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Machine Considering Buying a King 1236ML Looking for Opinions

Machine
Speaking of which I’m a bit of a pack rat lol. I was wanting to make a tooling holder to mount to the back of the chip guard and I liked couple of the ideas I’ve seen on here from other members. I had some scrap pieces of Wearathon and ripped it in the table saw and then cut the angles on the compound mitre saw to make mounts for the quick change blocks. I was going to bend up some material to mount between the chip guard and the wall, but then I remembered having these aluminum side guards off of treadmills. I junked for the DC motors.
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I drilled holes on the right hand side to accommodate for the tail stock taper accessories then I started spacing out the blocks.
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Drilled the holes in the plate then I drilled the holes in the blocks and screwed them from the bottom.
 
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It was kind of funny it worked out that the edge of the aluminum sat right against the reveal for the trim on the window. I didn’t have to move late at all, but it wouldn’t have been a big deal if I had to move it either way a bit. I did haveto either trim the aluminum around the window, trim, or slot the window trim to fit the aluminum. I went this route in case I made changes later and moved the lathe, I have all kinds of this old trim laying around. (paint is still wet as I slapped a coat on lol.)
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Ended up with 15 blocks, which will do me for quite some time. Not sure what I’m going to put on the remaining section to the left. It’ll either be more holders down the road or I was thinking of adding aluminum tubing to hold chuck wrenches, but then I’d be reaching over the chuck each time. Still planning a holder to go over the top of the quick change gearbox so we’ll see what I put there.
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So I know I’m jumping all over the place here guys, but I kind of been doing what I can on my days off and some stuff I can prep at work in my spare time. Been doing a little bit of turning though. As far as cutting fluid I’ve been basically just using a small bristle brush (flux brush) and cutting fluid. Been checking around the forum and get some mixed opinions obviously on flood/mist coolant versus just using cutting oil. If I were to use mist, I’d set up an independent reservoir and pump and just refresh as needed to mitigate the risk of algae buildup in a water-based coolant, etc. I actually have a couple of these cheapo misters that I picked for compensation on a botched Temu order. Obviously jumping the gun here a bit, but like I said, I tend to work on several aspects at once, a little at a time. Obviously at first I’m not going to be doing a huge amount, but I can set the mess up for basically nothing and obviously just keep a brush and dish of cutting oil on hand as well.Like always input is greatly appreciated.

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I have this flex line set up with a 40 to 1 cutting oil set up on my drill press which doesn’t get used a lot but it’s basically a cheapo pump in a coffee can Reservoir, which obviously recycles back from the drill press table. Nothing special and only gets used on bigger stuff.
 

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Jason Silliker said:
As far as cutting fluid I’ve been basically just using a small bristle brush (flux brush) and cutting fluid. Been checking around the forum and get some mixed opinions obviously on flood/mist coolant versus just using cutting oil.
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I can't help you setup mist.

I can help you live without it.

I can't help because I don't use it. I've been running a lathe for 50 years, and a mill for not much less. A few years ago, a friend convinced me to try mist. I hated it. GD stuff gets everywhere. Worse, it really didn't improve my machining the way its fans claimed it would.

I much prefer various combinations of drip, brush, and dab. I also find that really good fluids (eg Vipers Venom) can be applied infrequently and still hang in there just fine.

I could be wrong, but I think misr means you have to go to thin fluid. But best performance is sometimes a thick fluid.

Do I really need to talk about the mess?
 
Susquatch said:
I can't help you setup mist.

I can help you live without it.

I can't help because I don't use it. I've been running a lathe for 50 years, and a mill for not much less. A few years ago, a friend convinced me to try mist. I hated it. GD stuff gets everywhere. Worse, it really didn't improve my machining the way its fans claimed it would.

I much prefer various combinations of drip, brush, and dab. I also find that really good fluids (eg Vipers Venom) can be applied infrequently and still hang in there just fine.

I could be wrong, but I think misr means you have to go to thin fluid. But best performance is sometimes a thick fluid.

Do I really need to talk about the mess?
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Great points. As always, thanks for the swift reply and knowledge 50 years wow two years and a bit longer than I’ve been alive lol. )I’ll be 48 next month) yeah we use flood coolant at work and like I always I tend to overdo and overthink things but I’m always open to different options and different opinions. The very little I’ve been doing at home so far, a brush seems to work well. As for the brush and dab method, what is everyone’s preferred oil?
 
I have Delta Toolmaker, a 1/2 thou surface grinder. I have the parts for a mister which I'll get around to hooking up for it. Surface finish isn't one of reasons, but part cooling and dust entrapment certainly are.
 
Oh, believe me surface finishes farrrrrrrrr from my worries for the time being. I have a huge learning curve ahead of me and just looking to keep all options open. This is exactly what I’m looking for guys different opinions on their different experiences one no more right or wrong than the other, knowing me, I’ll set it up anyway and may or may not use it. Most times I spend more time setting up for building something than I ever do using it. But I guess at the end of the day I “somewhat”enjoy doing it until I get frustrated with myself lol.
 
The Brits call the white soluble oil mixture, milk . In industry where they run heavy and fast, it's basically a coolant, with some lubricating properties. Our machines are light and slow. In the old days they used lard mixtures to lubricate. You can imagine how nice it smelled when it went rancid. I worked on a couple of old metal shapers. It worked great they said. That lard mixture has been replaced by an oil. It doesn't do much cooling as oil doesn't heat transfer like water does.

Watery soluble oil is used on bandsaws to flush out the chips from the gullets. It leaves enough oil behind so chips don't stick.
 
Coolant? I’m like “Susq”, various squirts, sprays and dabs (RapidTap and an acid brush is the main one - but several favourite potions for certain applications). My first lathe was set up for coolant so I set it up and used it - for a while, the mess got old (that was 1983). Since then I only used the coolant on that machine once for a specific task (deep hole drilling).

The CNC machines are a different story - with a decent enclosure I’m usually using flood coolant. Except, when using the CNC for a one off, or first part and getting setup - then back to RapidTap and the acid brush.

I think with coolant you need to be careful, I don’t like the idea of a mist system. Look after your lungs. I wear a fan assist respirator when surface grinding (whether dry or with coolant) or running a CNC when the coolant is on or doing tool grinding (cobalt, vanadium, tungsten etc dust can’t be good for a person).
 
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Most of my work is on steel. My favorite cutting oil is Vipers Venom. It is a high sulphur oil for cutting steels including stainless. It excels at precision work and has a unique slinging property that facilitates two or three passes with one application. The problem with it is supply. It used to be available from Gary Eakin in BC, but he has quit carrying it. If you can get to a Grizzly Outlet in the US, they carry it in quart bottles and in a 5 gallon pail. I'm going to try getting a pail shipped to me but I'm not optimistic. If I am successful, I'll happily share for the cost of shipping. If you can't get venom, I have tried regular tap magic

I use WD-40 on aluminium. You can get bulk wd-40 at princess auto. If you prefer a dedicated cutting oil, Tap Magic for Aluminium prevents tip welding and is pretty good stuff!

I usually cut brass and cast iron dry. But kerosene works well if you find you need something. Don't use sulphurized oil on brass - it will discolour it.

If you want one oil for everything, try Tap Magic EP-Xtra. You can buy it bulk, dropper, and even spray cans. It's new for me, but Tap Magic is an old company with a good reputation.

The way I look at cutting oils is different from what most guys will say. The "cutting" process on metals isn't really cutting. On a microscopic level, metal cutting is more like gouging. The edge of the cutter compresses metal ahead of it and the metal separates at the strain lines ahead of the edge. The process can be controlled and that's what edge shape, speed, and feed are all about.

Cutting oils cannot change the way the stress and strain play out in the metal. But they can change the way the chip absorbs heat, and the way it sticks to the cutting edge or slides along the cutter, and the way the chip contaminates the cut ahead of it. In my opinion, the following videos should be required viewing for all machinists. After you watch them, you will probably think differently about cutting oils.



Last but not least, there are a million different points of view on this subject. Mine is just one of them.

Enough for now. I'm gunna go and see if Grizzly will ship me some vipers venom!
 
@Jason Silliker nice get on the lathe!

I have 2 Moore and Wright levels, .003 per foot. they work very well, as I'm sure the Starrett does as well. I did make a mistake buying a .0002 per foot level. uncalibrated. never used. The adjuster was permanently loctited out of calibration. To break it free, I would have to melt a plastic part. Sure I could rebuild it, but why bother? I was naive buying it, and have even refused to sell it to a friend when he wanted to buy it for full price.
After you get to .003, you have to get closer by taking cuts anyway...
 
ShawnR said:
GASP!!.... did @Susquatch post a youtube link ? (2 even!) I guess I do not come here enough. I missed the evolution from youtube hater to poster...:D
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Nothing has changed Shawn. I have always watched the odd video. I started watching when YouTube was first launched. I have not grown to like it, I have grown to dislike it. Thats also why I especially appreciate members on here who tell me what time to fast forward to. I HATE tubers who just want to eat up my time to bump their viewer hours. I also hate tubers who pretend to be experts but really just like being on camera and racking up hours.

These two videos have real content on them that cannot be conveyed any other way. So I'm sharing them. I contemplated providing a time, but the whole video has value so watching provides an understanding of what you are watching.

Want a real surprise? I actually subscribe to a few channels - Gotteswinter, Renzetti, & our own @Mcgyver's Metallum to name a few. I don't believe these guys need or even care about the income from Youtube. They just want to share what they know with others. I respect that and appreciate it.
 
CWret said:
Yep they will. I know. They did. Sending you a PM re shared shipping.
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They took my order for a quart. If it actually ships, it will come by UPS. My favorite shipper..... (Insert sarcastic rolling eye balls here).

If it actually arrives, I'll try to get a 5 gallon pail and then share with others on request.

Looking forward to your PM.
 
I have a Starrett it works well. My buddy purchased an Amazon special and it's useless because it's way too sensitive, the crappy one is fully deflected with 1um. Might be okay if you have a 20' deep concrete base and you don't breath anywhere near it.
 
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I have used a Ridgid Powerboy pipe threading machine a fair bit. Millwrights are not pipefitters, but we do piping . 7 come 11 ! The Ridgid Dark cutting oil is a must if you don't want to tear threads. Tearing your threads ruins your joint. Nothing else will do. This points to the effect of quality with cutting oils.

At PA I found a gallon jug of Gunk brand high sulfur cutting oil. The high sulfur is what sold me. At the rate I use cutting oil with an acid brush,, it should last me the rest of my life . PA also recently had plastic squeeze bottle "oil cans" . I bought two for machining, one for cutting oil and another for WD-40.
 
Jason Silliker said:
If I were to use mist, I’d set up an independent reservoir and pump and just refresh as needed to mitigate the risk of algae buildup in a water-based coolant, etc. I actually have a couple of these cheapo misters that I picked for compensation on a botched Temu order.
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Avery inexpensive coolant system can be cobbled together using a common fish tank or garden pond submersible pump. the smallest volume you can find will work and even then will have way more pressure than you need but that is easily remedied, Just install a brass needle valve in your piping and excess pressure can be easily diverted back to reservoir ( in my case an old 5 gal pail).
I make the "return drain' so that it just lays at the bottom of the pail . this facilitates return line cutting chips just lay/settle on the bottom of the pail and I keep the submersible pump up near the top of the fluid level so no damaging crud is sucked into it.
I doubt if my hole set-up costs more than $50 at the time ....but that was almost 20 yrs ago.
 
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