The biggest time-wasters in your workshop?

When I took up the pastime some years ago, with a lathe, mill and very little accessories, certain things were a constant annoyance and consequently wasted a lot of time when trying to do jobs.

I wonder if others experience the same ? I thought that by mentioning it we might help other beginners to prioritise both on the equipment needed and also on what their first projects could usefully be.

My three biggest headaches (apart from my lack of knowledge) were:

Constant fiddling with packing pieces to set cutters at centre height on the lathe.

Lack of an easy and accurate way of grinding HSS cutting tools.

Never having a really sharp drill or the right size drill for tapping etc.

There are many kits and plans available to deal with the last two above. Quorns, Stents, Kennets etc. are admirable pieces of kit but are both expensive and beyond the skills of many beginners. I solved my problems here by building some of Harold Hall's sharpening jigs for both cutters and drills. He has done a great service IMHO in providing simple plans that in most cases are not complicated but when built give accuracy away beyond that achieved by hand grinding. His books and website are a great resource.

I have yet to solve the first problem above. I'm still looking for the best, simple, easy to build, plan for an adjustable toolpost. Any suggestions?

Apart from T and P breaks, what have been the time-wasters in your workshop and how have you overcome them?

John

Customers.

No matter how much and how hard I swear at them, literally, the bastards still keep coming back.

Even asked one guy if he's ever though about voluntary euthanasia. bastard just laughed and threw a shed load of work on the floor.

John, with me, it's clamping kits. The unthreaded middle bit (why is it there?) on the first stud chosen always stops you tightening the nut, and when you dismantle them, the triangular stepped blocks seem have a life of their own and end up on the floor. The first problem has been overcome by chopping up some M10 studding, and I'm beginning to remember to hold on to the block as I release the clamp.

Oh, and the fact that the hole down the top of the spindle on my Dore Westbury is 5/16", so I have to swing the head out from over the table so I can feed a 3/8 or 10mm drawbar, with the upper end suitable thinned, into it from below and then add an M8 nut to the top.

As to a toolpost, there are several recipies around, the simplest probably being the Norman Patent. An alternative approach is to use a "standard" toolpost, and keep each tool, with the shims needed to get it to centre height, in an individual container. But the height of the tool tip will alter on re-sharpening.

Andy

I soon became tired of fiddling with packing tools to lathe centre height so, because I could not afford the real thing, I made a toolpost block and ten Dickson-type tool-holders. I bought the cam bolt or whatever it is called and made everything else to fit. One of the best things I ever did.

I also fixed my mill vice down at true ninety degrees and drilled it and the mill table for easily-removable 1/4" dowels.

The lathe top slide is also fitted with pins at 90 degrees and at screw-cutting angles.

Second that, customers.

We all know mr perfect others refuse to do work for, other customers see it as a statement and gets me a higher price. Have many no matter how insulting they come back for more.

Failing that, the friggin phone.

Op John, get a quick release toolpost.

I do it by eye on above 4mm, below that junk the drills not worth it. Buy a full set of drills in imperial or metric with a marked holder, replace when gone with better quality.

Taps and dies i buy individually usually on offer. Its taken over 20yrs and 4 full engneering places worth of drills, taps, dies etc have acquired, it dont come overnight unless loaded. Have drawer fulls of new and used taps and dies i will never ever use, same with drills.

John
As long as they are paying and help the flow of jam butties I would not swear at them, one supplier I know just smiles sweetly and says 8 month time OK! You obviously have a small business yourself.
I am thankfully retired and out of it now back to thread.
Timewasters
Dropping a small part that took ages to make and the workshop gremlins have hid it. have laid traps, let the cats, dogs into the workshop but they cannot catch them (got a few mice though)
Falco(John) Seriously I know everyone decries far eastern products but I aquired a few of there diamond wheels, a second hand grinder and with the jig you describe saves a lot of time.
The other one is drawings that on say sheet 3 give the holes to be drilled do as instructed only to find on say sheet 9 (after riveting) all together there are more. For most of us ME's there will never be the perfect workshop, time and deep pockets are needed to tool up and part of the fun is invention.

Bob

I could go on.

True story.

We all know the total time waster who calls round, wastes time and no amount of hints does anything to move them ?

Try this.

Collect some old cordless phones that don't work, remove the batteries for safety and put the phone handy.

Wait until said Herbert is about to enter, grab the dead phone, shout and scream into it ending with something like

"I'll ring you when it's ready, i don't care how urgent it is "

Then put the phone on the vise and smack it into oblivion with a 4lb lump hammer, then turn to said Herbert

"YES ???"

Works every time and classic, only problem is when he scuttles off you can't get anything done for hours because of all the tears and maniacal laughter...

Constant fiddling with packing pieces to set cutters at centre height on the lathe.

------

I cut from the back, upside down

I have a couple of shims and plonk one in if needed

John ,

There have been many adjustable toolpost articles in MEW and one only a few issues ago .

Surely one of these would suit ?

Other than that a tangential tool holder allows the tool height to be set with an allen key .

As for time wasters i have manged to rid myself of most of them and tool storage was a big problem .

I ended up buying a large steel cabinet and this is much better although i immediately purchased more tools so it too is now getting cluttered again !

Now i need to sort out some material storage issues and fix the low speed drive on my lathe as it has a friction type safety clutch that slips when parting off and eats carbide tips in the process !

The only thing worse than dropping something and not being able to find it is when you do eventually locate what ever you dropped you find it has damadged it

Ian

The biggest time waster in my workshop is the bl@@dy idiot that keeps messing it up!

Mmmmm now that missing Component/Caliper/Endmill/drill bit which machine did I put it on/next to/into...... then after rummaging for it and not finding it you discover it is the only one you have......

The thing i was using five mins ago that has now buggered off never to be found again till i don't need it.

Tried the usual QCTPs but found I never had the right tool fitted or enough holders. My present setup is ONE 'swing-over' toolpost which has a built-in screw adjuster for centre height and takes little longer than the QCTP method. At my snail-like working pace, anything else would be pointless.

Rgds

Bill

First, a few comments on the OP's time wasting issues:

I find that about 90% of my turning only needs 5 different tools, so I've got a pretty good idea of the packing needed for each one. For general turning I use carbide inserts, so no need to repack if the insert needs changing. Lastly I don't sweat about getting the tool bang on centre height; I just eye it up against a centre in the tailstock.

If I need a special HSS tool it is easy enough to grind it by hand on a bench grinder. If it really needs to be accurate then I have an old Clarkson T&C grinder.

For drills I just buy complete metric and imperial sets and be done with it. For drills under 6mm or so I don't bother sharpening them, life's too short, I buy a new one.

Commercially my biggest time wasters are clients - can't live with 'em, and can't live without 'em.

By far and away my biggest time waster in the workshop is temporarily misplacing things like rulers, spanners, Allen keys and soft hammers when I need to use them on a particular machine. I'm slowly getting round this by buying duplicate items and placing them by individual machines.

My biggest time waster out of the workshop is inaccurate drawings. Here's a 'work in progress' CAD assembly of the motion work for the traction engines I'm building:

The original drawings are littered with errors. So I'm now ploughing through my father's old university text books to learn enough about Stephenson's valve gear so that I can redesign the whole thing properly.

Regards,

Andrew

Edited By David Clark 1 on 23/02/2013 10:08:36

This bleeding machine is by far the biggest timewaster.

I put a QCTP on my chester and it saves me an awful lot of time with tool changing, and I knocked up a centre height post out of some scraps of metal to quickly check the tools are at centre height accurately.. this saves time when I have to change tool bits in the holders (never enough holders!!).

Hate wasting time searching for those little things that have fallen on the floor and bounced under the bench.. typically they're never magnetic are they !?!?!?

Andy,

I've sent you a PM for a solution to your drwabar problem on the DW mill

Brian

I've got a quick change toolholder which quickly justifies its cost in time saved faffing with shims but I'm amazed that even the masochists who persevere with packing and shim pieces don't spend five minutes making up bundles of packing and simply gluing them on the underside of each tool? It's those little touches that makes the difference between a job being a pleasure and being a chore.

Edited By Chris Trice on 28/01/2013 12:35:19

I find the biggest problem tends to be those pesky workshop elves, they keep hiding the tool I have just put down a second ago.

Edited By V8Eng on 28/01/2013 13:08:57

The best small toolpost I have ever seen is the very simple post and block type which was used on the 3-1/2 inch Drummond lathe; this is very easy to make and is ideal to use with 5/16 square toolbits. I made two of these for friends and they have been delighted with the speed and ease of setting them.No packing required. Colin