses... just had a look in Machine Mart catalogue...

**LINK**

Better than not having anything...

George

Hi Nick, they are good, I splashed out for one & use it for about 98% of my machining needs, Brass, Steel, Aluminium, although you really need a chip breaker in the tool for this stuff as it comes off in long slivers.. very sharp! so I tend to use a carbide or HSS bit with chip breakers in for Aluminium.

They come in 3 sizes... 8 - 9.5 - 12mm ( so it says in the advertising blurb ) so you can get on to suit all size machines, I got the 9.5mm for my machine & as said it's good albeit expensive, if you have a mill then you can make one, there is a thread on here that deals with these cutters & some have links to drawings to make one.

George

Terry, decide what you want to do with it re models, small stuff etc, plus cost of extras is to be considered too.. There are a lot of Myford aficionados out there, I was one in the early days but could never afford a 'decent one' .. S7B..so have ended up with a Chinese new lathe.. WM 250V-F ( power cross feed ) & a WM 16 mill from Harrogate exhibition in 2012 both for the price of a S7B on sale at the same show ( no extras though ).

There were initial probs with the lathe which were soon resolved by e-mail & tel. call to Warco & so far they both have performed very well for the small amounts I have done so far so don't dismiss Chinese lathes altogether. I would also suggest, as others have, a Boxford ( AUD? ) which looks like a good second hand choice, maybe a Harrison 250... Colchester 1600 if you have the room, but to my mind these are larger & for the more experienced modeller.Once you decide & get your 'new toy' you'll soon 'get into it' & start looking at what you can make... just enjoy

George

The thrust bearings on my WM16 just float on the shaft; the washers on thrust bearings are generally hardened to accept the pressure from the rollers ( IIRC around 50-55 Rockwell?   ) if you let the rollers run against a machined face you will eventually have a roller track worn into the machined face.. not good!

George.

Edited By mechman48 on 06/11/2014 16:49:22

FWIW.. Stainless is a b****r to work with as it work hardens when you machine/drill it, just make sure you have spare drills to hand, get your surface speed correct for size / drilling & have plenty of cutting fluid. it looks like your planning on drilling through approx 45mm blocks if you stack plates together, that's some thickness to go at, I would have smaller stacks, & then you would have to really plough your drill through, better if you can use carbide drills, I'm sure other forum members will have better advice on how to drill Stainless, I only use it on little items if need be otherwise I would prefer to use silver steel.

George

Locks & security systems are to keep honest people out... not scumbags. my garage was tuned over in march this year, compressor, plus airline &, my oscillating engine were the first to go, fortunately we mange to disturb the T**t .. scumbag but he had laid out a lot of other stuff on the drive ready to go in an accomplices transport. Mr plod was quick on the scene, 10-15 min, SOCO came the day after but prints were too smudged to be of use (gloves).. have additional security fitted on Crime prevention officers recommendations, not giving any details as these scroats do look on these forums (according to crime prev' officer) to see who's saying what they've got in their workshop/sheds, suffice to say one aspect is that if they try it again they WILL have burst eardrums. I was not the only one that night either, it seems that our area was targeted as another dozen or so houses/garages were turfed over ( Police feedback ) I have now also set up a neighbourhood watch system.

It's a pity that we aren't allowed to defend our homes & families ( thanks to the EUHRC ) whereas in the states, & elsewhere more than reasonable force is quite permissible for home defence.. no doubt some pc person will have something to say on that comment...!

George.

Have used Tricho' myself before it was banned, good stuff, & used it to clean 'overalls' too but the downside to that was they eventually fell to bits (rotted the stitching ). You can get very similar stuff from Halfords ... 'Brake cleaner'... surgical spirit works nicely too... sold at chemists

George.

Andrew,

Glad to hear you survived, I too must admit to 'silly practices' over the years but thankfully have not had any serious consequences apart from nearly having my wedding ring finger taken off whilst wheeling a crane trod wheel down the shop & it canted over catching my wedding ring on the drive gear, fortunately..? a trip to hospital to cut the ring off & a deep gash to my finger was the only result, , from then on I have never worn any watches, jewellery, loose clothing etc.

For gen info, When I'm in my garage/workshop I always wear a warehouse coat buttoned up with sleeves rolled up, safety glasses, safety toecap trainers & never wear gloves apart from cleaning up swarf, I also habitually stand to the right of the saddle when I'm doing anything, even stand to the rear of the tailstock when drilling... just my modus operendi. My machine still has the telescoping leadscrew cover on as I've never had reason to use the faceplate to date... no doubt it will come off at some time...

George

Hi Tom

When I last dealt with Oilite bushes ... many moons ago, I always soaked them in a oil bath overnight prior to installing, even to the extend that the oil could be warmed up to allow the bushing to expand ( being made of sintered Bronze ) to allow oil to permeate the bushing. Not being familiar with Myfords does the shaft have any form of oil trap incorporated? I doubt if Myfords would have bearings sat in an oil bath after machining. As I remember when replacing white metal bearings on turbines, even though being pressure fed lubrication systems there was always an oil trap in them either on the bottom of the bearing or the horns were relieved to trap oil, mainly too provide the initial film of lubrication ( oil wedge) on start up... Just a thought

George

Hi Mark

I have the 250 V-F bought at Harrogate in 2012 in a package with stands; the stand were made of thin sheet metal which sufficiently carries the weight providing you ensure the bridging piece is securely tightened up. The first thing I noticed was that one side was fabricate well out of square to the point of at least 10mm at the bottom right corner plus out at the top left corner... I contacted Warco with an accompanying letter + pics to which they replaced both cabinets FOC + free return & delivery costs as it was still under warranty... a nice plus for Warco... so what I am saying is check your cabinets are fabricated square, if not this will always give rise to your machine rocking no matter how level your floor is... see pics

Bottom right misalignment..

Top left misalignment...

You can't read the comments but the pointers show where the fabrication misalignments occurred... as said Warco changed without quibble. I don't know how the newer versions match up but looking at the later pics they seem to have a better design now.. I'll bet the metal thickness hasn't improved though!... still they are from China...? Can't praise Warco's after sales service highly enough though, well done.

George

Edited By mechman48 on 29/10/2014 13:46:11

Edited By mechman48 on 29/10/2014 13:47:24

Hi Ryan

Nice machining; I can follow the assembled items from your top views but am having bother visualising how the clamping method for the moveable jaw as there are no underneath views showing how the angled screw operates. On mass produced similar 'precision' vices it shows the jaw being clamped by pulling up a pin against the drilled holes that have been machined along their centre line leaving a '1/2 hole' arrangement... as your pics stand I fail to see how the moving jaw is clamped. Am I missing something or do you intend / have pics showing underneath clamping arrangement ?

George

Ditto all of the above... I would double check the tramming first... is your vice base flat & jaws vertical to your quill... ?run a DTI down the edge of your vice jaws to give you any indication of vertical run out... if so you may need to skim the base/ slides of your vice true to the quill / table.

George

Hi Max, Welcome

I think you'll find that there is a predominance of metric lathes/mill as opposed to imperial, although you can still get decent imperial lathes second hand... Myford, Boxford & the like. For your budget have a look through the suppliers e.g. Warco, ArcEuro, Chester, Amadeal, etc (usual disclaimer). I have a Warco WM250V-F with power cross feed for the same price as Nick's suggestion (Sieg C6) so I would check sizes, capabilities & what you get for your money from all of the aforementioned, don't forget that you may (will) end up forking out half as much again + for 'extras' 4 jaw chuck, QC tool post (?) etc... happy hunting.

George

Hi Richard

My workshop (garage conv.) has been boarded out with studding frame in filled with 25mm Celotex with 25 mm air gap behind, covered over with 12 mm OSB, the loft area has 6" space blanket insulation, the roll up door is 20mm insulated (foam filled panels) plus to which I have stuck on Celotex panels, the entrance door has a Celotex panel stuck on so it is quite dry & warm, maintaining a temp of 5 - 6 *C even when the outside temp has dropped to - 7. In fact during the summer (   I have to have the entry door open to cool it down. For extra boost during winter I have two small oil fired rads which I put on for about 15 - 20 min if needed, one at ea. end which are set to bring it up to a comfortable 12 - 14*C... coseeee!. As you can deduct from my & other comments... insulation is the ultimate answer

George

Nick

See...**LINK** .... It looks like virtually the same machine

George

Hi Nick

Smart piece of kit; lucky buy. I would leave the head well alone if it's trammed in, check before you move anything? preferably get yourself a tilting table / vice. as for the gearbox, looking at the side plate fastenings I suspect that it does not have oil in as I don't see a sight glass anywhere, unless I've missed something? rather a set of gears lubricated by high pressure grease (Alvania, Castrol etc?) If it does not have a sight glass have a look at what is on the gears as is, I'm sure other owners can enlighten you, Halfords & B&Q (usual disclaimer) sell high pressure grease quite reasonably priced, FWIW, as a temp measure you could use motor cycle chain lubricant, I have used this on my change wheel gears (quietens things down a lot).

I notice that you've got it parked quite near the left hand wall, have you allowed for full table travel to the left plus room for adding an X drive in the future? otherwise very nice buy.

George

Hi Matt / Chris

FYI... I have the WM16 with MT2 spindle (past 2 yrs); it does all I ask it to so far without any complaining, so far I have fitted DRO's to the X & Y axes & a 12v power drive to the x axis... pics in my album showing them being fitted, also in the thread ... http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=83460

George

Edited By mechman48 on 14/10/2014 20:49:32