Rod's Aussie Shed

[rodw]

Well,, thanks for all of the support and ideas guys.

I went shopping today and grabbed a couple of tools.



Tradetools had a sale on so I grabbed a 90 degree drill attachment and some hex drive drills so I can eventually finalise the mounting of the drawer slide. I was also going to get a set of tooling for my dremel but then saw the die grinder for only $33 which I decided would be a better option to sort out my Cr@ppy welds. And this is what I ended up with.



I know it is not pretty but but will be hidden under the splash guard mount and a coat of paint will do wonders! It is not obvious in the photo but there is still quite a dish around the drain. I went to a kitchen shop and they did not have anything like a conical strainer I liked so I grabbed a round strainer and shaped it round my finger and a metal rod for a while and poked it into the drain. The drain is well way from where I work so I don't think much cr@p will end up this end.

I enlarged the hole in the top of the coolant tank with a 32m step drill and the hose fits in nicely now.



I also finished off the plumbing for the outlets which are attached to the rear splash guard.



The mounting block came with the coolant kit but I had to mill 10mm off it and enlarge the hole as I ditched the pipe that came with it that it was designed to clamp to and now it clamps to the larger diameter pipe fitting instead. The slimming operations were required to allow the pipe fittings to screw together.

In case you are wondering about the two taps. the coolant will enter from the rear on the left had side and flow via T pice hidden inside the mounting block to the top tap and barb will be for the lathe coolant. The bottom tap on the right exits to another barb at the rear to eventually run coolant over to the mill on the other side of the door.

So I think the next step is to paint the drip tray tomorrow night and the final plumbing can be done for the inaugural switching on later in the week! It is frustrating that I have had the coolant system for a month and it is still not operational!

 

[ConductorX]

Awesome job Rod, all projects take time. I have a number of projects on hold because I keep having little set backs. Right now my wife's electric scooter is giving problems so we are shopping for a new one. "G"

 

[rodw]

Well tonight was the moment I have been waiting a month to get to. Coolant is Live!



I was surprised how clear the coolant fluid is when it is mixed up.

The drain came up alright. It is always amazing how much difference a coat of paint makes



The 3/4" drain easily copes with draining the fluid back to the tank and the slight fall towards the back corner the drain is situated in works a treat so not much pools anywhere.



The drain is protected somewhat as it is located under the back splash guard mount.



Sorry, it was a bit late tonight so I have tried any cuts but I will over the weekend. There is a bit of splash when it is running but I found putting a small low plastic container under the bed where the coolant was hitting the deck helped to control this.

I still have to paint the removeable wheel assemblies and lifting lugs and also sort out the drawer but to all intents and purposes it i finished now!

I dug out the rather bent chuck guard after I took these photos and refitted it. I have a feeling I might need it now. It got damaged in the fall but it is still serviceable.

 

[rodw]

I spent a bit of time today grinding off the rust and painting the leg assemblies so I can say it is totally done. Sorry, I did not take any photos. but you have seen it all already, just that it looks nicer now! I think that just leaves the drawer on the end to finish off.


When I dropped the lathe, the only thing that really got damaged was one of my new gray drawer units. I decided to buy another one at $275 as they were a clearance line and was the only ones that I had seen that fitted under my benches. The bottom drawer was a writeoff so I decided to take my new Plasma cutter to it and cut out the cancer!

I thought I would start at the back so when I stuffed it up no one would notice.


So here we are setup for the first cut. I decided to screw down a guide to get a straight cut as my hands are not very steady... I also hit the ends with the angle grinder so I had a bit of shiny metal to start cutting on. My plasma is a scratch start and the manual says to drag the tip on the work you are cutting.



And it worked awesomely!



Before long, after cutting away some braces on the inside, I had shortened it nicely. I also had to cut the MDF shelf on the bench away to get enough clearance between the two shelves.



What a lot of fun plasma cutters are!

And you can see I finally straightened the wonky shelf as it had to come out for this unit to squeeze in. I replaced the MDF with a 19mm x 235mm pine shelf so it should be strong enough. If it sags, I will put a steel or ally shelf in its place...




Now it seems the only problem I have is that I don't have enough tools to fill the 20 drawers i now have at my disposal! Sounds like I better go shopping!

I think the only thing left shed wise now is to make a mounting plate to screw on the wall to hold my QCTP holders.. oh and trim a bit more of the base of the drawers that I cut away and put it on wheels so I can roll it under my bottom shelf for more storage.... :nrocks:

 

[ZipSnipe]

Looking pretty spiffy, time to get more tools and then dirty it up real good !!!!

 

[rodw]

Looking pretty spiffy, time to get more tools and then dirty it up real good !!!!

Not for the want of trying. I ordered some more drawer fillers from CTC today and also picked up a couple of things on my way home and also won some stuff on eBay last night.

It's a matter of balancing the paying jobs that have let me fund all of this amongst the fun jobs. One day I will work in my shed, not on it :wall:

Anyway, my new lathe lets me do the paying jobs 80% faster than my old one and tonight I made complete parts in the time it used to take to face the first side!

It is amazing how popular this thread has become given the number of views. I got a warning about almost being out of bandwidth at Photobucket so if the photos disappear in the next few days, please send me a PM an I might buy some more...

I really want to get back to my mill power feed project.

 

[rodw]

I've been on a bit of a shopping spree recently but stuff is a day or so way. I did not get any time on the weekend to play in my shed. I don't really know how I got involved in a woodworking project but we organised a working bee within the family for a friend who as breast cancer and wanted a deck on her house. Does she look happy or what?





The material was mostly donated though some contacts her son has and we knocked this up in two days...

I somehow think we might need to help with the painting too....

There are some wrought iron hand rails to be extended to go back on the stairs which I have volunteered to cut and weld up so all is not lost for this aspiring metal worker.

 

[ZipSnipe]

It is amazing how popular this thread has become given the number of views. I got a warning about almost being out of bandwidth at Photobucket so if the photos disappear in the next few days, please send me a PM an I might buy some more...

I really want to get back to my mill power feed project.

This is why I use http://imageshack.us/ I have photos on the web that are 13 years old, so I basically use it as a back up for my photos along with cd copies of course, but hey if they ever burn up in a fire or whatever, I can always jump online and download the pics, just sayin ....

 

[rodw]

This is why I use http://imageshack.us/ I have photos on the web that are 13 years old, so I basically use it as a back up for my photos along with cd copies of course, but hey if they ever burn up in a fire or whatever, I can always jump online and download the pics, just sayin ....

I am much the same with photobucket. I have 3009 photos up there so I decided it was worth the $30 a year to buy more bandwidth which is now unlimited. I have only ever put downsampled photos up there so storage is never a problem.

As far as backups go, I run a Synology NAS on our home network which also has a 800 metre 150mb wireless link to my son in law's house. He is in the process of replicating my setup so once complete, we will host each other's backups of NAS data so offsite backup will be automatic.

My mill DRO kit has cleared customs at 5:00 am this morning so hopefully it will arrive today via DHL. I thought it needed fitting so I know how much room I have for my power feed.

 

[davewaldo]

What DRO did you choose Rod?

 

[rodw]

What DRO did you choose Rod?

I cheated and bought a kit for the Seig SX3 that has all the mounting hardware prefabricated from toolsales on eBay. The DRO itself is a Rational WE6800. Scales are 1 micron. Cost me $800 delivered and it looks like it will turn up today out of Hong Kong 48 hours after paying the bill on Monday.

It seemed to have good reports and as I work full time I don't have a lot of time to play so I paid more for convenience. I think there is a report on this forum but the pics have gone.

 

[rodw]

I cheated and bought a kit for the Seig SX3 that has all the mounting hardware prefabricated from toolsales on eBay. The DRO itself is a Rational WE6800.

Well that was quick.



From Hong Kong to Australia in 48 hours from time I paid the eBay bill. The black parts are the Seig brackets. All milled and anodised.

The mounting bracket is the standout in comparison with others I have seen. It is a solid SHS with end caps and the mounting brackets on each end of it are cast aluminium. Others I have seen are just pressed metal.

Not much good for me here at work though. It will take a while to get it mounted with what the calendar looks like at the moment.

 

[davewaldo]

Looks good - I've begun looking around for a dro, but I'm trying to keep my spend closer to $400.

 

[rodw]

Looks good - I've begun looking around for a dro, but I'm trying to keep my spend closer to $400.

Dave, I was working on that figure too but decided to cheat on the mill. I've spent the afternoon getting my head around the install and it will be pretty easy.

For your DRO, try Ditron on AliExpress http://www.aliexpress.com/store/903293

The fellow Swallow was a heck of a nice guy when I talked to him via email at the beginning of the year and the prices are very good. They also do a real slimline 1 micron scale and it was about $350 delivered for my lathe. I saw one of their slimline scales in a glass cabinet at Hare & Forbes once so went looking for them. I think I will get my lathe DRO from him when the coffers build up again.

I also received an order from CTC this afternoon. A sine bar, a set of sine blocks, a set of ball end mills and an insert parting blade and a few other bits and pieces.

I paid for a set of Minuteman keyway broaches this afternoon second hand on eBay. Saw them second hand and figured I'd never get an opportunity to get that quality at that price again.

 

[davewaldo]

You sure seem to be kitting up well Rod! Half the fun of this hobby so far is buying new tools!

Thanks for the link, this DRO seems like a good one: http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Free-shipping-2PCS-Linear-scales-1um-0-500mm-800mm-1000mm-2axis-Digital-display-DRO/903293_427101594.html

I'm not sure I need a Z axis scale on the DRO, I'll just fit a cheap digital scale on the quill.

You'll have to give us an updated photo tour of your workshop with all the new changes

 

[rodw]

You sure seem to be kitting up well Rod! Half the fun of this hobby so far is buying new tools!

I'm not sure I need a Z axis scale on the DRO, I'll just fit a cheap digital scale on the quill.

You'll have to give us an updated photo tour of your workshop with all the new changes

Dave, thanks, I started a wish list after I watched the MIT Tech video series as I really got a lot out of it and made a list of what he used and it kinda grew from there. I decided to purchase the tooling before I installed DRO's and I am running out of ideas for things to put on the tooling wish list, one more order from CTC will just about do it I think. It has been hard to find everything on my list as you just can't walk into a shop to buy it in this country. I make a bit of money from using my tools and I have poured my "wages" into tooling as I wanted it done before I retire.

I would get the Z axis scale even if you do just put it on the quill. At the price I was quoted from memory it was about $50 for a scale and about $10 difference between the 2axis and 3 axis readouts. Slim line scales were about $10 extra and the 1 micron scales the same.

Yes, I have to do an update as it has been a big transformation since the end of January but I want to sort out storage for my QCTP tool holders first as they are scattered everywhere.

I have listed my drill press on eBay this week as it has been sitting in the garage since the Sieg mill went in and January and I have not missed it and I need the space.

 

[rodw]

Well, I made start on installing my DRO on my mill.

First step was to remove the cover from the column and work out where to mount the console unit. The Sieg SX3 has a cover over the column that contains all of its electricals and is held on by 4 bolts. 2 on top of the column and two at the bottom.



You can see I put a mark that was visible once the cover was fitted back on. There is a square at the top rear of the column that has enough room to let me use one of my favourite tools. A nutsert gun!


These are M6 nutserts fitted up and they require a 10mm hole to be drilled before inserting and crimping the threaded inserts with a tool similar to a pop riviet gun. I can heartily recommend you get one of these tools. The are way cool. I have had mine for quite a few years and got it from here

http://ovesco.com.au/products.php?c...&cat=8&sub=32&subname=Threaded Insert Tooling

I hve the AVK plier type shown second from the bottom of the page. Initially, I just got M6 dies for it but have since added to the collection and can do up to M10.


This pic is a bit hard to understand but it is looking head on at the front edge of the column cover so we can see the DRO mounting bracket on the right (outside) and the back of the nutsert (on the inside of the cover)



The cover has a welded seam which I straddled to make the mount as stiff as possible.

Beautiful! It is so convenient not to have to worry about nuts so you can mount things without fear of dropping something!



Some of you may be wondering why I did this part of the install first. Well there is a reason. The Z axis scale is mounted to a bracket that is bolted to the top of the column via the mounting bolts for the cover.



I had to take the cover off to work out where to put the nutserts and once the scales were aligned, I did not want to disturb the setup by removing the cover again!

You can see this bracket has a threaded hole to mount the Z axis scale to. The top bolt holes are slotted for adjustment so the scale can be aligned left to right.

The bottom of the Z axis scale required drilling and tapping M5 to mount the scale. his is where I found problem, there was not enough adjustment in the top bracket to align the scale laterally so I either had to enlarge the countersunk slots or space the bottom out. I chose to space the bottom out and milled a scrap of 6mm ally on both sides to use as a spacer.



With the scale mounted up, I then bolted the provided bracket to the mill head using existing bolt holes. This is to mount the sensor to.



There are two threaded holes to mount a bracket the sensor is mounted to that was meant to come with the kit but it was missing which was a tad annoying. I went down to Action Auminium and asked them if they had some 100x50xmm ally and he looked in the offcut bin nd I saw a piece of angle that was 100x100x6 which he gave me for free! (well it was only 120 mm long!)

I decided before I worried about mounting the bracket for the sensor, I would see if I could align the scale so I knew it was done. This required lot of cranking the head up and down which gave me a good workout to get it aligned on both axes.



I set the indicator up on both the front edge of the scale and the inside edge. I found this a lot harder than it looked because when I loosened the bolts to adjust things, it would move unexpectedly. Anyway, I got it to about 0.5mm which is about 0.002" from the centre to the top of the column. I figured that is better than my chuck runout so it would do!

Anyway, I turned my attention to the missing L bracket and trimmed the angle to size and notched it to allow for some bolt heads.



The bracket was too big to be held in my milling vice so I cold not use an endmill to get rounded corners on the notches without tearing down my vice setup, so I held it on its edge to mill the notches.

So that as not a bad first effort. I just have to drill two (probably slotted) holes in the back of the L bracket to hold the sensors and the Z axis will be done! hopefully, I will get it finished in the next week or so.

Stay tuned!

 

[davewaldo]

Lookin good!

 

[rodw]

Lookin good!

Thanks Dave, I fitted the sensor to the bracket last night so the Z axis is now operational. I could not help myself, I had to turn the console on to check that it worked. And it did! I was rather relieved about this.

I spent all day in the shed today but had no time to play with DRO's. Tomorrow is booked doing some product development at another site so not much progress will happen for a while.

One good thing though was that I had to make a couple of bits on the lathe so I had a chance to do some machining with coolant and it all worked pretty well.

 

[tomo]

Space saving is one of the biggest issues i have in my shed or sheds i have in had. I seem to be adding more bench and storage space frequently!