My new Thing of Beauty! It's a powerful beast. I was pushing hard rounding an aluminum bracket and the 3/4 HP motor didn't even think of slowing down.
2/11/08
More Disc Sander Progress
I got the table assembly mocked up:
Starting to look like a disc sander, eh? Mic Stands and Universal Vise from 800Watt
eBay seller 800Watt is perhaps infamous on the web. Some people have had problems, but I've always done well. I get what I ordered and its pretty much what I expected. I don't look for these Chinese tools be exceptional, just adequate. That's the end of the market they're aiming for, and consequently they're cheap. Just yesterday I got in a couple of items that were really very nice. I decided I would never get around to building micrometer stands, so I ordered 2 from 800Watt for $5 apiece. They're nice cast iron units with good feel:
800Watt Micrometer Stand With My 0-1" Mitu... My second item is something also from 800Watt that just seemed too cheap to be true. It's a Universal Vise for tool grinding that I paid $55. These are complicated beasts to make, although Mcgyver made a nice one. Name brands often seem to be big bucks too. I found the quality on this one to be excellent, so I'll probably try to set it up to sharpen cutters once I get a chance. Here's what it looks like out of the box: Nicely made, no? I found an extra bonus in the box too. In order to make sure the vise would not be able to slide around, 800Watt threw in a couple of the "instant on" mini-Butane blow torches. Handy! You can bet I left him nice feedback. That reminds me, is it my imagination, or have eBay sellers suddenly gotten a lot nicer? In the last week or two I've had two of them refund part of my shipping, I got the extra torches from 800Watt, and there's something else that caught my eye but escapes me at the moment. 2/09/08
Tramming the Mill More Quickly With Your Quill DRO
Tram is the squareness of your mill head to the table. There is tram parallel to the x-axis, and tram parallel to the y-axis (sometimes called "nod"). Depending on your machine, you may have a swivel head that is designed to cut at angles other than square for more flexibility. For machines with adjustable heads, you need to check the tram fairly often and rest it.
I try to check the tram on my mill whenever I begin a new project. That's really not often enough. Most machinists I've talked to check tram when they come in every morning, and quite a few will also check if someone else uses the machine during the day. The point is, if you need accurate cuts and the best finishes, your mill needs to be in tram.
At some point, I developed a procedure that I find easier and faster. Here is my basic setup with the DTI on my Indicol and a couple of 1-2-3 blocks to provide clearance over the vise:
Basic tramming setup... The goal is to have the DTI have the same reading on either side, indicating the spindle is square with respect to the table. The Indicol is not the best tramming setup, BTW. A proper tramming bar would be more rigid and less "jumpy". For example: Here's a nice tramming bar that goes in a collet... At some point, I decided to try using my quill DRO and the DTI like a sensitive height gage. I would raise the DTI off the 1-2-3 block on one side, lower the quill until I saw DTI motion, and press the zero on the quill DRO. Then I raise up off the block, flip it around to the other block, and lower down until the DTI registers. Now I can read on the quill DRO the difference between the two sides. Next I bump the head in until the Quill DRO/"Height Gage" reading is 1/2 what it started out. Repeat the procedure until you're within acceptible limits. I was able to get pretty close in 2 cycles of this: Head is now trammed within 0.001" on about a 10-12" circle. That's pretty close! Hardinge Ballscrew Coverst
Thanks to Vince on CNCZone who is restoring a Hardinge CHNC lathe for this shot of the ballscrew covers:
Interesting vise-l |