# what home made machines have you made?



## New_Guy

has anyone made a lathe, mill, shapper, drill, grinder, gear hobber or any other type of metal working machine tool from scratch or from scrounged and canalized parts off other machines to make a working general machine tool or for a specific operation...... i think that covers almost everything 

so what home made machines have you guys made?

machine accessories and wood working machines are more than welcome as are pictures


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## kf2qd

here's a planer knife grinder I put together from pieces. I would up using a more powerful motor for the grinding wheel. Blade from my Delta 12.5 x 6 Portable planer.

Had time and pieces but no job at teh time so I built the grinder rather than buy a new set of blades.


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## cfellows

2 x 48 Belt Sander from a 1 hp swimming pool pump motor. The vertical column is made from telescoping square steel tubing and the pulleys were welded up from 4" round steel tubing.






Dividing head I made from an Atlas 6" lathe spindle. Worm gear is 12 pitch x 40 teeth.






Cutter & Tool grinder I made from scratch. Motor is DC from a treadmill. Cutting those T-slots was a booger! 






Overarm Router attachment for my tablesaw






20 ton hydraulic press






Chuck


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## radish

Interesting subject, so here's a couple of mine.

The first one makes miniature square nuts that I use a lot of in the models I make. This one gizzmo can produce, at the moment, 3 different sized nuts, with a bit more mucking around, I could make it do a lot more different sizes as well.
These nuts were made 1 at a time on a Unimat 3, but it took forever to make a dozen, so this lot was hatched.






It uses K & S square section brass, of the appropriate size required, for whatever sized nuts I need.

At the moment I can make 8 BA, 10 BA or 12 BA nuts with it, now I can make about 100 per hour, bit quicker than with the lathe. You stick the brass into the collet up at the grinding wheel, turn it around to give the head a slight domed look, then down to the next collet and shove it in and the tapping size hole is drilled, then down to the saw blade and cut it of the stick, start again.
Oh, 12 BA nuts are 2mm x 2mm and 1.25mm high with a 1 mm hole for the tap, a tad on the small size, eh.

This next one is a Sander Thicknesser, I needed to get timber of the exact sizes/thickness for the 12th scale models, this 'thingy' can sand it down to with-in 0.001" of how thick it's needed, it now makes it very easy to get spokes all the same size. If your real carefull, you can get the timber down to about 0.010" thick before it turns to $#ite, it's so thin, you can hold it up to the light and actually see right through it.






regards radish


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## Deanofid

Made a few machine accessories. Things I didn't want to buy, so..

Auxiliary lathe spindle:









Indexer. Sorry for the tiny pic. 










Screwless vise, (though they still use a screw, of course):









Rotary table:









Boring head, from a design & prints by Stephen Campbell, (goes by "walnotr" here):







More odds n' ends, but that's enough.

Thanks for asking!

Dean


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## steamer

A mill....way back...







Ran Well!

Dave


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## old-biker-uk

A few bits & pieces  here.
Mark


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## steamer

old-biker-uk  said:
			
		

> A few bits & pieces  here.
> Mark



NICE!

Dave


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## stevehuckss396

Milling Machine

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=6511.0


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## Quickj

I have a set of the castings for the Metal Lathe Accessories (MLA) Filing machine.
http://www.statecollegecentral.com/metallathe/MLA-18.html

But I am barely started on them. Too many projects, not enough time.


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## black85vette

I am going to stop reading this post. It just makes me aware of the quality of work I can't do. 

Seriously, nice looking tools guys. I am jealous.


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## Deanofid

black85vette  said:
			
		

> I am going to stop reading this post. It just makes me aware of the quality of work I can't do.



'Vette, everything I've built, I couldn't have built, until I built it. And, _quality_ of work amounts to practice. No one here built a masterpiece on their very first day in the shop.

We're all momentarily "stuck" at different places on the builder's scale. We go up a notch every time we try to improve the finish or quality over the last part we made.

Dean


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## New_Guy

wow nice everyone it goes to show we have some very talented people on this board 

i really like Chucks tool and cutter grinder

Radishes gizmo for square nuts lol i see im not the only one who likes to use grinders motors for other machines :big:

Dean your tooling just looks so professional 

dave what can i say i love i love that mill i can tell you used a Sherline headstock and motor but did you fabricate and machine the rest or are they scavenged off other machines?

Mark you are very talented i saw your rose engine in the ornamental turning forum on U-Bute and your website is inspiring to say the least i remember seeing someone cutting those coins up here once at a market very talented :bow:

Stevehuckss396 thats a cool CNC mill i dont have the know how to understand how to even start a project like that but it sure looks good and that turners cube looks great! :bow:

well we have a fair few to start but i know there are more of you guys out there with home built machines

anyone make a Gingery lathe?


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## hobby

Deanofid  said:
			
		

> everything I've built, I couldn't have built, until I built it. And, _quality_ of work amounts to practice. No one here built a masterpiece on their very first day in the shop.
> 
> We're all momentarily "stuck" at different places on the builder's scale. We go up a notch every time we try to improve the finish or quality over the last part we made.
> 
> Dean



This excellent quote says it all.

This quote should be at the top of every post, as an inspiration, 
when we see the pictures of these masterpieces, put on display for us to view, 
that the quote would be a reminder, that even these master craftsmen, had to start at the beginning too.


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## BobWarfield

12" Disc Grinder:






I use it constantly, and wouldn't change a thing.

While I am at it, I will cheat a bit and show my IH mill. I did the CNC conversion, as well as a ton of other mods (one shot oiler, epoxy/granite fill, etc.). For the number of hours I have in it, it seems like I could have made a machine of some kind from scratch! LOL






Over time I will continue to replace parts on it. One of the next will be a belt drive I've been planning for ages.

Cheers,

BW


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## VINC

NEW_GUY hello, I win, first of all you wish you a happy 2010, can you tell me gently used engines for your equipment engines are and where you take them? expect an answer you, hello Vinc.


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## rake60

Welcome to HMEM Vinc.

Rick


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## ticino

A few things ,you can find them at www.geslo.nl ;D


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## websterz

Deanofid  said:
			
		

> Made a few machine accessories. Things I didn't want to buy, so..
> 
> Auxiliary lathe spindle:



Sewing machine motor?


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## MatiR

It's just a little thing, but makes great springs. It was modified after drawings by by Dwight Giles in Model Engine Builder Magazine March-April 2007 http://www.modelenginebuilder.com/issueeleven.htm

I use it on a Sherline lathe, QCTP and suitable mandrel together with the thread cutting accessory which determines the required pitch.


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## hobby

Since this thread has come back to the top again,
Some of my ambitions.

1st. 'X Y' table, for my dremel drill press.






second 'XY' table for my standard benchtop Drill press.





2 piece milling vise.





And my tapering jig.


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## Swede

I made this device, what is essentially a 3-dimensional tool and cutter grinder, to sharpen 5/32" square carbide graver bits using a diamond platter. The gravers are used in the hand-engraving trade, and must be accurately ground.

Initially, I used a Glendo hone, but have since mounted the device horizontally on a big aluminum extrusion, and a Sherline ER-16 industrial spindle drives the diamond platter.

The aluminum is all bar stock, mostly 7075. The dials were engraved using a bench CNC mill.

The product:





The tool:


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## cfellows

Swede  said:
			
		

> I made this device, what is essentially a 3-dimensional tool and cutter grinder, to sharpen 5/32" square carbide graver bits using a diamond platter. The gravers are used in the hand-engraving trade, and must be accurately ground.
> 
> Initially, I used a Glendo hone, but have since mounted the device horizontally on a big aluminum extrusion, and a Sherline ER-16 industrial spindle drives the diamond platter.
> 
> The aluminum is all bar stock, mostly 7075. The dials were engraved using a bench CNC mill.
> 
> (Pictures deleted)



Very nice looking and functional tool you've put together there. I like the horizontally mounted plate. Where does one find a diamond plate like that? Do you use lubicant with it or just dry?

Chuck


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## Swede

Thanks Chuck. For years, I lusted after the Glendo "Accu-finish" sharpener that was advertised heavily in Home SHop Machinist and the like, and I finally pulled the trigger a few years ago. It is a WONDERFUL tool that has paid for itself by taking expensive carbide inserts and tooling and making them better than new. I can take a chipped carbide parting tool insert and put a new edge on it in minutes. It's also great at creating super-precise and sharp HSS tools. And occasionally, they can be used as precision laps for steel flats and such.

Glendo sells the diamond wheels, but they are not cheap. There's a better option... the lapidary (gemstone) guys use identical platters for gem faceting, and they cost about $12 vs. $40. The wheels last a LONG time.

In use, the best coolant is a water-based surfactant. I'll bet you could get by with plain water plus a few drops of soap mixed in. I've also used light oil. You want to use something, or the platters can load. They can be effectively cleaned in the sink using an abrasive pad plus kitchen cleanser. They look like new afterwards.

If you don't want to buy an Accu-finish, you can make one of these easily. Buy a Sherline ER-16 industrial spindle, http://www.sherline.com/accesso.htm, mount it on a plate, add motor, belt, and turn an arbor for the diamond wheel. It's a good project for an afternoon or three. The hard part, which this tool does, is presenting the tool bit to the wheel at precise angles. But that's not too bad, you just need a tilting table and an adjustable fence.


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## cfellows

Thanks, Swede, another fine looking tool. Do you have a source for the faceting platters? Also, what RPM do you run them at? Finally, what is the grit size of these platters?

Thx...
Chuck


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## Blogwitch

Chuck,

I will be making a water dipped lapping plate in the not too distant future.

I have already purchased the lapping disks and backing plate. I will be using neo magnets embedded into the ali backing plate to hold the various grades of diamond plates.

http://richontools.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=45&products_id=797


http://richontools.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_9

John


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## Swede

John, good idea on the magnets.

These plates come in two forms... bonded to an aluminum platter, and as thin steel disks. The steel disks normally use friction to interface with an underlying aluminum "carrier" plate.

Behind my horizontal machine, you can see racks that have both varieties. The RPM is low, maybe 50 to 200 RPM. A DC motor works well when combined with a variable speed control.

eBay remains a good source... Here's some for $10.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400231597633#ht_1040wt_1092

Do a search for "lapidary diamond wheel" or similar. Useful grits for shop use are 600 for very fine, maybe 320 for modest work, 120 to 200 for roughing. The grits above 600 are super-fine and designed for high polish on gems. A 1200 disk will put a mirror finish on steel. I use a 400 grit disk for touch-up and sharpening on already formed tools.


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## ghart3

Made clamp to hold swing arm parallel to small gear motor





Tried copying GRS system for holding engravers.











Shaft sticks higher then first plate and other grinding/honing plates can just sit there and are driven by friction.


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## Mosey

: : : :
Wow! I'm blown away at not only the craftsmanship, but the beautiful aesthetic of his work. As if Ferrari made Little machine tools. Keep em coming.


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## cfellows

ghart3  said:
			
		

> Made clamp to hold swing arm parallel to small gear motor



Very nice! Simple, elegant, nicely made. I've stored the pictures away for future reference...

Chuck


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## Swede

Ghart, really nice! Are you into hand engraving? GRS makes some really fine tools... and they are a subsidary of Glendo.

How did you get the angle markings onto that brass disc? And is that white ring cannibalized from a piece of Hardinge tooling? It looks great.

John, I thought some more on the magnet idea, and I think it is excellent. The thin diamond platters are plain carbon steel, and should stick nicely. I just went on eBay, and picked up 20 cylindrical neodymium magnets, 3/8" diameter x 3/8" long. Glendo sells plain aluminum discs holed for their machine, both 5" and 6" in diameter. Since most of the inexpensive diamond platters out there are 6" in diameter, a while back, I bought two of those Glendo disks in 6", but getting an accurate mounting of the diamond disc onto the Al platter was sometimes a problem. I plan on drilling and reaming the Al discs in a bolt-hole pattern, and epoxying the magnets in place. A finger groove milled into the disc, so the diamond platters can be levered free, will also be cut.

This should really improve the setup by forcing the diamond discs totally flat. As it is, they aren't perfectly flat, and can cause a hit & miss grind of the tool. And a $7 thin steel diamond disc costs a lot less than the mounted disks that come already glued onto a backing plate. Those can be $35 to $100 apiece.

More hand engraving stuff - some engravers a lot better than me wanted fixtures for (of all things) a U.S. nickel coin, so they can pursue an artform known as the "hobo nickel." Years ago, hobos would carve nickels into something different, and modern day engravers are doing the same, making miniature art pieces of them. These were once all standard Buffalo nickles, hand-carved by one artisan, Sam Alfano:

http://www.masterengraver.com/hobonickels/index.shtml













Anyway, sorry for the tangent, but I think we can all appreciate skilled artists with metal. Here's the fixture I made for the nickel, a pretty easy but satisfying project, and self-explanatory:


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## petertha

Swede  said:
			
		

> I made this device, what is essentially a 3-dimensional tool and cutter grinder...


Can you elaborate on the leadscrew ?ballscrew? & nut assembly. (sorry, rank newbie.. whatever its callled). It looks like what I see on cnc conversion setups.


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## ghart3

Swede  said:
			
		

> ......... Are you into hand engraving? GRS makes some really fine tools... and they are a subsidary of Glendo.
> 
> How did you get the angle markings onto that brass disc? And is that white ring cannibalized from a piece of Hardinge tooling? It looks great...........



Swede, I'm only a wannabe engraver. The angled and other markings on the brass were done on little home built cnc.  Sure wish knew how Hardinge did their markings but don't. I cheated and printed on paper and taped over with clear packing tape.  A groove was cut in the OD so this paper covered with tape fit in the groove and was below the surface so edges were not exposed.

neat disk vise, gotta make one of those.  I'm only a wannabe engraver


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## Blogwitch

Swede,

Just going back to your lapping plate.

I will be making mine a vertical one, dipping into a water trough for lubrication.

I already have a lapping unit that I have been using for many years, and I was going to fit a diamond cup wheel to it (which I already have), but in reality, it turns just a little too fast for my liking, great for HSS tooling, bevel edging glass etc, but a little too fast for carbide, and the surface area is a little too narrow.

This is the unit I have at this time, soon to be replaced. Mine doesn't have all the fancy accessories, but easy enough to make holders to do what you want

http://www.sharpenset.co.uk/products/sharpeningatachments.asp


John


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## Swede

> Can you elaborate on the leadscrew ?ballscrew? & nut assembly. (sorry, rank newbie.. whatever its callled). It looks like what I see on cnc conversion setups.



Good eye, petertha. That thing is a ground ACME lead screw with a zero-backlash nut, very precise. Definitely not a ball screw, but it performs the same function. I stole it from a guy on eBay who didn't really know what it was. These are used in instruments and such when the efficiency of a ball screw isn't needed.

ghart, very clever to recess the strip and turn out a nice dial. It looks just like a Hardinge white plastic dial ring like you'd see on a radius or other attachment for their 2nd op lathes. And I'm in the same boat with hand engraving. My brain works in right angles... you really need to have an artist's eye to do it well. It's a lot easier making fixtures and hardware!  ;D I've got a lot of respect for the masters out there.

Looks good, John. One of the things I overlooked with my own setup is coolant/lubrication. A little spritz on the wheel seems to work OK, but the forces tend to spin it off the wheel and make a mess. I've been using less, just traces, and it's not optimum, but at least the wheels don't load.

These grinders/diamond wheels have a lot of uses. It's nice to be able to sharpen a tool with real precision, rather than flailing away free-hand with a bench grinder.


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## ticino

This is the lathe i've made several years ago.
I have build it in +/-2 years
I called it the "geslo Lathe"
For more information ,see my website www.geslo.nl and http://www.lathes.co.uk/geslo/
regards ticino (Gerlof)


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## SmithDoor

Here are few tooling I have made in the last few years
http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/downloads/milling-tooling-fly-cutter-for-2mt-and-r8-262.html
http://www.homemodelenginemachinist...rs-and-other-form-cutters-2mt-and-r8-264.html

I am working on a Mill Horizontal Attachment for my mill. I have machine all the gears and know working on the housing

Dave


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