I want to see someone start with literally no tools and build their way into a well-equipped workshop. Need a hammer? Find a rock. Need a better hammer? Find a sturdy piece of wood and grab your rock. Need some metal to get you going? Make a forge and melt some ore/scrap metal. Need a lathe? Cast some big pieces of iron and get to building! Need a compass? Make one. Need a ruler? Okay you got me, you can buy one of those lol
The number of times your ‘gut feeling’ or ‘instinct’ to ensure your machines are true and properly set up have saved so many of your projects is unreal. You’re awesome Brandon!
Confirmation bias and selection bias as well, I think. He also checked many other things that WERE true, but simply did not add them to the video. Thus, it seems like he is very accurate with his gut feeling.
Gotta say man , I watch a lot of UA-cam and your channel is easily the best. The way you film every single thing and narrate is top notch . Can't wait for the next one.
His narrative reminds me of some show or movie while i was young, but I just can't put my finger on it. It really draws you in and makes you want to hear every thing he says.
I absolutely love that the box of shame is a thing, and even as short as this channel has been around, I immediately caught so many throwbacks, it was an amazing nod to the works you've created so far
The laugh at the culmination of all your efforts! 🤣 you sir, are a champ! Thanks for all your content. It’s aces in my book! Looking forward to December 9th! (P.s. I’m asking for an IM hoodie for Christmas from the wife and kids. 😎)
I use Sketchup (Layout) and often struggle to get my drawings looking this clean and professional. Then again, I'm an idiot with a PC, which is no substitute for someone formally schooled in the subject.
I very roughly hand draw most of my projects in a notebook. Definitely not to scale as I've lost my scale rulers since college, but I put the important measurements where they belong. I just recently bought a 24 inch beam compass at an estate sale for about $5... nobody else knew what it was. My machines are way smaller bench models, but I'm going to make one of these in 3.75 inch for my LMS 3990 mill. My small parts will be pretty tiny compared to yours. Love the videos. Also... if you inherited a machine shop... weren't there machinist jacks just laying around?
When I was a wee lad, I was told of the superiority of down milling. "What an idea," I exclaimed with visions of recutting in me mind's eye. So with me roughing strategy converted, I made a plan for the next visit to the knee mill. Into the vise goes the block, with a 1" endmill into the spindle. Touching off the part, I drop the endmill down to full depth and give the handle two cranks for a nice health .2" cut width. I engaged, noticing how light the handle turns, then bam! The mill self-feeds until destruction.
Just a small tipp: be carefull holding the file that way when ur using the lathe. At my workplace we hold it in the opposit hand so ur left ellbow is not over the spindel. My boss showed me pictures of a guy who used to work there and broke his arm because his elbow caught the spindel. Love watching ur videos. I already learned a great bunch from u. Keep up the good work. Greetings from germany
I just want to second this. A lot of the old timers will teach this way of filing and it makes absolutely no sense. It needs to be phased out and forgotten.
Thats a fair point. Learned that from my grandfather and while it does feel more stable there's definitely higher risk of getting wrapped up in the machine someway. Thanks for the support!
My father taught Mechanical Drawing and Architectural Drafting for 30 years.Your skills and attention to detail are beyond commendable. I enjoy watching the drawings come alive as much as the finished parts. Bravo.
Cannot tell you how much joy it brings me to see such impressive drafting skill still around. It’s a dying art and one I love so much so it makes me happy you carry on the tradition and craft
We built almost exactly the same flycutter back in the early 90's. Our shop made 100% aluminum injection molds for medium production jobs. Over the years literally thousands of mold plates were flattened and the flycutter machine marks were an unexpected source of cavity venting. Any errors in the machines quill bearings are grossly magnified in the resultant surface finish and I would modify the cutters leading and trailing edges to minimize chatter and wiping. It was a shared tool by all of the guys in the shop and I was the only guy who kept custom inserts. But. On an early morning start I installed the flycutter on the mill and started the spindle to warm up the bearings. Got a coffee and came back and started to run the HyVo speed sheaves through their range. At a high RPM one of the insert holders turned loose , shot out of the flycutter body on a trajectory that took it between my friend Gary's chest and his vise, across the shop barely missing the lathe headstock, , impacted my engineering bench sending papers flying up and everywhere , deflected up and through the roof. Please... never run these types of tooling at anything over 1kRPM's. And always check that the tool has not been left in an unsafe condition by the previous user. I used a pair of r/h cutting lathe tool holders. Careful setting of the 2 tools to 0/0 on depth and swing diameter really helps function, and balancing is also important, but only has to be done once. Hearing that slight ring of the cutter in this video really brings back memories for me.
I love this video but I'm with Tooly on this one. I'm about as far from a safety nanny as you can get but there is a reason you don't see these kind of huge high mass fly cutters very often. It's not if, but WHEN like Tooly said the insert or insert holder gets smashed off and launched or just as bad if this thing catches and throws a part out of your vise the projectile will be able to go through people and walls. Lethal. The minimum you need to use something like this is a full enclosure with solid enough steel to trap a thrown part or tool. I get nervous running my little fly cutter at the 3-4" settings. If it tosses a part or the cutting bar comes off it's going to be a missile. Far better to get a big cheap shell mill head and just run 1 or 2 inserts in it. You still have to protect anyone in the shop from a thrown part... but it's far far far less likely the the tool itself will grenade completely in a crash.
FINALLY! A fly cutter build that is not the same old tired bozo design. Thanks for thinking outside the box. I built several and some had 2 and 4 cutters. Your counterweight could have been a second cutter to double your feed rate(provided you make the parts accurately enough or adjustable enough. My 4 cutter (HSS) versions are hard to set up but well worth it to have 4x the feed rate. I can also set it up to take 4x the DOC at the 1x feed rate too. Beautiful finish and huge material removal .
Thanks! I almost thought about doing that until I realized the error in my slit heights, though I could correct that. I like the idea of a massive face mill! 😂
Watching you design and draft by hand using pencil and paper fills me with joy. Technical drawing, taught to me at school in the 1970’s was so enjoyable. Brilliant episode. 👏👏👍😀
The quality of these videos blows me away every time. It's amazing to see someone who is so passionate and creative doing the things they love at such a high level. Hats off.
Tool making is one of my favorite sub genres of machining. It's always so interesting watching how the machinist works around challenges, like drilling the holes around the spindle. Great video Brandon, hope you had a great Thanksgiving.
Most people are not confident enough to own a "box of shame" , let alone video it and not edit it out. Your work is journeyman quality and it's a pleasure to watch and learn from you.
First fly cutter I've seen that doesn't wobble out of center. All premade stuff I have, even top shelf, are not concentric or flat. Yours is running dead true and the part you made shows the evidence. Good work.
This just makes my skin tickle knowing how far we came, both as a community and as people. Also make tools to make tools to further make more tools. A game of web catching.
You know, you can use a toolpost grinder to grind the arbor while it's in the mill spindle. Since R8 collets only go in one orientation, it would ensure it stays very concentric. Also that saw blade looked to be standard carbon steel rather than bimetal. Carbon steel blades get wrecked in short order by tool steels, especially ones with manganese and molybdenum like S series. Companies like Lenox make blades specifically for cutting tool steels that work quite well.
Great work, Brandon! The final result was fantastic! I absolutely LOVE seeing that type of machining tool marks on a flat surface - like a freshly milled cylinder head or engine block. I'm very excited to see what you do with this in future videos. I hope you and your family had a happy Thanksgiving! Keep up the great work!
Your channel is easily up there with the best UA-cam machinists, each with their own different approach and skills, very well done on your machining talent and your production skill too, thanks for your efforts and content
A very useful milling tool is a tombstone that's keyed to the table of your Bridgeport. Lots of tapped holes and side plates for squaring. Size 2"+×7" height x 9" length. Socket head cap screws down through the tombstone and t-nutted to the mill table. Solid setup that you will love for larger workpieces. Used mine for years
This was a really fun project (with lots of side projects) to watch. It came out very nicely as well. I laughed at the finished product spinning up just before you did! You may have a “Box of Shame” to hide your failures, but I hang mine on a “Wall of Shame” to haunt me into being better
Loved seeing the old school drafting machine and paper. Brings back memories from WAY back when. Always seem to THINK better with paper and pencil. Never grew to like CAD on computer screen.
I have no interest in machining but... man are your videos entertaining ! And the end result is so pretty, it's magical to see the metal just disappears, well done !
I second this... I've got 2 left hands, no skill at all... ... but I love these videos, because they show the skill you have and pleasure you get from applying that skill to a task
Me bored, me open youtube, me get bored, me open your channel, me not bored. Well its true, I've been watching this video for 3 time already, I am still not getting bored with your content. Love it!❤ Easy to understand❤
I sent the link to an acquaintance of mine who works on motorcycle engines. He has always had degrees of difficulty with decking off cylinder heads because of the eccentric off balance of a normal fly cutter. He priced out a large 8" multi insert cutter at one point in time and after the emergency rescue team shocked him a few times and he got off the oxygen he determined he just didn't have that kind of money unless he re-mortgaged his house. He took one look at your design and the finish you achieved on your test sample and was sold. He really liked the idea of having the cutter and counterweight repositionable to various radii so he could set his cutter to just slightly larger that the gasket surface of the heads he works with. In any event, I have now been commissioned to build a fly cutter using your concept with a few "tweeks" to adapt it to his needs. One of the changes will be to use an HSS cutter in lieu of a carbide insert. The reason is simply some manufacturers have threaded steel inserts cast into their aluminium heads for the head bolts. He believes that HSS will take the intermittent shock load from aluminium to steel better than carbide since the cutting cycle will be aluminium, steel, air (For the hole in the inserts), steel and back to aluminium as the cutter passes over the threaded inserts. So thank you for this video and keep them coming.
Absolutely my pleasure. I seem to think you guys are right by going with HSS. The steel wouldn't be the issue so much as the angle of attack when it does encounter the steel inserts. Could still be fine with carbide but better safe than sorry. I'd love to see what you come up with and how the finish turns out.
Nice work! You could make this your daily business... It would destroy your hobby though so be carefull (victim talking here). I made quite a few fly-cutters and, as you mentioned, mass is important so my last versions where made out of steel with a 25 mm shaft for easy exchangeability between my machines in a collet. Runout is no issue on a fly cutter just like a boring bar with only one point of contact with the part to be machined. I learned, next to mass helping the finish on the part, that it's easy to get a great appearance for your part but that it's not so easy to get tight tolerances using the fly cutter. I'll explain; if your mill is in good condition and the vertical head is trammed in true the appearance of your cut should be a cross pattern meaning that the flight of the cutter is perpendicular with the travel of the axis your using. This cross pattern means you'll end up with a flat piece after using your fly cutter. At first; this is not so easy as it sounds, especially when using large fly cutters. Then there's the next dilemma; a cross pattern doesn't look good at all but serves accuracy as you would like also. An older machine will have some sag in the direction you're cutting and this will show unforgivably in the tool marks on your part (some cross pattern, some shiny area's). If the part doesn't show a cross pattern this means the head is not trimmed right in the axis you are feeding. "Bling" result but also concave when it matters. In short; when it needs to be accurately flat I choose another method; traversing with an endmill with 50 to 75 % overlay between each path. Cosmetically this leaves a not so nice finish but when measured it wins from the fly cutter. Because of this "feature" I only use the fly-cutter to obtain a nice shiny surface. If I'm trammed in by accident (🙂) I just knock the vertical head slightly out of alignment to get the desired mirror result. Just my two cents on the fly cutter topic. Maybe it helps to determine it's use on a particular job. Thank you for sharing another wonderful episode in your journey in a magical place. If I would work in my seized granddad's place I would be a painter and I'm not. But I still own a few items he used and they're priceless to me. I miss him terribly and I guess you are too. Thank you! All the best, Job
Thank you as always, Job. Those are some interesting points on the accuracy of the final surface. I've often heard that if you get cross hatching then your mill is off square, but that never made sense. Your explanation does. It would be an interesting experiment to blue the surface plate and see how flat the plate actually came out.
This is without a doubt the best machining channel on the internet! Thank you for taking the time to narrate things. It greeting helps those of us new to the hobby!
Loved the drafting machine in use and the box of shame. I hang mine on the wall behind the lathe in hopes of finding a purpose for them. Been saving nearly 50 years now and still haven’t used but a couple. Also liked that the cutter turns clockwise. Don’t know how many times I’ve seen an experienced machinist make a fly cutter head backwards. 😊
Brandon, thank you for taking all that extra time for professional videoing. Your large diameter fly cutter just great ! An investment, and definitely worth the time.
I made one similar about 20 years ago in NH for use on a Mori Seiki CNC Machines. I made a huge fixture plate that covered the whole table with same bolt pattern. It was for a weld fab shop that needed CNC machining of welded components with Odd patterns that could not use a vise. I needed the fly cutter to remachine that plate as needed. Yours is much nicers
Dude, you said "Making these small parts with this big machinery can be challenging" and all I could think about was Jo Pie making WORKING miniature machine tools on his lathe and mill. I agree with your statement though, I'm convinced that he's just a wizard.
As a woodworker who has done VERY little metal machining, I have learned a ton from your channel, and find it fascinating...though I doubt I would ever pickup machining metal. Nevetheless, your work (from hand drafting to the tools and jigs you've created) is both admirable and just plain cool.
It's good to find another engineer that does not conform to all the rules. I loved making all the jigs and fixtures, and using my brain after all necessity is the mother of invention. Nice job on the fly cutter 👍
It's a pure pleasure watching pieces of metal turned, cut and machined into a useful object. I find the whole process really calming and relaxing to watch ! Found your Ch recently and been really enjoying seeing you use the machines your grandad John left you and being used so well. I guess he be smiling down on you, when hearing the pleasure you get every time you laugh or smile at a piece of work your happy with !! Great Ch great content !!
As a classically trained draftsman, I seriously appreciate your hand drafting skills. Beautiful work! I miss the days of pencil pushing when I watch your videos. I don't miss them when I have to make revisions to multiple architectural drawings.
A cool trick to square up items in a chuck is to mount a bearing to a chunk of square stock. Chuck that up into tool holder and fire up the lathe. While the part is spinning you slowly push the ball bearing into the material. It will square up the material perfectly. It works on flat surfaces as well as round stock.
I use carbide tipped bandsaw blades that I get from Starrett. They will cut most anything and stay sharp for quite a bit longer than High Speed Steel. And the heat treating these parts, you would have had to have left a few thousands of an inch oversized all the way around heat treat and then come back and grind. I've done it a lot myself; I send out to have it done by a company.
Newbie to fly cutters here.. but the excitement to see it working prevented me to google it in the middle of watching this video.. and when it finally ran ... Oh so satisfying!! Excellent machining and video man!
Planning, drafting, machining, sanding, measuring, indicating, filming, narrating, editing, most done to perfection... Your varied skillsets are impressive, to say the least! That laugh at the end was such a well deserved moment of joy! I could hear from the sound of the cut, the finish would be up to par. Looking forward to seeing this tool put through it's paces!
Yeah the saw part, I felt that, was cutting a piece of spring steel on our steel saw at my job for a slag/weld chisel and dulled the blade pretty good. Going to use the blade for a wood saw for my adventuring
Phenomenal work as always. It's impossible to say what is more impressive - your design & machining, your narration & storytelling or your videography & editing. I can't wait until you actually take the plunge into more exotic steel's and heat treating your tooling, so you can give those lessons the same treatment.
I saw the thumbnail and immediately knew it was a new Inheritance Machining video without reading it. YES! - This is how I want to start the weekend! Beautiful project. Very very cool! This is easily one of the best machining channels on UA-cam!
Oh BTW I talked (commented) with you about my Bridgeport project. Due to health issues from covid I have had to put off work on the project. It is currently shrink-wrapped and tarped on the side of the garage. Hopefully this summer I will have a floor poured in the old horse barn and start converting into a shop. I can revisit the Bridgeport then. The garage is just too full for another piece of equipment. Love the flywheel project. At some point i hope to develop the skills to create items like this. looking forward to more videos !
I gor bit by this bug in highschool. But i mever learned enough to do proper machining. I wish i had all your knowledge. And the fact your grandpa taught you it all is AWESOME. Im subbed and binge watching all your stuff. Its really really amazing. Good work
You handle the machines (Machine Shop Machines) like a professional. You must have had a lot of time before and during school to practice and make projects. The finish is great and so are the fits of one piece to another. I wish my South Bend ran as smooth as your lathe. It's been a long journey of repair to bring it to standards. It's a 3 step pulley with a belt that is 2.25" wide. Plenty of torque. My motor is 3 hp 3 phase but I think it needs new bearings. My lathe is a 63-year-old machine and even with the rotten issues I went through, I'm blessed to have it. One day I will have a mill of some sort if I live to see it. I have to keep going and moving or I won't make it. Doing little projects on my lathe really helpls me to keep active. I have forgot how to run one so I might start reading to get a jump start. The difficult thing is to find one that is in decent shape and needs NO REPAIRS. I have started to watch all of your videos. It's relaxing and rewarding, taking in some new tricks and ideas. I was a welder for 40 years. I was certified in over 35 procedures, maybe more but I can't remember. Started out welding with oxygen/acetylene so pick up the parts you want to heat treat, find out if its water tempered or oil tempered steel and heat it up to specs and swirl it in the liquid required for it to be tempered in. Forgive, I'm 71 with 23 surgeries, just got an epidural in my neck today. Both shoulders need to be replaced, left knee needs to be replaced and we don't know what to do with my neck issues. I have forgot a lot so research what I am saying. You are an excellent engineer and a great thinker/designer so I don't think there is anything you can't do. God Bless, Paul Greenlee
Brandon, I just finished binge-watching your content and I must applaud your photography, detail, humour and editing skills; you are a combination of Clickspring, Abom79 and ThisOldTony - what more could man desire!? Love the way you include the mistakes/side projects and show the recovery options - looking forward to seeing the next episode. Thanks for sharing your journey - Grandfather would be so proud and grateful that his legacy is being improved upon!
Thanks for watching, folks! Tune back in Friday, December 9th for the real motivation behind this project, another project!
There should have been a side project counter 1 at the start of this video 😂
Round and round we go!
Make a model jet engine
If the earth was flat this man would find the edge and put a chamfer on it!
I will be here the 9th.. You sure are a mighty fine Machinist .. Great work man, ENJOYED👍👍
making tools to make tools to make tools... the never ending shop dilema
toolseption
This is the way.
You misspelled "joy" as "dilema" somehow. 😂
You literally wrote down my thoughts word for word.
Wanted to write “making tools to make tools to make tools”.
I want to see someone start with literally no tools and build their way into a well-equipped workshop.
Need a hammer? Find a rock.
Need a better hammer? Find a sturdy piece of wood and grab your rock.
Need some metal to get you going? Make a forge and melt some ore/scrap metal.
Need a lathe? Cast some big pieces of iron and get to building!
Need a compass? Make one.
Need a ruler? Okay you got me, you can buy one of those lol
I didn't see any flies get cut. I am disappointed
This is a machinist shop, not a dojo of ninjas!
@@znefasIt could be both! He just needs to believe in himself!!
Pretty Fly for a White Guy though
The number of times your ‘gut feeling’ or ‘instinct’ to ensure your machines are true and properly set up have saved so many of your projects is unreal. You’re awesome Brandon!
It pays to over think things 😂 Thanks!
I wonder how many of those gut feelings are a memory of doing something similar, but the wrong way, pop up just in time
Confirmation bias and selection bias as well, I think. He also checked many other things that WERE true, but simply did not add them to the video. Thus, it seems like he is very accurate with his gut feeling.
Gotta say man , I watch a lot of UA-cam and your channel is easily the best. The way you film every single thing and narrate is top notch . Can't wait for the next one.
Thanks so much! That really means a lot!
Hey, what about Clickspring?
His narrative reminds me of some show or movie while i was young, but I just can't put my finger on it. It really draws you in and makes you want to hear every thing he says.
@FireballTool
Yes the narrative is nice, you also include the machine sounds. That sounds real for a machine channel. Thank You Sir
I absolutely love that the box of shame is a thing, and even as short as this channel has been around, I immediately caught so many throwbacks, it was an amazing nod to the works you've created so far
The laugh at the culmination of all your efforts! 🤣 you sir, are a champ! Thanks for all your content. It’s aces in my book! Looking forward to December 9th! (P.s. I’m asking for an IM hoodie for Christmas from the wife and kids. 😎)
😂 My Pleasure! From what I've heard, people really like the quality of the hoodies!
The laugh of triumph was, by far, my favourite part. 😂
I had to stop and rewind back, then raised my volume to hear it again! It made me grin too ;-)
That, is a cackle of expectations exceeded !
When you pick up the final piece and the results exceeded your expectations. Love that feeling!
I love the difference between calm, enunciating narrator-Brandon versus the chain-cursing, hippy sounding shop-Brandon
I love the physical drawing planning of your parts. It’s so nice to see that old school technique staying alive.
I use Sketchup (Layout) and often struggle to get my drawings looking this clean and professional.
Then again, I'm an idiot with a PC, which is no substitute for someone formally schooled in the subject.
I was going to comment on this also. It took me back to 1965 and Vocational Drafting in High School. Loved the erasing shield shot!
I very roughly hand draw most of my projects in a notebook. Definitely not to scale as I've lost my scale rulers since college, but I put the important measurements where they belong. I just recently bought a 24 inch beam compass at an estate sale for about $5... nobody else knew what it was. My machines are way smaller bench models, but I'm going to make one of these in 3.75 inch for my LMS 3990 mill. My small parts will be pretty tiny compared to yours. Love the videos. Also... if you inherited a machine shop... weren't there machinist jacks just laying around?
Yes agreed; love seeing the draftsman's table and tools. Art to me.
Not only are your projects very impressive, but the amount of them that you keep pumping out is borderline insane. I love it.
It's a lot of work so I really appreciate that. Thank you!
If the earth was flat this man would find the edge and put a chamfer on it!
Ahahhahahahah😂😂 i love this!!!!
This comment deserves more likes 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
As much as I can respect you drawing all the plans by hand, I certainly do not miss it. I'm so glad CAD and especially 3D CAD is a thing now.
When I was a wee lad, I was told of the superiority of down milling. "What an idea," I exclaimed with visions of recutting in me mind's eye.
So with me roughing strategy converted, I made a plan for the next visit to the knee mill.
Into the vise goes the block, with a 1" endmill into the spindle.
Touching off the part, I drop the endmill down to full depth and give the handle two cranks for a nice health .2" cut width.
I engaged, noticing how light the handle turns, then bam! The mill self-feeds until destruction.
Just a small tipp: be carefull holding the file that way when ur using the lathe. At my workplace we hold it in the opposit hand so ur left ellbow is not over the spindel. My boss showed me pictures of a guy who used to work there and broke his arm because his elbow caught the spindel. Love watching ur videos. I already learned a great bunch from u. Keep up the good work. Greetings from germany
I just want to second this. A lot of the old timers will teach this way of filing and it makes absolutely no sense. It needs to be phased out and forgotten.
Thats a fair point. Learned that from my grandfather and while it does feel more stable there's definitely higher risk of getting wrapped up in the machine someway. Thanks for the support!
What part of the video was that?
@@Sky-._ 10:50
@@WoLpH thanks!
My father taught Mechanical Drawing and Architectural Drafting for 30 years.Your skills and attention to detail are beyond commendable. I enjoy watching the drawings come alive as much as the finished parts. Bravo.
Cannot tell you how much joy it brings me to see such impressive drafting skill still around. It’s a dying art and one I love so much so it makes me happy you carry on the tradition and craft
22:50 The way the.. more ..finished surface seemed to just magically appear as you passed over. It was beautiful.
The side projects counter is one of my favorite parts of you videos. Great fun watching you learn.thanks for taking us along 👍.
My pleasure. Thank you!
We built almost exactly the same flycutter back in the early 90's. Our shop made 100% aluminum injection molds for medium production jobs. Over the years literally thousands of mold plates were flattened and the flycutter machine marks were an unexpected source of cavity venting. Any errors in the machines quill bearings are grossly magnified in the resultant surface finish and I would modify the cutters leading and trailing edges to minimize chatter and wiping. It was a shared tool by all of the guys in the shop and I was the only guy who kept custom inserts. But. On an early morning start I installed the flycutter on the mill and started the spindle to warm up the bearings. Got a coffee and came back and started to run the HyVo speed sheaves through their range. At a high RPM one of the insert holders turned loose , shot out of the flycutter body on a trajectory that took it between my friend Gary's chest and his vise, across the shop barely missing the lathe headstock, , impacted my engineering bench sending papers flying up and everywhere , deflected up and through the roof. Please... never run these types of tooling at anything over 1kRPM's. And always check that the tool has not been left in an unsafe condition by the previous user. I used a pair of r/h cutting lathe tool holders. Careful setting of the 2 tools to 0/0 on depth and swing diameter really helps function, and balancing is also important, but only has to be done once. Hearing that slight ring of the cutter in this video really brings back memories for me.
I love this video but I'm with Tooly on this one. I'm about as far from a safety nanny as you can get but there is a reason you don't see these kind of huge high mass fly cutters very often. It's not if, but WHEN like Tooly said the insert or insert holder gets smashed off and launched or just as bad if this thing catches and throws a part out of your vise the projectile will be able to go through people and walls. Lethal. The minimum you need to use something like this is a full enclosure with solid enough steel to trap a thrown part or tool. I get nervous running my little fly cutter at the 3-4" settings. If it tosses a part or the cutting bar comes off it's going to be a missile. Far better to get a big cheap shell mill head and just run 1 or 2 inserts in it. You still have to protect anyone in the shop from a thrown part... but it's far far far less likely the the tool itself will grenade completely in a crash.
Your friend had a hell of a scare, huh? At least... I _hope_ he had a scare.
FINALLY! A fly cutter build that is not the same old tired bozo design. Thanks for thinking outside the box. I built several and some had 2 and 4 cutters. Your counterweight could have been a second cutter to double your feed rate(provided you make the parts accurately enough or adjustable enough. My 4 cutter (HSS) versions are hard to set up but well worth it to have 4x the feed rate. I can also set it up to take 4x the DOC at the 1x feed rate too. Beautiful finish and huge material removal .
Thanks! I almost thought about doing that until I realized the error in my slit heights, though I could correct that. I like the idea of a massive face mill! 😂
I really wait for your video. Your quality of machining and videos inspire me a lot.
I'm glad to hear that! Thank you
Watching you design and draft by hand using pencil and paper fills me with joy. Technical drawing, taught to me at school in the 1970’s was so enjoyable. Brilliant episode. 👏👏👍😀
Thanks!
The quality of these videos blows me away every time. It's amazing to see someone who is so passionate and creative doing the things they love at such a high level. Hats off.
That is very kind. Thank you!
Tool making is one of my favorite sub genres of machining. It's always so interesting watching how the machinist works around challenges, like drilling the holes around the spindle. Great video Brandon, hope you had a great Thanksgiving.
I definitely like solving all the little puzzles that come with each of the projects. Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours too!
Most people are not confident enough to own a "box of shame" , let alone video it and not edit it out. Your work is journeyman quality and it's a pleasure to watch and learn from you.
32 Year Tool Maker here. Your Amazing, Beautiful Work, Great Design!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks!
only 8 views, I haven't even seen it yet and can guarantee it's some of the best maker content on UA-cam.
upon seeing the thumbnail and title i instinctively understood for the first time the purpose of a flycutter’s design. you’re a wizard
Wow, the surface finish on the very first part was just spectacular! Very impressive!
First fly cutter I've seen that doesn't wobble out of center. All premade stuff I have, even top shelf, are not concentric or flat. Yours is running dead true and the part you made shows the evidence. Good work.
I appreciate that. Thanks!
When you inevitably hit 500k subs.
The box of shame should get a scrap metal challenge!
I like that! I'll definitely do that if that happens. Remind me!
This just makes my skin tickle knowing how far we came, both as a community and as people. Also make tools to make tools to further make more tools. A game of web catching.
You know, you can use a toolpost grinder to grind the arbor while it's in the mill spindle. Since R8 collets only go in one orientation, it would ensure it stays very concentric. Also that saw blade looked to be standard carbon steel rather than bimetal. Carbon steel blades get wrecked in short order by tool steels, especially ones with manganese and molybdenum like S series. Companies like Lenox make blades specifically for cutting tool steels that work quite well.
It's so awesome that the previous projects keep coming back in to help you out when you need it the most!
Not all of them were worthwhile, but some of them I couldn't live without at this point!
Great work, Brandon! The final result was fantastic! I absolutely LOVE seeing that type of machining tool marks on a flat surface - like a freshly milled cylinder head or engine block. I'm very excited to see what you do with this in future videos. I hope you and your family had a happy Thanksgiving! Keep up the great work!
Thanks Jay! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours as well!
That a great tool you made..... Now it will be great can't see you make the rest of shop tools, with your home shop tool you made.
Your channel is easily up there with the best UA-cam machinists, each with their own different approach and skills, very well done on your machining talent and your production skill too, thanks for your efforts and content
I really appreciate that. Thank you so much 🙏
A pleasure to watch sir. If I may comment on this, I bet your grandfather would be proud and pleased. Take care.
New mark rober video just came out, but I'm totally watching this one first!!!
😮 Wow... thank you!
I appreciate that you show and discuss the planning process. A good machinist is as much an engineer as the engineer is.
Alternate title "Making a massive side project"
A very useful milling tool is a tombstone that's keyed to the table of your Bridgeport.
Lots of tapped holes and side plates for squaring. Size 2"+×7" height x 9" length. Socket head cap screws down through the tombstone and t-nutted to the mill table. Solid setup that you will love for larger workpieces. Used mine for years
This was a really fun project (with lots of side projects) to watch. It came out very nicely as well. I laughed at the finished product spinning up just before you did!
You may have a “Box of Shame” to hide your failures, but I hang mine on a “Wall of Shame” to haunt me into being better
😂 Thanks! I might have to do that for some of the bigger whoops. I can think of one already!
Really appreciate you showing your failed pieces. There's a lot to be learned from how things don't work, just as much as from how things do work.
Loved that genuine smile at the end lol. Love your vids!
So did I! I'm sure he had to practice it a lot to get it right!
😀 Thanks!
Loved seeing the old school drafting machine and paper. Brings back memories from WAY back when. Always seem to THINK better with paper and pencil. Never grew to like CAD on computer screen.
I have no interest in machining but... man are your videos entertaining ! And the end result is so pretty, it's magical to see the metal just disappears, well done !
That actually means a lot. Thank you!
I second this...
I've got 2 left hands, no skill at all...
... but I love these videos, because they show the skill you have and pleasure you get from applying that skill to a task
That's a really cool, and also frighteningly huge, fly cutter! Loved the laugh at the end, would probably feel the same 👍😁
Not going to lie I was slightly on edge the first time spinning it up. 😁
As a kid from the drawing office (in heavy civil) it's nice to see a drawing board in use again.
Not sure why I thought this was a build for a gigantic housefly decimating tool, but here I am
Me bored, me open youtube, me get bored, me open your channel, me not bored.
Well its true, I've been watching this video for 3 time already, I am still not getting bored with your content.
Love it!❤
Easy to understand❤
"box of shame" I laughed so hard that I couldn't watch the video anymore
I sent the link to an acquaintance of mine who works on motorcycle engines. He has always had degrees of difficulty with decking off cylinder heads because of the eccentric off balance of a normal fly cutter. He priced out a large 8" multi insert cutter at one point in time and after the emergency rescue team shocked him a few times and he got off the oxygen he determined he just didn't have that kind of money unless he re-mortgaged his house. He took one look at your design and the finish you achieved on your test sample and was sold. He really liked the idea of having the cutter and counterweight repositionable to various radii so he could set his cutter to just slightly larger that the gasket surface of the heads he works with. In any event, I have now been commissioned to build a fly cutter using your concept with a few "tweeks" to adapt it to his needs. One of the changes will be to use an HSS cutter in lieu of a carbide insert. The reason is simply some manufacturers have threaded steel inserts cast into their aluminium heads for the head bolts. He believes that HSS will take the intermittent shock load from aluminium to steel better than carbide since the cutting cycle will be aluminium, steel, air (For the hole in the inserts), steel and back to aluminium as the cutter passes over the threaded inserts.
So thank you for this video and keep them coming.
Absolutely my pleasure. I seem to think you guys are right by going with HSS. The steel wouldn't be the issue so much as the angle of attack when it does encounter the steel inserts. Could still be fine with carbide but better safe than sorry. I'd love to see what you come up with and how the finish turns out.
Nice work! You could make this your daily business... It would destroy your hobby though so be carefull (victim talking here). I made quite a few fly-cutters and, as you mentioned, mass is important so my last versions where made out of steel with a 25 mm shaft for easy exchangeability between my machines in a collet. Runout is no issue on a fly cutter just like a boring bar with only one point of contact with the part to be machined. I learned, next to mass helping the finish on the part, that it's easy to get a great appearance for your part but that it's not so easy to get tight tolerances using the fly cutter. I'll explain; if your mill is in good condition and the vertical head is trammed in true the appearance of your cut should be a cross pattern meaning that the flight of the cutter is perpendicular with the travel of the axis your using. This cross pattern means you'll end up with a flat piece after using your fly cutter. At first; this is not so easy as it sounds, especially when using large fly cutters. Then there's the next dilemma; a cross pattern doesn't look good at all but serves accuracy as you would like also. An older machine will have some sag in the direction you're cutting and this will show unforgivably in the tool marks on your part (some cross pattern, some shiny area's). If the part doesn't show a cross pattern this means the head is not trimmed right in the axis you are feeding. "Bling" result but also concave when it matters. In short; when it needs to be accurately flat I choose another method; traversing with an endmill with 50 to 75 % overlay between each path. Cosmetically this leaves a not so nice finish but when measured it wins from the fly cutter. Because of this "feature" I only use the fly-cutter to obtain a nice shiny surface. If I'm trammed in by accident (🙂) I just knock the vertical head slightly out of alignment to get the desired mirror result. Just my two cents on the fly cutter topic. Maybe it helps to determine it's use on a particular job. Thank you for sharing another wonderful episode in your journey in a magical place. If I would work in my seized granddad's place I would be a painter and I'm not. But I still own a few items he used and they're priceless to me. I miss him terribly and I guess you are too. Thank you! All the best, Job
Thank you as always, Job. Those are some interesting points on the accuracy of the final surface. I've often heard that if you get cross hatching then your mill is off square, but that never made sense. Your explanation does. It would be an interesting experiment to blue the surface plate and see how flat the plate actually came out.
Yes! Found your channel like 3 weeks ago or so and am currently at my second round of watching all your videos, when this drops.
Wow! haha thanks so much for the support!
This is without a doubt the best machining channel on the internet! Thank you for taking the time to narrate things. It greeting helps those of us new to the hobby!
Loved the drafting machine in use and the box of shame. I hang mine on the wall behind the lathe in hopes of finding a purpose for them. Been saving nearly 50 years now and still haven’t used but a couple. Also liked that the cutter turns clockwise. Don’t know how many times I’ve seen an experienced machinist make a fly cutter head backwards. 😊
Brandon, thank you for taking all that extra time for professional videoing. Your large diameter fly cutter just great ! An investment, and definitely worth the time.
Thanks, Peter!
I made one similar about 20 years ago in NH for use on a Mori Seiki CNC Machines. I made a huge fixture plate that covered the whole table with same bolt pattern. It was for a weld fab shop that needed CNC machining of welded components with Odd patterns that could not use a vise. I needed the fly cutter to remachine that plate as needed. Yours is much nicers
I really like the way you sit down and draw up the technical drawings then proceed to make the tool. Which looks fantastic.
Thank you!
Dude, you said "Making these small parts with this big machinery can be challenging" and all I could think about was Jo Pie making WORKING miniature machine tools on his lathe and mill. I agree with your statement though, I'm convinced that he's just a wizard.
The word "Amazing" just isn't enough to describe your content. Impeccable. Truly the best.
I'll be counting the days till the 9th.
Wow thank you so much. You are very kind!
That laugh at the end was so rewarding to hear! Amazing work!
As a woodworker who has done VERY little metal machining, I have learned a ton from your channel, and find it fascinating...though I doubt I would ever pickup machining metal. Nevetheless, your work (from hand drafting to the tools and jigs you've created) is both admirable and just plain cool.
The suspense and the unadulterated joy caught live after the test... That's why I'm a fan :)
It's good to find another engineer that does not conform to all the rules. I loved making all the jigs and fixtures, and using my brain after all necessity is the mother of invention. Nice job on the fly cutter 👍
The laugh of a creator, happy for you, those moments are rare, value them.
I retired from machining over 8 years ago, it was fun watching this.
Maybe you can use it as a tramming indicator as well. Awesome project.
I was thinking that same thing!! Almost included a mounting hole! Thanks
My best UA-cam machine channel at the moment , love it, look forward to it & appreciate it , thank you 🙏
It's my pleasure! Thank you as well!
I love this channel. The amount of times I sat down to watch an half hour video is unreal. Keep doing your thing, we love to see it
It's a pure pleasure watching pieces of metal turned, cut and machined into a useful object. I find the whole process really calming and relaxing to watch ! Found your Ch recently and been really enjoying seeing you use the machines your grandad John left you and being used so well. I guess he be smiling down on you, when hearing the pleasure you get every time you laugh or smile at a piece of work your happy with !! Great Ch great content !!
As a classically trained draftsman, I seriously appreciate your hand drafting skills. Beautiful work! I miss the days of pencil pushing when I watch your videos. I don't miss them when I have to make revisions to multiple architectural drawings.
Thanks! Yeah revisions are definitely a pain ahah
23:23 the definition of first chips and a job well done
How nice to see using classic drawing tools. Magic
wow granddad put together a really nice set of tools, thanks for this project!
That enjoyment when you had the cut plate in your hands was delightful! Congratula!
As a carpenter/frustrated engineer that was as satisfying to watch as anything Netflix has to offer
A cool trick to square up items in a chuck is to mount a bearing to a chunk of square stock. Chuck that up into tool holder and fire up the lathe. While the part is spinning you slowly push the ball bearing into the material. It will square up the material perfectly. It works on flat surfaces as well as round stock.
Funny you mention that as I just did something similar on my latest project. Except without the bearing!
I use carbide tipped bandsaw blades that I get from Starrett. They will cut most anything and stay sharp for quite a bit longer than High Speed Steel.
And the heat treating these parts, you would have had to have left a few thousands of an inch oversized all the way around heat treat and then come back and grind. I've done it a lot myself; I send out to have it done by a company.
Newbie to fly cutters here.. but the excitement to see it working prevented me to google it in the middle of watching this video.. and when it finally ran ... Oh so satisfying!!
Excellent machining and video man!
Glad you stuck around! Thanks man
I consider this channel as some sort of therapy. Love it.
Planning, drafting, machining, sanding, measuring, indicating, filming, narrating, editing, most done to perfection... Your varied skillsets are impressive, to say the least!
That laugh at the end was such a well deserved moment of joy! I could hear from the sound of the cut, the finish would be up to par.
Looking forward to seeing this tool put through it's paces!
Thank you very much!
Hey! Doing drawings by hand is powerful. I respect!
Yeah the saw part, I felt that, was cutting a piece of spring steel on our steel saw at my job for a slag/weld chisel and dulled the blade pretty good. Going to use the blade for a wood saw for my adventuring
Thanks!
Phenomenal work as always. It's impossible to say what is more impressive - your design & machining, your narration & storytelling or your videography & editing.
I can't wait until you actually take the plunge into more exotic steel's and heat treating your tooling, so you can give those lessons the same treatment.
Thank you so much 🙏 I won't be able to wait too much longer to sort out a furnace of some sort or I'll be heat treating parts for a year!
I love the fact you draw things by hand. Your work looks amazing!
I saw the thumbnail and immediately knew it was a new Inheritance Machining video without reading it.
YES! - This is how I want to start the weekend!
Beautiful project. Very very cool! This is easily one of the best machining channels on UA-cam!
Awesome! I've been hoping for a consistent style. Thanks so much!
500k views 200k subs. Inarguably the most underrated and slept on machining channel on UA-cam.
Hear, hear!
Oh BTW I talked (commented) with you about my Bridgeport project. Due to health issues from covid I have had to put off work on the project. It is currently shrink-wrapped and tarped on the side of the garage. Hopefully this summer I will have a floor poured in the old horse barn and start converting into a shop. I can revisit the Bridgeport then. The garage is just too full for another piece of equipment. Love the flywheel project. At some point i hope to develop the skills to create items like this. looking forward to more videos !
great to see someone actually drawing
Watching your work is supremely enjoyable! Thank you for sharing your projects with the world.
My pleasure! Thank you for watching
I gor bit by this bug in highschool. But i mever learned enough to do proper machining. I wish i had all your knowledge. And the fact your grandpa taught you it all is AWESOME. Im subbed and binge watching all your stuff. Its really really amazing. Good work
There's something about watching a quality engineer at work hence why I've subscribed 👍
Props for the old school drafting, a lost art for sure!
A delight to watch, nothing better than a calm voicover and impeccable machining
Thank you 🙏
The ending was pure joy 😊
Well done on such an accomplished result. A fly cutter of proportions that mere mortals can only dream about. 👏👏👍😀
😁 Thank you!
man that's a beautiful tool. I could watch that fly cutter all day
You handle the machines (Machine Shop Machines) like a professional. You must have had a lot of time before and during school to practice and make projects. The finish is great and so are the fits of one piece to another. I wish my South Bend ran as smooth as your lathe. It's been a long journey of repair to bring it to standards. It's a 3 step pulley with a belt that is 2.25" wide. Plenty of torque. My motor is 3 hp 3 phase but I think it needs new bearings. My lathe is a 63-year-old machine and even with the rotten issues I went through, I'm blessed to have it. One day I will have a mill of some sort if I live to see it. I have to keep going and moving or I won't make it. Doing little projects on my lathe really helpls me to keep active. I have forgot how to run one so I might start reading to get a jump start. The difficult thing is to find one that is in decent shape and needs NO REPAIRS.
I have started to watch all of your videos. It's relaxing and rewarding, taking in some new tricks and ideas. I was a welder for 40 years. I was certified in over 35 procedures, maybe more but I can't remember. Started out welding with oxygen/acetylene so pick up the parts you want to heat treat, find out if its water tempered or oil tempered steel and heat it up to specs and swirl it in the liquid required for it to be tempered in. Forgive, I'm 71 with 23 surgeries, just got an epidural in my neck today. Both shoulders need to be replaced, left knee needs to be replaced and we don't know what to do with my neck issues. I have forgot a lot so research what I am saying. You are an excellent engineer and a great thinker/designer so I don't think there is anything you can't do. God Bless, Paul Greenlee
Brandon, I just finished binge-watching your content and I must applaud your photography, detail, humour and editing skills; you are a combination of Clickspring, Abom79 and ThisOldTony - what more could man desire!? Love the way you include the mistakes/side projects and show the recovery options - looking forward to seeing the next episode. Thanks for sharing your journey - Grandfather would be so proud and grateful that his legacy is being improved upon!