Newbs here. Some questions for the old, experienced hands and guys who have made or are making carreers from machine shop: My younger son, now almost 20 was undecided about what to do after completing school. He eventually decided that he would rather make things than repair them or sell them and paperwork was definitely out. We live in sunny South Africa where, with the worst unemployment, employment opportunities are scarce, and my son, with a year’s expensive course in basic machining, has only managed to find one job as an “apprentice,” where all he does is cheap labour, putting a workpiece on a CNC mill. He complains that he is learning nothing. What are the choices that we should be making? Sure, the experience of holding down a job is a good one, and this is the main thing to his mother, but our boykie is a problem solver, and now is really enthusiastic about wanting to make things of steel. Are there real apprenticeships in other English speaking parts of the World, where he can go on a work/ study visa?
One thing me and the boy have been plotting is to make a machine shop at home. Now, I’ve pretty much retired after too long in heavy industrial electrics and electonics and now that my little project, a 1964 Enlish Ford Anglia station wagon is almost on the road and out of my workspace. I need a hobby. So me and the boy, we finish the car chop chop and we buy some tools and we make things. I have nearly all the hand and power tools I could ever want. Let’s start with a lathe.
With our thin Flat Rands (ZAR) we are pretty much limited to Chinese imports fom Addendorffs, http://www.tooltime.co.za/
but some stores have models not in their catalog. See what we gotta pay. What do you think the runout will be on the Morse Taper on a typical half horsepower lathe?
So if we get our lathe what should we be doing? I think after the setup we should get to be able to do milling in the lathe. Would not one ideal be to index the head stock and have a milling spindle on a vertical slide on the cross-slide? If so where does one find a spindle with an internal Morse, and what, taper roller bearings outside? How good are the cheap DROs like at http://www.machine-dro.co.uk/index.php?target=categories&category_id=15
We should probably spend 150 Quid on good books, I’ll have to do all the reading but the boy picks up ideas quickly, and start with simple workshop devices and tool grinding and work up from there. We only have one kid still at home, more would be fun.
Whew, Don’t I get to tell my life story. Thanks,
Ant.
One thing me and the boy have been plotting is to make a machine shop at home. Now, I’ve pretty much retired after too long in heavy industrial electrics and electonics and now that my little project, a 1964 Enlish Ford Anglia station wagon is almost on the road and out of my workspace. I need a hobby. So me and the boy, we finish the car chop chop and we buy some tools and we make things. I have nearly all the hand and power tools I could ever want. Let’s start with a lathe.
With our thin Flat Rands (ZAR) we are pretty much limited to Chinese imports fom Addendorffs, http://www.tooltime.co.za/
but some stores have models not in their catalog. See what we gotta pay. What do you think the runout will be on the Morse Taper on a typical half horsepower lathe?
So if we get our lathe what should we be doing? I think after the setup we should get to be able to do milling in the lathe. Would not one ideal be to index the head stock and have a milling spindle on a vertical slide on the cross-slide? If so where does one find a spindle with an internal Morse, and what, taper roller bearings outside? How good are the cheap DROs like at http://www.machine-dro.co.uk/index.php?target=categories&category_id=15
We should probably spend 150 Quid on good books, I’ll have to do all the reading but the boy picks up ideas quickly, and start with simple workshop devices and tool grinding and work up from there. We only have one kid still at home, more would be fun.
Whew, Don’t I get to tell my life story. Thanks,
Ant.
