What did you do today? (2014)

[Oompa LumpaParticipant @oompalumpa34302]

Decided to make a set of soft Jaws for one of my chucks. As I had a spare, spare set it was simple.

First off, cut the jaws in half:

Lovely fit, next up, cut a bit of the bar up shown in the pic above and weld it to the jaws, all done. Much faster, cheaper and simpler than actually buying a set, you get the idea from this pic. (Sacrificial soft jaw material not yet actually welded to the Jaws – for the pedants).

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

At last! New control box fitted and inverter reprogrammed.

From top to bottom…

Tacho on wall.

Inverter shows amps drawn by motor.

Control box with, on top, stop, start, fwd/off/rev and E-stop. Stop slows over 6 seconds, E-stop cuts the power straight away (via inverter).

Front of control box, power LED (not yet wired in), Speed control (when set to 0 inverter goes into jog mode), 0-100% power meter.

Bottom left is lever for crude leadscrew clutch.

Neil

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

Went back to the scrappie yesterday to try my luck (again) and they sold me some steel!

20kg of 35mm roundbar for a fiver (about 10ft)

I've been severely curtailed over the last 18 months because they hadn't been letting folk buy metal and my lathe can produce bucketfuls of swarf once it gets going

Normality is resumed at last!

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

John and Graham, I believe that I saw an American lathe with the soft jaws held on the base part with two cap screws, it may have had a locating dowel as well. Ian S C

[jason udallParticipant @jasonudall57142]

If you bolt on soft jaws..They can be even more expendable. ..all sorts of profiles to match work…and saves any concerns over heat treatment of jaw”base”…
..with some creativity you can even make self “centering” chuck that closes on odd shapes…

Edited By jason udall on 31/05/2014 15:01:30

[jason udallParticipant @jasonudall57142]

Btw..this is used in kitagawah ( or however)..chucks..
These have for want of a better word saw tooth pattern on back to mate with chuck moving jaws..which are themselves t sloted…..this allows jaws to be re used one pitch in and rebored to suit…

[OuBallieParticipant @ouballie]

Neil & others with tachos on their lathe,

How useful are they please?

I've thought long and hard about going to the effort of fitting one, but quite honestly I'm not convinced they are needed for hobby use. I'm certainly not looking to remove the maximum amount of material in the shortest possible time.

Having a VFD on the BH600G, I now adjust speed for cut or vv and I'm happy with this solution.

Just need to fit and external drive for the FeedShaft, as even with the gearbox set to slowest speed it's still too fast for a really good finish. Am I doing summut wrong? Probably. Using a diamond tool and holder.

My pillar drilling machine has a VFD, common with the shaper, and that has made drilling a pleasure.

Geoff – Surprise, a BIG one coming once I've seen if I can repair child car seat.

[OuBallieParticipant @ouballie]

Car baby seat easily fixed, so surprise as promised!

I have just posted a thread and added a 'Drawer' photos Album, covering my tool drawer organising sage.

Hope it helps and encourages others, as my final method was the winner hands down and one I will be using in the future if I'm dilly enough to even contemplate a repeat of this.

Geoff – I need a holiday somewhere warm/hot to recover, but Rooibos will have to suffice.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Hi Geoff,

Tachometers are just toys

Mine was unplugged for about a year… I didn't miss it.

Seriously, they can be a boon for beginners, until they get a feel for the lathe and ho its cutting.

Neil

[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

I went to see an excellent gathering of Frazer Nash cars in Henley.

 

Edited By V8Eng on 31/05/2014 21:56:19

[Oompa LumpaParticipant @oompalumpa34302]

Posted by Ian S C on 31/05/2014 13:06:22:

John and Graham, I believe that I saw an American lathe with the soft jaws held on the base part with two cap screws, it may have had a locating dowel as well. Ian S C

I would like to do that, I have that style of jaws on my Teig, however those jaws are induction hardened all the way through and were cut with a Wire cut EDM. I can't cut threads with the machine otherwise I would have.

Good suggestion about going up a bit on the jaw size John, I will do that, it means I get more gripping area.

And just to continue with the "what I did" theme. Today I learned that maybe a CNC Mill would be a good idea. Watch this space!

graham

[GaryMParticipant @garym]

Hi Geoff,

As a beginner I was curious how accurate the speed dial was on my mini-lathe so I used the simple tachometer described on Tony Jeffree's web site here **LINK** to check it.

Cost virtually nothing and dial was reasonably accurate. As Neil said, now I've used it a bit I've got more of a feel for the correct speed without worrying too much about the actual speed.

Gary

[GaryMParticipant @garym]

Today's unplanned activity was to fit some hinge bolts and an extra padlock to the workshop door after hearing my neighbour's shed had been broken into last night. Razor wire, lookout tower and searchlights will come later

Gary

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Posted by Oompa Lumpa on 31/05/2014 22:20:18:

And just to continue with the "what I did" theme. Today I learned that maybe a CNC Mill would be a good idea. Watch this space!

graham

And if you had a day like me today you would think twice

Got the prototype of the old X3 here, decent machine but mucho modified from a standard X3, things like ER32 direct into the spindle, two speed belt drive from a proper AC motor and inverter and a lot more under the hood.

It's a work horse and gets used for little production runs so today it's got to drill 5 holes in 100 pieces of pre-cut alloy plate, stupidly simple job that the code is written on the fly, no programming.

First problem is it's been that long since it was last used the computer bios has lost it's settings, so re-enter all the settings and start setting the job up. turn round and it fell over, reboot, put all the settings in and carry on.

Take a phone call and come back and it fell over again.

Drag the computer out the base, take to side off and replace the battery, re boot, enter settings a-gain [ best Forrest Gump voice ] leave switch on for 10 minutes, power down and up and it's remembered all the settings.

Yer hoo

All set up, program written and tweaked, 3 bits done and half way thru the 4th it just stops.

Shout out loud words like Oh golly gosh [ or close to ]

Boot it up and get all the relative information off it on a memory stick. drag a *new* computer from out the hay loft and configure this up for Mach. Reason I stuck with the old one was so as not to go down this path because of drivers for touch screen etc, etc.

Anyway back up and running, machined all the rest with not one problem and then ran the other computer over with the fork truck, see how you like that Mr Gates ?

[WindyParticipant @windy30762]

Had to sort the old 1990 Renault 5 for the MOT next month an inner track rod end (near the rack) had to be replaced. A tool to remove it about £70 so made one a bit slow with lock tight and special locking washers to contend with movement in confined space about 1/8" a turn. Refit should be easy then get back to making offset keys to set very critical inlet valve timing on the steamer. A bit of mig welding to do on the old banger but only had one MOT failure in the 12 years I have had it.

At least I can still repair it considering more modern cars have so much electronics that are beyond the average DIY.

Paul

[Oompa LumpaParticipant @oompalumpa34302]

Posted by OuBallie on 31/05/2014 15:23:42:

Neil & others with tachos on their lathe,

How useful are they please?

Well, mine reminds me I have left the power on. Other than that……..

Nope, can't think of anything else.

graham.

[ANDY CAWLEYParticipant @andycawley24921]

Posted by OuBallie on 31/05/2014 15:23:42:

Neil & others with tachos on their lathe,

How useful are they please?

 

When I got my first Chinese lathe, a Chester Model B, It had a variable speed control with an unmarked knob and no graduations so I bought a knob with numbers on it from eBay. I then marked a zero point on the machine and then produced a rev chart to hang by the machine.

I didn't have a rev counter so I improvised by putting a length of all thread in the chuck, marked a length on it with a felt tip and then ran a nut down the length under power. I measured the time for the nut to run the distance between the two marks making the rpm easy to calculate. The longer the length the less margin of error. I checked the actual rpm at each of the numbers on my new knob.

Hey presto! No need for a rev counter.

 

Edited to add:-

I have just re read this and would say for the less experienced beware a long length of threaded rod in the chuck at high revs it could whip most savagely. If I remember correctly I constrained mine within the tail stock having frightened my self at medium revs..

Edited By ANDY CAWLEY on 01/06/2014 08:32:08

[StevoParticipant @stevo]

Pure genius. Wish I’d of thought of that…

[StovepipeParticipant @stovepipe]

I'd bet that anyone who has had a length of thin rod in the chuck rotating at speed has found that out already !

Dennis

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

Yes, even if a long length is sticking out the backend of the headstock. Shorten it constrain it and be safe.

Clive

[StevoParticipant @stevo]

Actually I thought of it years ago.

I was just waiting to see who spotted it…..

Capt. Mainwaring.

[ANDY CAWLEYParticipant @andycawley24921]

Posted by Stevo on 01/06/2014 08:32:00
Pure genius.

How nice of you to say so. I've been telling people for years but nobody believed me!!!

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by John Stevenson on 31/05/2014 22:44:59:

… then ran the other computer over with the fork truck, see how you like that Mr Gates

.

[Ian PParticipant @ianp]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 01/06/2014 11:58:15:

Posted by John Stevenson on 31/05/2014 22:44:59:

… then ran the other computer over with the fork truck, see how you like that Mr Gates

.

Mr Gates would have loved that. It probably means yet another computer will be purchased!

Ian P

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

i put my hand in my pocket. Odd. Something hard and round, with a squidgy hole in it. What could it.. a SNAIL!

Must have dropped in when I took the conservatory guttering down.

Neil

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