#ShopMadeTools
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- Опубліковано 2 вер 2021
- #shopmadetools
Why do we make shop made tools? Often it's because an off the shelf tool that you might purchase won't fit your machine or it has inherent limitations that make it unsuitable for your application. In this video I will show you two shop made tools that have allowed me to extend the range of operations I can carry out in my shop. - Наука та технологія
You don’t need a reason. Making a tool is reward in itself. Lovely work as always.
Thanks John. I was watching your video today and I have the sudden urge to make the Hemmingway knurling tool.
Regards,
Mark
Mark, one more reason is because a person may learn something from making their own. Consider it a lesson with a free tool at the end as a bonus.
Good point!
Regards,
Mark
This rabbit hole of making something is one of the things that I find difficult to explain to those less inclined to making things.
Pearls before swine...!
Great video! For me as a beginner metal worker the learning experience in making my own tools really counts.
One of the first tools we would teach our introductory engineering students to make was a metal scriber. It was a simple tool comprising two parts but there were nearly six different machining operations required to make it. I forgot to mention that sometimes shop made tools are an excellent way of learning new skills or consolidating existing skills. Anyone can buy expensive tools but making your own is rewarding in it's own right.
Regards,
Mark
There's also the aspect that making your own tool can be as satisfying as building the final project itself !
Yes, absolutely. I have a small versatile dividing head that I made from a set of castings. It was designed by the legendary George Thomas and it is capable of direct indexing as well as two different forms of indirect indexing. I have only ever used it once but it was a challenge and I learned a lot while making it. Will I ever use it again? Maybe not, but someone will one day.
Regards,
Mark
many time the project is the shop !
Nice work Preso! Very satisfying to make a custom tool and the exercise will undoubtedly expand your repertoire along the way. Cheers.
Good job Mark ! Glad I have discovered you on the Tube. Cheers D
Some really cool items there Mark thanks for sharing them. Making tools to make tools so true. Thoroughly enjoyed….
Hi, Keith is from Michigan. It makes nice since, it's typical to machine dedicated tools for your applications. I'm 64, it's fun as an hobby, tooling has become very popular 😀. Finally I got up the nerve, Originally, I wasn't a big fan, site shopping. So I liked your idea, this free handing and your plate. I'm going to keep that in my mind. Have a nice weekend now.
nice weekend friend 😊.
Keith, the Turnado system is made here in Australia by Eccentric Engineering. It's one of those accessories that doesn't get a lot of use but when the need arises it does a wonderful job. I am working on a model aircraft engine at present and the spinner has a parabolic profile. I can machine the shape with just an acrylic template and a follower that clamps to the tool block.
Regards,
Mark
That's a pretty sweet index-a-ma-thingy 😁. Gotta say, it's a few steps up from mine 🤣. My 36 and 40 tooth change gears were the exact gears I used for making my bevel gears and are most often the ones I use whenever I do need it 😊. Being a junk collector, I have acquired a 20 tooth worm and wheel to make a more better one 😉. In any case, thanks for the share, Preso! (and for pointing at my cheezy sticker 🤣) Cheers!
Free publicity is all part of the service! I actually don't own any change gears but many years ago I saw a design for a simple direct indexing tool that used 36 and 40 tooth change gears and a plunger that could fit into the space between the teeth or if you turned it 90 degrees it could sit on the top of the tooth giving you double the number of positions. I got really excited about making one but I had everything I needed to make it except the change gear. One day I found a box of junk with an odd gear in the bottom of it but just my luck, it had 27 teeth. Really? I couldn't even get two divisions out of it.
Regards,
Mark
@@Preso58 oh yeah, that's a pretty useless gear lol. Unless your making a triangle or a nonagon 🤣.
The problem solving that goes into home shop tool design is most satisfying part of this hobby. I've made dozens of shop tools that I use daily. Great video as always.
As always, informative and inspirational. Thank you. 👏👏👍😀
Thanks Andrew and thanks for your ongoing support.
Regards,
Mark
I really like your explanation of what the tool does and why you designed it. Sometimes the why is not obvious to us neophytes and this really helps me learn something new and how I may have it to my situation.
Thanks. I do have another dividing head that I didn't show. It is a Versatile Dividing Head designed by the legendary George Thomas. It has some very cool features but it takes forever to set it up and it's a lot less rugged than the DIY spindexer version. If I am only looking to mill 4 flats or drill six holes in something it's way easier to set up the big one with the chuck.
Regards,
Mark
Amazing kit you got there…… thanks for the hints. More projects added to my list 😜
Hey Preso, that's a great shop made Spindexer! Thanks for sharing 👍
Thanks Steve. I almost scrapped that unit when I was looking for a chuck to mount on the purchased spindexer. I actually dismantled it and then realised that it was quite well made and more rugged in some respects.
Regards,
Mark
You have ability and a creative mind.
Very well done sir!
Great tips there, thanks Mark.
Preso, I don't think I am alone in that I must spend 85% of my time making jigs/setups for jobs that then 5 of the time to cut. The last 10% is persuading her indoors why I have been in the shed most of the day! That looks a great indexer, I bought a large one when I got the milling machine thinking that bigger is better but as I get older it is getting harder and harder to get motivation to get it up on the table. A small one like yours would probably suit better so I will have to add that to the list of projects. Woe betide the person who has to clean out the shed when I pop my clogs!
You do not worry about the person who has to clean out the shed. They are more than likely the one who turns your treasures into cash to spend on some useless trinket or trip because God forbid, they learn how to do anything!
Michael, I have a friend ten years older than I and he has repeatedly reminded me that when he "puts his cue in the rack" that I have to back my trailer up to his shed and take all his stuff. He has one of those monster dividing heads and a rotary table as well. I suspect by the time I get them, I too, will be to infirm to lift them. Oh well, I could always make a shop crane?
Regards,
Mark
Great video production/discussion/demonstration/build
Love making my own tooling. Great video.
Fantastic looking piece
I thought that was a great indexer, thanks for showing it. Gives me a lot of ideas.
Well, it's good that I have given ideas. That is the point of the #shopmadetools hashtag. Good luck.
Regards,
Mark
Very ingenious!
Thank you for a very clear and helpful presentation. You have given me a few ideas, but I am not sure I will get round to implemention. What you showed here represents a huge investment of time to produce all those parts - but then, it may have been over a long period.
Thanks. The ER32 collet chuck was done over a week or so just recently but the dividing attachment is a few years old. I can't recall how many hours went into it but making the castings is probably the most time consuming part.
Regards,
Mark
Very nice tool!
Thanks for sharing!
Great video Preso, and some mighty fine work on your custom tools. Loved the wallabies (I think), cheers!
They are Eastern Grey Kangaroos. Wallabies are somewhat smaller and we don't see them so much around here. There is a species called the pretty faced wallaby but they live down on the flats adjacent to the lakes. The big male Eastern Grey's are taller than me when they are threatened.
Regards,
Mark
Gday Mark, you’ve really got me thinking about the ER collet chuck, I’ve got a full set of Vertex ER40 collets and there’s been time I need to put long stock in but I only have a draw bar style, I didn’t even give the tube a thought, brilliant idea, new job on the to do list, thank you mate,
The little Hercus milling machines we had at school had a draw tube to hold collets in the vertical spindle so that's what gave me the idea. My ER40 collet chuck has let me down on a few occasions when I have needed to hold longer parts. I have dispensed with the drawbar and then worried that the chuck would walk out of the spindle. Bad words would certainly be said if that happened.
Regards,
Mark
Making your own tools is kind of magical. As a kid I have always been amazed how tool makers were able to make tools that are more accurate than the tools they owned. Now I am doing the same 😁
Love watching your videos mate. Inspired me to make a firing pin and film the process. Keep em coming mate. Cheers Craig
All part of the service. Filming your own work is a great way of archiving what you do and evidence that you are making use of the expensive tools that you own.
Regards,
Mark
Unlike you Mark, I’m just cheap😂. Another excellent video Cheers Stuart.
I also recognise that sometimes we make shop made tools because it's a challenge and because we can. Nothing wrong with saving money where you can.
Regards,
Mark
Sometimes we do what we have to do so that we can do what we want to do ! 😉 ! Very nice tools .
Nice tools ,I made many tools over the years with me it was always cost effective. In vokie our shop teachers had tool builds as our learning skills and to get experience. Many if not all are still useable.we had two shops required machining and tool &die shops. Everything to be both in the fields of our choice. I enjoyed both over the four years , then had several more years in apprenticeship ,an night school drafting ,metallurgy n more. I use to case harden many of my tools because of the coloring.
I have never heard the term Vokie before. I just looked it up on Urban Dictionary. We used the term Voc. Ed. which was short for vocational education. Towards the end of my teaching career Voc. Ed was being promoted as an alternative educational pathway to university education. Voc. Ed was always considered to be the less desirable route to a career however students that took up apprenticeships were paid a wage from day one and didn't incur a student loan debt plus they actually had a job. My own son took an apprenticeship despite not graduating from high school. He finished his trade before he was 20 and now at age 27 he is earning more money than I was as a Senior Teacher before I retired.
I have had a go at case hardening and despite the issue of getting hold of sufficient carbon rich packing material it actually worked a treat.
Regards,
Mark
Brilliant, thanks
costomibility is what small shops do well big shops do mass production well. great video keep up to good work!
Almost no one does stuff in their shop to save money. We do it for the fun of it or to make something you just can't buy. It keeps your mind active, gets your butt off the couch and is satisfying to make stuff with your own hands. I like the tools you made though. You always do a very nice job on them. For indexing rings, if you have a DRO on the mill, it is very easy to do a bolt circle with however many holes you want on a flat plate. No dividing head or rotary table required.
I never did trust the DRO to do bolt hole circles but just recently I had a go on something that wasn't too critical and I was surprised how accurate it turned out. If you have seen Clickspring's series of videos on the Antikythera mechanism and the super simple dividing plate he uses it would be an alternative for anyone who is just starting out with limited equipment.
Regards,
Mark
I swear you stole that draw tube collet chuck from my to do list! I'm stealing your idea of the ER spanner tightening at the rear though, I like that idea.
Thanks for sharing
Thanks Tom. It was pure coincidence that the lump of metal I pulled out of the scrap pile for the drawtube nut was just the right size to take the spanner. Sometimes you get lucky.
Regards,
Mark
@@Preso58 I love those moments
The wildlife at the end freaked my cat out, I think she thought there was a noisy miner in the living room.
Sometimes you need to make a tool just because you can.
Yes, they don't call them noisy miners for nothing. They gang up on our cats quite often.
Regards,
Mark
good video mark
Wonderful video! Lots of good ideas. I was going to mention that there is a very inexpensive tool that pipefitters use, it's basically a roll of very heavy duty construction paper. It has all kinds of markings to guide you if you want to cut angles etc. I recently picked up a newer one than I am used to seeing, and they have graduations now! It's limited to nominal measurements, but it covers any diameter with a quarter inch resolution. They are only like $3 and are surprisingly accurate.
Sounds useful. There are so many good products out there.
Regards,
Mark
Thanks Preso! Making tools is the way! I think you should call that DIY 'spindexer' a 'grin-dexer' and be reminded of the good times and reasons for making it! Yes! Dad jokes rule! I'm not even a dad! 🙂
Wayne
NIce work.
Two websites of interest are - Workshop from Scratch and Made in Poland for projects such as. Electric Roller Bender, Magnetic Drill, Horizontal Metal Cutting Band Saw, Key way cutting attachment for Lathe.
I have watched a lot of the Made in Poland series. Good stuff.
Regards,
Mark
I really like that indexing tool in particular. Nice work! (PS: Circular/table saw blades often come with 36 or 40 teeth, and can also be used for indexing)
Thanks Craig. That indexing tool has capabilities that the spin indexer cannot achieve. I actually made it because I couldn't afford the Spin indexer at the time.
Regards,
Mark
Great video, Sensei! Awesome engineering and fabrication. Mahalo for sharing! : )
Thanks Mark, I have a Myford ML 7 lathe and accessories for it in Canada are scarcer than chicken's teeth.
I started out with ER25 collets and also 5C later. I purchased a ER25 collet chuck on a Morse taper 2 shank to fit the lathe spindle but like you ran into the lack of "pass through" capacity with the need for a drawbar. A spindle mounted chuckwas wha??. From a suitably dimensioned piece of cold rolled I machined the internal threaded end and then mounted that direct to the ML 7 spindle to machine the internal ER25 taper and nose thread of the holder to suit a commercial nut purchased off Banggood. Because it was machined on the lathe spindle it has zero runout in itself and depending on the collet 3/5*5/8*sfa. i.e. nothing to be concerned about.
For the 5C I purchased a mountless chuck off the internet and made my own backplate using the same method. To reduce runout I purposely made the locating "spigot" of the back plate about 0.025" smaller than ideal. This enabled me to chuck up a 1" pin in the collet chuck, lightly tension the three mounting screws and "tap" the chuck into as near zero runout as I could measure, torqued the mounting bolts and its been fine ever since.
I also purchased a conventional 5C spindexer, hex and square 5C collet blocks. I then made my own 5C to ER 25 adapter using a commercial nut and that will fit the spindexer giving me alternative sizes to what 5C's I have. This adapter also has the external and internal threads of a 5C collet to enable accessories like a depth stop or extension collar to be used.
There is a contributor to the homeworkshop website who made extensive alterations to a spindexer by adding a worm gear to the front, roller thrust bearing to the rear and a frame that allows the use of the disks from a dividing head with the arms and selectors, via the worm drive, to enable hundreds of very accurate positions of stock for use on a surface grinder or milliing machine. I have most of the parts and a cad drawing ready to modify mine and now that I have my mill its one of my "to do list" projects.
Additionaly I purchased a 4" 3jaw chuck to mount to my rotary table. It needed a suitable backplate so I made one that will fit the Myford but also the 5C spindexer. I'm still trying to come up with a mount for the rotaty table but haven't yet finalised a design.
🤞🇨🇦🍌🥋🕊️🇺🇦🕊️🇦🇺🐨👍
I would dearly love to have a full set of 5C collets including all the specials like hex and squares and then of course you need both metric and imperial. I guess that ER collets are at least capable of gripping odd diameters and they are cheap.
Regards,
Mark
But Mark, it’s an excuse to buy more tools! I often need something I don’t have that I can’t find somewhere, so I make it. But this can often turn into a rabbit hole. So I need to make something, but I don’t have the tool. So fine, I’ll make it. But I need some tools to make it, and I don’t have them all, so I’ll make them. Well, we can see where that’s going.
That’s a very nice attachment you made. Very professional looking. If I didn’t know you made it, I never would have guessed.
In theory, we can get a 27mm ER-40 collet, but I’ve never seen one.
Yes, but look on the bright side, you get to spend more time in the shop.
Regards,
Mark
@@Preso58 that’s how I see it.
"Neccessity" , always wins out. Thanks for the look.
Excellent work! It takes zero talent to spend money. I find it disturbing one feels forced to justify building his/her own tooling. In my view, when one reaches the point in his/her shop with knowledge and tooling where they can build their own tooling the shop has become self sustaining.
I especially like your indexer. Having a cast aluminum housing makes it lightweight and thus easier to handle. The lightest commercial version I own is about 100 pounds and requires hoisting which makes it a chore to use. Probably every job it has ever done was drill cross holes for set screws, drilling face holes for pin spanners, drilling face holes for fasteners, or milling wrench flats. Nothing very critical. Your version looks to be a breeze to throw on the table, dial in, lock down, and get to work.
I wholeheartedly concur with Andrew Smith.
In addition, tool making in the general sense is a goal unto itself. While man might be able to get by holding a rabbit on a stick over the camp fire, trying to harvest a water buffalo one would find a knife really helpful. You also might want the wheel to help lug the beast back to the village.
Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want.
I use shop projects as a skill builder. I did the same thing with wood working, and made my mistakes building shop furniture that is functional, but cosmetics isn't a primary concern... You also start to understand work flows, operational sequencing, and other critical skills required to make good parts. Besides all of that, there is a huge investment in machines, and equipment... You may as well use it for something.
I like the idea that a shop made tool can be personalised. I wonder how many left handed folk end up having to make a lot of their own tools!
Regards,
Mark
@@Preso58 Good point...
The best reason to make your own tools is to appreciate their function! Thanks for your nice letter. I will reply soon! stay healthy
Absolutely correct.
Regards,
Mark
With regard to the index wheel on your "spindexer," why not use your lathe to machine a gage block to lap down to the closest ten-thousandth inch. From there, use your home made gage block on your store bought sine plate to precisely index each hole around the wheel. This way, you're only buying a sine plate.
Oh wait. Why not make the........
That's the catch isn't it. If I bought a sine plate I would then want a full set of gauge blocks in both metric and imperial. Chasing accuracy is a very deep rabbit hole. I think that's the difference between toolmaking and making tools. Toolmaking is what Robin Renzetti and Tom Lipton do. I am just making tools much further down the spectrum from where those guys are at.
Regards,
Mark
@@Preso58 Yes, the learning is in the doing. And with a set of "first tools," one can make the rest.
A micrometer to .0001"
Layout and measuring surface plate, et. al.
Lapping plate, et. al.
2" optical flat
Lathe with milling adapter, et. al.
With this kit, you make everything up:
Sine plate
Gage blocks
Etc., etc., etc..
And all the skills you develop besides how fast you can pull out your wallet.
Some time ago my daughter asked what I was doing in the shop … I said I was making a tool holder for the ball turning tool so I could finish the grinder, so I could sharpen the tool I needed to finish the fixture I was making to hold the cylinder for the steam tractor I was making … she responded… so you are making a tool so you can make a tool to make another tool to finish a tool to do the thing you started out to do …yup I said … dad you need to simplify….. BUT what’s the fun in that …
Yes, we've all been there. I don't fish and I don't play golf so if I am in the workshop I am being productive and learning something.
Regards,
Mark
I enjoy building my own machines for my workshop rather that buy them because I can take a simple tool idea and take every possible way that tool could be used in my shop and with accessories or quick modifications and build the most versatile machine for my workshop then I modify it and do any changes I need it most for and then improve them for a few months then paint them
True! I sometimes wonder why I spend so much time making tools instead of making furniture or engines or something but it's an empirical process. You start off with simple tools (usually with deficiencies) and gradually improve them or redesign them. It's just satisfying to make something useful.
Regards,
Mark
Or just because making tools is fun to do, and very satisfying if they even work :-)
I have a large and embarrassing collection of failed tool ideas but you are correct that it is fun and interesting to find out if it can be done.
Regards,
Mark
I love going to shed auctions and I always keep an eye out for special tooling made the the owner. All to often the owner is a fantastic machinist/tool maker and you would never be able to afford or make the quality of tools that the auctioneer would call "general assortment of tooling". Its such a shame so many beautiful tools end up in the scrap yard.
Hey Presso,
Hope you're all well in this strange time. I have ER Collets up to 30mm. If you want I can find where I bought them and let you know. I have to go through all my files so it could take me a day or two.
Matt
I could use those big ER collets. Tell us more!
@@bobdring8857 I posted the link this morning, looks like youtube removed it :(
If you go to Alli Express and search oversized er40 collets should bring it up. They were about 45$ for a set of 4.
Hello Mark,
Nice work... have you thought about adding a spindle spider to the draw tube nut...
Take care.
Paul,,
Not yet but It's probably a useful addition.
Regards,
Mark
G'day Preso from Stalag 13 (Melbourne)....I just went through a click and collect birthday toy shopping experience at Kmart which was a very "grey and bleak" experience to say the least..then I went to buy a roll of wrapping paper at Woolies...only to be told the Hallmark rep is not allowed into the store to replenish stock....ffs...wtf
I needed a "shed bloke" fix to distract me from the "Socialist Republic" vibe down here....so thank you for a bit of escapism to your workshop and the "pick me up" you've provided!
Thanks from Rodders
You're welcome. So what is this... lockdown #6? We have only had a small taste of it up here but I think we are on the cusp of full on Gladys germs shortly. Stay safe and sane!
Regards,
Mark
Cost more than i want to pay Dont have Time to wait Good experience and rewarding
Made myself an er40 collet nut once. I bought one on ebay and it never turned up, do I thought stuff it, I'll make my own. Turned out nice.
I was OK making the chuck body and I guess at a pinch I could be persuaded to make the nut but they are so cheap I caved in and bought one. The body of this chuck had to be a bit longer than normal to allow it to reach over the Turnado table a fair way.
Regards,
Mark
Thank you for this inspiring video. Just a thought about your ER32 chuck: did you consider incorporating some means of restraining small diameter stock from "whirling" when projecting from the tail of the lathe spindle?
No I did not but I have just watched a video by Machine NZ where he machined up a spider for the lathe spindle and it seems like a great idea. Many years ago my Head of Department decided that he wanted to machine a point on the end of a piece of 10mm steel rod about 1.5M long. He figured it was just a quickie job so he let the end of the stock hang out the spindle unrestrained. It bent through 90 degrees and destroyed a wooden cupboard close to the head of the lathe before he could stop it. Oh, how we laughed!
Regards,
Mark
The best reason for making a tool is because you want to.
wow now we have CNC machines to do most of the work aside from having a couple now
my uncle told me when i was small if I know how to run and use a lathe I can make anything I need to that before we had CNC machines too i was adopted into a family i was touch by them how to use their lathes too
yes, my uncles were right i can make many parts i need I am overqualified for most jobs out there now
Machines (or machinists) make other machines (and sometimes machinists). It’s what they do. If it’s a tool or a “part” what’s the difference? All applications of the same skill and talent, in this case quite evident.
At the end I was wondering at what point is the baby kangaroo too big for the pouch. And in what way is that fact passed along by the pouch holder to the former passenger. I’m envisioning a spirited conversation. “Now, Springy, it’s time for you to…” “Come on, Ma…”
I think that little joey will soon be evicted from the pouch. The last few shots showed it feeding from Mum but not from inside the pouch. They sort of stand up close and stick their heads in to get a feed.
Regards,
Mark
Mark Beautiful job. On the indexer why not take the base off and rotate it 90 degrees and machine it to fit the Bridgeport?
I will add that to the end of the list of projects that gets longer and longer. I just realised after I shot that video that I had put slots in to suit both the Sieg CNC mill and the now non existent Denbigh mill but of course they are both different to the Bridgeport. The idea was that I would be able to get at least three bolts in the base no matter which machine I was using but, you know, best laid plans and all....
Regards,
Mark
Good Show Mate: as per normal. Most of the tools I have crafted was because I couldn't find what I needed commercially and I am frugal. Frugal. Nice word for cheap. I R cheap.
Me too, frugal that is. I really should start spending my children's inheritance with more commitment.
Regards,
Mark
@@Preso58 Me too. I am spending my daughter's inheritance as fast as I can. The will may say, "I spent it all. Good luck." Daddy.
Those are really nice tools you've made. How do you switch from the 40 division circle to the 36 to get a small division?
All you have to do is to remove the index ring flip it vertically and and realign it with the drop pin. It takes a few seconds. You can also make up "special' index rings for say, 50 divisions.
Regards,
Mark
Great videos. Does the 3 jaw chuck on the spin indexer have a 26mm bore. Cheers
Actually, I think it's more than that. Probably 32mm but I haven't checked.
Regards,
Mark
I have no excuse, I just enjoy making tools lol.
Another reason is that almost anything one makes, one can also repair. Thanks for the native wildlife shots. More dogs than people here and we cannot shoot the garden-poaching deer.
Thanks. Good point about reparability. I don't know how many purchased tools have gone into the scrap bin because one (usually plastic) part breaks. It's always the part that has the most complex geometry too.
Regards,
Mark
The usual reasons - the ones I’ve done in the past - is when you you cannot afford it, or there is no way to buy one irrespective of budget.
Why?....because you can....Smashing
Mark would you share what brand of the collet chuck you bought
in my case, when i make my own tool. i tent to perform the task at hand better. now is it because i made the tool so i know its limits? or i made it better than something off the shelf?
Actually up to 32mm is the largest ER40 collet you can get they are on eBay and come from England
I just had another look on Ebay but it's very confusing. Some sellers are showing the range of ER40 to be 3 to 30mm but others go to 32mm. My own set only goes to 26mm and it was purchased as a full set about 20 years ago. The small diameter of an ER40 collet is 31.2mm so it would be unlikely that an ER40 collet could have a through diameter greater than that. 30mm might be available but it would leave the small end of the collet very thin.
Regards,
Mark
hey Mark do you have any issues with that locking nut coming loose on the draw bar cheers mate love ya work
No, it's welded on to the tube end.
Regards,
Mark
@@Preso58 ok I have the hare & forbes 5c collet adaptor for a lathe and that locking nut or hand wheel that mines got comes loose away cheers mate
We make shop made tools so we have something to do whilst playing with our machines?
Let me know if/when you want to sell that little Hercus dividing head. It’s way too small for Bridgeport and perfect for my Hercus mill :).
I have enormous respect for Hercus tools. I have used the ATM260 lathe, the small Hercus shaper and the Hercus universal mill and they are all good machines and the perfect size for the home workshop. I could have kicked myself when I gave up the opportunity to purchase the shaper when it was deemed to be surplus equipment at my former workplace. It sold for a few hundred dollars! I recall a very well known local businessman once said to me, "you need to take the opportunity of a lifetime in the lifetime of the opportunity!" Wise words indeed.
Regards,
Mark
@@Preso58 I know something of your pain. Recently I could have bought a Hercus surface grinder for $750 from eBay. I didn’t think I had the room. I found the room but by then it had been bid on thereby removing the buy it now and was at $1800. Next time….
Hi. I have 3 colchester lathes mark 1 and mark 1.5. A friend has a mark 2 and all of them have a split spindle tube which means you can not use a draw bar at all because as my friend found out the hard way. It tightened the spindle bearings and bugggered them. Have you checked yours?
You should use the big nut that holds the chuck or faceplate on. Hope you haven't damaged your spindle bearings 😳
Darren, I was not aware of this issue. As far as I know my bearings are still OK. I generally keep the draw bar or the draw tube just tight enough to stop the morse taper from working loose. Also, I may only use a draw bar a couple of times per year but I just checked my Colchester manual and it shows the spindle which incorporates the spindle nose and the internal #5 morse taper is a single part which seems to indicate that the spindle is not split so tightening the draw tube just puts the entire spindle in compression but should not add any extra preload to the bearings.
Regards,
Mark
@@Preso58 oh good. maybe they changed the design. my lathes were made in 1957, 1966 and 1970. not sure how old my friends is but its mark 2. If you remove the chuck and look inside the spindle, 3" down inside you will see the split. slide something down and you will feel it. I tried to get a pic of it but couldn't get enough light for it to show up. oh my lathes are student and master mark 1.
If yours are not split that makes life easer for you but i thought i would mention it as you have a lot of followers and it might be useful information for some.
thanks for posting your video's. being an untrained novice i find them very informative and enjoy learning from them. thank you for taking the time. regards Darren. Gloucestershire, UK
I knew mine wasn't split because I took the spindle out twice while I was restoring the lathe but you had me questioning the design of the arrangement for a while. I have heard that a lot of Colchester headstock bearings get ruined from using the incorrect grade of oil. The countershaft gears at the back of the main spindle are designed to pick up oil and sling it onto the two ends of the main bearings where it runs down and out the bottom through a drain and back into the headstock. If the oil is not the correct viscosity it will either not splash where it's supposed to or just cling to the gears. Also, it is a problem if you are running a VFD to control the speed of the lathe electronically. If you artificially slow the motor down it means the input shaft from the motor drive is not running at the RPM which is designed to sling the oil efficiently. It is better to just run the lathe at it's rated motor speed and then use the gears to alter the spindle speed. I am planning to return my lathe to 3 phase and use a VFD so I can get a smoother running motor with more horsepower. I had to remotor my machine with single phase and it's only 1.5HP. At the time I had no experience with VFD's but now I think it's a better way to go than using a rotary phase converter. I can get forward and reverse electronically and I can get motor breaking for threading rather than using the headstock brake.
Regards,
Mark
interesting video, how did you engrave(?) the numbers on the ring?
Yes, I have a drag engraving tool that I use on my little CNC mill. It has a carbide point that is pressed into the metal against a spring and it is just moved around to form the engraving. It doesn't rotate it just forms a groove as it is dragged. It's a lot more forgiving than a rotary bit since there is no requirement to have the surface of the part absolutely level.
Regards,
Mark
Isn't almost everything we make a tool in the end?
you can get up to 32 mm er 40 collets now
That's interesting. I just had a look and the standard upper limit is 26mm. 32mm is larger than the small end of the collet. Maybe you are thinking of the diameter of the large outer diameter of the collet?
Regards,
Mark
@@Preso58 Gloster ER40 collet all sizes NEW DIN6499B Quality 4.0-32.0mm all sizes *** SALE on ebay have the 30mm but dont like the price
...I don't understand the question
There's also the aspect that making your own tool can be as satisfying as building the final project itself !
Absolutely. Ironically, a friend just gifted me a very large 8" rotary table with a dividing attachment. I still like my shop made spin indexer though. At least I can lift it without suffering a hernia.
Regards,
Mark
There's also the aspect that making your own tool can be as satisfying as building the final project itself !
There's also the aspect that making your own tool can be as satisfying as building the final project itself !
There's also the aspect that making your own tool can be as satisfying as building the final project itself !