The Home Machinist!

Sheldon was an outstanding company,wish they were still in business!!!! I've used lathes and mills made by Sheldon, which were just excellent. You have to know that this was a family owned business and have'nt made any machines since the early 80's. They were not extremly popular machines, so parts ...

Hi John Give a check to the key that guides the collet it is loose or shifted on you. John

Hi All Does anyone own or have any experience with Telco tapping heads?Input on these units would be appreciated. Thanx John

Hi Bill Some thing that I might add to Jims explanation on power tapping is to use some down pressure on the handle when feeding tap,then when you reverse spindle use a slight up pressure on handle. John

Hi In the current economical state of the USA , it should be sure that you could find a hundred guys that cared and wanted to work.People that know the trade.Give the HACK his pinks and don't glance back.!!!!!!!!!! John [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif"%20alt="[/img]

Hi I live in the SF Bay Area,have found that a coat of light oil works best for me,also leave a light or two on in the colder months.It's not that expensive for electricity for a couple of 60 watt bulbs.Far as dust,wipe tools down before and after use.These suggestions are way cheaper than installin...

Regis The pot metal you refer to is Zamac which is formed in a mold under tons of pressure.The material is just one of the Craftsman lathe line ups weak points.I was running a 12" this weekend and was extremely disappointed in the performance.It did not feel much more rigid than my little 6"

Hi Marc A recommendation is Trimsol,it can be used as a flood or mist.It is water soluble so you can mix your own ratio.This coolant can be bought at any of the large catalog tool stores.It has a good tank life sans cast iron,this turns dis colored rather quick.I have used this coolant in all kinds ...

Hey Guys This is the price of progress,it's not a bad thing!!!!! It's a bunch easier to use this site than any of the Yahoo user sites. I for one say THANKS. John

Hi Possible that what you saw were Starrett# 269A&B or a 270 .These gages work fine to .001,but are very expensive retail. They are $83.00 for 269A $97.00 for269B and $68.00 for 270.This is from a two year old Starrett catalog.If you bought all these retail,you could buy a set of quality pin gag...

Hi Paul If all else fails,drill a small hole the length of shaft and drill and tap for a grease fitting.Pump full of grease,this should pop it by hdraulic action.I've used this method when nothing else worked John

Hi Jim Every tool takes a certain amount of practice. Should not be a problem using tellescoping gage.Dial gages are very expensive,even the cheap imports.Depending on the diameter of hole your working with gage pins work well, like Deltronics. They can be bought in set or a single pin,the set are s...