THE MONTHLY TIPS COMPETITION – THE ENTRY THREAD!

[Charles LamontParticipant @charleslamont71117]

Just measured a green Rizzla at 0.0012″ (at 9.5°C and 55% humidity). I normally use the feeler gauge method.

Here’s mine: When setting work up on the faceplate, use spring or belleville washers. This allows the bolts to be tightened just enough to hold the job, but allow it to moved with a light tap.

[Charles Lamont]

On Charles Lamont Said:

Just measured a green Rizzla at 0.0012″ (at 9.5°C and 55% humidity). I normally use the feeler gauge method.

Here’s mine: When setting work up on the faceplate, use spring or belleville washers. This allows the bolts to be tightened just enough to hold the job, but allow it to moved with a light tap.

Good tip about bellville washers Charles, always a problem to hold a part on the faceplate at just the right pressure.

Just to continue the paper theme, when cylindrical grinding you can’t always get a bit of fag paper to stay on, so we used to mark the surface with a Chinagraph pencil.

Andy

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

I like the chinagraph pencil tip Andrew, I use mine to write numbers down on the paintwork of the lathe/mill in case I forget or get sidetracked.

[Neil Wyatt]

On Neil Wyatt Said:

A lot of pedantry here? Anyone with a micrometer or even a digital caliper can get an accurate enough for this rule of thumb measurement.

…

Neil

So I did,  I own Rizla Silver in the belief it’s thinner than the others.  Could be wrong!

Not easy to measure accurately with a Micrometer because paper crushes, so using the ratchet I took the average of 5 measurements taken along the length of 3 folded fag papers. i.e. 6 sheets.   Result in mm: 0.108,  0.097, 0.091, 0.093, 0.096.  Sum: 0.485,  Average thickness of 6 folded fag papers:   0.097mm

Therefore each sheet is approx:  0.0194mm, or 0.00076378″  (about ¾ of a thou).  My eyeballs suggest wetting fag paper with spit or oil makes it thinner. Not confirmed.

Fag paper is a good way of positioning a cutter very close to the job, but not high precision if one is chasing tenths.

Dave

 

[Phil PParticipant @philp]

Whilst on the subject of paper.

I often use a sheet of paper between the work and table on a milling machine, and similarly on a lathe faceplate, it helps prevent the work sliding around.

Phil P

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

Yes Phil an often forgotten little helper.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I have a very sparse looking Readers’ Tips In-Tray at the moment.

I suggest anyone wishing to enter, email me up to four photos and about 100-200 words of text.

There’s a monthly Chester Voucher up for grabs (for UK readers).

I’m sure that every single forum member could come up with a unique tip if they just put their minds to it for ten minutes!

Thanks, Neil

Please send tips to [email protected] as this enter by thread approach clearly didn’t work.

[PeteParticipant @pete41194]

For lots of items it may not be needed, but the use of those cigarette rolling papers might be under appreciated by some. I keep a couple of packages with my precision tools, and mine seem to be very close to .001″ thick. Thicker paper can also be used, but it’s in my opinion a bit less accurate since it can compress more. Just as useful on a lathe after changing tools to then set very close to a known starting position to a parts face or side of a shaft. Not of course accurate to probably much less than about a half thou. / .0125 mm, but close enough in most cases. It also works when you might be trying to pick up and center a threading tool tip to an existing thread.

Another old machinist trick is checking a parts flatness. Best with a surface plate and one paper under each corner. Then checking for the amount of drag to move each one makes a fair indicator of any twist in the part. Detecting the amount of drag on the paper between a tool edge or tip and the part does take a little bit of practice though, but certainly anyone can learn to do after a few try’s at it. In something like a mill, I’ve even used it with the tool rotating while edge finding. For the obvious reasons, the end of the paper is then gripped with pliers if you value your fingers. When the paper starts ripping or getting cut, I estimate I should be somewhere within about .0005″ / .0125 mm. My first and very cheap edge finder couldn’t do as well.

 

[HollowpointParticipant @hollowpoint]

Bit reluctant to post anything given the response the other guy got!

But anyway, here’s my “tip”. It’s one of those things that is so simple you’ll wonder why you didn’t think of it earlier! It took me 20+ years realise. 😂 It not something I see other people doing either so I’m probably not alone.

What is it? Well, it’s just a mat. I cut a piece of rubber (leftover from a rubber roof) to fit in the bottom of my lathes coolant tray. It protects the paint from damage caused by dropped items and also it collects a large amount of swarf! The mat can then be removed along with the swarf, folded and poured into the bin for easy cleanup. It seems so obvious now huh?

No doubt you’ve all been doing this for years. 🤥

 

[Hollowpoint]

On Hollowpoint Said:

Bit reluctant to post anything given the response the other guy got!

But anyway, here’s my “tip”. It’s one of those things that is so simple you’ll wonder why you didn’t think of it earlier! It took me 20+ years realise. 😂 It not something I see other people doing either so I’m probably not alone.

What is it? Well, it’s just a mat. I cut a piece of rubber (leftover from a rubber roof) to fit in the bottom of my lathes coolant tray. It protects the paint from damage caused by dropped items and also it collects a large amount of swarf! The mat can then be removed along with the swarf, folded and poured into the bin for easy cleanup. It seems so obvious now huh?

No doubt you’ve all been doing this for years. 🤥

 

What a good idea, I’ve always used an old baking tray discarded from the domestic department.

I think that’s about to change!

Andy

[JohnFParticipant @johnf59703]

Plus one for Andy’s comment ! I too use a baking tray but like the rubber mat ideated it could be cut to go either side of the headstock mounting points

John

[HollowpointParticipant @hollowpoint]

I was using a small tray too, but I found myself knocking it over and spilling the swarf everywhere quite often. So far, this is working better for me. 🙂

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

I tried this with some of that ribbed rubber flooring. It didn’t react well to oil, swelled and wrinkled (sounds like me on a bad day). Must be different rubber, I’m now on the lookout for some roofing rubber offcut.

[Author]

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