The Home Machinist!

I have a bit of a problem requiring advice. I am trying to face a 7" diameter by 1 1/4" deep piece of Hot Rolled Steel. It will not fit in the 5" chuck with reversed jaws in place. What are my options? I have tried to mount the piece on a threaded rod through it and connect the rod to...

The problem with low-res cheaper cameras is the lack of a decent macro feature, which is great for the shop. In fact, there are only a handful of cameras that will get closer in than 5-7 inches and they are not cheap. If you want a decent close-in camera, checkout the Nikon Coolpix series or some of...

You don't say and neither does the website as to what the spindle mount is? That would be a useful piece of info.

tim

I am not quite sure. I do not believe it is threaded, it just looks like the flange is machined onto the end of the spindle. Is the a quick way to determine?

Hello Everyone, I've finally bought a 6" 4-Jaw chuck for my Lathe. The dilema is, I don't know the proper way to mount it. The lathe is a BusyBee B2227L 10"X18 http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/picture?&NETID=1606380116050689052&NTITEM=B2227L. It came with a 5" 3 jaw that is moun...

Making my own tap and die is a super idea. I went to the metal store and for some reason they did not have drill rod or HSS. It is a special order item. Do you think I can use an old HSS drill bit in place of the drill rod? Is there some other source of drill rod? (i live in toronto, ontario, canada...

These are all great ideas. Just a bit more information: the piece I am holding is a 1/8" square by 12" aluminum rod. I need to round one-half (6") and I need to make about 10 of them. I tried Patent's idea and it seemed to work fine. I have think if I had to do it again. I may try a s...

Is there a way to hold a square piece of stock centered in a 3 jaw chuck? There has to be some trick to do this. I know it is quick work in a 4 jaw, but that's a future purchase.

Can you use a boring bit and set the compound rest to 10 degrees?

Tapcousa gave me a quote for a .302-32tpi tap - $80 US!

If anyone has seen one for cheaper or where to find the Die, please let me know.

Thanks,

John

I need to locate a Tap and Die for a Schrader valve (external threads). I believe the specs are 32TPI X .302-.305. I have a quote for 32-5/16 but I don't think this will work. Has anyone come across a tap and die specifically for a Schrader Valve? Btw, my Mini-Shop is 90% setup. Will post pics once ...

scrap aluminum at Metal Supermarket is $2.00US/lbs. I often see block aluminum of that size.

I've finally decided on a Busybee (Craftex) 10X18 lathe. It has a 3/4 horse motor supposively rated at 10 amps. I've run a line exclusively for it, but I only have a 15 amp or 40 amp break open. Which line should I run it on?

I will have plenty of more questions as I start my new shop.

John