@@Blondihacks Don´t underestimate a cat. If you have a laptop, they can help you find short cuts that not even Microsoft knew existed. But which keys did the furry rascal step on? 😆😆
My #1 efficiency tip: Bright and even lighting. It takes much less time to accurately read measurements if you aren’t moving around trying to “catch the right light”
This is so funny, because it was my mother who learned me this at about 7-8 years of age, when I was building plastic kits and painting tin soldiers. She quickly realized I needed much better lighting - and gave me a proper adjustable worklamp as a present. My initial reaction was a slight disappointment, because it was obviously the most expensive present on that occasion. (Birthday/ Easter or something.) A bit like receiving warm gloves for Christmas doesn't make a child all excited with joy.😄 But the moment she helped me setting the lamp up, and I started using it, I became very grateful and apreciative of my mothers intrest and understanding of my workings. Ever since, I have always put primary attention to good general "ambience" light, but also always on specific adjustable worklighting. And half a century later, also having one of those magnifying lamps is a nice thing, when for example turning silly small things in the lathe.
@@autochton Oh yes. But... good bright lighting also helps a lot to make out the little details with ageing eyes. I have trouble making out the print on small electronic components, except when I have a bright light to hand. Don't even need a magnifying glass except in rare cases. My shop tips which I sadly don't always stick to: 1) A place for everything and everything in its place. 2) Tidy up between jobs, and at least once a week.
I have had LED daylight strip lights in the workshop for a few years but recently added an old anglepoise lamp between the mill and the lathe - I find the extra light right on the job is great.
"A place for everything and everything in its place" was a rule to live by in the old days. A major time sink is looking for something. "I know I have it somewhere if I can just find it..." can use up lots of time, as well as creating frustration. Another related point is to avoid mistakes. Avoid starting an operation if tired or distracted. Correcting mistakes can really eat up time. (Sigh) Excellent Video. Cheers.
Relatedly, "A task isn't finished until it's ready to be started" i.e. leave the work area ready to start, put everything back in its place, clean down surfaces, put waste where it needs to be, etc. etc.
Your 'avoid making mistakes' is what strikes a chord with me. This is where the UA-cam and its channels do the youngfolk entering the workforce no favors. In UA-cam land, if you're not making mistakes, you're not making anything, and fans always say that everyone makes mistakes, as they go about defending the channel's creator, whoever that may be. Sure, everyone makes mistakes, I don't believe anyone is arguing the point!. In real life, the trick should be to develop a methodology where you avoid mistakes, especially repeated ones. Ascertain where you are particularly prone to making them, and make sure them red light warning lights come on in your head. before you step over the threshold. That way, where you don't have a UA-cam channel with hundreds of thousands of subscribers, you get to keep your job or livelihood!.
"Avoid starting an operation if tired or distracted" good advice for *anything* requiring concentration, strength or agility. [lesson learned when moving furniture]
As a prototype machinist at an automation company that does lean I feel kinda obligated to chime in on the time and motion studies subject. They are totally still done, but just anecdotally in my experience, they are usually done with the intent to reduce fatiguing repetitive motion or to reduce mental burden on employees. Toyota and properly done lean is a great example of that concept being turned into a good thing for employee and employer. And it is super nice in a home shop as Quinn has pointed out.
Absolutely- and as a Union Rep I occasionally did time & motion studies both for protecting my members and for suggesting improvements when “efficiency savings” had to be made. The latter has become a complete double-speak for slashing good things, but it could still help to find the least bad option…
In Industrial Engineering courses in college we concentrated on conducting time & motion studies to improve the economics of an operation but when I got to industry it was also about how to make the workplace more efficient for the benefit of employees to avoid back strain, repetitive motion issues and obviously the possible insurance claims and even lawsuits. Done right there were obvious financial upsides as well.
@davidrahn9903 I agree 110%. I was dragged into learning Lean/Six Sigma at work 20+ years ago. The highest priority was to implement Lean/Six Sigma in our jet engine overhaul building. One Production Shop was "Leaned" at a time and the first Shop I was involved with performed compressor subassembly teardown (for a specific engine), inspection, (send parts out to other shops for actual repairs, if economical), then reassemble the repaired/new/good parts into the compressor subassembly. My team of two people followed one Artisan around as he did his task and measured how far he walked, noted what he did & why, etc. At the end of his task, which took him at least 2-3 hours, he had walked ~1.5 miles (~2.4 km) inside a Shop with floorspace of ~100-ft x 150-ft (~30.5-m x ~46-m), only leaving his Shop one time for a ~1/4-mile (~0.4-km) round trip to get a tool replaced by the Tool Room. I don't recall how long his task actually took without us bothering him, but it was less than the 2-3 hours we slowed him down to. Walking around in his Shop to retrieve tools, fixtures, etc., was amazingly inefficient! After our teams redesigned the workstations for each task, we arranged for all necessary tools, fixtures, consumables, etc., to be placed within arm's reach of each Artisan. "Our" Artisan's 1.5-mile (~2.4 km) walkabout became just ~100-ish feet (~30.5-ish meters)) (only because some tools/fixtures needed to be shared by different workstations - Work Orders were submitted to obtain/manufacture additional tools & fixtures that caused slow-ups due to having to wait for another workstation to use it first) and his task's multiple-hour TAT lowered to around half an hour. The Artisans were glad that their jobs had been made easier & faster to perform, without the frustration of having to look for tools, fixtures, consumables, etc.
This is by far the BEST channel to learn how to machine. Quinn is a first rate machinist and the tools she makes and tips are spot on. This coupled with very fun projects keep your interest high. As a hobby machinist keeping my race car in top shape I never fail to learn something that makes my machining better.
I’ve often wished for a video about the drudgery of various hobbies. Just a video of woodworking that shows the five hours of sanding between “pieces all made” and “ready for finish”, or mill work with all the undoing the draw bar and edge finding and cleaning up the chips. There’s a world of difference between UA-cam and real life, and injecting some amount of reality could really help people find a hobby they enjoy.
When I was an apprentice (mid 1970s) we used a bit of wet cigarette-paper stuck to the workpiece, started the mill and advanced slowly toward the cutter, when the paper was whisked away the cutter would be a couple of tenths away from the edge. I’m sure edge finders existed back then, It’s just that the college probably didn’t trust the ham-fisted students not to break them - oh… and no DROs back then..! Love your channel content as well as your professional approach to production and efficient, clear explanations. All the best from the UK…
Just gonna pause this after only 5 minutes to say just how much I love listening to SMEs (subject matter experts) doing deep dives into the specifics of their craft. It doesn't matter the field. Doesn't matter if it's precision machining, aerospace engineering or waste management. It's just such a pleasure to learn about something I'm not all that well-versed in, from someone who is enthusiastic about their work. I can only hope that others feel the same when I go on about stuff and things related to geology. I will now unpause and watch the rest. Thanks again, Quinn.
Fantastic tips Quinn and great presentation as always. A tip that I'd add is for the milling machine when doing multiple parts of a similar size (or repeat parts) is to have some large springs to put in between the parallels in the vice. This will hold the parallels hard against the jaws of the vice and prevent swarf from getting between and underneath them which reduces the amount of vice cleaning you need to do between parts. I also have a selection of different length bolts that the springs fit over which when coupled with a nut can extend the reach of the spring out for larger parts. For smaller parts a piece of foam works well too.
Another (free!) method is a short length of steel banding bent into a V-shape to act as a spring. This will work in a gap almost as narrow as the banding thickness.
Dependent on the degree of precision it can often be quicker to precisely spot the centres in the mill and then transfer to the the pillar drill for all the subsequent operations involving drilling ,tapping spot facing , countersinking etc. This was the technique taught to me 70 years ago during my apprenticeship if greater accuracy was required than could be achieved with marking out and centre punching. Although I transferred to the drawing office at the end of my apprenticeship and so never used this technique to help me make bonus on piecework I have found it very useful during my lifetime of model engineering. I do enjoy your videos.
As someone who dreams of owning a milling machine someday, your videos are always so informative and inspiring. I might be just an un-evolved wood turner, but your channel has been above all others for sparking my creativity and drive as a hobbyist. Thanks again, Quinn, for a great video, perfect for my lunch break!
Just got an old non-folding music stand for holding drawings next to the milling machine. Also, I like Harold Hall’s idea of machined stops for the milling machine. Saves you having to indicate. In practice, you bolt two or three pedestals of round steel down to a t-slot say five or six inches apart. Set your end mill just above the table and just nip all three pedestals. Now they’re effectively stops exactly in line with your mill’s x or y axis. No indicating and essentially perfect. Just make sure your work is raised slightly to contact the pedestal face you just machined.
Good list, and great video as always. Just FWIW, the top efficiency improvers on the mill for ME personally are: 1. Goes without saying, but: having a DRO on the mill 2. Power Z-axis to save cranking it up/down constantly for tool length changes 3. Power X-axis for the most common facing operations 4. Collets in a "spinner" mounted on a cabinet directly to the right of the mill for easy access 5. Having the most commonly-used tools (edge finders, face mill, calipers, machinist jack, angle blocks, clamps, etc.) readily at hand on a shelf/cabinet within arms reach 6. A power drawbar. Actually, I have only a "poor man's power drawbar" at the moment: the proper sized 12-pt socket in an impact driver always at hand on a shelf just above the drawbar bolt. One day I'll get around to making it a TRUE power drawbar setup, but having the impact driver gets me 90% of the way there for quick tool changes. 7. Cyclone vacuum setup immediately available beside the mill for quickly clearing chips
My biggest efficiency gain is having a set of dedicated tools at each machine. I have a set of Inch wrenches (at least one) a set oif metric (and so on). If i need to pull out the 3/8" wrench every time I want to adjust the tool bit in a tool holder (before everybody began to use Aloris-type quick-change) there will never be a 3/8" wrench in my set. And if two or more machines regularly need a 3/8" wrench, I might spend more time looking for the wrench than using it. I'm a slow learner; I've been playing at metalworking for over 75 years, and it's only been in the past few decades that I began to create wrench/tool sets specifically for each of my machines. For every point on a machine that needs to be tightened or adjusted in the normal operation of the machine, I want a wrench or tool there and ready at the machine. This means a dedicated wrench. I'll buy the exact wrench I want and modify it (as in cut the other end off a double ended wrench) if needed. The tools need to be identified with a colored tape wrap or a paint blaze as to which machine they belong as well as having a place of its own by the machine so you can tell if a tool has gone missing. Even if you rate your time as cheaply as a couple of bucks per session of hunting for that lost wrench, it doesn't take many such sessions to pay for a dedicated wrench from McMaster-Carr.
Another one is to have replacement drills or tool bits at the machine. This is something that was done on every machine for every job when I worked years ago in a ---WAIT for it --SCREW MACHINE shop.
Just one point I would disagree is that despite having a DRO it is still a good idea to make all your axis moves from the same direction and take up the backlash. It's a good practice and will help if you are going for dowel pin placement accuracy. Even with a DRO you can be surprised. Love your channel! Been a hobby machinist some time pro for 30+ years.
A number of years ago we acquired a large bench-top mill where I work to make some regularly needed simple parts in aluminum. I had to choose between power tapping or power feed on the Z-axis and I chose the former. After about five minutes of use I realized what a mistake I’d made and quickly fabricated a Z-axis power feed using a small electric winch from Princess Auto. When I ordered a different machine for my home hobby workshop I avoided that mistake.
Thank you. This is exactly kind of video most creators would not think to make yet offers the kind of information the novice machinist/fabricator/wood worker/ programmer/ physician/dentist/rocket scientist/plumber needs to hear. Well done!
In EU we're often use "xd" length, in most cases 3d, 5d, 7d which means length of cut (or length of max drill depth) is x times diameter. Basically most of HSS drills are 5d and most VHM are 3d, but You can buy them in all lengths
organizers for the collets. normally these hobby collets come in small plastic boxes with no identification. i either mark the collet size on that box or make a collet organizer with easy-to-identify sizes (either in inches or mm). that saves a LOT of time when looking for collets. Also having the most used ones in a separaed organizer or in a top row kind of thing...
I keep duplicates of the most frequently used items in the mill, namely: edge finders, 1/2”, 3/8” end mills, two center drills pre-loaded in collets on a board hanging under my DRO. Similar with the cutters on the lathe. There are empty 1/2,3/8”, etc collets in the drawer as well,but these are quick and easy to reach without being overwhelming racks of all the collets and tools.
Using a screw machine (also called stub) drill for your first operation often eliminates the need for a spot or center drill, as well as saving time. They are always stiffer than jobber drills and won’t deflect like a longer tool. I got away from center drills 60 years ago and never had a position tolerance issue since.
I am so glad I subscribed to your channel! I am learning a lot from you, and I appreciate your down to earth easy style. Your videos are a joy to watch. I had a "Smithy 1200-something" drill, mill, lathe combo. I never learned how to use it properly and it's long gone after many moves. This week I got "Vevor" 7x14 lathe (new on ebay for $325) and a Sieg X2D Mini Mill from Little Machine Shop. I have a couple of Cheap Wen drill presses' too. I have been using a little 5'x9' metal shed under the carport for my "shop". This week I am doubling the size of it and it should be a decent little hobby machine shop. I have managed to Frankenstein together a fairly sophisticated Planetarium star projector, all tediously by hand using as many off the shelf parts as possible. Last summer I needed to make some sliprings. I had a "Bob's CNC". That was my costliest tool mistake. it came in a kit and its made out of wood... Totally useless. I tore that down for parts and started looking into a serious CNC. That led me down the road to build an epoxy granite CNC to do more precision work in plastics brass and aluminum. Maybe some steel. So that led me into metrology which will give me the opportunity to tune up the new lathe and mill and extract as much accuracy as possible. Then I can make components for the CNC to get it functional and upgrade those on the CNC itself. I ended up making the slip rings by hand with a dremel and a scribe. They have about 1/2mm of runout but at least the brushes stay on their tracks. Lol.
I’ve also found that there are a few tools it is worth owning several of, one for each machine, workbench, or wherever. Calipers are one of them, the right sized wrench or hex key for frequently used nuts on the lathe, etc.
Thanks Quin. Been make'n chips since 1975. You're the only one I've ever heard or seen talking about efficiency in the shop other than the time study suits. The truth is, never really thought about this. Just try to map out the fewest steps necessary to complete a job without cutting corners. You are very inspirational and I now have one more tool in my box. Thanks
Great stuff! I always feel I need to put everything away all the time, but hey, it's MY shop and now I'm going to leave my most-used tools out! Excellent tip. Another pro of stub length bits is that they are stiffer.
I have my most used items in an area on the end of the main bench so they are easy to get at during milling and turning operations. The problem is that by the end of a session in the workshop everything else that starts neatly stored in drawers is then littering up every flat space on the bench ! I will swear some of them develop legs and walk out of the drawers themselves....... I often use stub drills and find them very good in many respects. Cranking the mill head up and down between tool changes is a chore If doing several holes on the surface of a part - the DRO helps a lot as you can work through all the centre drill holes then all the pilot drill holes and so on........
I've recently finished refreshing an M-Head Series 1 Bridgeport mill, and I feel this video. I've got a mini-mill that I've made a lot of incremental improvements to... A DRO (TouchDRO, which I love), Tormach TTS tool holders, a spindle lock, electronic touch probe, and more. These improvements happened over a long enough time, that it was easy to forget what it was like without them. Going back to that Bridgeport was a bit of a shock. Reading dials, counting handle turns, accounting for backlash. Tool changes are also collet changes, require 2 wrenches to accomplish, in addition to rapping on the drawbar to release tools... It's really given me perspective, on just how efficient I've made my shop over time. And just how lazy I am lol I'm glad I learned to use machines without the quality-of-life improvements I've made, because I can still use any machine regardless of how it's equipped... But damn, do I miss those improvements when they're absent.
Great video as usual. I bought 2 cheap battery powered drills for my benchtop mill. One has the right size socket to raise/ lower the head & the other to open/close the drawbar. If the quill is too tight for the low powered drill, a quarter turn with a wrench is enough to start the process. It's a bit of a clunky solution but does the reduce the tedium of head height and tool changes.
I think I'd add a sheet of either drawer liner felt or cork to the top of the surface plate cover. Easier on the finish of the tools and a little more resistant to the tools sliding or rolling when the cover is moved.
On that subject... I think I spent 3 hours making a camera bracket that attaches to the headstock of my mtb today. Boring to 50mm, parting off, creating two flats spots to put bolts through, sawing a slot for some criping action, drilling and tapping a hole for the arm to hold the camera. Lastly I cheated a bit by only providing a single 3.1mm prong for the gopro-style connector to attach to, instead of 3. I daren't look up how cheap an actual ready made part is :X
What a fantastic video. I am fairly new to owning a milling machine and you are spot on about the effeciencies. I didn't realize just how much differnent each machine (Mill vs Lathe) were going to be to use, but you are absolutely right. I hope anyone getting into the hobby machining finds this video. With all that said I am still enjoying the hobby and love making videos and sharing my expreience. Please keep sharing your knowledge. I enjoy it all and its very helpful in my learning journey.
The summer I worked at White Sands, The shop next to ours had two small benches labeled FFSOTL and FFSOTR. First Flat Spot On The Right and First Flat Spot On The Left
My apron is the cornerstone of my first order retrievabilty. It took me some time to find one with the right pocket layout to carry the items that I use 10s of times every hour. The bonus is that it keeps my clothes from getting filthy 🙂
Quinn, if you think you have efficiency problems with the mill, I'll raise you my round column mill, where I can't move the head and keep things aligned. All jobs need to be planned around 4" of quill travel. Character forming I believe it's called.
Back in uni, I worked as machinist (CNC and conventional milling) during the day and the biggest struggle I had was exactly balancing precision with efficiency. My parts were always near perfect, within spec and the clients never complained about them but I took about 30% more time than my colleagues. I drove my boss nuts... but being Swiss and the son of a mechanical engineer specialised in precision, I think it's ingrained. 😅
That ingrained ideal of quality and precision, is what gives many German, Swiss, Swedish, Chech and some other countrie's industry a competetive edge. Workers and bosses just refuse to produce crap - it's below their pride and dignity.
"Near perfect" and "within spec" are two different/overlapping things. Tolerances are a major part of the "Spec(ifications)" and just how tight or loose these are should guide your work. If the client asks for microns, they are paying for and they get microns, if the client only needs/asks for half a millimeter, you don't get paid any extra if you deliver microns.
@@kennethelwell8574True! In our case, we were working generally to remain within +/- 10 microns. My job specifically demanded for a lot of precisely bored holes and it was particularly difficult because my CNC milling machine was 30 years old and very poorly maintained with no ability to use inner cooled tools.
Where I work we are currently involved in finding ways to make my job easier and more efficient. A coworker and I are an integral part of making these changes get. They are actually implementing our ideas. As a result we have less frustration, wear and tear on our joints. This also makes us more efficient, resu like to in higher quality, higher production and fewer problems i.e damaged parts.
When I've been the boss, I have always listened to employees suggestions for improvements. Not doing so is dumb, but also people feel more engaged, and do a much better job. And most importantly, everyone feels happier about working!
Having your first order tools ready to use, from your calipers, mics, etc to your surface plate, also makes for better habits because you are easily able to grab the correct tool instead of "making it work" with whats closer. How many times have people used anything but a hammer instead of a hammer because its already in your hand and the hammer isn't.
I'm the kind of person who usually have several projects running in parallell. A few years ago I did the misstake of thinking I could "temporarily" store relevant tools adjacent to each project, or in a separate toolbox. (The latter applied to different projects connected to some house/boat/motor projects.) However I have found this to be a bad idea, as it has actually led to me buying multiples of the same tool, when I can't remember where I used it the latest - or just to make sure the tool is available in each collection. So I have decided to end this project oriented way of organizing tools, and just revert to the traditional "each tool in it's own place" in drawers and on the walls. (For a while I had the mill at work, and the lathe at home, and that sort of forced some duplicates of tools beeing bought. But the collet chuck actually travelled back and forth between home and work!😂)
I've watched your videos for a long time and learned a lot. Not only how to use machining equipment but I've learned that I am a fabricator at best. I don't have the exactness that you possess, for me close is close enough. Thanks for another great video!
Even better are keyless chucks. I do have an assortment of standard Jacobs chucks (and a drawer full of chuck keys), but they almost never get used, except for the one on the Unimat.
The shank on drills is usually soft steel. So I have a set of drills that I have turned down the shank to 1/4”, shortened and resharpened on my Drill Dr. Do this as the size is needed. Works well in my little hobby mill but I only work in plastic and alum.
Great efficient video Quinn. Another efficient habit of mine, even though NOT the cheapest, is to have numerous examples of the same tools. Especially for measuring, scribing, cleaning,etc. I have those at various places in my shops at 2-3 counts for each.
I would add rolling papers to the list of fast, non-destructive edge finding techniques. Self-adhesive and made to suprisingly tight tolerances (varies by colour - IIRC the green ones were 1.5 thou), wet and stick a bit to the edge and advance the cutter until it whips it off. It's a hands-free one-time-use feeler gauge.
One small problem I've found with the screw machine drills is that they seem to suck for lathes, or at least on my little Sherline. Unfortunately with the length the tail stock travel, I really struggle to get the drill past the cross slide and into the part.
Hi! Thanks so much for all your videos. I find myself coming back to your channel for “reliable” information. I have a very important question….I am needing a new vise. I see you have the “best” Precision Matthews sells-Homge. At my age, this will be the last milling vise I will purchase. Can you give a “strong” recommendation for the Homge vises, or should I hold out for a Kurt? I already have a pretty good 6 inch milling vise, but it is honestly too heavy for me to remove and reinstall without difficulty. Thanks in advance if you have the time to answer. I trust your opinion more than the endless channels that show how to “rebuild” a $100 Chinese vise!
Cheers to efficiency! Thanks to one of your videos I’ve save so much time. It was the video you showed using your scale as a reference for the point of the lathe tool. Save me from getting calipers out a bunch so thanks!
I'm not as efficient as you but there are things that I've long done: Screw machine drills, not only do they reduce knee movements but they deflect less. I use spotting drills when it matters which it often doesn't. On more elaborate work I'll start by thinking through order of operations and even write them down. I've lost my reference surface by failing this one. My DRO will save 100 points, my bad memory requires that I make a written list of these as I enter them. I will use ABS for ongoing operations and save a 0,0 reference in INC. Or two different 0,0 points. Many parts have symmetry, so using the center as reference makes sense, to me. I clean up at the end of the day, everything back where it should be, a quick wipe & sweep. Tools for continuing operation are left on the surface plate cover. I haven't figured out how to avoid moving the knee for reamers. At least I now have put a power feed and DRO on it. Thanks for the video.
Suggestion: Add a slight rim around the top of the surface plate cover to pen in randomly wandering small tools. Hunting and retrieving strayed artifacts is so time intensive and emotionally taxing. Thank you for sharing. Wish you well.
Baking trays from the thrift store are also useful in a similar way. They can be left floating or screwed down. Also useful to corral small rolling parts, drills, etc.
Raised edges on the way/table covers for the mill too. Hang the edges over a few inches, drill holes in them, and they hold screwdriver, hex key,and other frequently used tools
Part of the issue with the Time and Motion studies, back in the day, was the assumptions built in to the study. When they were being watched, with the stated intent of making things better (which was true), the workers would push hard and show off what they could do, so the individual productivity in that moment was great, and the individual people watching and working out how to improve the steps got a lot of very good information. When that turned into the reports, it was read by people who assumed that people worked like robots, always at the same speed in the same way with the same focus, all day long. They also assumed that mistakes, rework, double checking, and such things never happened except by negligence, and that anything short of perfect, high-attention, high-enthusiasm work was the same thing as theft from the company. Oh, and of course, assumed that there was always a single best way to perform complex manual operations. So instead of improving how people worked, it became a distorted quota system. Oops.
It also assumed, fundamentally, that workers are stupid and lazy and wouldn’t try to do best work unless required to. Most people want to do their best work most of the time, especially in a skilled trade. Everyone has bad days, but at the end of the day people take pride in their work if you let them. Furthermore, the person doing that job knows best how to make it more efficient if you include them in the goals of your process and listen to their feedback.
@@Blondihacks Oooh, ooh! Teacher called on me! :D And yes, all of that is very true as well. I'd much much rather work in, or manage, or work *with* a positive and encouraging workplace than an antagonistic one!
My favorite time saver is to use a tables with rolling tool boxes underneath them. It is relatively inexpensive and you end up with a lot of shallow drawers that you can use to organize tools. Keep the casters on the toolboxes if you are tall or ditch them if not, so your table height is comfortable. Every drawer gets a theme (everyday tools, drills, abrasives) and the tools always go back in their drawers so they are easy to find. If you end up with 2 of these tool boxes, one can be for assembly tools and the other can be for fabrication tools.
Awesome tips! My workshop is tiny (5 square meters) - I hang my rulers, copper hammers and such from hooks so I can easily access them. I also hot-glued a sharpie marker cap to a cabinet over my head - so I can pull the sharpie easily and return it to a fixed position. Same for my medium-hardness eyeliner wax-marker (softer than todays Chinese wax marker and SUPERIOR soft/erasable marking on metal) so it's an easy access. My 2 cents... :)
Definitely one of my favourite types of content from you, Quinn. Everyone seems to pretend that all of this stuff is obvious and everyone knows it all, but in my experience that couldn't be further from the truth. Additionally, and this is mostly born from my mild case of severe OCD(or is it severe case of mild OCD?), but keeping a tidy shop is an absolute must. The chaotic environment might work for some, but digging through a pile of stuff just to find that micrometer you had in your hand a second ago gets old very quick. If I may add - label things, especially for things like tool chests/drawers. Sifting through drawer after drawer to find the one you need vs reading a label, at least to me, is a no brainer. No surprise my Dymo label maker is one of my favourite tools, after all.
Efficiency ... hum?....Oh lordy..... it takes me forever to make parts on my lathe. (but I do love it) I CAN'T IMAGINE how many hours it takes to make a project video! Thanks for the videos! PS..... I regularly cut stuff too deep on my S.B.lathe, (impatience) and then I feel dumb!
I like using rolling papers for touching off. The majority of them are .001" thick, +/- .0002" so when you snag the paper you're within a thou and you haven't marred your surface. Notebook paper is in the 3 thou range if you don't want the guy at the gas station thinking you're a pothead. Another thing I do is make little kits for things I do a lot, like I end up drilling and tapping a lot of certain holes. I've got a little plastic bin with the pilot drill, tap drill, and tap in it so I'm never digging through drawers looking for commonly used items, they're always right there in a convenient organizer. That way whether I need to do that thing at the lathe or mill or even with a handheld drill I just grab the bin and go.
Your comment reminds me of comments from a driver who runs a motor race team with volunteer helpers (with occasional turnover). He set up the "adjust rear wing grab kit" (etc.) so the person could grab the kit & do the job - rather than hunt for the 6mm hex key plus the xyz tool out of the main tool box (& get in the way of other workers) every time.
@@yowie0889 Smart guy. Making kits for specific tasks has saved me tons of time and a bit of frustration over the years both professionally and in my hobbies.
That Clip for the drawers is great, i have a number of "Fridge magnets" to stick drawings and setupsheets to the machine.. on my mill i have sliding doors, and with a thin magnet, i can even slide the door open, with the drawing on it. A small "platform" for tools that you often use is also a great tool in itself, i used to have a small desk at work, with a plate on the back for holding drawings, and a place to put tools
You've done a fantastic job of introducing all of these concepts through your videos, but this was an amazing compilation of all those little tips and tricks for efficiency.
One quick question: when you drill and tap a hole, is there a reason that you don’t chamfer the tap drill hole before running the tap into the hole? It may or may not be more efficient, but it seems like it would make for a cleaner tapped hole. Just curious.
I keep the vacuum cleaner next to the mill in easy reach plugged in ready to go, clean the work area before my next setup is very quick and stops accumulation of chips on a large job.
Biggest efficiency tip for me was actually on a longer timescale - there's probably four sizes of endmill you use all the time, and similarly with reamers / drills / taps etc. Get the best quality you can for these frequently used tools - and keep a spare! I've lost more time in projects waiting for replacement tooling after a broken flute than I've wasted in toolchanges or edgefinding. Higher quality tools also save time as you said because you get better precision on dimension off the bat. Also, its almost always worth it to buy a tap / die rather than setting up the lathe to do single-point threading. Machining channels on youtube tend to make a big deal out of the single-point threading, and its very satisfying to watch, but its incredibly time consuming. You don't need every thread - I only have metric taps, and even then you can almost always get away with a size up or down from the drawing. It's just a hobby shop, and I'm my only client, so I only need to make me happy :)
I really appreciate all of the work you put into your channel and hope you receive all of the compensation for that work. Just excellent, so well spoken with a great flow it's almost like you have writers, a director, a production team, and an editorial staff. I am laughing with you now because you probably do this all by yourself. I am not a technology person and don’t watch much television and internet but this is a high quality intelligent informative entertaining channel. Obviously you enjoy your hobby and the pinball machine was cool. Thank you for taking us on your journey and may that peace you have stay with you. 😂
My efficiency tip is to buy multiple machines of the ones you use most.....I know it is not for everyone, I have more space and have been very lucky at auctions but 4 is the sweet spot for some machines, eg I have 4 drill presses, one set to low speed for large holes, countersinking and counter boring, one medium speed for general drilling, one high speed for centre drills and small holes and one for annular broaching (a big solid drill). I also have a cheap mill (a good size but has some issues) dedicated to rotating work, a rotary table on one end and an indexing head on the other so I dont have to re-configure either my small or big mills. I made 3 2x72 belt grinders for the same reason, a high speed vertical flat platen (most of my use), a low speed vertical/horizontal small wheel grinder and a multi functional fully variable speed for when I need a third config, also two disc sanders, a permanent coarse high speed for wood (knife handles) and a variable speed 9" for blades. Switching configs around did my head in..... I would like two more lathes though (a 5C collet in one and a 4 jaw in the other) but dont have the space....
So, my method of just piling everything into one box is not the best? Well, hecky and or darn. Thanks for the tips Quinn. Yes, even small changes in the planned tool path on the mill can save a bunch of time. And just as with a CNC machine, a proper rack can save time. And as you said, if you set certain classes of tools to the same length, then setup times are reduced. The central location for your most commonly used tools mirrors the concept of a proper kitchen, where the stove, fridge and sink make a triangle that should be within a step or so of each other.
Every workplace does time and motion study even if you don't realize it. Its not just for the boss, it can reduce workloads for workers. Less effort, less risk of injury, and fewer mistakes get made. Its especially done on machines, so they are run efficiently.
I’ve got a great example about efficiency. Back when I was toolmaking spent a fair amount of time blocking up ( machining saw cut tool steel to initial sizes) The company had two mills for this, one a decent size Pacific universal mill with dro on all axis 200mm dia cutter machine would have been around 6 ton. The other machie was a Toz, universal mill, quite small in stature still around 1800 to 2000kg size machine. It had no dro and a small 75mm 3 tip cutter. Oh and imperial dials. (We worked in metric) That lil Toz was a third the machine the pacific was although sooooo much quicker. Why you ask, Its rapid feeds were much faster and you weren’t wasting time fiddling with a dro. Just measure and convert what mms were to come off in thou. Always chose that Toz over the pacific. So just to clarify, it’s not always what it seems.
Idk how often people realize that the same principles you learn for writing software actually apply to just about everything else, efficiency included. It's one of the reasons I think coding should be taught more in schools even if you dont grow up to be a coder. Same thing with math. Lots and lots of subskills that can transfer to just about anything if you learn them properly (as opposed to just memorization), and you might not even realize it until the day it comes in handy.
I think the biggest problem is that we don't lean heavily into: These skills are teaching pattern matching, logic, and order of operations. If you can understand these skills then they will transfer to all areas of your life, even if you're not actually using any of them until your own progeny are in school.
As writing software is comparatively recent, ( say 40 yrs), haven't you got your first sentence the wrong way around?. Most times, software stuff annoys me because it often loses step by step logic in its pathways I'm there asking myself why the f..k would you anyone write it that way. Even the simple case of when you're deep in some pathway and you realise you're in a dead end or gone down a dark alley, and now i'm looking for the button that aborts it and takes me to an earlier position, or more often than not to the start... and it ain't there!!. Recently when I couldn't find some option in a software menu,along with someone else, we handed it over to a kid much younger than ourselves. His approach?, the scattergun approach, goes everywhere real fast, but no method there... and he found it.. So my point?, maybe the step by step logical process as, say, learnt through the rigor of mathematics, is not getting transferred over to the software writing.
@@james-ew7kl that's actually the difference between software fluent folks and everyone else: when typical people get frustrated they narrow their focus (because that's the good way typically in life) - but in software you actually have to back out and start looking everywhere else. There have been a few studies that have uncovered that. But your point still stands: most design isn't done very well. Rather than put information and tools close to the point that they should be used, they're often buried deep in some cavern, often in a locked filling cabinet in a restroom with a sign hanging on it that says, "Beware of leopard"
One of the first things I was told when I started in engineering was that a good engineer is lazy. They are always looking for the easiest way to do something. Exactly what you did there…
For precision I imagine that getting chips out of the vice between setups is very important... but also cat hair! :)
Cat hair is indeed a big prob%@$(00gj$$&KAT HARE ONLY MAK MACHEEN BETTER
@@Blondihacks Sprocket H.G. Shopcat! Step away from the keyboard.
@@Blondihacks Don´t underestimate a cat. If you have a laptop, they can help you find short cuts that not even Microsoft knew existed. But which keys did the furry rascal step on? 😆😆
My #1 efficiency tip: Bright and even lighting. It takes much less time to accurately read measurements if you aren’t moving around trying to “catch the right light”
The older I get, the more important this is!
Having a magnifier in your first-order set may become a necessity too, as your eyes grow out of being a teenager. 😅
This is so funny, because it was my mother who learned me this at about 7-8 years of age, when I was building plastic kits and painting tin soldiers. She quickly realized I needed much better lighting - and gave me a proper adjustable worklamp as a present.
My initial reaction was a slight disappointment, because it was obviously the most expensive present on that occasion. (Birthday/ Easter or something.) A bit like receiving warm gloves for Christmas doesn't make a child all excited with joy.😄
But the moment she helped me setting the lamp up, and I started using it, I became very grateful and apreciative of my mothers intrest and understanding of my workings.
Ever since, I have always put primary attention to good general "ambience" light, but also always on specific adjustable worklighting. And half a century later, also having one of those magnifying lamps is a nice thing, when for example turning silly small things in the lathe.
@@autochton Oh yes. But... good bright lighting also helps a lot to make out the little details with ageing eyes. I have trouble making out the print on small electronic components, except when I have a bright light to hand. Don't even need a magnifying glass except in rare cases.
My shop tips which I sadly don't always stick to: 1) A place for everything and everything in its place. 2) Tidy up between jobs, and at least once a week.
I have had LED daylight strip lights in the workshop for a few years but recently added an old anglepoise lamp between the mill and the lathe - I find the extra light right on the job is great.
"A place for everything and everything in its place" was a rule to live by in the old days. A major time sink is looking for something. "I know I have it somewhere if I can just find it..." can use up lots of time, as well as creating frustration. Another related point is to avoid mistakes. Avoid starting an operation if tired or distracted. Correcting mistakes can really eat up time. (Sigh) Excellent Video. Cheers.
Relatedly, "A task isn't finished until it's ready to be started" i.e. leave the work area ready to start, put everything back in its place, clean down surfaces, put waste where it needs to be, etc. etc.
Your 'avoid making mistakes' is what strikes a chord with me. This is where the UA-cam and its channels do the youngfolk entering the workforce no favors. In UA-cam land, if you're not making mistakes, you're not making anything, and fans always say that everyone makes mistakes, as they go about defending the channel's creator, whoever that may be. Sure, everyone makes mistakes, I don't believe anyone is arguing the point!. In real life, the trick should be to develop a methodology where you avoid mistakes, especially repeated ones. Ascertain where you are particularly prone to making them, and make sure them red light warning lights come on in your head. before you step over the threshold. That way, where you don't have a UA-cam channel with hundreds of thousands of subscribers, you get to keep your job or livelihood!.
"Avoid starting an operation if tired or distracted" good advice for *anything* requiring concentration, strength or agility. [lesson learned when moving furniture]
As a prototype machinist at an automation company that does lean I feel kinda obligated to chime in on the time and motion studies subject. They are totally still done, but just anecdotally in my experience, they are usually done with the intent to reduce fatiguing repetitive motion or to reduce mental burden on employees. Toyota and properly done lean is a great example of that concept being turned into a good thing for employee and employer. And it is super nice in a home shop as Quinn has pointed out.
Absolutely- and as a Union Rep I occasionally did time & motion studies both for protecting my members and for suggesting improvements when “efficiency savings” had to be made. The latter has become a complete double-speak for slashing good things, but it could still help to find the least bad option…
In Industrial Engineering courses in college we concentrated on conducting time & motion studies to improve the economics of an operation but when I got to industry it was also about how to make the workplace more efficient for the benefit of employees to avoid back strain, repetitive motion issues and obviously the possible insurance claims and even lawsuits. Done right there were obvious financial upsides as well.
@davidrahn9903 I agree 110%. I was dragged into learning Lean/Six Sigma at work 20+ years ago. The highest priority was to implement Lean/Six Sigma in our jet engine overhaul building. One Production Shop was "Leaned" at a time and the first Shop I was involved with performed compressor subassembly teardown (for a specific engine), inspection, (send parts out to other shops for actual repairs, if economical), then reassemble the repaired/new/good parts into the compressor subassembly. My team of two people followed one Artisan around as he did his task and measured how far he walked, noted what he did & why, etc. At the end of his task, which took him at least 2-3 hours, he had walked ~1.5 miles (~2.4 km) inside a Shop with floorspace of ~100-ft x 150-ft (~30.5-m x ~46-m), only leaving his Shop one time for a ~1/4-mile (~0.4-km) round trip to get a tool replaced by the Tool Room. I don't recall how long his task actually took without us bothering him, but it was less than the 2-3 hours we slowed him down to. Walking around in his Shop to retrieve tools, fixtures, etc., was amazingly inefficient!
After our teams redesigned the workstations for each task, we arranged for all necessary tools, fixtures, consumables, etc., to be placed within arm's reach of each Artisan. "Our" Artisan's 1.5-mile (~2.4 km) walkabout became just ~100-ish feet (~30.5-ish meters)) (only because some tools/fixtures needed to be shared by different workstations - Work Orders were submitted to obtain/manufacture additional tools & fixtures that caused slow-ups due to having to wait for another workstation to use it first) and his task's multiple-hour TAT lowered to around half an hour. The Artisans were glad that their jobs had been made easier & faster to perform, without the frustration of having to look for tools, fixtures, consumables, etc.
This is by far the BEST channel to learn how to machine. Quinn is a first rate machinist and the tools she makes and tips are spot on. This coupled with very fun projects keep your interest high. As a hobby machinist keeping my race car in top shape I never fail to learn something that makes my machining better.
I’ve often wished for a video about the drudgery of various hobbies. Just a video of woodworking that shows the five hours of sanding between “pieces all made” and “ready for finish”, or mill work with all the undoing the draw bar and edge finding and cleaning up the chips. There’s a world of difference between UA-cam and real life, and injecting some amount of reality could really help people find a hobby they enjoy.
When I was an apprentice (mid 1970s) we used a bit of wet cigarette-paper stuck to the workpiece, started the mill and advanced slowly toward the cutter, when the paper was whisked away the cutter would be a couple of tenths away from the edge. I’m sure edge finders existed back then, It’s just that the college probably didn’t trust the ham-fisted students not to break them - oh… and no DROs back then..! Love your channel content as well as your professional approach to production and efficient, clear explanations. All the best from the UK…
Just gonna pause this after only 5 minutes to say just how much I love listening to SMEs (subject matter experts) doing deep dives into the specifics of their craft. It doesn't matter the field. Doesn't matter if it's precision machining, aerospace engineering or waste management. It's just such a pleasure to learn about something I'm not all that well-versed in, from someone who is enthusiastic about their work. I can only hope that others feel the same when I go on about stuff and things related to geology. I will now unpause and watch the rest. Thanks again, Quinn.
Fantastic tips Quinn and great presentation as always. A tip that I'd add is for the milling machine when doing multiple parts of a similar size (or repeat parts) is to have some large springs to put in between the parallels in the vice. This will hold the parallels hard against the jaws of the vice and prevent swarf from getting between and underneath them which reduces the amount of vice cleaning you need to do between parts. I also have a selection of different length bolts that the springs fit over which when coupled with a nut can extend the reach of the spring out for larger parts. For smaller parts a piece of foam works well too.
Another (free!) method is a short length of steel banding bent into a V-shape to act as a spring. This will work in a gap almost as narrow as the banding thickness.
Very good tips, Quinn. Many ideas here that can speed my workflow.
Dependent on the degree of precision it can often be quicker to precisely spot the centres in the mill and then transfer to the the pillar drill for all the subsequent operations involving drilling ,tapping spot facing , countersinking etc. This was the technique taught to me 70 years ago during my apprenticeship if greater accuracy was required than could be achieved with marking out and centre punching. Although I transferred to the drawing office at the end of my apprenticeship and so never used this technique to help me make bonus on piecework I have found it very useful during my lifetime of model engineering. I do enjoy your videos.
As someone who dreams of owning a milling machine someday, your videos are always so informative and inspiring. I might be just an un-evolved wood turner, but your channel has been above all others for sparking my creativity and drive as a hobbyist. Thanks again, Quinn, for a great video, perfect for my lunch break!
Just got an old non-folding music stand for holding drawings next to the milling machine.
Also, I like Harold Hall’s idea of machined stops for the milling machine. Saves you having to indicate. In practice, you bolt two or three pedestals of round steel down to a t-slot say five or six inches apart. Set your end mill just above the table and just nip all three pedestals. Now they’re effectively stops exactly in line with your mill’s x or y axis. No indicating and essentially perfect. Just make sure your work is raised slightly to contact the pedestal face you just machined.
Good list, and great video as always. Just FWIW, the top efficiency improvers on the mill for ME personally are:
1. Goes without saying, but: having a DRO on the mill
2. Power Z-axis to save cranking it up/down constantly for tool length changes
3. Power X-axis for the most common facing operations
4. Collets in a "spinner" mounted on a cabinet directly to the right of the mill for easy access
5. Having the most commonly-used tools (edge finders, face mill, calipers, machinist jack, angle blocks, clamps, etc.) readily at hand on a shelf/cabinet within arms reach
6. A power drawbar. Actually, I have only a "poor man's power drawbar" at the moment: the proper sized 12-pt socket in an impact driver always at hand on a shelf just above the drawbar bolt. One day I'll get around to making it a TRUE power drawbar setup, but having the impact driver gets me 90% of the way there for quick tool changes.
7. Cyclone vacuum setup immediately available beside the mill for quickly clearing chips
My heart is very efficiently warmed at 6pm (Dublin) every Saturday ❤
There must be tens of us Dubs 😂
@@geroconnor 👍 🇮🇪
My biggest efficiency gain is having a set of dedicated tools at each machine. I have a set of Inch wrenches (at least one) a set oif metric (and so on). If i need to pull out the 3/8" wrench every time I want to adjust the tool bit in a tool holder (before everybody began to use Aloris-type quick-change) there will never be a 3/8" wrench in my set. And if two or more machines regularly need a 3/8" wrench, I might spend more time looking for the wrench than using it.
I'm a slow learner; I've been playing at metalworking for over 75 years, and it's only been in the past few decades that I began to create wrench/tool sets specifically for each of my machines. For every point on a machine that needs to be tightened or adjusted in the normal operation of the machine, I want a wrench or tool there and ready at the machine. This means a dedicated wrench. I'll buy the exact wrench I want and modify it (as in cut the other end off a double ended wrench) if needed. The tools need to be identified with a colored tape wrap or a paint blaze as to which machine they belong as well as having a place of its own by the machine so you can tell if a tool has gone missing.
Even if you rate your time as cheaply as a couple of bucks per session of hunting for that lost wrench, it doesn't take many such sessions to pay for a dedicated wrench from McMaster-Carr.
Another one is to have replacement drills or tool bits at the machine. This is something that was done on every machine for every job when I worked years ago in a ---WAIT for it --SCREW MACHINE shop.
Just one point I would disagree is that despite having a DRO it is still a good idea to make all your axis moves from the same direction and take up the backlash. It's a good practice and will help if you are going for dowel pin placement accuracy. Even with a DRO you can be surprised. Love your channel! Been a hobby machinist some time pro for 30+ years.
A number of years ago we acquired a large bench-top mill where I work to make some regularly needed simple parts in aluminum. I had to choose between power tapping or power feed on the Z-axis and I chose the former. After about five minutes of use I realized what a mistake I’d made and quickly fabricated a Z-axis power feed using a small electric winch from Princess Auto. When I ordered a different machine for my home hobby workshop I avoided that mistake.
Thank you. This is exactly kind of video most creators would not think to make yet offers the kind of information the novice machinist/fabricator/wood worker/ programmer/ physician/dentist/rocket scientist/plumber needs to hear. Well done!
In EU we're often use "xd" length, in most cases 3d, 5d, 7d which means length of cut (or length of max drill depth) is x times diameter.
Basically most of HSS drills are 5d and most VHM are 3d, but You can buy them in all lengths
You forgot rawrXD
organizers for the collets. normally these hobby collets come in small plastic boxes with no identification. i either mark the collet size on that box or make a collet organizer with easy-to-identify sizes (either in inches or mm). that saves a LOT of time when looking for collets. Also having the most used ones in a separaed organizer or in a top row kind of thing...
Label makers and Sharpie are your friends!
I keep duplicates of the most frequently used items in the mill, namely: edge finders, 1/2”, 3/8” end mills, two center drills pre-loaded in collets on a board hanging under my DRO. Similar with the cutters on the lathe. There are empty 1/2,3/8”, etc collets in the drawer as well,but these are quick and easy to reach without being overwhelming racks of all the collets and tools.
Now i finally understand why i so deeply love watching your videos: I'm an absolute sucker for efficiency, and it permeates everything you do.
Yes. I've spent more time making a setup than the actual operation. Even for drilling a hole or a counterbore.
Using a screw machine (also called stub) drill for your first operation often eliminates the need for a spot or center drill, as well as saving time. They are always stiffer than jobber drills and won’t deflect like a longer tool. I got away from center drills 60 years ago and never had a position tolerance issue since.
I am so glad I subscribed to your channel! I am learning a lot from you, and I appreciate your down to earth easy style. Your videos are a joy to watch. I had a "Smithy 1200-something" drill, mill, lathe combo. I never learned how to use it properly and it's long gone after many moves. This week I got "Vevor" 7x14 lathe (new on ebay for $325) and a Sieg X2D Mini Mill from Little Machine Shop. I have a couple of Cheap Wen drill presses' too. I have been using a little 5'x9' metal shed under the carport for my "shop". This week I am doubling the size of it and it should be a decent little hobby machine shop. I have managed to Frankenstein together a fairly sophisticated Planetarium star projector, all tediously by hand using as many off the shelf parts as possible. Last summer I needed to make some sliprings. I had a "Bob's CNC". That was my costliest tool mistake. it came in a kit and its made out of wood... Totally useless. I tore that down for parts and started looking into a serious CNC. That led me down the road to build an epoxy granite CNC to do more precision work in plastics brass and aluminum. Maybe some steel. So that led me into metrology which will give me the opportunity to tune up the new lathe and mill and extract as much accuracy as possible. Then I can make components for the CNC to get it functional and upgrade those on the CNC itself. I ended up making the slip rings by hand with a dremel and a scribe. They have about 1/2mm of runout but at least the brushes stay on their tracks. Lol.
I’ve also found that there are a few tools it is worth owning several of, one for each machine, workbench, or wherever. Calipers are one of them, the right sized wrench or hex key for frequently used nuts on the lathe, etc.
Thanks Quin. Been make'n chips since 1975. You're the only one I've ever heard or seen talking about efficiency in the shop other than the time study suits. The truth is, never really thought about this. Just try to map out the fewest steps necessary to complete a job without cutting corners. You are very inspirational and I now have one more tool in my box. Thanks
Thank you, Quinn - your sharing is much appreciated!
Great stuff! I always feel I need to put everything away all the time, but hey, it's MY shop and now I'm going to leave my most-used tools out! Excellent tip. Another pro of stub length bits is that they are stiffer.
I have my most used items in an area on the end of the main bench so they are easy to get at during milling and turning operations. The problem is that by the end of a session in the workshop everything else that starts neatly stored in drawers is then littering up every flat space on the bench ! I will swear some of them develop legs and walk out of the drawers themselves.......
I often use stub drills and find them very good in many respects. Cranking the mill head up and down between tool changes is a chore If doing several holes on the surface of a part - the DRO helps a lot as you can work through all the centre drill holes then all the pilot drill holes and so on........
I've recently finished refreshing an M-Head Series 1 Bridgeport mill, and I feel this video.
I've got a mini-mill that I've made a lot of incremental improvements to... A DRO (TouchDRO, which I love), Tormach TTS tool holders, a spindle lock, electronic touch probe, and more. These improvements happened over a long enough time, that it was easy to forget what it was like without them.
Going back to that Bridgeport was a bit of a shock. Reading dials, counting handle turns, accounting for backlash. Tool changes are also collet changes, require 2 wrenches to accomplish, in addition to rapping on the drawbar to release tools... It's really given me perspective, on just how efficient I've made my shop over time. And just how lazy I am lol
I'm glad I learned to use machines without the quality-of-life improvements I've made, because I can still use any machine regardless of how it's equipped... But damn, do I miss those improvements when they're absent.
Great video as usual. I bought 2 cheap battery powered drills for my benchtop mill. One has the right size socket to raise/ lower the head & the other to open/close the drawbar. If the quill is too tight for the low powered drill, a quarter turn with a wrench is enough to start the process. It's a bit of a clunky solution but does the reduce the tedium of head height and tool changes.
You always do such a great job with your videos. Thanks.
I think I'd add a sheet of either drawer liner felt or cork to the top of the surface plate cover. Easier on the finish of the tools and a little more resistant to the tools sliding or rolling when the cover is moved.
Yay! It's Blondihacks time!!!
On that subject... I think I spent 3 hours making a camera bracket that attaches to the headstock of my mtb today. Boring to 50mm, parting off, creating two flats spots to put bolts through, sawing a slot for some criping action, drilling and tapping a hole for the arm to hold the camera. Lastly I cheated a bit by only providing a single 3.1mm prong for the gopro-style connector to attach to, instead of 3.
I daren't look up how cheap an actual ready made part is :X
What a fantastic video. I am fairly new to owning a milling machine and you are spot on about the effeciencies. I didn't realize just how much differnent each machine (Mill vs Lathe) were going to be to use, but you are absolutely right. I hope anyone getting into the hobby machining finds this video. With all that said I am still enjoying the hobby and love making videos and sharing my expreience. Please keep sharing your knowledge. I enjoy it all and its very helpful in my learning journey.
The summer I worked at White Sands, The shop next to ours had two small benches labeled FFSOTL and FFSOTR. First Flat Spot On The Right and First Flat Spot On The Left
My apron is the cornerstone of my first order retrievabilty. It took me some time to find one with the right pocket layout to carry the items that I use 10s of times every hour. The bonus is that it keeps my clothes from getting filthy 🙂
Time well spent. 🎉
Quinn, if you think you have efficiency problems with the mill, I'll raise you my round column mill, where I can't move the head and keep things aligned. All jobs need to be planned around 4" of quill travel. Character forming I believe it's called.
Back in uni, I worked as machinist (CNC and conventional milling) during the day and the biggest struggle I had was exactly balancing precision with efficiency. My parts were always near perfect, within spec and the clients never complained about them but I took about 30% more time than my colleagues. I drove my boss nuts... but being Swiss and the son of a mechanical engineer specialised in precision, I think it's ingrained. 😅
That ingrained ideal of quality and precision, is what gives many German, Swiss, Swedish, Chech and some other countrie's industry a competetive edge. Workers and bosses just refuse to produce crap - it's below their pride and dignity.
@@andersgrassman6583 That sums it up pretty well!
"Near perfect" and "within spec" are two different/overlapping things. Tolerances are a major part of the "Spec(ifications)" and just how tight or loose these are should guide your work. If the client asks for microns, they are paying for and they get microns, if the client only needs/asks for half a millimeter, you don't get paid any extra if you deliver microns.
@@kennethelwell8574True! In our case, we were working generally to remain within +/- 10 microns. My job specifically demanded for a lot of precisely bored holes and it was particularly difficult because my CNC milling machine was 30 years old and very poorly maintained with no ability to use inner cooled tools.
Caught the Curious Marc reference! 😁
Quinn, you are a gem in the hobby shop. Quoting Adam Savage was the icing on the cake.
Where I work we are currently involved in finding ways to make my job easier and more efficient. A coworker and I are an integral part of making these changes get. They are actually implementing our ideas. As a result we have less frustration, wear and tear on our joints. This also makes us more efficient, resu like to in higher quality, higher production and fewer problems i.e damaged parts.
When I've been the boss, I have always listened to employees suggestions for improvements. Not doing so is dumb, but also people feel more engaged, and do a much better job. And most importantly, everyone feels happier about working!
Having your first order tools ready to use, from your calipers, mics, etc to your surface plate, also makes for better habits because you are easily able to grab the correct tool instead of "making it work" with whats closer. How many times have people used anything but a hammer instead of a hammer because its already in your hand and the hammer isn't.
Thanks. Very helpful video
I'm the kind of person who usually have several projects running in parallell. A few years ago I did the misstake of thinking I could "temporarily" store relevant tools adjacent to each project, or in a separate toolbox. (The latter applied to different projects connected to some house/boat/motor projects.)
However I have found this to be a bad idea, as it has actually led to me buying multiples of the same tool, when I can't remember where I used it the latest - or just to make sure the tool is available in each collection.
So I have decided to end this project oriented way of organizing tools, and just revert to the traditional "each tool in it's own place" in drawers and on the walls.
(For a while I had the mill at work, and the lathe at home, and that sort of forced some duplicates of tools beeing bought. But the collet chuck actually travelled back and forth between home and work!😂)
9:55 are the key words to making the most with your time.
I've watched your videos for a long time and learned a lot. Not only how to use machining equipment but I've learned that I am a fabricator at best. I don't have the exactness that you possess, for me close is close enough. Thanks for another great video!
Great exposition about x-position.
Hot glue+neodymium magnets makes great mounting points for chuck keys. Tape or compressed air helps clean off magnetic filings if you need to.
Even better are keyless chucks. I do have an assortment of standard Jacobs chucks (and a drawer full of chuck keys), but they almost never get used, except for the one on the Unimat.
Thank you Quinn for the handy advice!!
Nice treat before bedtime down under!
The shank on drills is usually soft steel. So I have a set of drills that I have turned down the shank to 1/4”, shortened and resharpened on my Drill Dr. Do this as the size is needed. Works well in my little hobby mill but I only work in plastic and alum.
I always like the handy tips videos.
They're...handy!
Thanks, and Meow to Sprocket.
Ok, right off the hop I know this is a serious topic. Quinn got out the (Canadian) dress shirt! 🤣
Great efficient video Quinn. Another efficient habit of mine, even though NOT the cheapest, is to have numerous examples of the same tools. Especially for measuring, scribing, cleaning,etc. I have those at various places in my shops at 2-3 counts for each.
Many of your ideas also apply to hobby woodworking! Thanks!
I would add rolling papers to the list of fast, non-destructive edge finding techniques. Self-adhesive and made to suprisingly tight tolerances (varies by colour - IIRC the green ones were 1.5 thou), wet and stick a bit to the edge and advance the cutter until it whips it off. It's a hands-free one-time-use feeler gauge.
One small problem I've found with the screw machine drills is that they seem to suck for lathes, or at least on my little Sherline. Unfortunately with the length the tail stock travel, I really struggle to get the drill past the cross slide and into the part.
That was the best tutorial for an efficient machinist that l have ever seen.
Awesome job
Hi! Thanks so much for all your videos. I find myself coming back to your channel for “reliable” information. I have a very important question….I am needing a new vise. I see you have the “best” Precision Matthews sells-Homge. At my age, this will be the last milling vise I will purchase. Can you give a “strong” recommendation for the Homge vises, or should I hold out for a Kurt? I already have a pretty good 6 inch milling vise, but it is honestly too heavy for me to remove and reinstall without difficulty. Thanks in advance if you have the time to answer. I trust your opinion more than the endless channels that show how to “rebuild” a $100 Chinese vise!
Cheers to efficiency! Thanks to one of your videos I’ve save so much time. It was the video you showed using your scale as a reference for the point of the lathe tool. Save me from getting calipers out a bunch so thanks!
I'm not as efficient as you but there are things that I've long done: Screw machine drills, not only do they reduce knee movements but they deflect less. I use spotting drills when it matters which it often doesn't. On more elaborate work I'll start by thinking through order of operations and even write them down. I've lost my reference surface by failing this one. My DRO will save 100 points, my bad memory requires that I make a written list of these as I enter them. I will use ABS for ongoing operations and save a 0,0 reference in INC. Or two different 0,0 points. Many parts have symmetry, so using the center as reference makes sense, to me. I clean up at the end of the day, everything back where it should be, a quick wipe & sweep. Tools for continuing operation are left on the surface plate cover. I haven't figured out how to avoid moving the knee for reamers. At least I now have put a power feed and DRO on it. Thanks for the video.
Seems like adding a small skirt around the top of the surface plate cover would make sure scribes and pencils don't roll off.
"First order of retriveablity...." at my age that is critically important! Thanks!
Suggestion: Add a slight rim around the top of the surface plate cover to pen in randomly wandering small tools. Hunting and retrieving strayed artifacts is so time intensive and emotionally taxing. Thank you for sharing. Wish you well.
Baking trays from the thrift store are also useful in a similar way. They can be left floating or screwed down. Also useful to corral small rolling parts, drills, etc.
Raised edges on the way/table covers for the mill too. Hang the edges over a few inches, drill holes in them, and they hold screwdriver, hex key,and other frequently used tools
Part of the issue with the Time and Motion studies, back in the day, was the assumptions built in to the study. When they were being watched, with the stated intent of making things better (which was true), the workers would push hard and show off what they could do, so the individual productivity in that moment was great, and the individual people watching and working out how to improve the steps got a lot of very good information.
When that turned into the reports, it was read by people who assumed that people worked like robots, always at the same speed in the same way with the same focus, all day long. They also assumed that mistakes, rework, double checking, and such things never happened except by negligence, and that anything short of perfect, high-attention, high-enthusiasm work was the same thing as theft from the company. Oh, and of course, assumed that there was always a single best way to perform complex manual operations.
So instead of improving how people worked, it became a distorted quota system. Oops.
It also assumed, fundamentally, that workers are stupid and lazy and wouldn’t try to do best work unless required to. Most people want to do their best work most of the time, especially in a skilled trade. Everyone has bad days, but at the end of the day people take pride in their work if you let them. Furthermore, the person doing that job knows best how to make it more efficient if you include them in the goals of your process and listen to their feedback.
@@Blondihacks Oooh, ooh! Teacher called on me! :D And yes, all of that is very true as well. I'd much much rather work in, or manage, or work *with* a positive and encouraging workplace than an antagonistic one!
My favorite time saver is to use a tables with rolling tool boxes underneath them. It is relatively inexpensive and you end up with a lot of shallow drawers that you can use to organize tools. Keep the casters on the toolboxes if you are tall or ditch them if not, so your table height is comfortable. Every drawer gets a theme (everyday tools, drills, abrasives) and the tools always go back in their drawers so they are easy to find. If you end up with 2 of these tool boxes, one can be for assembly tools and the other can be for fabrication tools.
Awesome tips!
My workshop is tiny (5 square meters) - I hang my rulers, copper hammers and such from hooks so I can easily access them.
I also hot-glued a sharpie marker cap to a cabinet over my head - so I can pull the sharpie easily and return it to a fixed position.
Same for my medium-hardness eyeliner wax-marker (softer than todays Chinese wax marker and SUPERIOR soft/erasable marking on metal) so it's an easy access.
My 2 cents... :)
Definitely one of my favourite types of content from you, Quinn. Everyone seems to pretend that all of this stuff is obvious and everyone knows it all, but in my experience that couldn't be further from the truth. Additionally, and this is mostly born from my mild case of severe OCD(or is it severe case of mild OCD?), but keeping a tidy shop is an absolute must. The chaotic environment might work for some, but digging through a pile of stuff just to find that micrometer you had in your hand a second ago gets old very quick.
If I may add - label things, especially for things like tool chests/drawers. Sifting through drawer after drawer to find the one you need vs reading a label, at least to me, is a no brainer. No surprise my Dymo label maker is one of my favourite tools, after all.
Old trick if looking for a tool you just used ---LOOK DOWN--It's usually right under your NOSE!
Efficiency ... hum?....Oh lordy..... it takes me forever to make parts on my lathe. (but I do love it) I CAN'T IMAGINE how many hours it takes to make a project video! Thanks for the videos!
PS..... I regularly cut stuff too deep on my S.B.lathe, (impatience) and then I feel dumb!
Great tips on efficiency Quinn thank you.
I like using rolling papers for touching off. The majority of them are .001" thick, +/- .0002" so when you snag the paper you're within a thou and you haven't marred your surface. Notebook paper is in the 3 thou range if you don't want the guy at the gas station thinking you're a pothead.
Another thing I do is make little kits for things I do a lot, like I end up drilling and tapping a lot of certain holes. I've got a little plastic bin with the pilot drill, tap drill, and tap in it so I'm never digging through drawers looking for commonly used items, they're always right there in a convenient organizer. That way whether I need to do that thing at the lathe or mill or even with a handheld drill I just grab the bin and go.
Your comment reminds me of comments from a driver who runs a motor race team with volunteer helpers (with occasional turnover). He set up the "adjust rear wing grab kit" (etc.) so the person could grab the kit & do the job - rather than hunt for the 6mm hex key plus the xyz tool out of the main tool box (& get in the way of other workers) every time.
@@yowie0889 Smart guy. Making kits for specific tasks has saved me tons of time and a bit of frustration over the years both professionally and in my hobbies.
That Clip for the drawers is great, i have a number of "Fridge magnets" to stick drawings and setupsheets to the machine.. on my mill i have sliding doors, and with a thin magnet, i can even slide the door open, with the drawing on it.
A small "platform" for tools that you often use is also a great tool in itself, i used to have a small desk at work, with a plate on the back for holding drawings, and a place to put tools
You've done a fantastic job of introducing all of these concepts through your videos, but this was an amazing compilation of all those little tips and tricks for efficiency.
Thank you Quinn. Again.
I put a magnet on the tail stock of my lathe. The chip brush just live there.
One quick question: when you drill and tap a hole, is there a reason that you don’t chamfer the tap drill hole before running the tap into the hole? It may or may not be more efficient, but it seems like it would make for a cleaner tapped hole. Just curious.
Good subject to cover Tony…. errr…. Quinn. Thanks for your thoughts.
Great advice...thank you
I keep the vacuum cleaner next to the mill in easy reach plugged in ready to go, clean the work area before my next setup is very quick and stops accumulation of chips on a large job.
A big thanks. I’m (organically) not an organized person. Every bit helps.
loading drills/reamers into a collet directly instead of a chuck can help with the length issue as well.
Biggest efficiency tip for me was actually on a longer timescale - there's probably four sizes of endmill you use all the time, and similarly with reamers / drills / taps etc. Get the best quality you can for these frequently used tools - and keep a spare! I've lost more time in projects waiting for replacement tooling after a broken flute than I've wasted in toolchanges or edgefinding. Higher quality tools also save time as you said because you get better precision on dimension off the bat.
Also, its almost always worth it to buy a tap / die rather than setting up the lathe to do single-point threading. Machining channels on youtube tend to make a big deal out of the single-point threading, and its very satisfying to watch, but its incredibly time consuming. You don't need every thread - I only have metric taps, and even then you can almost always get away with a size up or down from the drawing. It's just a hobby shop, and I'm my only client, so I only need to make me happy :)
All great tips!
Wow, Lots of great idea's
Getting a set of stubby drill bits was a real time saver. I got one on Amazon in 1/64" increments up to 1/2" for around $50 US at the time.
I really appreciate all of the work you put into your channel and hope you receive all of the compensation for that work. Just excellent, so well spoken with a great flow it's almost like you have writers, a director, a production team, and an editorial staff. I am laughing with you now because you probably do this all by yourself.
I am not a technology person and don’t watch much television and internet but this is a high quality intelligent informative entertaining channel.
Obviously you enjoy your hobby and the pinball machine was cool. Thank you for taking us on your journey and may that peace you have stay with you. 😂
I just think it's cool that in your new shop you have a "way down there" !
My efficiency tip is to buy multiple machines of the ones you use most.....I know it is not for everyone, I have more space and have been very lucky at auctions but 4 is the sweet spot for some machines, eg I have 4 drill presses, one set to low speed for large holes, countersinking and counter boring, one medium speed for general drilling, one high speed for centre drills and small holes and one for annular broaching (a big solid drill). I also have a cheap mill (a good size but has some issues) dedicated to rotating work, a rotary table on one end and an indexing head on the other so I dont have to re-configure either my small or big mills. I made 3 2x72 belt grinders for the same reason, a high speed vertical flat platen (most of my use), a low speed vertical/horizontal small wheel grinder and a multi functional fully variable speed for when I need a third config, also two disc sanders, a permanent coarse high speed for wood (knife handles) and a variable speed 9" for blades. Switching configs around did my head in..... I would like two more lathes though (a 5C collet in one and a 4 jaw in the other) but dont have the space....
I am chronically inefficient.
I hadn't known it, but I did really need to hear that talk !
Great video. Great work area tips
So, my method of just piling everything into one box is not the best? Well, hecky and or darn. Thanks for the tips Quinn.
Yes, even small changes in the planned tool path on the mill can save a bunch of time. And just as with a CNC machine, a proper rack can save time. And as you said, if you set certain classes of tools to the same length, then setup times are reduced.
The central location for your most commonly used tools mirrors the concept of a proper kitchen, where the stove, fridge and sink make a triangle that should be within a step or so of each other.
The "all in a big mess" approach is fine if you insist to critics that you know where everything is.
Thanks Quinn
“Spring loaded tap follower”? I’m going to have to google that one…
Every workplace does time and motion study even if you don't realize it.
Its not just for the boss, it can reduce workloads for workers. Less effort, less risk of injury, and fewer mistakes get made.
Its especially done on machines, so they are run efficiently.
I’ve got a great example about efficiency. Back when I was toolmaking spent a fair amount of time blocking up ( machining saw cut tool steel to initial sizes)
The company had two mills for this, one a decent size Pacific universal mill with dro on all axis 200mm dia cutter machine would have been around 6 ton.
The other machie was a Toz, universal mill, quite small in stature still around 1800 to 2000kg size machine.
It had no dro and a small 75mm 3 tip cutter.
Oh and imperial dials. (We worked in metric)
That lil Toz was a third the machine the pacific was although sooooo much quicker.
Why you ask,
Its rapid feeds were much faster and you weren’t wasting time fiddling with a dro. Just measure and convert what mms were to come off in thou.
Always chose that Toz over the pacific.
So just to clarify, it’s not always what it seems.
Idk how often people realize that the same principles you learn for writing software actually apply to just about everything else, efficiency included. It's one of the reasons I think coding should be taught more in schools even if you dont grow up to be a coder. Same thing with math. Lots and lots of subskills that can transfer to just about anything if you learn them properly (as opposed to just memorization), and you might not even realize it until the day it comes in handy.
I think the biggest problem is that we don't lean heavily into:
These skills are teaching pattern matching, logic, and order of operations. If you can understand these skills then they will transfer to all areas of your life, even if you're not actually using any of them until your own progeny are in school.
As writing software is comparatively recent, ( say 40 yrs), haven't you got your first sentence the wrong way around?. Most times, software stuff annoys me because it often loses step by step logic in its pathways I'm there asking myself why the f..k would you anyone write it that way. Even the simple case of when you're deep in some pathway and you realise you're in a dead end or gone down a dark alley, and now i'm looking for the button that aborts it and takes me to an earlier position, or more often than not to the start... and it ain't there!!. Recently when I couldn't find some option in a software menu,along with someone else, we handed it over to a kid much younger than ourselves. His approach?, the scattergun approach, goes everywhere real fast, but no method there... and he found it.. So my point?, maybe the step by step logical process as, say, learnt through the rigor of mathematics, is not getting transferred over to the software writing.
@@james-ew7kl that's actually the difference between software fluent folks and everyone else: when typical people get frustrated they narrow their focus (because that's the good way typically in life) - but in software you actually have to back out and start looking everywhere else. There have been a few studies that have uncovered that.
But your point still stands: most design isn't done very well. Rather than put information and tools close to the point that they should be used, they're often buried deep in some cavern, often in a locked filling cabinet in a restroom with a sign hanging on it that says, "Beware of leopard"
One of the first things I was told when I started in engineering was that a good engineer is lazy. They are always looking for the easiest way to do something.
Exactly what you did there…
A really good engineer is so lazy he hates to see other people work.