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Good job! When I did mine I messed around with a surface plate, an indicator, and some drill rod, but the only thing I got out of it was a good appreciation of just how crooked drill rod can be. That's why I wound up with the indicator in the spindle instead of a 'test bar'. Anyway, glad you...

I had the same problem with my x2 and I found that when they bolted the two halves of the head together they didn't get the spindle axis paralel to the dovetail. Because of this, when you tram the head to get the spinle square to the table you end up with the column slightly off of 90 degrees to...

Yeah, I'm intrested. Watcha got? Rick

Sorry I didn't get back in time to be more help! It looks like you got it figured just fine though. Yeah, you just have to keep trying until you get it right. I went so far as to clamp a couple of pieces of scrap to one part so that they hung over the other one. Then I tapped holes for 'push...

This sounds like the problem I had with my mini-mill (Grizzly #8689, which I think what is being called the X2 now a days). What I found was that the head was assembled with the spindle and dovetail out of line with each other. The result is that when you tram the spindle to the table, the...

Another vote against the Starrett bimetal blades! I had Lenox bimetal blades before I bought these Starrett blades and I liked them a lot.

Try taking a small piece of paper and sticking it on the work with a little oil. Kind of like putting a piece of toilet paper on your chin when you nick yourself shaving. Make sure to smooth it down so that there are no edges sticking up mess you up. Works good for me. Rick

I got a PM asking me to compare 5-C collets with the ER series. I tried to reply but I don't think my computer sent the message, so I'm just putting here. Maybe others are intrested too. I'm no expert on this but I'll help as best I can. First off, the 5c collets wont fit up the snout of the...

I have one of those lathes too and I have been looking at the ER collet chuck at Tallgrass tools. You can get it as a kit or all finished and ready to go. The thing I like about this is it's front closing, so it leaves the spindle bore unobstructed. Here's a link http://tallgrasstools.com Rick

I think the split nut, or bushing, is the way to go for this job. Another way to do it though, especially for an oddball or one-off job, is to wrap a piece of wire into the thread and then chuck on that. Another advantage of this method is that it holds on the pitch diameter of the thread...

Thanks for the quick reply Tin. Looks like it's time for me to pull my thumb out and make an order. Now where did I put that catalog...?:? Rick

Hi Tin, I've been thinking of buying that book myself, but haven't pulled the trigger yet. It covers so much I wonder how much detail it can go into on any one thing. Seems like it might gloss over a lot. I'd like to hear your opiniion of it once you have some time to spend with it...

That engine is also in "The Shop Wisdom of Philip Duclos" published by Vallage Press. A book I can highly recomend. Rick

Hi, every one. I hate to start out here disagreeing with the site owner, but... Rake, it sounds like you're saying that drill rod isn't machinable in the home shop. In fact it machines easily with HSS tooling. At least as well as common 1018, maybe a little better. I keep a range of sizes...