The Home Machinist!

I have an oppertunity to buy a real mill, a Shizouka AN-S, but it is in need of a complete rehab. It's been sitting outside for at least a year now in montana...when I looked at it last week, the ways were literally frozen. <snip>, I have found that the co is still around, but that's about it. Does...

That's a right healthy looking critter!

It appears to use the same type inserts as the J&L head. They are reputed to do the best job, at least where I came from. I think you did good!

Harold

1) Can anyone tell me why the 12L14 turned a gold color at 450F? Is it something to do with the lead? As has already been stated, that's the degree of oxidation of the steel for the given temperature. 2) Given your experience, how much clearance is required to get a slip fit on well finished 12L14?...

Have you checked that the threading lever is not engaged into the lead screw? That's the lever on the front right hand side of the carriage, on the apron face. Pull it up to release. Power feed engaged? Graziano has reaction clutches, so even if the feed is engaged, all it takes is a jerk on the ca...

I realized after threading it in there I couldn't open the head without having a better way to hold it. DUH!!! I didn't want to screw the bolt back out for fear of chipping the chasers. The little tidbit of the threading action itself having to open the die head eluded me in my moment of excitement...

I lucked out & found a Landis 1 1/4 head nearby for nex to nothing. Fantastic! You're going to love it after screwing around with dies. Considering you run this job on an ongoing basis, it's a good move forward, and should generate the same thread in less time, with better quality. Love to read...

Like most production work there isn't enough time, for what the job pays, to single point thread on an engine lathe. Depends on your ability to thread. I dare say you can do so if you're adept at chasing, unless you are dealing with hundreds of parts. For limited production, it can be just as econo...

It just seems to be way to hit & miss on getting it to work right. My comments are sure to raise a few objections, so please accept them in the spirit in which they are offered. Split round dies are, at best, a poor tool for forming threads. I don't like them any more than I like reamers for pr...

After posting, I was thinking that if I was to attempt such a project, I'd likely do the gating from a side, perhaps in two places. That way the parallel faces should cool uniformly. It might be a good idea to avoid feeding from the faces for that reason. If, by chance, any changes are made and resu...

Interesting. Did you notice if there's a relationship, sprue and riser to the surface that distorts? Sounds like one surface is cooling faster than the other. Don't have a clue what you'd do about it if that is the case. My experience in foundry is limited to lots of observing in two commercial foun...

actually whacking out a crank is easy if you have a good setup. Just find your centers on the ends. Turn them first, then cut rest of crank. It might be good to mention that this process is likely to yield a crank that isn't to specs, regardless of the care exercised in layout and machining. Anyone...

I'm begining to think I won't use this tooling very often! To give you an idea of the potential, I started working in a machine shop in '57, and was in the trade for 26 years without interruption. I have a follower rest for my Graziano. Came with the machine when purchased. I have never in my life ...