The Home Machinist!

Harold your Graziano has 10x the HP of my Atlas. So far I have not lost an insert.
Thanks.
--earlgo

Being impecunious and having an ATLAS lathe without a QC toolholder, I chose to make my own insert holders to fit my version of the toolholder. The pocket was roughed out, the insert oriented and fastened in place and the 'crack' filled with JBWeld. It has lasted very well and holds the insert secur...

Turns out my friend found out it will run on US power. It has its own electronics, but no DROs.
My friend found a good Bridgeport with DROs installed so this issue is dead.
--earlgo

My Delta Toolmaker is in a separate room, and the swarf blows against a wall. When a lot of grinding is to be done I hook up the shop vac to collect the swarf as it flies off the wheel.--earlgo

The question arose in a conversation with a fellow hobbyist as to what is the reason that a hard wheel is recommended for grinding soft materials and a soft wheel for hard materials. I looked this up in two references dating back to 1913 and the recommendation was the same but the reasoning was not ...

Neanderman: Sorry to hear of your partner's affliction. We will keep your family in our thoughts and prayers.
--earlgo

When I was at the Colorado School of Trades, we chambered a lot of barrels. That was nearly 50 years ago and I can't remember if we used a floating reamer holder or not. However, having said that, I do own a FRH so I must have gotten the idea somewhere. If you use a steady rest instead of a 4 jaw ch...

You are correct as usual, Harold. Unfortunately the 5" 3 jaw chuck that came with the Atlas lathe has 1 pc jaws and like the rest of us post 60 year old things, some parts become sloppy and loose. :shock: Had it not been so cold or I so lazy, I woulda/shoulda put on the 6" SHAR chuck and done the ri...

And speaking of worn out 3 jaw chucks... I used the 3 jaw from the 1958 Atlas to grip a chunk of stock on which I wanted to cut a M12x1.75 thread. Since I couldn't thread it normally, I bought a threading die from the hardware store. It, of course, cut the thread in 1 pass and the resultant torque s...

The Atlas 12" lathe that my dad bought in 1958 was available with up to a 3/4HP motor. If the lathe is bogging down, it is either way underpowered by a replacement motor or, as mentioned, the belts are slipping or the tooling is wrong. My dad apparently was short of cash so he put on a 1/3 HP motor ...

If it were a UN screw it would be a #19. Easily determined by measuring OD, subtracting .060 and then dividing the remainder by .013. So .307-.060 = .247 and .247/.013 = 19 Definitely not a hardware store size. The diameter of a UN screw is equal to (screw number x .013) +.06. So a #10 screw is 10*....

I finally got the opportunity to watch the Suburban guy do the wheel balancing and trueing thing. He is working with a surface grinder and we have T&C grinders, so don't over think it. I primarily use Norton SG wheels, they are pricey but last quite a bit longer between dressing. Their number is 5SG...