Number one don’t care about UA-cam time span. Love how you deal with the issues. I only did machine shop in grade 9 , but I love watching the videos and the engineering behind it all. I’m not a metal worker but I use some of your genius to deal with the stuff I fiddle with in my shop. Keep up the great work!!!
Thanks. One of the aims I have is to show that you can use tools and materials in unconventional ways. Sometimes it's just about lateral thinking. Regards, Mark
As others commented, very impressive. I know you must be very relieved to get this important part completed and was able to overcome all the hiccups which happen to all of us. I do like the animal footage at the end of the videos. Dave.
Thanks. I did breathe a sigh of relief after all the operations were finished. The thought of starting over made me quite breathless and giddy! 😁 Regards, Mark
Gotta love that hardened stuff, it's coming along nicely.👍 I had similar problems drilling a deep hole when I made the spindle for my mill, and I only had to drill around 100mm. But I just don't have the travel in that little lathe of mine, and I had to take the tailstock off completely. So I mounted the 7/16 drill in a quick-change tool holder and drilled it with the carriage. Pretty scary stuff because back then I hadn't yet made a steady rest, so the whole thing was sticking out a long way. Thankfully I was able to drill it from both ends.
Yes, sometimes you have to think laterally and do what you've gotta do! That is something that I love about this hobby. Sometimes it is the problem solving that is more interesting than actually making a part. Regards, Mark
Also Love your wildlife clips. We have lots of lunatics ( Langours) eating every thing in our backyard ( bananas, chiku, black berries…) the apes even wrecked the water pipes on the roof so we put water stations around and never had a problem since. It’s nice, not to compete with nature but to be part of it
Ha! I had to google that one. Best description was "old world monkeys". I think primates would be hard to deal with. I am guessing they are agile and intelligent. We were in New Zealand recently, on the west coast of the south island. NZ doesn't have any land mammals and no snakes but they have keas. These are described as alpine parrots. They are highly intelligent and have very long hooked beaks. They can tear loose items like door seals and windscreen wipers off cars quite easily and will steal food given the chance. Regards, Mark
I think the old timers used that high pressure grease with white lead in it. You know, the poison one from the dauber built into older tail stocks. If you use the steady rest much it might be good to upgrade with some bearing rollers instead.
At 5:50 or so, I suspect that the part is slightly expanding as you bore it and that may be aggravating the steady rest situation. There’s a lube paste that Rob Renzeti mixes up for use on dead centers (a substitute for white lead grease) that immediately comes to mind for the steady rest. Barring that magic, a good high-pressure grease should work well. Thanks for sharing your endeavors!
I haven't used a steady with fixed bushes rather than bearings since I was an apprentice. Back then, we lubricated both dead centres and the steady with tallow. I suppose now you can get some type of high shear synthetic gearbox oil that would do a better job. Many thanks for the videos throughout the year. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
That's interesting. My father had a syrup tin full of lamb fat which he declared to be the best lubricant known to man. It was like white fat and it was pretty rancid under the surface but it seemed to work in most situations. Regards, Mark
Hi Mark, I have found Simple old poly filla as a good masking agent when heat treating piston rings to prevent any build up and is easily cleaned off. Well done with your efforts , I think you are more able than you think.
That's quite the impressive looking contraption thus far, Preso 👍😁👍. I honestly didn't think that flux would come off so easily, thanks for the tip! 😊. Merry Christmas! 🎄😊🎄
I started to get worried when the wire brush made no impact at all. We used to chip it off with welding hammers on fabricated parts but I didn't fancy smashing the gear teeth in that way. Regards, Mark
Hi Preso, I would say oil is best choice for the steady rest. On a larger lathe we used to use nylon 66 tips, just cylindrical not tapered like yours. When the part got hot it would melt the nylon very slightly despite oiling, you could at times hear it crackling with the heat.. it was a much more forgiving material than bronze for any part that may expand with heat, coolant would always help in this regard despite the mess ( and at times mushrooms) it can make... Thanks for the great videos!
Hi Mark. A huge thank you to you for all of your inspirational, educational and entertaining videos this year. I really appreciate the effort you put in to making them. Merry Christmas to you and your family. 🎅🤶🎄🥳👍😀🍷
Thanks Michel. The shaper is around 80% back together. My motor supplier sent me the wrong voltage motor and of course it won't get replaced until the new year now. Sigh! Regards, Mark
Yes, there's always an issue! but it there weren't any it would be no fun at all! Well done, and I got an idea for an unrelated project of mine where I need to bore a very deep hole!
Thanks for that. I often worry that I talk too much during the videos. It's something that I would do when teaching. In my view, you need to explain why you are doing something in a particular way and what the outcome would be if you did it differently. I know some people just like to watch without having to sit through the commentary though. That is the difference between a visual learner and an auditory learner. We had to cater for both in the classroom! Regards, Mark
I tried that once but it didn't work. The part was quite small and it didn't have a lot of thermal mass. The lime probably acted as a quench. I have had success dropping hardened parts into a burning tree stump and leaving them there until the fire burned out. I put some old files in a fire like that once and they came out as soft as butter. It was very nice steel to machine too. Regards, Mark
Good work again Mark. I switched over to Cliff's channel but he has not released another video yet. Maybe that will come in a few days. Anyway have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
My fixed steady has bronze fingers and they are a pain if the part heats up much as the expansion always binds it up to some extent. I personally use oil, I tried grease of various sorts and it always seemed to get hold of a chip and work it into the part rather than flush it away with a fresh application - I know Kurtis from CEE always shrouds his with tape to prevent chips getting in and damaging the finish on chrome bar and his steady uses bearings which he oils, so it is obviously an ever present danger. Every time I need a fixed steady I always think that I should have replaced the fingers with bearings, every time... maybe one day!
Great job Mark. Drilling that long hole was a challenge. Was there any danger of stressing the shaft? Looking forward to your wildlife roundup. Happy Christmas to you and your family. Hope the New Year brings pease and happiness. Cheers Nobby
I was worried about relieving stresses and having the spindle distort after removing so much material. Thankfully, it seems to have stayed straight. Regards, Mark
Hi Presso, I am not sure you saw the fine print when you signed up for UA-cam but you must put out videos 53 weeks of the year. No Christmas for a Tuber:)
Nice video and very nice work. Just a hobby machinist myself and I have never used them but I'm guessing a ceramic insert and interrupted cut don't go together for turning that hardened part down. ???
Most inserts don't tolerate interrupted cuts. You can buy quality, name brand inserts like Kennametal and Iscar that are specifically designed for difficult materials and interrupted cuts but they are hideously expensive here and not easy to get on line. HSS works for me most of the time. It's cheap, easy to sharpen and works in most situations although it's slow compared to carbide and ceramic insert tools. Regards, Mark
I've never had any luck using steady rests with the fied bronze fingers. Same problems as you had either horrible squeeling or chatter. The bronze always wanted to wear a lot even with oil or grease for lube. Course that was a cheap steady rest so maybe that was the issue?
The squeaking is strange. The bearings are shiny and gold colored like brass. It is different from the typical dull brown bronze used for bearings. I suspect you're using the incorrect alloy. You might try 932 or SAE 64, or sintered bronze (better oil impregnation).
The material that I used was sold as Phosphor Bronze. It's funny, but the squeaking seemed to come and go. I think it had something to do with the part expanding as it heated up. You could also see particles of fine metal in the oil as the heavy load cuts were applied. Still, given that the shop built steady rest was made of cast aluminium and not iron, it did a pretty commendable job. Regards, Mark
26:25 Don't anneal it! The skill is to run your lathe as fast as is safe (probably limited by the chuck). That way the hardened steel is instantly annealed as it is cut. It may actually burn as it comes off but the inserts will handle it much better than if you run slow, as you were.
I must say, I am a bit of a chicken when it comes to hard turning. I have watched Stefan Gotteswinter doing it and he makes it look easy. What you say makes sense but I am also a bit old school and I like the predictability of HSS. Regards, Mark
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Number one don’t care about UA-cam time span. Love how you deal with the issues. I only did machine shop in grade 9 , but I love watching the videos and the engineering behind it all. I’m not a metal worker but I use some of your genius to deal with the stuff I fiddle with in my shop. Keep up the great work!!!
Thanks. One of the aims I have is to show that you can use tools and materials in unconventional ways. Sometimes it's just about lateral thinking.
Regards,
Mark
Nice discussion/build…Merry Christmas
Thanks Chuck. It's been a great year for workshop projects.
Regards,
Mark
Merry Christmas Mr & Mrs P. Thanks for the informative videos during the year. Looking forward to 2025
As others commented, very impressive. I know you must be very relieved to get this important part completed and was able to overcome all the hiccups which happen to all of us. I do like the animal footage at the end of the videos.
Dave.
Thanks. I did breathe a sigh of relief after all the operations were finished. The thought of starting over made me quite breathless and giddy! 😁
Regards,
Mark
Gotta love that hardened stuff, it's coming along nicely.👍 I had similar problems drilling a deep hole when I made the spindle for my mill, and I only had to drill around 100mm. But I just don't have the travel in that little lathe of mine, and I had to take the tailstock off completely. So I mounted the 7/16 drill in a quick-change tool holder and drilled it with the carriage. Pretty scary stuff because back then I hadn't yet made a steady rest, so the whole thing was sticking out a long way. Thankfully I was able to drill it from both ends.
Yes, sometimes you have to think laterally and do what you've gotta do! That is something that I love about this hobby. Sometimes it is the problem solving that is more interesting than actually making a part.
Regards,
Mark
Great idea using brazing flux to prevent oxidation, I think my use of flux is going to increase significantly. It's looking really good!
Even I was surprised that it worked so well.
Regards,
Mark
Also Love your wildlife clips. We have lots of lunatics ( Langours) eating every thing in our backyard ( bananas, chiku, black berries…) the apes even wrecked the water pipes on the roof so we put water stations around and never had a problem since. It’s nice, not to compete with nature but to be part of it
Ha! I had to google that one. Best description was "old world monkeys". I think primates would be hard to deal with. I am guessing they are agile and intelligent. We were in New Zealand recently, on the west coast of the south island. NZ doesn't have any land mammals and no snakes but they have keas. These are described as alpine parrots. They are highly intelligent and have very long hooked beaks. They can tear loose items like door seals and windscreen wipers off cars quite easily and will steal food given the chance.
Regards,
Mark
I think the old timers used that high pressure grease with white lead in it. You know, the poison one from the dauber built into older tail stocks. If you use the steady rest much it might be good to upgrade with some bearing rollers instead.
That flux idea worked really well, good one to remember 👍
Cheers......
It works great but I was a bit alarmed when I tried to remove it with the wire brush. It was like fused glass!
Regards,
Mark
Merry Christmas Presso and family. Thanks for showing me so many facets of your skills. I never cease to learn from you. Cheers mate
You're welcome, and thanks for watching.
Regards,
Mark
Thank you Mark for all the content throughout the year. 🎄
ER-32!!! lol .... mark this is a great series. Can't wait for 4
I don't know why ER25 stuck in my head! I need a continuity checker.
Regards,
Mark
At 5:50 or so, I suspect that the part is slightly expanding as you bore it and that may be aggravating the steady rest situation. There’s a lube paste that Rob Renzeti mixes up for use on dead centers (a substitute for white lead grease) that immediately comes to mind for the steady rest. Barring that magic, a good high-pressure grease should work well.
Thanks for sharing your endeavors!
Hi Mark, following along with build ,much to learn. Thank you for sharing your knowledge a shame you weren't my tech teacher,
Them deep ones can be tricky, likes to break tooling too. Looking good 😊
I haven't used a steady with fixed bushes rather than bearings since I was an apprentice. Back then, we lubricated both dead centres and the steady with tallow. I suppose now you can get some type of high shear synthetic gearbox oil that would do a better job.
Many thanks for the videos throughout the year. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
That's interesting. My father had a syrup tin full of lamb fat which he declared to be the best lubricant known to man. It was like white fat and it was pretty rancid under the surface but it seemed to work in most situations.
Regards,
Mark
Merry Christmas, Mark, from San Francisco. Wising you a Happy, Healthy, and prosperous New Year.
Hi Mark, I have found Simple old poly filla as a good masking agent when heat treating piston rings to prevent any build up and is easily cleaned off. Well done with your efforts , I think you are more able than you think.
Thanks. I will try that.
Regards,
Mark
That was a real "clincher" if you know what I mean! Merry Christmas mate! Thanks for a great year!!!!
Hi Presso,
Looking forward to the rest of the build series. Have enjoyed them all. Happy Holidays to you and your entire family.
Thanks, and thanks for sticking with the channel.
Regards,
Mark
That's quite the impressive looking contraption thus far, Preso 👍😁👍.
I honestly didn't think that flux would come off so easily, thanks for the tip! 😊.
Merry Christmas! 🎄😊🎄
I started to get worried when the wire brush made no impact at all. We used to chip it off with welding hammers on fabricated parts but I didn't fancy smashing the gear teeth in that way.
Regards,
Mark
Hi Preso, I would say oil is best choice for the steady rest. On a larger lathe we used to use nylon 66 tips, just cylindrical not tapered like yours. When the part got hot it would melt the nylon very slightly despite oiling, you could at times hear it crackling with the heat.. it was a much more forgiving material than bronze for any part that may expand with heat, coolant would always help in this regard despite the mess ( and at times mushrooms) it can make...
Thanks for the great videos!
Outstanding as ever.
one hell of a build!! keep up the good work,, it will be worth it!👍👍👍👍👍
I hope so. There is a long way to go but the spindle/leadscrew is probably the most challenging part.
Regards,
Mark.
Gday Mark, the spindle looks great, this is going to be a work of art mate, cheers
Thanks Matty. I cannot express how relieved I was to get to the end of that part without a major foul up.
Regards,
Mark
@ you did a great job, I need to build a new steady rest for my lathe, the original only takes around 50mm maximum,
Hi Mark. A huge thank you to you for all of your inspirational, educational and entertaining videos this year. I really appreciate the effort you put in to making them. Merry Christmas to you and your family. 🎅🤶🎄🥳👍😀🍷
Indeed - you are an inspiration on so many of your multiple skills - thanks and Merry Christmas
Good one, Mark.
Thanks Michel. The shaper is around 80% back together. My motor supplier sent me the wrong voltage motor and of course it won't get replaced until the new year now. Sigh!
Regards,
Mark
Right on 👍🏻 very interesting
Yes, there's always an issue! but it there weren't any it would be no fun at all! Well done, and I got an idea for an unrelated project of mine where I need to bore a very deep hole!
Dealing with the issues is sort of a challenge but that's what makes hobby machining interesting.
Regards,
Mark
Your machinist skills are excellent. Looking forward to the continuation of this series. Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Thanks for that. I don't consider myself an expert. More of a very enthusiastic amateur! 😁
Regards,
Mark
Nice job, and great ops description as you went along…thanks.
Thanks for that. I often worry that I talk too much during the videos. It's something that I would do when teaching. In my view, you need to explain why you are doing something in a particular way and what the outcome would be if you did it differently. I know some people just like to watch without having to sit through the commentary though. That is the difference between a visual learner and an auditory learner. We had to cater for both in the classroom!
Regards,
Mark
Could heat and burry in Lime for the desired annealing.
Thanks for sharing the process.
Merry Christmas.
I tried that once but it didn't work. The part was quite small and it didn't have a lot of thermal mass. The lime probably acted as a quench. I have had success dropping hardened parts into a burning tree stump and leaving them there until the fire burned out. I put some old files in a fire like that once and they came out as soft as butter. It was very nice steel to machine too.
Regards,
Mark
Good work again Mark. I switched over to Cliff's channel but he has not released another video yet. Maybe that will come in a few days. Anyway have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Thanks Jon. Cliff was running a bit behind me on the last one.
Regards,
Mark
My fixed steady has bronze fingers and they are a pain if the part heats up much as the expansion always binds it up to some extent. I personally use oil, I tried grease of various sorts and it always seemed to get hold of a chip and work it into the part rather than flush it away with a fresh application - I know Kurtis from CEE always shrouds his with tape to prevent chips getting in and damaging the finish on chrome bar and his steady uses bearings which he oils, so it is obviously an ever present danger. Every time I need a fixed steady I always think that I should have replaced the fingers with bearings, every time... maybe one day!
Putting a backplate on the threaded ER nose 😮💡
I’ve never liked deep hole drilling. 🤔 Merry Christmas, Preso!
Yes, I agree. It takes forever and if the chips jam up, it usually means something is going to break. .
Regards,
Mark
Great job Mark. Drilling that long hole was a challenge. Was there any danger of stressing the shaft? Looking forward to your wildlife roundup. Happy Christmas to you and your family. Hope the New Year brings pease and happiness. Cheers Nobby
I was worried about relieving stresses and having the spindle distort after removing so much material. Thankfully, it seems to have stayed straight.
Regards,
Mark
On'ya Mark.
Hi Presso, I am not sure you saw the fine print when you signed up for UA-cam but you must put out videos 53 weeks of the year. No Christmas for a Tuber:)
That's OK. I can guarantee that I would rather be in the workshop than entertaining Christmas guests.
Regards,
Mark
Nice video and very nice work. Just a hobby machinist myself and I have never used them but I'm guessing a ceramic insert and interrupted cut don't go together for turning that hardened part down. ???
Most inserts don't tolerate interrupted cuts. You can buy quality, name brand inserts like Kennametal and Iscar that are specifically designed for difficult materials and interrupted cuts but they are hideously expensive here and not easy to get on line. HSS works for me most of the time. It's cheap, easy to sharpen and works in most situations although it's slow compared to carbide and ceramic insert tools.
Regards,
Mark
I've never had any luck using steady rests with the fied bronze fingers. Same problems as you had either horrible squeeling or chatter. The bronze always wanted to wear a lot even with oil or grease for lube. Course that was a cheap steady rest so maybe that was the issue?
The squeaking is strange. The bearings are shiny and gold colored like brass. It is different from the typical dull brown bronze used for bearings. I suspect you're using the incorrect alloy. You might try 932 or SAE 64, or sintered bronze (better oil impregnation).
Eagle Eye
The material that I used was sold as Phosphor Bronze. It's funny, but the squeaking seemed to come and go. I think it had something to do with the part expanding as it heated up. You could also see particles of fine metal in the oil as the heavy load cuts were applied. Still, given that the shop built steady rest was made of cast aluminium and not iron, it did a pretty commendable job.
Regards,
Mark
26:25 Don't anneal it! The skill is to run your lathe as fast as is safe (probably limited by the chuck). That way the hardened steel is instantly annealed as it is cut. It may actually burn as it comes off but the inserts will handle it much better than if you run slow, as you were.
I must say, I am a bit of a chicken when it comes to hard turning. I have watched Stefan Gotteswinter doing it and he makes it look easy. What you say makes sense but I am also a bit old school and I like the predictability of HSS.
Regards,
Mark
Try chainsaw bar oil. Has an additive that makes it tacky. Looks like what Kurtis at CEE uses.
I've used bar oil and it tends to smoke quite a bit.
Molybdenum disulphide.
Interesting process to complete this job. Thanks for showing!