The Home Machinist!

This obviously an induction machine, a drill press would have had a drill press motor on it... I didn't notice if it was rated for use in all phases of production, or if was strictly for single phase use.

Your problem may just be a single phase motor. I have run into the same thing myself with a contour sander I put together a few of years ago. After using three phase motors, which run very smooth, a single phase motor seems excessively noisy and has a very apparent vibration, even when working right...

I prefer the plasma cutter for removing broken taps. But then again, I am a fabricator...

Enamels have always been slow to dry, but the slower the drying, the more durable the finish seems to be. I have taken to heating the part to be painted after prep, but before the paint goes on. In cold conditions, I even heat the cans of paint. This seems to help get the solvents on the way out bef...

Ditto on the cheap, worn or damaged blades. Cheap new blades will not cut straight, no matter how you adjust it. If you would like it to cut straight, be prepared to spend about $30.00 each for blades, then adjust it carefully by making test cuts. Once the guides are dialed in, change the blade as s...

This may be useful, if not for this project, but also for other occasions where reaching into a deep hole is required. Some cylinder head porting kits contain not only the cone and cylindrical sanding abrasives, but also Cratex wheels,cylinders and cones for finishing and fine smoothing. Another ben...

Here are some of the cup style freeze plugs, in brass and steel from a small block Chevy rebuild kit. I seem to be out of the standard style ones, they do not have the edge around the outside...

Steel freeze plugs are available at any auto parts store, and come in two main styles, 'standard' and 'cup'. These are the round plugs found on the outside of engine blocks and some cylinder heads (like Fords). One thing to remember, when welding the plugs, strip the zinc coating from the steel, I u...

Steel freeze plugs work great for this kind of thing, and come in many sizes...

I have a Bridgeport, which I moved in my 1/2 ton pick-up, and unloaded with a standard engine hoist. To keep the project as a one man operation, I removed the turret/head, and the knee/table from the base, and hauled the parts in two loads, assembling the three pieces after getting them inside. The ...

I have one of the swivel head ones from ShopFox, with good blades and a tune-up before first use it works great. The head looks same as the HF model, but it seems to run much, much smoother, possibly due to the heavier base, or possibly higher grade bearings. If cutting angles in tubing is in your p...

Pipes, You are making much better progress than I am, mine is about where I posted last. I am looking forward to your posts about how this works out, as I hope to work on mine some more after things cool down a bit (I am a fan salesman, and winter is the slow season for me). Keep us posted on how th...