Search found 162 matches

by TRX
Tue Jun 29, 2021 2:38 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Mystery tool. Anyone know what this tool is?
Replies: 3
Views: 3562

Re: Mystery tool. Anyone know what this tool is?

It's too wide, but it's the same type of tool used to locate gas ports in rifle barrels for drilling. One leg goes inside the barrel and follows a groove, you tap the outside leg with a hammer to mark where to drill. Then you index all the rest of the furniture cuts off the gas port.
by TRX
Tue Jun 29, 2021 2:30 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Moving machinery without a liftgate
Replies: 5
Views: 5853

Re: Moving machinery without a liftgate

I always called a local wrecker company. They would lift tools off the trailer and use the boom to sit them inside the shop door. After that I moved them on pipe rollers. Chatting with the driver, he said they got called out to unload or move big air conditioner units, air compressors, safes, etc. P...
by TRX
Sat Jul 25, 2020 10:24 am
Forum: Lathes
Topic: Power feed drilling.
Replies: 32
Views: 28124

Re: Power feed drilling.

> not bad for some Indian taper shank bits I've had for 20-30 years. I ordered a 3MT drill from one of the "tool warehouse" places, some odd size like 47/64". It came in a brittle cardboard box with the drill wrapped in brown waxed paper. Made in Calcutta, with the old-style postcode,...
by TRX
Sat Jul 25, 2020 10:04 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Has anyone built a guide for a center drill.
Replies: 9
Views: 6513

Re: Has anyone built a guide for a center drill.

Back in ancient times there were machines that you stuck the end of a bar into and they centered and drilled it automatically.

You could make an end cap on the lathe, stepped to accept the workpiece and the center drill, and use a hand drill to make a centered hole.
by TRX
Sat Jul 25, 2020 9:54 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Wheel Balancing wheights
Replies: 10
Views: 6770

Re: Wheel Balancing wheights

Zinc has been the most common that I've run into, but some seem to be metal (iron?) powder in a plastic matrix. Nastier than the coated ones if you accidentally drop one in the melting pot.
by TRX
Sat Jul 25, 2020 9:51 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Duburring Raw Stock
Replies: 14
Views: 8334

Re: Duburring Raw Stock

> direction

Shaviv has both right and left hand scraper blades. The other companies probably to as well.
by TRX
Sat Jul 25, 2020 9:48 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Min-Its center finder
Replies: 9
Views: 5293

Re: Min-Its center finder

I like earlgo's version too. Not many machines are limited by throat depth; seems like Z is often a problem.
by TRX
Mon Mar 30, 2020 6:49 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Thinking about cnc
Replies: 7
Views: 4862

Re: Thinking about cnc

Are you planning to write G-code by hand, or will you use CAD/CAM? If you haven't used any CAD stuff, be aware that most programs are driven entirely by tiny icons differentiated only by even tinier dots of color. If you don't have perfect color vision you may wind up having to memorize "six ic...
by TRX
Fri Feb 28, 2020 8:37 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: spring loaded tap follower
Replies: 14
Views: 13050

Re: spring loaded tap follower

Now make another plunger with a 60 degree countersink, for the occasional taps that have a point instead of a countersink. I have a bunch of those, all number sizes and <4mm metrics.

I took the easy route and bought a made-in-India cheapie off eBay; I wish I'd bought or made one long ago.
by TRX
Fri Feb 28, 2020 8:29 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: LED Shop Lighting
Replies: 147
Views: 55520

Re: LED Shop Lighting

On the subject of failures I put 8' flourescents in when I built my shop in 1992. They cost a bit more than 4' shop lights, but the bulbs used spring-loaded "toilet paper roll" mounts; push, angle, release, and the bulb is in, much better than trying to twist 4' bulbs into positon while w...
by TRX
Wed Feb 19, 2020 3:15 pm
Forum: Milling Machines
Topic: Laser Align Round Head Mill Drill.
Replies: 12
Views: 11275

Re: Laser Align Round Head Mill Drill.

Try unbolting the column from the base, make sure there's no swarf or paint blobs trapped between the base and the bottom casting on the column. You might try re-indexing the column if that doesn't square it up. Note the quill might not be square to the column, either... you can check that pretty ea...
by TRX
Wed Feb 19, 2020 3:05 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: LED Shop Lighting
Replies: 147
Views: 55520

Re: LED Shop Lighting

LED lamps for lighting wear out by slowly dimming (much more slowly than incandescents or fluorescents). End of life is defined as when the light output drops below a specified level. Incandescents simply quit working one day. The CFLs all died with, apparently, power supply failures - blackened ba...