Tool post height

Having invested in an RDG QC tool post system - very nice too - to be fair RDG was totally up front in saying that while the tool post could accept 12mm shanks these are too high for a Myford - 10mm or less ok.

What isnt said is that 12mm is far more common than 10mm. however a brave Myfordian had this solution

Video Link Deleted see CofC

drastic maybe?

I tried a simple way and milled out the slot of the holder 3mm deeper

this is the result

Edited By brian jones 11 on 06/07/2021 16:50:34

Edited By JasonB on 06/07/2021 18:37:05

OBTW I wish there was a way to save a post in hand, cos if you stray from the page then your work is lost

yes i could save a txt fill to notepad

also once a pix is inserted you cant move it or get below it for further text ?

You could have just milled the base of the tool 2mm, it would have been easier. The Smart & Brown model A at the museum has a centre height of 17.53mm. All of the inserted tooling is 20mm with the base milled down. No shims are required for any of the three toolposts that are available.

Much easier to mill the tool base.

Tony

Indeed a good thought, i have to get one of those solid carbide 10mm end mills and ive no power feed on my DW

i admit it was a fiddly job and strained my eyesight - dont know if i want to do it again

But back to my topic, I lashed out another 20 quid for a 10mm set and blow me, I got 7 tool holders and the LH holder was omitted from the listing )(*&*&^&%^

so it will cost me £17 for one from RDG as they are not commonly available on EB - like buying a car and one wheel missing

All the listings are like that from PRC., dont they do RH direction cuts in CNC world?

OBTW watch out for the treachery when buying 10mm index tool sets - THEY LIE when you specified 10mm in the small print they are actually 12mm shanks (give away is in the part coding 012 insted 010)

I feel sorry for the likes of RDG who no doubt strive to provide a good service but they are totally flooded out by repetitive EB listings from dodgy PRC sellers making it very difficult for a buyer to find the reliable goods - such time wasted.

For example trying to find a LH tool holder as above, it wont show up in the listings

I've not had any trouble with tooling.

If I need to reduce the height of any tooling, I take it from the bottom of the tool, leaving the head as is (this part of the tool is not in the toolpost).

Jim

I would expect chatter issues taking so much of the insert support away like that.

Edited By JasonB on 06/07/2021 18:39:15

Why would you weaken the tip holder?

isnt skimming the base of the tool holder the same thing

in the pic i actually went 1mm lower than I wanted to because my auntie dore Westbury had a blonde moment

lowering the insert pocket would certainly leave the main body of the tool stiffer than taking the same ammount off the base, but is harder to do. I have not tried it because the pocket sides should be angled to match the inserts 7 degree sides. That may have changed since I bought a small milling vise with multiple movements.

I would look at the way the toolholders are held in the post, do they touch the top of the compound when set at their lowest height? I would also measure the exact centre height to find out if the possibility of skimming the top of the compound was feasible. The toolholders might be lowered if they were thick enough, and you had the means to mill hardened steel. A little bit off several parts could add up to the total ammount without noticably weakening anything.

If you have a keyboard, keep pressing the down key till you can't see it, then press enter (it will have been hiding on the right of the pic). Fiddly if you're using a tablet or phone, I suppose.

indeed its 6 of one and half doz of another, maybe the lad who milled 3mm off his top slide wasnt so daft after all

he started off grinding a step off the face of the slide (facing the work) but realised he couldnt rotate the tool post

Its all shown in his excellent vid above.

I balked at this as it seemed like a Bridgeport job but the way he used the Myford as a milling machine showed me its quite feasible - i even have a vertical slide - which ive never used but i havent got a shell end mill like he had, and the one he links in Ali is no longer available.

While on this - any advice on end mills. I found the offerings on EB mostly dishonest (from PRC of course). Ive got a HSS fly cutter but would only have considered this for al or brass. I assume the top slide is CI

I dont have much experience of vertical milling (other than a bridgeport) but carbide tips seems to have opened up another world

What spec should i look for - solid carbide? index tips, flutes? hardness (HRC 45?) dia 10mm shank (i have a jacob 1/2 chuck or an MT2 offering on my DW, dia of cutter as my DW only goes to 1650 rpm.

this needs some chutzpa, cojones, bushellam guts

What are you planning on doing with the 1/2 Jacobs chuck?

stick a straight shank end mill in it

take the surface of the top slide with 1mm cuts

bad idea?

Do you own a Dore westbury milling machine? How do you normally hold milling cutters?

yes DW 2 but Ive only ever drilled holes or made small slots <1/4 dia, never tried surfacing

No, don't use the Jacobs chuck to mill, the end Mill will almost certainly slip and damage your compound slide.

An er20 or er25 collet chuck would probably be suitable for your size machine, buy this type of tooling from a reputable seller as the eBay stuff is often factory rejects the Chinese sell to stupid tightfisted foreigners (us).

Thnx 10^6 Pete Im on it.

Its going to be much more rigid and is probably why I only ever had mediocre results and only used small mills

Same goes for any cutters you buy get them from a reputable source as they are unlikely to be dishonest. Items may well still come from the same part of the world but be to a better standard which you will have to pay for.