GaryM
Pattern Altitude
Wow. I guess I need to stop complaining about having to get a 200 lb jointer into my basement shop by myself.5,000 lbs according to Google.
Wow. I guess I need to stop complaining about having to get a 200 lb jointer into my basement shop by myself.5,000 lbs according to Google.
1947 12' Cincinnati shear (weighs 23,000 pounds and makes a wallop on 3/8" steel plate)….
What a hoss. How are the ways in the center vs the end of travel?
A drop deck trailer? Cheating….
I do put my machines on 4x4 feet so I can pallet Jack around the shop until they get comfortable.
Then of course the plan is to remove, jack hammer out the floor, pour a proper pad and foundation, level, grout…. Which has never happened. I get used to the extra height!
Now congrats?!!
Because is good enough reason.You still need a shaper... because... uhhh... help me out here PoA
First, degrease it the old fashioned way with elbow grease and solvent. Then lightly re-lubricate to prevent rust. Take the stone and rub it over the surface to knock off any burrs.One of my friends had suggested getting a machinist stone to clean and remove any imperfections from the table on the mill. Any suggestions for how I go about that? The table is fairly grimey and does need a good clean.
I think I’m going to need a bigger container of solvent…
Siphon spray gun. Air compressor oil cooler started leaking. What a gooey mess when the oil and dust mix. Spray. Scrub. Spray and rinse away.I think I’m going to need a bigger container of solvent…
Wouldn't this look good next to that Bridgeport?View attachment 112045
Cool on the progress! I'll say again I've never worked on mills, but I have worked on equipment with power feeds and limit switches. You've probably already checked them, but mechanical limit switches used to be a common fail item, as they get beat up a lot in repetitive use. But they are pretty cheap to replace, and usually easy to open/jumper to test, too.
I've learned a ton from this thread. But the main thing I learned is that I now know that I know even less than I used to think I knew.
There is a series of six small books written by a retired high school teacher Dave Gingery.
They detail how to make a entire machine shop from scratch, using NOTHING but basic, I mean REALLY basic, tools. The most exotic being a 3/8 hand drill.
First he sets up a small foundry! Casts and machines parts to build a lathe. A lathe is unique in that it can make itself! Then a shaper, a horiz mill. Then the most complicated, drill press, then accessories.
I do NOT recommend doing this. But getting those six books, less than $75 I think, and just reading them is WILDLY valuable in how to machine. Far better than any tech school books I’ve read. Just super practical. You’ll understand work holding, measuring, order of operations, everything.
Written well enough to understand as a story. And pretty much gotta read in order even though you probably have no interest in a shaper. You’ll learn a lot more about machines and what they do. How metal cuts metal…
Next book to have as a GREAT reference is South Bend’s “Care and operation of the lathe” or something close to that. Lastly get yourself a copy the Machinist’s Handbook”. I prefer 1940s to 1960s vintage. Not expensive.
And you haven’t mentioned the most important thing you need yet… METAL!
Good advice in there, thanks. I'll look for the books. Any suggested references as far as feed rates/speeds/etc. for different operations?
I have a lot of scrap metal around - I pretty much never throw metal away, and so I'll be able to practice various operations before I do them on parts I actually care about. I plans for different projects I want to work on.
The oiler on the side of the mill has a broken tank, I need to look at it closer to see if I can just replace the tank itself or if I need to buy a full new one. And I need to buy the appropriate oil to put into the various oiling holes on the head. I've got some shopping planned for the day.
I have fond memories of that shop! Never had an academic reason to use it, but the old guy who ran it (Clehouse, probably long gone by the time you were there) welcomed outside projects and would teach anyone who wanted to do them. First up was making weight belt weights since a couple of us had just gotten SCUBA certified. Made a wooden positive of the weight we wanted, then we sand cast an aluminum mold from that, then cast a ton of weights using lead retrieved from the school’s rifle range. I’m still diving with those weights.I've learned a lot quickly. We didn't get any formal machine tool training in college, which was a shame because we did have a full and good machine shop and staff who were good and knew how to use the things.
I have fond memories of that shop! Never had an academic reason to use it, but the old guy who ran it (Clehouse, probably long gone by the time you were there) welcomed outside projects and would teach anyone who wanted to do them. First up was making weight belt weights since a couple of us had just gotten SCUBA certified. Made a wooden positive of the weight we wanted, then we sand cast an aluminum mold from that, then cast a ton of weights using lead retrieved from the school’s rifle range. I’m still diving with those weights.
We did some interesting gunsmithing projects after that.