Member postings for Thor

Hi Jim,

For my small lathe I use 5mm or 6mm square section HSS toolbits, I have a few 8mm for my larger lathe. As you say it is quicker to grind a smaller section toolbit to shape, I only have a small benchgrinder so large section toolbits takes far to long to grind. On my small lathe I even have a tangential toolholder that takes 1/8" toolbits that I use for small jobs.

Nose radius does play a part in the finish you get, I use a diamond hone to round the corner of the cutting edge. A couple of links you may find useful:

***Link***

***Link***

Thor

If you can get hold of elm it is among the least acidic, according to this.

Thor

Thank you Dave for your kind words and showing how to find the balance point. I guess I was lucky?

I understand that adding a local coordinate system is new in v.0.18.

Thor

Edited By Thor on 24/06/2019 17:09:06

I kind of managed to model Dave's cannon:

I left Transparency at approximately 30% to reveal some of the internals.

Thor

That is a bit strange, I just tried to make an external chamfer, and got no fillet (I also chamfered the free end):

On the other end I tried to just make the fillet, and got no chamfer:

I don't know what happened, are you sure you clicked on the circle line, not a surface. If I click on the ringshaped surface and chamfer I also get a fillet.

Thor

Edited By Thor on 23/06/2019 14:05:03

Hi Chris,

Interesting modification you have made, any chance of a few photos? The top speed depends a bit on the diameter of the cutters you intend to use. Small diameter carbide cutters need a high speed so 4k to 5k rpm might suit you. The smallest cutters I have are 1.5mm HSS and the 2.5k top speed of my milling works OK as long as the feed rate is suitable. I often use a 63mm face mill so most of the time I use the low setting with a top speed of around 1.5k rpm.

Thor

Following Dave's excellent tutorial I tried to make a model of something useful, a tray for my ER 16 collets. A friend of mine has access to a 3D printer where he works. I haven't tried printing the model as my friend is on summer vaccation.

I have tried to write an explanation of what I did here, probably many errors so I assume I will have to revise it.

Thor

Hi Kiwi Bloke,

I am trying to understand FreeCAD and have found a few tutorials that you may find helpful:

***Link***

***Link***

***Link***

***Link*** (manual)

Thor

Thanks Dave, will be following with interest.

Thor

Hi Jim,

Those Pen Oilers are very handy, I have had mine for many years and use it when I need to oil my model steam engines.

Thor

Hi Jim,

On my old lathe I do adjust the belt to get different speeds, low speed when turning large diameter jobs since I get more torque and high speed when turning small diameter jobs or brass/alloy to get the job done a bit more quickly.

Thor

Hi Gray,

Congratulation, excellent job as usual. I'm impressed how you have managed to fit it inside the rear cover.

Thor

Hi Dave,

On the few holders I have come across I was able to mill the holder down using a carbide tipped cutter, would probably be possible with a HSS cutter but the edge might need grinding afterwards.

Thor

Hi Robert,

A very nice solution, and as Bazyle says, that is a clean and tidy workshop.

Thor

I have got two screwless vices and are very satisfied with mine. They are not to large for my milling machine.

Tnor

Hi Arckivio,

When I installed a smaller 4-jaw independent chuck on my small lathe I already had a backplate with the correct register diameter, but with 3 mounting holes. So I simply put a mounting bolt in one in one of the holes in the backplate and used one of the 4 holes in the 4-jaw, then I could use the backplate as a drilling jig to mark the position of two new holes at the back of the chuck and drill and tap those two holes. Saved me some work and time, I agree 4 bolts would have been better but a couple of the holes would have interfered with the bolts that mount the backplate to the lathe mandrel. It has worked well for several years.

Thor

Hi Dave,

Some of the inserts I have has a small hole in the centre, they are intended for holders with a short pin on the underside of the bridge clamp (see Ian's post), the pin prevents the insert from moving when taking heavy cuts (well, so I was told when I bought the inserts). May be yours can be used in a similar holder.

Thor

Hi Nigel,

I too usually turn and mill without using coolant. When using HSS tools without coolant I run at a somewhat slower speed than the tool manufacturer recommends as their speeds are for industrial machines with flood coolant.

Thor

I too use ISO 68 way oil since a friend gave me a 4L can, before that I used mineral based chainsaw oil mixed with a plain ISO 68 oil. The carriage seems to move slightly more smoothly using proper way oil.

Thor

I do pretty much the same as Hopper do, lubricate the ways at the start of the session, afterwards I clean the ways and add a few drops of oil.

Thor