A new shop being born!

[cfellows]

That epoxy was expensive, but the results seem to make it worth the price in my view. I'm planning on using the exact same formula, but with added granite rubble, as a fill for my X2 clone mill. That is supposed to stiffen the column some.

Hey Kermit,

What's the name of that epoxy and where did you get it? Also, where will get the granite rubble?

Thx...
Chuck

 

[Kermit]

The granite rock doesn't seem to be available at the neighborhood garden center currently. But that is the source. Check with landscaping and gardening centers around you.

 

[Deanofid]

Kermit, that lathe bench is super nice. Sorry I missed this thread way back when. I can barely keep up with the work in progress threads, and I see I've overlooked a great post here.
A really fine job.
Oh yes, and Mrs. Kermit sounds like a very nice lady!

Dean

 

[Kermit]

Thank you Dean. And Mrs. Kermit is a nice lady. Much nicer than I deserve, but she stays with me anyway.

The Bench looks pretty much as it does in the picture right now. I ran out of the matched tint gray paint, so will be getting more soon. As soon as the mill bench is ready for primer and paint, I'll set it up in the room with the lathe bench and finish them both.

Thanks for visiting, come back soon,
Kermit

 

[Kermit]

Been pretty busy, but not with any projects. They move slowly along during this holiday time of year.

some more added to the mill bench.

Then some priming paint for the bench and for the angle iron supports.

Time to get another gallon of the matched gray paint, so I can finish the mill bench and put the final touches on the lathe bench.

Happy Ho-Ho-Ho,
Kermit

 

[zeeprogrammer]

That's a great looking bench. I wished I'd gone a similar route. Instead I used pre-made legs. Works okay but the location of the shelves isn't too convenient.

How tall is the mill bench?

 

[Kermit]

36 inches.

Sorry I didn't answer you sooner. I missed this last time I logged in.

No progress on the bench. Doll house is now in a 3D state of construction!

Christmas approaches and Santa must complete the grand-daughters dream house, at all costs. Damn the small splinters, full glue gun ahead!! :big:

So, off to work again. More to come soon,
Kermit

 

[Kermit]

I connected my angle irons together with the brackets, and matched drilled the holes on the side rails to get level top surfaces.

Covered with some pine boards and bolted down, with a small space for future electrical work to pass.

Then I used about 3/4 of a tube of adhesive Liquid and all the big chunks o'metal I could find along with plenty of clamps and
'attached' the top board.

The mill will be bolted through the iron cross members below. I also plan on putting a 1/2 inch plate beneath the mill to raise the handwheels for more clearance.

Kermit

The rest of the doll house pictures are lost with the computer virus ordeal.

 

[Kermit]

a short delay to work out some xy table problems and here is where I'm at.

Ways and gibs lapped, or honed, or stoned, or whatever it's called. The sliding surfaces are 100% degreased and dry, with a very small amount of powdered graphite added. Super smooth sliding action!

The lack of oil or grease should mean an easier time cleaning up chips and bits of metal.

Kermit

 

[Kermit]

The end of today's progress. Goodnight
Kermit

 

[joe d]

Kermit:

That's turning out great! You're making my mill jealous... it doesn't have a bench of it's own.

Cheers, Joe

(PS Did the doll house finish up OK?)

 

[Kermit]

It finished up better than OK, but it was a close one...

I was glue-ing the shingles on at midnight, the night before we left town to go visit them. The pictures I really wanted; she and the doll house together are all gone with the previous computer when it died.

Here is the last picture I had uploaded to photobucket before the virus struck.

Thank you for the compliments on my mill bench, its a fault of mine. 'over doing' it.


I've seen the cure and I prefer my disease,
Kermit

 

[Kermit]

Ah, a new page. so I'll post a pic of the mill again

I've completed assembly and performed the requested full power run in, then I proceeded to the tramming.

Ran into a problem right away. An MT3 collet -5/8"size was holding a bar for my indicator to connect with but that collet has a smaller thread (7/16 I think) than the 3/8" on the draw bar that came with the mill. So I switched to my fancy ER 32 holder and a 5/8" collet. Suddenly, I had .010" run out. I tightened the collet holder and it increased to .016". WTF?

I looked everything over and then I found it.

Don't know what happened but the job wasn't finished correctly. The tighter you make it the more one sided the pressure on the collet becomes.

Well, someone did say He thought Hertel stuff was crap, and now I'm inclined to agree...High priced crap, even on sale!

 

[GailInNM]

Kermit,
I think you are putting the collet in the holder wrong. The collet has to be inserted into the nut at an angle and snapped into place. That is the reason for the section that looks like it is off center. When the collet nut is loosened the section that is snapped into the collet pulls the collet out of the holder. To remove the collet from the nut you also have to tilt the collet so the side that is near the cutaway pops out and then the collet can be shifted that direction to remove.
Gail in NM

 

[Kermit]

Sure-nuff?

Well, whattaya know! Thanks Gail.

The only crap involved was the person operating it.

:-[

 

[Kermit]

3/4" end mill in MT3 collet, 7/16 thick 6061 aluminum.

Looks Ok to me. But what do I know? ;D

Well then, easy stuff done. Now it's time to start making mistakes on REAL engine parts. :big:

Standby for ???

Kermit

 

[Kermit]

I was growing tired of the 'chitty-chitty bang-bang" sound of these cheap chinese endmills and the horrible vibration it set up when taking a cut thicker than a one sided pancake. ;D

A right nice quality 'made in the USA' (Hertel?) indexable insert endmill was ordered, while MSC had the 35% off special on cutting tools, and promptly applied to my mill.

The test cut was .016" deep by a full width of .625". It was an amazing difference in sound and feel. I started a steady slow manual feed and noticed the chips were coming off a little hotter than before, so I added a very small 'spurt' of some WD-40. You can clearly see where the lube was applied. The surface was as near to flat and shiny as I have ever made one.

I'm one happy camper right now.

(i never mentioned- that's 1018 steel, not aluminum)
8)

 

[Jasonb]

Having the work a with less material sticking out of the vice will have helped a lot with the finish, try it like the previous setup and you will get more chatter.

Jason

 

[Kermit]

Having the work with less material sticking out of the vice will have helped a lot with the finish, try it like the previous setup and you will get more chatter.

Jason

But I was talking about the piece of 1018 set up in the vise as you see it. The vibrations from the chinese endmills are strong and violent. Teeth jarring impacts. The new indexable mill is almost silent in comparison, and sets up no vibration in the mill table itself, although I can feel it through the lead screw handles.

I agree with you about the fixturing. More material away from the jaws means more flex and a less smooth surface finish.

Thanks for the helpful advice,
Kermit

 

[ksouers]

Kermit,
Did you use a different collet or end mill holder with the end mill? That may be where your vibration is coming from if the collet has a lot of run out.

Chuck up an end mill and put a DTI on the shank while you turn it slowly by hand, see what it measures.