# urban shop in China



## oxotnik (Dec 14, 2013)

Hello. Here's my workshop, mainly for micro-scale prototyping and scale model building.


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## oxotnik (Dec 14, 2013)

universal milling machine and Garfield's cousin the feral feline apprentice


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## oxotnik (Dec 14, 2013)

pair of CNC


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## stevehuckss396 (Dec 14, 2013)

Keep me posted on the baby lathe conversion. I also have one I want to convert for making real small parts.


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## Herbiev (Dec 14, 2013)

That's one hell of a great workshop. Love Garfield's cousin too.


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## lathe nut (Dec 14, 2013)

No lost space there, love it, interesting that CNC is over my head for now and possible years to come, I think the cat is the BOSS and in the second picture he does not look happy, thanks, Lathe Nut


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## oxotnik (Dec 15, 2013)

stevehuckss396 said:


> Keep me posted on the baby lathe conversion. I also have one I want to convert for making real small parts.



It's an adventure.  Sure hope to pull it off. Will keep you posted.


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## oxotnik (Dec 15, 2013)

Herbiev said:


> That's one hell of a great workshop. Love Garfield's cousin too.



Thanks! Just getting started with engine making ... lots and lots to learn...


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## oxotnik (Dec 15, 2013)

lathe nut said:


> No lost space there, love it, interesting that CNC is over my head for now and possible years to come, I think the cat is the BOSS and in the second picture he does not look happy, thanks, Lathe Nut



Efficient comfort ... that's what I shoot for.   As to the cat, he orders, we (me and my wife) serve ...


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## MawitÃ¶ (Dec 15, 2013)

Wow great workshop. i would love to see the edm machine and the pulse welder in action .

Great work oxotnik.


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## bb218 (Dec 15, 2013)

Nice view on the lights, what is the city?  I spent 2 months working in Wuhan this year and may be spending some more time next year, really enjoyed my time while in China.    Mike


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## Wizard69 (Dec 15, 2013)

Nice collection of tools!   The cat certainly looks like the master of the house!   

It looks like you do a lot of machine build and modification your self.    Is the little CNC router purchased or self built?


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## oxotnik (Dec 15, 2013)

Wizard69 said:


> Nice collection of tools!   The cat certainly looks like the master of the house!
> 
> It looks like you do a lot of machine build and modification your self.    Is the little CNC router purchased or self built?



I only venture into very light-duty machine modifications and retrofits; relying on off-shelf commercial machine frames for basic robustness and precision.

The CNC routers were comission builds; they prototype small parts and molds in aluminum, brass, and some bronze.

Here it's making a stepper mounting for the baby-lathe from 7075 aluminum alloy:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aYr5qp0eLI[/ame]


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## gus (Dec 15, 2013)

Hi Oxotnik,
Where are you located in China?
Spent time in Nanjing in the early 80s and again the 00s running an air compressor plant.
Nanjing Food is 180 degrees different from GuangZhou food.Had a tough time adapting.
Nanjing Dialect is different from my Singapore Chinese Dialect. Been fun adapting.
Trust you are having a great time there. Machine tool accessories and cutters are so cost effective.

Your machineshop look so clean and high-tech.


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## steamboat willie (Dec 16, 2013)

Hello!
 Thankyou for the photos of your workshop. I could not but notice that you have the same small Seig X2 lathe as do I. I am a bit of a computer luddite so I will suggest something: In the topic Machine Modifications there is a post on the top of page 3 entitled "Steamboat Willie's Lathe Mods". If I knew more about computers I would cleverly post the link and you could just click. However as I am not I invite you to look at this post which is a treatise on how I improved the tailstock usability on my Seig lathe. I am sure that you have found the tailstock design on the lathe a right pain to use (as did I), so I came up with a solution that involved minimal alteration to the machine itself. Given the superb standard of your workshop I feel almost duty-bound to suggest this improvement to your machine to assist you in avoiding "Tailstock Rage"!!!
 Thanks for the photos!
 Bill.


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## oxotnik (Dec 22, 2013)

Hi, Gus.  Nanjing is way too catered towards the pro/industrial grade machining.  Most all my toolings for hobby stuff are bought online from the southern provinces.  Nontheless, a pretty nice city; fairly laid back I'd say...




gus said:


> Hi Oxotnik,
> Where are you located in China?
> Spent time in Nanjing in the early 80s and again the 00s running an air compressor plant.
> Nanjing Food is 180 degrees different from GuangZhou food.Had a tough time adapting.
> ...




Hi Gus. I am located


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## oxotnik (Dec 22, 2013)

steamboat willie said:


> Hello!
> Thankyou for the photos of your workshop. I could not but notice that you have the same small Seig X2 lathe as do I. I am a bit of a computer luddite so I will suggest something: In the topic Machine Modifications there is a post on the top of page 3 entitled "Steamboat Willie's Lathe Mods". If I knew more about computers I would cleverly post the link and you could just click. However as I am not I invite you to look at this post which is a treatise on how I improved the tailstock usability on my Seig lathe. I am sure that you have found the tailstock design on the lathe a right pain to use (as did I), so I came up with a solution that involved minimal alteration to the machine itself. Given the superb standard of your workshop I feel almost duty-bound to suggest this improvement to your machine to assist you in avoiding "Tailstock Rage"!!!
> Thanks for the photos!
> Bill.



Hi Bill, I located your thread on tailstock improvement for the SIEG C2 lathe.  Nice enclosure. I think SIEG must have read your thread; they incorporated the cam/lever design in newer editions of C2/SC2's.  Mine came with this feature factory stock. Thanks for the thread; it gave me some ideas on building an enclosure/case for my lathe.


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## oxotnik (Dec 22, 2013)

bb218 said:


> Nice view on the lights, what is the city?  I spent 2 months working in Wuhan this year and may be spending some more time next year, really enjoyed my time while in China.    Mike



I've yet to venture that far inland in China.  Wuhan is about 1500 miles upstream from where I am...


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## gus (Dec 22, 2013)

oxotnik said:


> Hi, Gus.  Nanjing is way too catered towards the pro/industrial grade machining.  Most all my toolings for hobby stuff are bought online from the southern provinces.  Nontheless, a pretty nice city; fairly laid back I'd say...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



 Merry Christmas. Trust not too cold now in Nanjing and no snow.

Its been a wet pre-Christmas. Fishing been erratic but FAD(fish attracting device or artificial reefs) put in two weeks ago may attract fish and stay longer for Gus to hook up for dinner.

SOS. Please give me the e-address of the Southern Chinese Suppliers.
Been buying from CTCtools shipped direct thru HongKong. 
Been shopping in Shenzhen for cutting tools but these shops are more pro-
industrial.

If boat-fishing is in your blood,Gus will be happy to take you out for a spin
and seafood dinner at the Marina.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.


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## Kaleb (Dec 23, 2013)

I saw you mention that Nanjing is more oriented towards commercial and industrial machining. However I believe that the type of stuff used by industry is not always useless to the hobbyist. In fact, I actually try to seek that stuff out where finances allow, since I find the quality to be better, especially with carbide inserts, if you get the right ones.


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## gus (Dec 23, 2013)

Cutting tools and accessories.
In April,I manage to scratch the surface along Canton Road District,Yaumatei,Mongkok,New Territories,Hongkong. Bought some USA,EU,Japanese and Taiwanese cutting tools and accessories. My Cantonese vocab with cutting tools etc is limited though I speak fluent Cantonese. You could get the items you want using English Terms. Was surprised when I asked for Silver Steel and HSS. Bought some. There is one shop that sells Vertek,Taiwan Dividing Head. Vertek quality surpassed China's.
The local machines look down on M.I.C. cutting tools etc and they go for non-Chinese. 

Canton Road district is quite interesting.


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## oxotnik (Dec 23, 2013)

gus said:


> ... Canton Road District,Yaumatei,Mongkok,New Territories,Hongkong...



Gus, thanks for the tip, I will check it out ... I think I know where it is.


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## RonGinger (Dec 23, 2013)

Very nice shop and lots of electronics.

In the video of your small mill cutting the stepper mount the tool path is very interesting- it seems to be doing a ramp down  on the circular arc. How did you generate that Gcode?


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## oxotnik (Dec 23, 2013)

Kaleb said:


> I saw you mention that Nanjing is more oriented  towards commercial and industrial machining. However I believe that the  type of stuff used by industry is not always useless to the hobbyist. In  fact, I actually try to seek that stuff out where finances allow, since  I find the quality to be better, especially with carbide inserts, if  you get the right ones.



In the suburb, there's this Rhode-island sized lot, filled with retired second-hand machineries from manual lathes to CNC machining centers; all for a dime a dozen, quite literally.  Problem is they weigh in at half-a-ton and on up... 

Then there are these boulevards, streets, and back alleys, lined with everything from full-blown malls to single mom-and-pop shops selling nothing but end mills, cutters, tool bits etc... You could essentially window-shop Kennametal, Hauser (SIP), Mitsubishi, etc, etc... They are conveniently downtown too! And not to mention the "farmer's market" for aluminum, brass, bronze, steel, tungsten, etc etc... 

The problem is they cost roughly double what it does online from the even seedier southern provinces ...


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## oxotnik (Dec 23, 2013)

gus said:


> Merry Christmas. Trust not too cold now in Nanjing and no snow.
> 
> Its been a wet pre-Christmas. Fishing been erratic but FAD(fish attracting device or artificial reefs) put in two weeks ago may attract fish and stay longer for Gus to hook up for dinner.
> 
> ...




Merry Christmas to you too and happy new year! 

I had the opportunity to do some recreational occean sailing a few years ago and enjoyed the life on the sea... Haben't tried fishing though.


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