The Home Machinist!

Thanks guys. Looks like I'll stick with the current setup. The round guides do have one nice feature, if I notice a little uneven wear, just rotate them.

007, how should I determine when the blade is tight enough? I use blades from 1/4" to 1/2" thick.

Bill

Am putting the finishing touches on my metal cutting vertical bandsaw and once again, my thoughts drift to "Which type of blade guide is best?". It currently has 5/16" Cool Block guides, which seem to work fairly well. Much better than the brass originals (old GilBilt guides). I'm pre...

MikeC, my point was that a Chinese machine that is good enough for a pro is good enough for an amateur. You seem to disagree with that philosophy. You speak of the Newb spending his money on a new Chinese POS. How is he better off by putting it into a 60 year old POS? I would wager there is more old...

Mike, how is being retired and buying Jet machines for a commercial shop any different than being a newbie and buying the same machines for hobby use? Jaun, by all means, check out the local lathe market. If you can identify a used machine in good shape, by all means buy it. Jose is right, something...

Jaun, a typical newcomer to the hobby is not capable of identifying a good machine. In that case, buying a used (insert your favorite country here) machine is sort of playing the lottery. The larger Chinese lathes tend to be pretty good. I have no knowledge of the less than 12" lathes. A friend...

Looks like I should have done a little more research before I posted the cost of the Wells Index mill. The figure I used was from a machinery dealer in MO. Just saw that Wells Index has a new model 847 listed on Ebay, "buy it now" price of $15,740. That's low enough to get some guys drooli...

Do not drill the hole with a metal cutting drill. They are prone to drifting. Use one of the razor sharp, fluted twist drills designed for wood. Do a much better job of boring straight through knots and hard spots.

Bill

Wells Index is producing vertical mills in Michigan. Start at about $22,000.
They are very good machines, a step up from the B'Port. Weigh about 2800 pounds with a 9" table.
Bill

Gary, if you can find good used American iron, buy it. You will not be disappointed. If you cannot identify good used iron, buy ChiCom, especially in the 12" lathe category. I doubt you will be disappointed. I have an early Enco Chinese lathe and I like it a lot. It is a little rough around the...

Loktite Bearing Mount 620 is rated up to 400 degrees continuous. Requires 2-5 thou clearance. Has anyone used this?

Bill

Hello all. Making my introductory post. I am a retired state bureaucrat, 27 years with the Indiana Dept of Environmental Management, State Board of Health. Not exactly a newbie to the Hobby, grew up in a machine shop culture. Dad was an industrial mechanic and machinist, I majored in Vocational Mach...