The Home Machinist!

Bill Shields wrote: ↑Thu Aug 17, 2023 2:39 pm ever consider Formica or some equivalent?
...
there are lots of 'odd colors' that the display stores are very willing to let go - sometimes for the price of taking it off their hands...

That appeals to the cheapskate in me.

Steve

Can you mount a dremel with a thin cutoff saw or cutoff wheel on it to part them? There are dremel mounting brackets available. I have a craftsman die grinder with a mounting bracket I can connect to an AXA toolholder. My dremel cutoff wheels are 0.025". If you can mount it to a toolholder, you...

For now, I'm looking at using a sheet of plywood which will be on top of laminated 2x4's. The wood will be screwed down and removable. Eventually, I will be covering it with a 3/8" steel plate (have a source to get a piece dirt cheap), but I can't do that right now for logistical reasons. I fig...

What is a good finish to put on a bench top?

Something that can at least somewhat resist physical as well as chemical abuse (oils and solvents).

Steve

I think my dad had one, but I don't know where it is.

Steve

Yes, Dave was "prickly". He was opinionated. But he was always willing to share his knowledge and you always learned something from him. I met him at PVLS once or twice. There's an old saying: "It ain't braggin' if you can back it up", and Dave could back it up in spades. I loved...

I'm debating replacing my 4-jaw chuck as my Skinner 9006-47 is plain worn out. It will not hold parts very well anymore. My first question is "why is it not holding parts very well?" Are the jaw faces worn? Truing them up with a grinder in the toolpost can do wonders. I picked up a used 3...

If it was me, I'd just make scale cardboard cutouts of my tools and slide them around on a scale drawing of the room. I've made cutouts of the tools out of post-it notes, which lets me move them around and not have them fall off if I have to move the paper. I did that at my old house where the room...

Grizzly used to have a shop layout program, where you gave it dimensions, and placed machines round the space. I'm looking at the possibility of building a shop, and trying to decide on size and layout and could use a tool like that. Is there one like it that is operational? I know I can use graph p...

Bill Shields wrote: ↑Mon Apr 17, 2023 9:18 pm Is the central eccentric hardened?

I'm not sure. Would have been good to check that before I put it back together.

I should check the pistons as well.

Steve

Finally got enough projects off the bench to get to the toolpost. The central shaft has an eccentric section that bears on pistons set into the body. The pistons are spring loaded in, and disassembly is done by pulling out both of the pistons at the same time while holding it upside down. Then the c...

If you get a chuck with replaceable jaw tops, you can use soft jaws, machine them in place for the diameter you need and they will be dead nuts on. I have a used chuck with soft jaws and it works flawlessly for that. Any wear in the scroll or inaccuracy in the chuck body or jaws is negated by the fa...