The Home Machinist!

Yep agree completely Harold. I did know about that certification, and there are a few thread wire sets that are more than a bit expensive compared to those PeeDee sets. But I also think it's a good idea to know and understand as much as possible about any subject. My current mike's are Mitutoyo digi...

Don't think I've seen Marv posting on here in quire some time, hope he's ok. A number of years ago he posted a REALLY clever design to attach to a Dremel on one of the model engine forums. I think he reposted it over on the Model Engine Maker forum but can't be 100% positive of that. Anyway as usual...

Yeah I thought that was an excellent video also. I ran across it some months ago. Tom and half a dozen other guy's on youtube are a refreshing change from the one's who have a bad habit of posting wrong or even dangerous information. The Tool and Die Guy is another good one allthough a lot of his vi...

Any mill that doesn't have a power feed at least on the X axis is just a pain in the arm. :mrgreen: Good idea buying that engine hoist also. I suspect you'll need it if you want to get as close to perfect as you can on the head tram. That usually requires pulling the head and column, and then shimmi...

+1, WJH...amazes me how the pros never miss a chance to tell us how bad a BP is... :wink: First I'm no "pro". I'm the same as most here a hobbiest. But I have made a point of studying every single machine tool design I can. My comments were to point out simply that a Bridgeport just isn't...

Yes those "live" 3 jaw lathe chucks meant for use in the tailstock are still available if you look hard enough. They are pretty expensive for what they are though. And given the average runout numbers with even fairly good brands of 3 jaw lathe chucks against the really low runout numbers ...

Yep you are 100% correct Russ. As long as the work never get's removed from the chuck itself then that is just as accurate as turning between centers. Possibly and maybe slightly more so. Rarely that will happen with any part though, but I still will chose any shaft work to be done between centers o...

I just listed a fairly long point of view about exactly why a lathe milling attachment isn't the very worst thing in the world. However, what most neglect to point out is your NEVER fully or ever really finished buying tooling for a mill, or hell, even probably one of those milling attachment's. I'v...

Yep you've gotten a great deal of very good advice so far. However I do have to disagree with anyone who considers at least a well made lathe milling attachment as worthless. As an American HSM or British model engineer type you should know at the bare minimum at least a bit of our history. In the U...

We do tend to get fixated on using chucks for as much as possible I think. Both Harold and Yourself are correct about pulling two jaws of that 6 jaw and just doing the job. However SteveM's point about turning it between center's is still the most accurate method. No chuck no matter how expensive or...

Hi Glenn, A slide lock? You can/could make one in your own shop. However I think you've got a pretty decent commercial quality lathe. If it were me I think I might look at buying what's called a "adjustable, or ratcheting handle" to lock your slides. MSC Industrial would be just one dealer...

Yeah the majority of my equipment is Mitutoyo so I've been looking at there thread mikes with those replaceable tips. Threads seem to be very much like measuring holes. To do it properly and with any real repeatable accuracy below .001" is going to cost a fair amount.

Pete