What you and Quinn can do with bench top lathes and mills is quite astounding. I have very large lathes and mills at my disposal but I never have enough time to do these types of projects. I’ve been relegated to buying most of my tooling due to these time constraints. I shall machine these fun projects vicariously through channels such as yours. Great work!!!
Great video as always, Here is some unsolicited advise, ignore it if you want to, would recommend placing zinc plated steels in a container with vinegar so that way the acidity of the vinegar will strip the zinc off whatever steel and save your lungs when welding, plus wire brushing the schmutz/residue that it leaves behind after the vinegar bath.
I've never seen a ball turner mounted that way, it makes a lot more sense for a mini lathe as you don't need to worry about the tailstock getting in the way
Cool! I like how the button cutter (20:32) ends up leaving a radius in the final part, where the travel of the cut ends (see 24:10). That's not always what one would want, but it's perfect for this usage! Nice smooth transition between sphere and cylinder. Nice work!
Very nice job with the limitations of a mini lathe' you can get longer tool life and better finishes with lower speeds with high speed steel. Machining is all about speeds and feeds. I've been a machinist for over 40 yrs. Over all good job
I have to say, I believe it's traditional to turn two brass spheres first, so as to be able to respond affirmatively to questions about your courage. Good project, doesn't just let you turn spheres, if you use the compound to angle the rotation of the tool, you can turn all kinds of conic sections, ellipses, and so forth. Say, should you ever need a doorknob or drawer pull which is not a perfect sphere. It's been a while since I did the math on those kind of things but I think a bit of trial could get you some very fine results.
I tried to add a dropbox reference to pictures of my 3D printed ball turner (design model and guide to making the real one), but youtube didn't let me.
Bruce here,Again a great project beautifully presented. My suggestion is make a powered hacksaw.I had one and sold it once I acquired a band saw and wish I had it back because you can use blades that are much cheaper than bandsaw blades and it seems to be a great compromise between doing it by hand and a much more expensive and complicated machine. Thanks for what you share on UTube.
Love it. There's some great info in there and I love the mini trolling with the hacksawing and even leaving the stalls in. I know I get lots of stalls with my lathe.
Very well done video with impressive and creative machine work. One thing I'd like to see in the mill work is how you do the setups, I'm new to the mill and I think it would be helpful. Thanks for your outside the box ideas and projects.
Really nice design and well executed (as always). I have a ball turner like the 0:25 design and whilst it does the job it's hard to adjust the radius accurately and it's not very rigid when there is a lot of tool stick out.
It's not his design. It's a well known technique. He doesn't like to admit that he copies most of his stuff from UA-cam videos, in this case from ua-cam.com/video/1AUPBj8cBQ8/v-deo.html&ab_channel=AdeSwash
Nice work. Making a tool to finish off a tool.. I remember doing my apprenticeship, and all we had for a ball turner was co-ordinated left and and right hands on the saddle and cross slide! Many a tulip or mushroom where shaped....
Have you ever thought about taking the blade from the hack saw, streching it out and welding the ends together? You could then place a couple of wheels one over the other and place the blade over them? Just spin one of the wheels and blade would recirculate itself?
This is what I got a lathe for really, was to turn ball shaped objects among other things - but my main project was to make a shifter ball for my car lol I've seen a lot of different ways of doing this. From just a simple turn table to a tool post holder for a boring head. Always interesting to see how people tackle this type of tool. You should make a handwheel to attach to your powerfeed gear since you don't use power threading often. Seems like that hex key has to get annoying / painful to use after a while.
Nicely done. Maybe you like the exercise but a power saw (as others have suggested!) You could cheat and show using your trusty hacksaw and finish the cut with power. Hand held bandsaws are relatively cheap & can be converted to vertical if desired.
A note about thrust bearings: the two races may not be identical. One will have a precise I.D., and a slightly _under_-size O.D. The other will have a precise O.D., and a slightly _OVER_-size I.D. The first is meant to turn/spin with whatever passes thru the bore, with clearance for the "outer" object. The second is meant to turn/spin with the outer object, with clearance for whatever passes thru the bore. This is because the two races always turn in opposite directions, relative to each other. I discovered this when adding thrust bearings to the compound of my mini-lathe. In this case, one race turns with the cross-feed screw, but must have O.D. clearance so it doesn't bind against the compound. The other race contacts the compound and does not turn, so it must have clearance for the cross-feed screw to turn freely. Now depending on the application, it may not make a difference in practice. But, it's something to be aware of.
9:45 you mention that you are not happy with the surface finish the carbide cutter gives, but it might need higher speed and feed to reach its essential work load to give a better finish. Love the build
@@artisanmakes Are there any inserts/holders that you would recommend for smaller lathes? Do you use inserts designed for aluminum to compensate for the slower RPM?
I've commented before on this project and I'm back considering the task myself, without the lighting and camera setup. I must say that I really appreciate the way you break your videos into chapters for ease of reviewing. Not many, if any others I'm subscribed to, do this. It's just one long video usually. You never mention plans and I was wondering if you work your projects as you go or do you actually have plans or drawing that you follow? After all, we all know that sometimes the finished item is not the fist attempt but the 3rd, 4th or Nth and drawing or plans would surely cut down that trial and error. Thanks again for your time and responses.
Hi from Australia, great chanell. We have a saw in Australia called a band saw and they work great for cutting through steel etc. Ha Ha. Great I like watching your videos. Regards Merv
ROFL - plaster based Spakfiller. Now THAT is rough as guts! Wish you'd file off the gnarly tops of the threaded studs on your quick change height adjusters!
I've had it work before without issue, but this stuff was a bit old and had a pretty chalky finish. The finish really doesn't bother me to he honest, I can always replace it in the future if I want to. Cheers
@@artisanmakes - buy some Builders Bog from Bunnings. Just get the small squeezy pack as it tends to go off quickly after opening. It's just a 2-pack polyester filler like what the yanks call "Bondo".
That's Schmicko! With all the moving parts which could cause chatter it really came together well. By the way did ya know bees are allergic to honey? They break out in hives....I'll see myself out!
Thats a really clever solution, and extra cred for making it on a quick change tool holder so you can install it on the lathe in a few seconds. Well done, and really entertaining video! 👍😁
Nice build, handy tool! I do like the fact that you used a round cutting tool, this will make set ups much easier. I will be making this for my machine, just a tad bit larger though, thanks for the inspiration!
Very good stuff. I have never seen your channel before. I hope to get a workshop built soon and buy myself a lathe. I live in Thailand so I think it will have to be an Asian lathe because of the cost of shipping from the U.K or Europe
I have to admire your ability to do all of these projects from scratch. These days, I tend to buy as much of it as I can. So I would have bought a cheap boring head to use for it and made the rest. The only thing I find that makes me somewhat cringy is that there is no way I would hacksaw everything the way you do. That’s just too much for me even though I’ve got three hacksaws.
Excellent job. Enjoyed the creation of this as always, looks great but of course it's how it works that's important and the ali ball end speaks for itself. I had no previous knowledge of this type of tooling and I couldn't quite figure from the way the tool went together how it was supposed to work, so soon as you set it up in the lathe and demonstrated I had a great "Aha!" moment. Hope you get a lot of use out of it. While metal knobs look superb (hope to see a brass one in the future!) I presume this would also turn acetal or another hard plastic/resin without batting an eye?
Cheers, I am absolutely sure that this could do plastics parts, though I'd make sure to use a sharp insert. I'm using RDMT inserts, not sure if they make them for plastic.
@@artisanmakes Thanks for reply! These inserts are flat-topped right? If so v easy to take them to beyond factory-sharp on a fine diamond plate followed by either very high grit wet-n-dry or diamond paste on steel.
They are not flap topped, they do have a bake rake if you will, but they aren't super sharp. I suppose that you could sharpen them, but they also might sell sharper button inserts made for plastic. Cheers
@@artisanmakes I think the carbide inserts they use for wood turning and bowl making would work on plastics and similar materials. Probably would work on the bar you made. Great video! Thanks for your time and sharing! 👍😎✌️
Interesting design, it's new to me. Using a round insert makes for a nice transition. The only thing I would criticize is the use of the thrust bearings to not only take the thrust load, which they are made to do, but also locate the rotational axis against radial loads, which it isn't meant to do. It really should be done in combination with some form of bearing to make sure the axis of rotation remains true. Seems to be doing a good enough job for your purposes, but maybe something to keep in mind for future projects.
Curious, what if you were to drill this accurately full of holes before making it into a ball like one would do on those 1"x1" cubes with 100 holes. Wonder if it would still machine normally or be a total mess.
That was so poetic to have a tool finish making itself.
Someone get this man a port-a-band!
Excellent videos! Im trying to watch them all
Or just a longer hacksaw, I am fairly sure there are 24" ones.
lol I was thinking the same. 3 days later his arm reminded him all about it as it dangled there like a wet noodle
What you and Quinn can do with bench top lathes and mills is quite astounding. I have very large lathes and mills at my disposal but I never have enough time to do these types of projects. I’ve been relegated to buying most of my tooling due to these time constraints. I shall machine these fun projects vicariously through channels such as yours. Great work!!!
Nice job. Can i suggest next project, a Bandsaw build. be alot quicker then the old hacksaw
Kudos, I wish my little lathe had such tooling as you make.
Great video as always,
Here is some unsolicited advise, ignore it if you want to, would recommend placing zinc plated steels in a container with vinegar so that way the acidity of the vinegar will strip the zinc off whatever steel and save your lungs when welding, plus wire brushing the schmutz/residue that it leaves behind after the vinegar bath.
Or wear a respirator?
I've never seen a ball turner mounted that way, it makes a lot more sense for a mini lathe as you don't need to worry about the tailstock getting in the way
Cool! I like how the button cutter (20:32) ends up leaving a radius in the final part, where the travel of the cut ends (see 24:10). That's not always what one would want, but it's perfect for this usage! Nice smooth transition between sphere and cylinder. Nice work!
Very nice job with the limitations of a mini lathe' you can get longer tool life and better finishes with lower speeds with high speed steel. Machining is all about speeds and feeds. I've been a machinist for over 40 yrs.
Over all good job
I am surprised he uses carbide inserts.
One more great video of making tools and showing skills. I could watch that flycutter cutting all day. Thanks for your time bro.
That is so cool, I've never seen this type of radius cutter. Guess I've got a project for the next time the machine shop has down time!
Man your videos are fantastic. Another awesome project. I'm constantly amazed at the great work you're able to do on such small equipment.
Chris Doms that is exactly what my sister-in-law said to me the other night the bit about small equipment.
I guess it does not take long before you have a custom ball on all your handles :)
, so inspiring to watch , thank you
I have to say, I believe it's traditional to turn two brass spheres first, so as to be able to respond affirmatively to questions about your courage. Good project, doesn't just let you turn spheres, if you use the compound to angle the rotation of the tool, you can turn all kinds of conic sections, ellipses, and so forth. Say, should you ever need a doorknob or drawer pull which is not a perfect sphere. It's been a while since I did the math on those kind of things but I think a bit of trial could get you some very fine results.
That is a great point, that didn't occur to me.
Filler and paint make me the welder I ain’t 👍🏻😂 great job works a treat 👍🏻👍🏻
Your hacksaw is beginning to be your brand. Splendid presentation. Looking forward to your next.
Great project,man.Thank you.
Nice design and resulting tool. I love the integration to the quick change tool post.
This was my fav point too. Lots of special tools gather dust because setup is a pain, this is no fuss to fit.
its been a long time since I used a metalworking lathe but you are doing a great job of reminding me how to do things..awesome videos thankyou.
Very nice man, always impressed with your builds and they always inspire. Good job man and keep at it.
What will happen to this channel once a machine saw enters the shop?
Nothing can replace the giant jack saw :(
We’ll get twice as many videos. 😺
I think its what identify this channel.
Possibly more videos because he didn't take half the week cutting a block of steel in half! 😁
For the record, he does have an angle grinder
I really like the idea of using a round insert. It gives a good looking junction of the turned ball to the shaft.
I tried to add a dropbox reference to pictures of my 3D printed ball turner (design model and guide to making the real one), but youtube didn't let me.
I like the end result the surface finish looks great
Bruce here,Again a great project beautifully presented. My suggestion is make a powered hacksaw.I had one and sold it once I acquired a band saw and wish I had it back because you can use blades that are much cheaper than bandsaw blades and it seems to be a great compromise between doing it by hand and a much more expensive and complicated machine. Thanks for what you share on UTube.
Love it. There's some great info in there and I love the mini trolling with the hacksawing and even leaving the stalls in. I know I get lots of stalls with my lathe.
Very nice! I like the round cutter. Looks like my boring head will get a 2nd purpose.
Very well done video with impressive and creative machine work. One thing I'd like to see in the mill work is how you do the setups, I'm new to the mill and I think it would be helpful. Thanks for your outside the box ideas and projects.
Well done. I’ve been trying to think up one in my head for a while now. Thanks Ron
Really nice design and well executed (as always). I have a ball turner like the 0:25 design and whilst it does the job it's hard to adjust the radius accurately and it's not very rigid when there is a lot of tool stick out.
It's not his design. It's a well known technique. He doesn't like to admit that he copies most of his stuff from UA-cam videos, in this case from ua-cam.com/video/1AUPBj8cBQ8/v-deo.html&ab_channel=AdeSwash
Just fabulous!
Nice work. Making a tool to finish off a tool.. I remember doing my apprenticeship, and all we had for a ball turner was co-ordinated left and and right hands on the saddle and cross slide! Many a tulip or mushroom where shaped....
Now you can turn some awsome spinner tops..also good for subscriber welcome gifts
Best style I have seen.
Great idea and wonderful end results.
Dude that's dope as hell!
Wow that smart...I never thought about that way or style. Impressive brother 👍
Nicely designed ball turner. We shared this video on our homemade tools forum this week 😎
Very good video, with excellent description of various procedures.
Very cool design
I can't wait to see how your ball turner shaft knob shines up
EXCELLENT presentation! Thank you for sharing.
Have you ever thought about taking the blade from the hack saw, streching it out and welding the ends together? You could then place a couple of wheels one over the other and place the blade over them? Just spin one of the wheels and blade would recirculate itself?
We may never know
Excellent video. Very interesting. Thanks a lot.
Genial...!!...Excelente la presión y belleza de trabajar los metales...Gracias por Compartir.... Saludosss..
Buenos días gracias por compartir tus conocimientos es una buena herramientas
Nice one chap I might have to add this to my project list
awesome he is doing great for the tools he has
As always great video well design ball turner
Absolutely no idea what this is or what it’s used for but I enjoy watching people make things with precision.
I've got to make me one of these. I've seen other designs and I think yours is way better built. thanks for sharing.
This is what I got a lathe for really, was to turn ball shaped objects among other things - but my main project was to make a shifter ball for my car lol
I've seen a lot of different ways of doing this. From just a simple turn table to a tool post holder for a boring head. Always interesting to see how people tackle this type of tool.
You should make a handwheel to attach to your powerfeed gear since you don't use power threading often. Seems like that hex key has to get annoying / painful to use after a while.
Very interesting and encouraging innovation
Thanks so much 🙏
Super nice job. I learned something new today, thanks.
Really amazing work
I like it a lot, I may look into making one for myself. Lee
That was awesome dude.
Like nice tools thank you for sharing
Nicely done. Maybe you like the exercise but a power saw (as others have suggested!) You could cheat and show using your trusty hacksaw and finish the cut with power. Hand held bandsaws are relatively cheap & can be converted to vertical if desired.
EXCELLENT JOB AND VIDEO!!
Gday, this is the same configuration as I made and it works quite well, good simple design, great job, Cheers
A note about thrust bearings: the two races may not be identical.
One will have a precise I.D., and a slightly _under_-size O.D.
The other will have a precise O.D., and a slightly _OVER_-size I.D.
The first is meant to turn/spin with whatever passes thru the bore, with clearance for the "outer" object.
The second is meant to turn/spin with the outer object, with clearance for whatever passes thru the bore.
This is because the two races always turn in opposite directions, relative to each other.
I discovered this when adding thrust bearings to the compound of my mini-lathe. In this case, one race turns with the cross-feed screw, but must have O.D. clearance so it doesn't bind against the compound. The other race contacts the compound and does not turn, so it must have clearance for the cross-feed screw to turn freely.
Now depending on the application, it may not make a difference in practice. But, it's something to be aware of.
Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrfr
Well done excellent piece of work. Cheers.
Thats so nice! Very intresting project
very well done and i enjoyed your take on tool thank you !
thanks for sharing,enjoyed your video
17:25 Looks like the cutest littlest headstock in der World. Must be a Mini Mini Lathe.😍🤣
no it's a regular mini lathe.
Somebody get this bloke a portaband already
Nice work! Love your channel!
I really look forward to watching your videos, this one very interesting thank you👍🇬🇧.
9:45 you mention that you are not happy with the surface finish the carbide cutter gives, but it might need higher speed and feed to reach its essential work load to give a better finish. Love the build
There is some truth to this, but I have used good carbide on the mill and gotten better results than what I got with this import cutter.
@@artisanmakes Are there any inserts/holders that you would recommend for smaller lathes? Do you use inserts designed for aluminum to compensate for the slower RPM?
I've commented before on this project and I'm back considering the task myself, without the lighting and camera setup.
I must say that I really appreciate the way you break your videos into chapters for ease of reviewing. Not many, if any others I'm subscribed to, do this. It's just one long video usually.
You never mention plans and I was wondering if you work your projects as you go or do you actually have plans or drawing that you follow?
After all, we all know that sometimes the finished item is not the fist attempt but the 3rd, 4th or Nth and drawing or plans would surely cut down that trial and error.
Thanks again for your time and responses.
Love you vids AM. You just roll with it.
Thankyou, glad you enjoy them
Nice job, well done!
Hi from Australia, great chanell. We have a saw in Australia called a band saw and they work great for cutting through steel etc. Ha Ha. Great I like watching your videos. Regards Merv
Tool making itself. :D Great project!
Ditto that!! (a bandsaw would save you enough energy for more vid's). Great job!!
ROFL - plaster based Spakfiller. Now THAT is rough as guts!
Wish you'd file off the gnarly tops of the threaded studs on your quick change height adjusters!
Absolutely agree. How that sticks to steel is beyond me
I've had it work before without issue, but this stuff was a bit old and had a pretty chalky finish. The finish really doesn't bother me to he honest, I can always replace it in the future if I want to. Cheers
@@artisanmakes - buy some Builders Bog from Bunnings. Just get the small squeezy pack as it tends to go off quickly after opening. It's just a 2-pack polyester filler like what the yanks call "Bondo".
Very nice. I like it! 🥸👍✅
That's Schmicko!
With all the moving parts which could cause chatter it really came together well.
By the way did ya know bees are allergic to honey?
They break out in hives....I'll see myself out!
Thats a really clever solution, and extra cred for making it on a quick change tool holder so you can install it on the lathe in a few seconds.
Well done, and really entertaining video! 👍😁
Nice build, handy tool! I do like the fact that you used a round cutting tool, this will make set ups much easier. I will be making this for my machine, just a tad bit larger though, thanks for the inspiration!
Looks great , works great !
Fantastic job, will be putting it on my to do list
Nice job!
Very good stuff. I have never seen your channel before. I hope to get a workshop built soon and buy myself a lathe. I live in Thailand so I think it will have to be an Asian lathe because of the cost of shipping from the U.K or Europe
Excelente idea y muy buen resultado, gracias por compartir tus ideas maestro , un saludo y muy respeto !!!!! .
Awesome video
Very nice, looks a bit like the Radford design which I hear is great.
Well done!
nicely done
I have to admire your ability to do all of these projects from scratch. These days, I tend to buy as much of it as I can. So I would have bought a cheap boring head to use for it and made the rest. The only thing I find that makes me somewhat cringy is that there is no way I would hacksaw everything the way you do. That’s just too much for me even though I’ve got three hacksaws.
That was awesome Thanks.
Top Job, Sir👌
Excellent job. Enjoyed the creation of this as always, looks great but of course it's how it works that's important and the ali ball end speaks for itself. I had no previous knowledge of this type of tooling and I couldn't quite figure from the way the tool went together how it was supposed to work, so soon as you set it up in the lathe and demonstrated I had a great "Aha!" moment. Hope you get a lot of use out of it.
While metal knobs look superb (hope to see a brass one in the future!) I presume this would also turn acetal or another hard plastic/resin without batting an eye?
Cheers, I am absolutely sure that this could do plastics parts, though I'd make sure to use a sharp insert. I'm using RDMT inserts, not sure if they make them for plastic.
@@artisanmakes Thanks for reply!
These inserts are flat-topped right? If so v easy to take them to beyond factory-sharp on a fine diamond plate followed by either very high grit wet-n-dry or diamond paste on steel.
They are not flap topped, they do have a bake rake if you will, but they aren't super sharp. I suppose that you could sharpen them, but they also might sell sharper button inserts made for plastic. Cheers
@@artisanmakes I think the carbide inserts they use for wood turning and bowl making would work on plastics and similar materials. Probably would work on the bar you made. Great video! Thanks for your time and sharing! 👍😎✌️
Interesting design, it's new to me. Using a round insert makes for a nice transition. The only thing I would criticize is the use of the thrust bearings to not only take the thrust load, which they are made to do, but also locate the rotational axis against radial loads, which it isn't meant to do. It really should be done in combination with some form of bearing to make sure the axis of rotation remains true. Seems to be doing a good enough job for your purposes, but maybe something to keep in mind for future projects.
The close first on the main shaft and housing should be doing that job.
Nice job
Well done 🙏
Curious, what if you were to drill this accurately full of holes before making it into a ball like one would do on those 1"x1" cubes with 100 holes. Wonder if it would still machine normally or be a total mess.
Awesome job!
well done! ..thank you for sharing , i'll build one as well