Needed a spanner.

[almega]

My G0759 came with a little tool for holding the quill while tightening the collet rod, which is inadequate for the task. After a brief time the little nib that went into the hole in the quill broke off. I have been using a center punch in its place, which is just as inadequate to the task. I finally decided I needed a good dedicated spanner wrench (I know, for the Brits out there, that is redundant) so I decided to make one from some 1/4" hot roll plate I had. I measured the quill and sketched it out on paper, cut it out and it seemed to fit as envisioned. I then roughed it out but needed a way to mill the curved parts. So....I had to get a rotary table, of course. That took a few days to arrive and it worked beautifully. A little hand work after the milling and the spanner does work as planned. My point in all of this run on discussion is that since beginning this hobby a few months ago, I am finding whenever I am doing a project, I always run into the need of a tool to purchase or make (preferable for the practice). When does this end? Btw, I could have purchased an adjustable spanner for less than $50, but to paraphrase others, why buy it for $50 when I can make one for $200?

 

[10K Pete]

Well, you seem to have discovered the magic that happens when you get into this 'hobby'!

Pete

 

[almega]

Well, you seem to have discovered the magic that happens when you get into this 'hobby'!

So that is what you call it. I wonder if that will work with my wife when she discovers all of the new stuff that keeps showing up in my basement shop? Gee honey, it must be magic!! Yup, I think that will work.

 

[bazmak]

I had the same problem with my sieg mill and fitted a spring loaded pin and alu housing block
Perfect and works a treat

 

[almega]

That is Genius!!! Because of the configuration of my machine and where the lighting is around the quill, it will not work for me. I like it though and it is well executed - very professional looking.

 

[tornitore45]

When does this end?

It never ends but after a while it slows down. If you can remember the reason or function of all those special tools you have in a box separate from the scraps.
I have started to place arbors and fixtures of not so obvious purpose in plastic bags with a label describing the function or the project that required it and as a way to keep multiple parts together.

On the other hand, making tools and fixture is just part of the hobby to play with machines.

 

[almega]

Great idea to put the created tooling in bags with labels. My memory being what it is that could help a lot. Then I only need to remember where I put the bags.

I do enjoy figuring out how to solve problems and then making the tools that are part of the solution. I should be done with purchasing all of the "big" stuff now and only have to purchase materials and actual cutting tools. I should be able to make anything else I should need.

I am currently building a cabinet with slide out shelves to put most of my tooling into so it is not scattered around on various horizontal surfaces, including the floor. I hope to have that completed in a week or so, then back to metal.

 

[tornitore45]

I do have cabinets and shelves but most of my small tools are stuck into drilled blocks of wood. Some are "cradled" into carving into wood blocks. Keep them visible and protected. Some came in a suitable box and need nothing but shelf space.

 

[mohavegun]

Shop storage of tools is always a rippin pain in the arse! The longer I work in my shop the more "tool boxes" I have and the place is starting to look like the den of a mad tool box collector! Last count I have 12 machinist top boxes and about 5 roll around tool boxes and still can't find the right tool for the job half the time. Storage for collets is also a pain, the problem is all the different collets, try keeping up with 5 different collet families! Nuts, bolts and bearings, small parts.. Not to mention bar stock and cutting materials... getting so bad here that I cannot cuss a cat in my shop without getting a mouth full of hair!

 

[ignator]

When does this end?

My experience is 41 years. I started with a 10x24 lathe in 1977, and now find the need of filling missing tools to be almost at its end.

I did purchase 14 R8 collets last week to fill in the x1/32" holes missing, after finding the need to drill with short screw machine bits, and not wanting to add 4 inches of drill chuck under the spindle.

The month before, I needed to do some slitting saw work, and found the hodgepodge of R8 holders vs random cutters not sufficient to do the task. So eBay sent me a new arbor with more used cutters.

Last year I needed to measure a lathe spindle taper adapter, on my big 400x1000mm lathe. The lathe manual indicated it was a MT6 taper, but it turns out to be a 90mm metric taper (larger then MT7). It was machined wrong (had this lathe since 2004), which I learned after getting some surface plate "furniture"; a 6x12" compound sine plate, a 10" bench center, an inch set of Gauge blocks, surface gauge, and tenths reading test indicator. I already had the surface plate. I found the adapter to be .0045 inches small at the major diameter (about 4.5 inches from the minor diameter), as it would rock in the lathe spindle (which was found after purchasing a MT4 test bar from India). This adapter has a MT4 hole. I just never knew it was a problem as it always felt like it fit.

So 41 years is the wrong answer.

 

[tornitore45]

I know I have OCD, scientific term for anal retentive, but I sped a lot of time, when something have me stumped, reorganizing the shop, labeling boxes and finding more efficient ways to use the finite volume of the garage. Packing is an art. Is not sufficient to pack more stuff, the trick is the ability to quickly and effortlessly find it and retrieving it. Stuff rarely used can be set behind other stuff but I like to keep that to a minimum. One thing I miss the most is horizontal free space. I have half a bench for the project, the other half is usually cluttered with stuff I am not quite ready or willing to put away. Tools are always accessible but is hard to find a space to put down the box with the supply of abrasives, adhesives, hardware, ball bearings, O ring, springs, bushings, gears, sorted stock scrap and all the other consumable I have accumulated salvaging dead stuff.

 

[DJP]

We could be seeing a genetic mutation as collectors and machinists may be related to hamsters. My father-in-law discovered that hamster nests in the wild are filled with articles that a hamster would drag home for the nest. Bottle caps and shiny things could not be resisted by the hamster and he could always find a space for his find. My Father-in-law called himself a hamster and after having sailboats for many decades I too value every cubic inch of space.

The only issue with inefficient storage is that it can slow you down which may not be a bad thing.

 

[Cymro77]

You guys are making me feel more "normal" and at home on this site, all the time.

 

[Anatol]

Since this thread that was about a spanner is now about shop storage... I've found old filing cabinets very useful generally, proper office ones. They hold a lot of weight and roll nicely. But even better - more accessible - are the lateral files one now finds in secondhand and thrift stores. Very accessible, and a two draw unit takes a narrow bench top nicely. I think I'd like a row of about 4 of them.

 

[almega]

We do seem to have drifted a bit from the orginal path, and I must apologize because I guess I caused it.

 

[tornitore45]

There is no law of nature that says: "You shall stay on topic" Drifting is what happens when people talk among friends, exhaust one topic and hop onto another.

 

[DJP]

If the Original Poster expands or changes the topic, I'm OK with that. It's a 'thread' that links items.

 

[Wizard69]

Shop storage of tools is always a rippin pain in the arse! The longer I work in my shop the more "tool boxes" I have and the place is starting to look like the den of a mad tool box collector! Last count I have 12 machinist top boxes and about 5 roll around tool boxes and still can't find the right tool for the job half the time. Storage for collets is also a pain, the problem is all the different collets, try keeping up with 5 different collet families! Nuts, bolts and bearings, small parts.. Not to mention bar stock and cutting materials... getting so bad here that I cannot cuss a cat in my shop without getting a mouth full of hair!

Time to start buying those really tall Vidmar cabinets.

Honestly I understand the problem as I'm tripping over tool boxes myself. I have several that contain plumbing tools from when my father passed away, that only get used from time to time. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with his fishing lures. I have some custom built tools form machines I worked on decades ago that will likely never be used again. Then there are wood working tools, sheet metal tools, mechanics tools and iron working tools.

Every time I walk into a hardware store or jobber supplier and see the massive tool boxes that are longer than I am tall, I grab my wallet and clinch my teeth. Yeah they would be great to have but the money they want for them could easily go to other shop tools. Speaking of collets one big problem there is that they don't fit will in a lot of tool box drawers. It is fairly easy to drill a piece of plywood or sheet metal to make a rack, but many of them can't be stood up on end in the average tool box drawer.

One other storage problem is all the magazines I've collected over the years. The minute you throw them out you will certainly want to reference an article. I literally need to build my own library / office. I could go digital but there are good points to paper.

 

[almega]

You better grab your wallet on the Vidmar cabinets. I was setting up spare parts cribs for a company I worked for and that is what were specified to be used and even with the hefty volume discount we got they were still over $2000.00 each. We spent over $50k per store room.

 

[Dubi]

My G0759 came with a little tool for holding the quill while tightening the collet rod, which is inadequate for the task. After a brief time the little nib that went into the hole in the quill broke off. I have been using a center punch in its place, which is just as inadequate to the task. I finally decided I needed a good dedicated spanner wrench (I know, for the Brits out there, that is redundant) so I decided to make one from some 1/4" hot roll plate I had. I measured the quill and sketched it out on paper, cut it out and it seemed to fit as envisioned. I then roughed it out but needed a way to mill the curved parts. So....I had to get a rotary table, of course. That took a few days to arrive and it worked beautifully. A little hand work after the milling and the spanner does work as planned. My point in all of this run on discussion is that since beginning this hobby a few months ago, I am finding whenever I am doing a project, I always run into the need of a tool to purchase or make (preferable for the practice). When does this end? Btw, I could have purchased an adjustable spanner for less than $50, but to paraphrase others, why buy it for $50 when I can make one for $200?

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