Surprising how that little mill will get to stand proud and precise beside the big brothers... ;) I like the way you come up with useful and new subjects in your videos. Pierre
Your machine improvements are always well thought out, elegant solutions to a deficiency. Too, your explanations and demonstrations are understandable and make sense. It's a pleasure to view your videos, Stefan. Keep up the great work!
I have a very similar machine and the depth stop is useless but you have given me an excellent solution ! I have a DRO on the z axis and was using this to indicate drilling depth but to get any precision i would drill down close to the depth i need then engage the fine feed on the quill but the drill ends up doing a lot more rubbing than cutting and gets blunt quicker. Also the quill can rotate a little as it also has that crappy grub screw set up and this upsets the DRO so your solution may help with that as well! Thanks Stefan for yet another superb video ! Ian
Thanks for this, happened to have a broken air ram on hand and can confirm that boss does indeed have a precision bore, I only had to clean the paint out with a reamer and have a really nice fit. Will do something a little bit different with the indicator mounting but I am surprised how much smoother the quill is as it's not binding on that useless keyway anymore, worth doing just for that.
I really enjoy seeing all the improvements you are making to your RF45 clone. I'm looking to get a Grizzly G0762 (RF45 clone) so your videos are great inspiration.
Very nice setup Stefan, gives me a lot of ideas for a stop rod for my Alzmetall drill press. The gage block setup is straight of jig bore 101. They used them on tables, between buttons, to do moves in the X and Y as well.
+James Kilroy Thank you James :) I have never run an jig borer myself but I read a lot over them...they seem to be super nice to work on - A friend of mine has a small Hauser Jig borer - Watchmaker sized machine.
I'd suggest putting a keyway in the shaft and stop, to prevent the stop from rotating when you loosen and move it. Silver braze the key into the stop, so the shaft still moved freely in the casting.
Stefan Gotteswinter Thank you, sir. Still working at making my videos half as nice as yours are... I suppose I have a new slogan for my channel now: "Don't Do This" *grins* Best wishes, Tom Z
Very neat, even without using a dial indicator, the added close fitting 16mm ground rod adds greatly to the quill rigidity, a mod worth doing in its own right.
Stefan my RF-45 clone also had the crappy depth stop. The hole in my head casting was even larger than yours and I had to use a piece of 3/4' drill rod to fit it. I bought a 0-6" quill DRO and attached it to the head casting. I attached the slider of the DRO to the top of the drill rod with an angle bracket. I emailed some photos of my set-up to the address given in Feinwerk Sud. When you first got the Optimum you mentioned that you had to shim the column and that you would ultimately make a more rigid fix. I'm interested in how you did the alignment check and weather you plan to machine , scrape, or use bedding compound for a more rigid connection. Thanks for the great videos!
Nice idea Stefan, I have a Opti BF 30V with ISO 30, you have given me an idea to have a look at mine. I agree with your comment saying the existing is pretty useless. I have not bothered to use mine, but my machine came with a pretty good digital readout on the Z axis, but a working stop would be an extra. Thank you, I enjoy your videos Noel
Hi Stefan, Nice mod on the depth stop, and you don't need any batteries. Love it, "Pure Crap"! versus just plain crap, and I thought the Pink Collar was in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month here in the US.
Hi! Wow, 16 mm hardened steel guiderod. That was really smart. I am no expert but I shuld think any reduction of moovement of the quil will improve the precision. Especially when it is able to moove inside the head (drilling, not milling) like that. It should even offer a bit more rigidity milling, I would immagine. You have made a really nice improvement there!
Because it is not threaded, does it slip at all? I can imagine if you pull hard on the quill downfeed handles it might slip? And does it still work with your tapping reversing microswitch?
Very good. All these Asiatic tools are built to a certain price/performance point. In fact all machine tools are, but some are a lot better than others. I regard Asiatic tools *not* as junk. They are a *kit* that gives you a starting point. Of course some are built to a higher standard than others. If I were rich I'd buy a Lorch or a Hardinge HLV, as it is I try to improve what I have. That depth stop is a great idea. I will go see if I can adapt it to something. Thanks.
I sure don't know how the hell you do it Stefan, but another excellent modification. I'm going to need to copy this one of course. My mill is a 3/4 sized Bridgeport clone with it's standard threaded rod depth stop much like yours was. I bought and still need to install a Newall 4 axis DRO so I'll obviously use that instead of the indicator. But the rest I'll certainly copy. I also plan on forwarding this video link to some machinist buddy's. I'm sure they'll enjoy this as much as I did. You own a tool post grinder you built if I remember correctly? Blocking that up high enough to allow it to reach inside your head casting would have allowed grinding a precision flat within the that casting. However I'm also a believer of using that epoxy/metal combination to fill in or cast in place flat's or even mounts for various items. Either way would work. That liquid metal is certainly less work. Just in case you don't know. Newall and a very few other DRO manufacturer's make single display head units so you can add on a single spar and reader head and then have an extra DRO axis. Without that? I also use indicators in more than a few places to give me travel distances. But I highly recommend looking around for the rubber bellows a few metrology manufacturer's sell. Mitutoyo would be just one of them. But they build thin rubber bellows that have very low pressures required to collapse them. There designed to fit on the indicators stem and the plunger and keep contamination (swarf, oil, etc.) from being drawn up inside an indicator. Well worth hunting down and buying for something like where your indicator is positioned in this video. And I also very much appreciate any UA-cam poster who has the honesty to call something crap when the design deserves it. Pete
Hey - your Mitu was at 0.002mm when you did your setup; it worked 100%. Awesome! I am looking at making a dial indicator holder for my Hartford. Probably be different but that is a great job.
Hi Stefan, Once again, nice modification and concise explanation. Having used one, any time you can copy ANY part of a Moore Jig Grinder, do it! To my mind, the best precision grinder EVER built. Anyone contemplating building, or rebuilding, a precision machine should read " Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy", by the Moore Special Tool Company. Once again, Nice Upgrade.
Good to hear the anti theft paint will go, I was going to ask why you didn't fix it. Do you think a fine adjust would be beneficial? I'm fantasizing about a threaded bushing, perhaps even with a differential thread, ever since I changed the stop on on the drill press for a sliding one. I have another drill press with fine adjust and it is useful, for example to countersink just a little deeper.
Question: I know it’s an old video but how did you attach the linear shaft to the quill ring? I have the same mill and I’m looking at doing the same mod
This basic stop design should work on not only the RF-45 type mills but looks to be adaptable to the smaller versions of the mill sold under any number of model numbers.
+lbcustomknives No problem at all :) We have 3 phase/400V in almost every house in Germany - I just had to route a new powerline into the shop coming from the fusebox.
Thank you. If I can find the time Ill try something similar. Very clear video explanation. I'm in Ireland, what part of Germany are u in? Joss from Cork.
Nice improvement! I am trying to do something similar. I ran into some problems with the gear change knobs. I have removed the two set screws but they do not come loose. Is there a screw behind the sticker on the gear speed selector knobs?
Your machine seems quite similar to my RF-45. I installed 3rd channel DRO on the Z-axis which I depend on for milling & I just tolerate the crappy nut in drill press mode depth stopping. I'm wondering if your mill has the same rudimentary X stops in the table like mine, but nothing for Y-axis? Lack of Y is a real pain for pocket milling type operations. Right now I set up indicator dials on mag stands just to show me zero needle approach after the DRO pre-set, but would prefer mechanical stops. If yours is like this, please put your ingenious mind to this problem... so I can copy it :)
I like it BUT... it appears that setting the stop with the gauge blocks is a bit of an exercise. You gotta hold the gauge blocks, loosen and tighten the set clamp, while also holding the gauge on zero. Maybe I'm missing something. It does appear to be a ridged setup, I like that.
Stefan Nice mod Have you checked the column deflection ? I assume that this stop will be used for drilling and depth setting for milling, when used as a drilling depth stop/gauge will the column / head flex play a part As we all know nothing is stable and all machines have flex some have a great deal and some very little it come down to design/cost Keep up the videos always informative Stuart
was machst du eigentlich mit dem unteren Endschalter? Machtst du dir da eine eigene Montage oder versuchst du das Problem fürs maschinelle Gewindeschneiden anders zu lösen? LG aus NÖ :)
Surprising how that little mill will get to stand proud and precise beside the big brothers... ;)
I like the way you come up with useful and new subjects in your videos.
Pierre
Your machine improvements are always well thought out, elegant solutions to a deficiency. Too, your explanations and demonstrations are understandable and make sense. It's a pleasure to view your videos, Stefan. Keep up the great work!
Nice modification to the mill. Very precise and sturdy. Thanks for sharing.
I have a very similar machine and the depth stop is useless but you have given me an excellent solution !
I have a DRO on the z axis and was using this to indicate drilling depth but to get any precision i would drill down close to the depth i need then engage the fine feed on the quill but the drill ends up doing a lot more rubbing than cutting and gets blunt quicker.
Also the quill can rotate a little as it also has that crappy grub screw set up and this upsets the DRO so your solution may help with that as well!
Thanks Stefan for yet another superb video !
Ian
Very nice design and you are very good at showing us how you do your projects Stefan. Keep up the videos you are great at making them.
....very nice improvement, your explanations are great and the designs speaks for itself. Well done.
Thanks for this, happened to have a broken air ram on hand and can confirm that boss does indeed have a precision bore, I only had to clean the paint out with a reamer and have a really nice fit. Will do something a little bit different with the indicator mounting but I am surprised how much smoother the quill is as it's not binding on that useless keyway anymore, worth doing just for that.
I really enjoy seeing all the improvements you are making to your RF45 clone. I'm looking to get a Grizzly G0762 (RF45 clone) so your videos are great inspiration.
Stefan, that is an interesting mod, which inspired my creativity so now I need to modify my machine designs. Thanks for sharing mate!
Very nice setup Stefan, gives me a lot of ideas for a stop rod for my Alzmetall drill press. The gage block setup is straight of jig bore 101. They used them on tables, between buttons, to do moves in the X and Y as well.
Hey J.,
That drill press is going to be a sweet machine when you get done with it!
+James Kilroy Thank you James :)
I have never run an jig borer myself but I read a lot over them...they seem to be super nice to work on - A friend of mine has a small Hauser Jig borer - Watchmaker sized machine.
I've seen one of those little Hausers in my lifetime and they are little pieces of jewelry, very rare in the states.
+James Kilroy They are quite rare here too :\
And when they show up, they are pretty high-buck.
nice improvement, Stefan. Well done.
Thinking about adding same to my drill press. Thanks for the inspiration.
Nice work on the depth gauge Stefan.
Excellent idea, thanks for making the video Stefan.
Super solution. Really nice improvement with a great idea. The manufacturer ought to take note!
I'd suggest putting a keyway in the shaft and stop, to prevent the stop from rotating when you loosen and move it.
Silver braze the key into the stop, so the shaft still moved freely in the casting.
Very nicely done, Stefan. I will definitely copy your modification for my RF-40 after I get it on the new stand. Thank you for sharing!
Tom Z
+Tom Zelickman (Inspiration Metalworks) Thanks Tom - And congrats for the 500 Subscribers :)
+Tom Zelickman (Inspiration Metalworks) But remember: Dont to this ;)
Stefan Gotteswinter Thank you, sir. Still working at making my videos half as nice as yours are...
I suppose I have a new slogan for my channel now: "Don't Do This" *grins*
Best wishes,
Tom Z
Very neat, even without using a dial indicator, the added close fitting 16mm ground rod adds greatly to the quill rigidity, a mod worth doing in its own right.
Stefan my RF-45 clone also had the crappy depth stop. The hole in my head casting was even larger than yours and I had to use a piece of 3/4' drill rod to fit it. I bought a 0-6" quill DRO and attached it to the head casting. I attached the slider of the DRO to the top of the drill rod with an angle bracket. I emailed some photos of my set-up to the address given in Feinwerk Sud. When you first got the Optimum you mentioned that you had to shim the column and that you would ultimately make a more rigid fix. I'm interested in how you did the alignment check and weather you plan to machine , scrape, or use bedding compound for a more rigid connection. Thanks for the great videos!
+Karl Schuler Hi Karl, I got your mail but I didnt get around to answer it yet, but its opened so I dont forget about it :)
the quill ring color gives your mill some character. nice job.
Some nice innovation Stefan - good explanation.
Clever steu Stephan. Nicely done.
Nice idea Stefan,
I have a Opti BF 30V with ISO 30, you have given me an idea to have a look at mine.
I agree with your comment saying the existing is pretty useless.
I have not bothered to use mine, but my machine came with a pretty good digital readout on the Z axis, but a working stop would be an extra.
Thank you, I enjoy your videos
Noel
Hi Stefan, Nice mod on the depth stop, and you don't need any batteries. Love it, "Pure Crap"! versus just plain crap, and I thought the Pink Collar was in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month here in the US.
+Robert Klein Haha, no thats the standard color from Optimum for some of the machine parts...but now its grey :)
Hi! Wow, 16 mm hardened steel guiderod. That was really smart. I am no expert but I shuld think any reduction of moovement of the quil will improve the precision. Especially when it is able to moove inside the head (drilling, not milling) like that. It should even offer a bit more rigidity milling, I would immagine. You have made a really nice improvement there!
Because it is not threaded, does it slip at all?
I can imagine if you pull hard on the quill downfeed handles it might slip?
And does it still work with your tapping reversing microswitch?
Very good. All these Asiatic tools are built to a certain price/performance point. In fact all machine tools are, but some are a lot better than others. I regard Asiatic tools *not* as junk. They are a *kit* that gives you a starting point. Of course some are built to a higher standard than others. If I were rich I'd buy a Lorch or a Hardinge HLV, as it is I try to improve what I have. That depth stop is a great idea. I will go see if I can adapt it to something. Thanks.
I sure don't know how the hell you do it Stefan, but another excellent modification. I'm going to need to copy this one of course. My mill is a 3/4 sized Bridgeport clone with it's standard threaded rod depth stop much like yours was. I bought and still need to install a Newall 4 axis DRO so I'll obviously use that instead of the indicator. But the rest I'll certainly copy. I also plan on forwarding this video link to some machinist buddy's. I'm sure they'll enjoy this as much as I did.
You own a tool post grinder you built if I remember correctly? Blocking that up high enough to allow it to reach inside your head casting would have allowed grinding a precision flat within the that casting. However I'm also a believer of using that epoxy/metal combination to fill in or cast in place flat's or even mounts for various items. Either way would work. That liquid metal is certainly less work.
Just in case you don't know. Newall and a very few other DRO manufacturer's make single display head units so you can add on a single spar and reader head and then have an extra DRO axis. Without that? I also use indicators in more than a few places to give me travel distances. But I highly recommend looking around for the rubber bellows a few metrology manufacturer's sell. Mitutoyo would be just one of them. But they build thin rubber bellows that have very low pressures required to collapse them. There designed to fit on the indicators stem and the plunger and keep contamination (swarf, oil, etc.) from being drawn up inside an indicator. Well worth hunting down and buying for something like where your indicator is positioned in this video.
And I also very much appreciate any UA-cam poster who has the honesty to call something crap when the design deserves it.
Pete
Hey - your Mitu was at 0.002mm when you did your setup; it worked 100%. Awesome! I am looking at making a dial indicator holder for my Hartford. Probably be different but that is a great job.
+bhartwigutube Haha, yeah, but as I said, measuring 1/1000mm (Whats that? 0,000039inch) in the shop is a bit...obscure ;)
Hi Stefan,
Once again, nice modification and concise explanation. Having used one, any time you can copy ANY part of a Moore Jig Grinder, do it! To my mind, the best precision grinder EVER built.
Anyone contemplating building, or rebuilding, a precision machine should read " Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy", by the Moore Special Tool Company.
Once again, Nice Upgrade.
P.S. are you going to incorporate the bottom limit switch to maintain your tapping cycle?
+Jerry Long I have both books from Moore special tool company - great ressource of knowledge! Thanks for commenting :)
+Jerry Long Yes, I already did - Works as before, I just had to move the limit switch out a bit to take the bigger depth stop in account.
+Stefan Gotteswinter Nice. Thank you for the replies.
Nice improvement Stefan,
I might steal it and put it to use on my precision drill, as the depth gauge system leaves alot to be desired.
Matt
Good to hear the anti theft paint will go, I was going to ask why you didn't fix it.
Do you think a fine adjust would be beneficial? I'm fantasizing about a threaded bushing, perhaps even with a differential thread, ever since I changed the stop on on the drill press for a sliding one. I have another drill press with fine adjust and it is useful, for example to countersink just a little deeper.
Question: I know it’s an old video but how did you attach the linear shaft to the quill ring? I have the same mill and I’m looking at doing the same mod
Hey, your depth stop is PINK like my new vise!
This basic stop design should work on not only the RF-45 type mills but looks to be adaptable to the smaller versions of the mill sold under any number of model numbers.
danke für die Hilfe !
Sorry for all the questions brother. Can I ask please how you installed the 3 phase for the machine
+lbcustomknives No problem at all :)
We have 3 phase/400V in almost every house in Germany - I just had to route a new powerline into the shop coming from the fusebox.
Thank you. If I can find the time Ill try something similar. Very clear video explanation. I'm in Ireland, what part of Germany are u in? Joss from Cork.
Nice improvement! I am trying to do something similar. I ran into some problems with the gear change knobs. I have removed the two set screws but they do not come loose. Is there a screw behind the sticker on the gear speed selector knobs?
Finally managed to get the knobs off. Had to drill and tap a hole in center of the knob. Pressed out the knobs using a screw in the tapped hole.
Excellent Modification.
Very good modification.....well thought through. Thank you for sharring.
Your machine seems quite similar to my RF-45. I installed 3rd channel DRO on the Z-axis which I depend on for milling & I just tolerate the crappy nut in drill press mode depth stopping. I'm wondering if your mill has the same rudimentary X stops in the table like mine, but nothing for Y-axis? Lack of Y is a real pain for pocket milling type operations. Right now I set up indicator dials on mag stands just to show me zero needle approach after the DRO pre-set, but would prefer mechanical stops. If yours is like this, please put your ingenious mind to this problem... so I can copy it :)
I like it BUT... it appears that setting the stop with the gauge blocks is a bit of an exercise. You gotta hold the gauge blocks, loosen and tighten the set clamp, while also holding the gauge on zero. Maybe I'm missing something. It does appear to be a ridged setup, I like that.
Doing this mod now. Can you confirm what epoxy you used? Cheers!
Stefan
Nice mod
Have you checked the column deflection ?
I assume that this stop will be used for drilling and depth setting for milling, when used as a drilling depth stop/gauge will the column / head flex play a part
As we all know nothing is stable and all machines have flex some have a great deal and some very little it come down to design/cost
Keep up the videos always informative
Stuart
Great improvement!
was machst du eigentlich mit dem unteren Endschalter? Machtst du dir da eine eigene Montage oder versuchst du das Problem fürs maschinelle Gewindeschneiden anders zu lösen?
LG aus NÖ :)
Oh man that rotating quill bothered me too. Glad to see it sorted, haha.
+DammitCoetzee Yeah, it bothered me to. And I want to add a right-angle head to the mill and for that I realy need a quill that doesnt rotate...
Very nice. Thanks for sharing.
pretty cool! But Stefan, isn't raising the table accurate enough to get your depth?
+Ujeb08 It is, but for drilling and counterboring it sucks a bit to move the whole head :)
You had my thumbs up within the first 40 seconds, "pure cr@p", hilarious!
Nice work, Stephan
Your Noga clone was probably moving that much during your measurements.
Thanks
John
Oops, I meant Stefan.
+John Bazaar Should not have moved noticeable - The setup was static and the mitutoyo indicator has a very little actuating force :)
Nice!
Very nice modification.
great mod. cheers.
+Flip de boer Thanks :)
Nice job
Awesome mod!
Great mod! :)
Chapter IV !!!!