The swarf shop

[Bradells]

Well, I thought I'd log my progress in making impressive swarf piles here! Lucky you!


I don't have much of equipment, a dull hacksaw, and a Sherline 4400 lathe for making circularish objects, and a milling column, so then I can change into making straightish objects that remain after I make my glorious piles of swarf, chips, strings ....


A few weeks ago, I was out making chips in the sun (oh, I machine outside since I don't have a garage), and my 20 year old sewing belt was starting to really crack, and slip. So I carried on, knowing I was smart 20 years ago in my teens to buy 2 belts when the last one went!

Well, the first belt lasted about an hour as I was making piles of chips from some 1" 6061 into a long .165" piece of 6061. Those were glorious chips, as I just got a set of carbide tools (and spent quite a while squaring, flattening, and adjusting said tools to hold the carbide inserts securely ... there was gaps in the tool over .010")

Well, that first belt went, and the 20 year old new belt went on with no fuss.

About 15 minutes later, that belt, well, it disappeared! I was thinking it flung away somewhere into the garden beds like the last one, but I couldn't find it.

So off to the internets to source a sewing machine store that sold belts...... Of the few that do machine repair's, none were open to the public, unless you ordered it online (....which was fruitless as they don't have an online store ...).

Atlas in Toronto has them, for $15 a piece with $40 shipping ... Oh well, off to Acklands website and found a suitable belt. .25" wide, 12" long for $6 and no shipping charges....


Fast forward 2 weeks, it arrives! Fast forward another week after some vacation time away from the city, and I come back to start making glorious piles of 6061 and 303 ....

I found belt #2 in a pile of the pulley cover, and wrapped around the spindle ... ok, that explains why I couldn't find it in the garden.

I start putting the new belt in, about to put it around the main spindle, and found it was too short! grrr.


Some more searching, found out it actually is a metric belt (300mm), but the manufacturer put up the imperial 'equivalents' for size .... Find the manufacture of the belt, $6US, sweet, set up an account, and they want $60 for shipping!


OK ... time to bite the bullet and order from Sherline for $8 a belt ... get 2 because well, belts break, and pick up some more small items while I'm at it that I can't find elsewhere.

Just got a notice of shipment from Sherline, 1 day turnaround at the moment (for in stock items vs the 14 day mentioned on their website for international).....


Progress?


Brad

 

[CalgaryPT]

If you have any money left over, a trip to the liquor store sounds well deserved.

Kudos for persistence.

 

[YYCHM]

Hey, post an image of your machines please and the swarf.

Craig

 

[Bradells]

So while I wait for my belts to make it across the boarder, I thought I'd try my luck at repairing a DTI that I've had from day 1.

It's your run of the mill .030" x .0005" DTI, and it works fantastic .... although the dial arm has been bent since day 1.

It's bent about .0003" nothing too crazy, and I usually use just the tip for reference, but it does get annoying, and it causes it's own kind of parallax when viewing off to the side.

So, why not figure out how to get into the bezel?

The whole bezel moves (top and bottom), so that will have to come off somehow. The only access I can see is from the side via 4 small screws.


Inside is the lever mechanism that converts linear movement into a radial movement.


It's in the way to see what's what inside, so 3 screws holding that are removed as well.

It flops around inside trying to get it out, as well 2 washers fall out (I hope it was 2 ... it would make sense if it's 3, but I haven't seen the third ..... yet).

I can only get it this far out ....


Taking off the lever arm, everything slides out, and look! it's the third washer!



Well, not much to see from this side


So, I guess I'll put it back together and try taking the glass off ...

But what's this?


I don't remember taking out any ball bearings?

Putting it back together, the lever arm seems pretty wobbly ... like way too wobbly. These must go into a race or something.

Checking all over the pivot area, there isn't a spot for them, and 4 really wouldn't do much on a 1/8" circumference ... Maybe they were packed into the makeshift axel?

That would explain the tapered screws that hold it together!

I ended up finding 5 total bearings, and dropped them in before adding the last screw.

Nice and tight now!



Now, just to figure out the best way to pop the bezel off without breaking anything else ....


Brad

 

[Bradells]

Well the last project of the day as I do some more research on how much it'll cost me to open up the DTI from the glass side .... (any recommendations on a new DTI?)



In my youtube binging, I came across people using the ubiquitous "NOGA" holders ..... I have a bunch of "rod" holders, and that takes a little while to set up, realize it can't go that way, or an arm would be better on the other side, so you take it apart, remount it, only to remember that you don't remember what you were trying to do in the first place ....


While I'd love to have a NOGA, they're painfully expensive! And not to mention, most are very large for a Sherline too (yes, they have smaller ones, but I found them to be even more expensive!).

I found a mini knock off noga on amazon.ca (https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00EJAC0DW).


Watching a few other youtube videos of people cleaning up knock off holders, I ordered 2 on the last inspirational amazon order.

Well, they work pretty well out of the box. The mini magnet is truly tiny (~1.2" x 1.4" x 1.7" WxHxD), and was flat (unlike some of the reviews).

I decided to take them apart and clean up the angled surfaces.



Like all other videos, there is a retaining ring that you'll slide out with the help of a punch and pliers.


The finish on the rods were not too bad, they look like they were just ground to length (concave ends)


I ran them over 80/220 sandpaper to get rid of the high spots, and make them as smooth as possible



And hit them with some mystery grit Testers sandpaper as well



The 'nut' side of the lock didn't look great at all .... I don't know how they cut it to be honest! Yes I didn't get down far enough, but I was running out of sandpaper for this project ...




The 'bolt' side was in much better shape



And the top of the magnet has a M5 thread FYI




Now they are easier to tighten and hold a little better than before, so I guess I didn't screw that one up ... They take roughly 10-15 min to clean up ... most of that time is trying to get the retaining springs back into place! (or so it seemed).

Now the (minor) Cons of these holders:

• They did miss a washer against the knob on one of the stands, so I just pulled one out of the misc bin ....
• I did have to bend out the dovetail holder
• To use these on a different mag base, I'd have to make a small adapter from the M5 to 3/8? ... Or make/source a new ball end

Overall, not bad for $20 and a few minutes of work compared to the $100-200 for a real NOGA...

Brad

 

[Bradells]

You asked for it

Hey, post an image of your machines please and the swarf.

Craig

.... I'm telling you ....


Heres part of my Sherline setup, in it's slightly stored capacity (still waiting on those belts)



It sits nicely beside (at the moment, due to the 'work in progress') some of my 'workshop' tools (I say workshop, as it is actually the other spare room)



It usually isn't that messy (as we all say ...), Just have quite a few projects on the go at the moment, and they all stack up on each other ...

It's a Sherline 4400 lathe, I got it new in the late 90's ... It's been around, and I've done a few stupid things with it (and it shows) ..



Some not so stupid things I'd like to do (ie future projects) for the late ....

Make a low profile holder for this indicator (or really any DI, 2" preferred, which I don't have)



Make a new tool post for my carbide (BB ... took a while to clean up the 'machined' seat for the insert .... I probably could have eyeballed it better on the mill to be honest ...)



Heres the above "NOGA" holder in action ... It's just the right size!




Since the belt broke, I decided it needed it's bi-decade cleaning, so I went through all of it cleaning out decades of caked on grease/oil/dust/wood chips/etc. I also decided to move the metal strip 2" further away (you can see the previous screw holes) that I have for indicators and such further back, as it was sometimes in the way with beam styled holders ...




Another plan I'd like to do, is raise the lathe up from that plywood bed by <2" ... that may cause an issue with those tiny "NOGA" mounts now ..




In my search for a DRO (this machine is super tiny), I've had this old caliber for at least a decade. I kinda mounted it to the rear of the cross slide, with a clamp that I've lost to mount it hazardly to the ways. My current plan is to mount it to the bottom casting (strip), and mount the reader to the saddle nut (below the ways) at an angle. A 12" would suffice ... I might even make it adjustable in case I was working way out at the end of the bed



A 4" would be a little small, but the 6" would work well mounted here for the cross slide ... It would stick out, so I'd have to be careful if I was using the tailstock for 'bump' drilling. Maybe I'd also make a dovetailed stop just for that operation ....



My other thought, I can count hand wheel cranks like no one else with the saddle ... but I go completely dumb when it comes to the tailstock ... I start off well intentioned, and since I'm usually bumping the tailstock, I forget where I am after the second 'bump' ... So I'm thinking of mounting a smaller faced DI off to the rear of the tailstock, and add a piece of material that gets sandwiched between the chuck and spindle ..




And lastly, one super awesome mod that I've done (aside from installing the riser kit), is to braze the allen key to the centre lock on the tailstock. The other two are snug, but it is still easy to slide. The centre one locks it down sufficiently.




Well, that's a very quick look at the lathe side of my machine .... When I get it in "milling" mode (by removing the headstock and mounting it on a column ... probably next month after the move to a REAL GARAGE! Whohooo!!!) I'll do a write up on whatever I'm milling at the time



Brad

 

[YYCHM]

Yikes! That's smaller than my 7X12 was.

 

[Bradells]

Well time for another "I probably should do this one day" project ...


Fix up the CT 6" Quick vice, that isn't so "Quick"


For the amount of money that you pay these days, the quality has gone down hill significantly ... I guess with all the import and import prices of machinery really takes a toll, then organizations get hip, and import their own version of an import version ....

This vice never worked properly (quick adjust) since day 1, and I said, "Before I put it away, I better fix it and clean it up so that it will work next time I pull it out".

Yup, its a temporary fixture for me on my very small work surface. I have 2 1/4-20 bolts that are through the top of the bench to T-Nuts on the underside.

I don't do a lot of pounding on the vice, and 4 bolts is a little overkill for a removable fixture.



This is the part that doesn't quite work ... It really is a simple fix, but if I'm going to adjust the tension, might as well clean out any packing grease, clean up any of the sliding edges, and reassemble without breaking something ...



The end of the lead screw has a pin and washer to make it so you can't drop the movable jaw on your toe.



A small wooden spacer with a punch and hammer takes care of that pin



This is the half nut in the back of the vice ... I was still having issues getting the movable jaw off, even with the pin and washer removed.



It just seemed like there was something else hindering it from coming off, but I couldn't see anything..




Turns out, the cable isn't long enough for it to come out, so there are 2 cap screws that come off, and a nut that holds the wire in place (very similar to a bicycle brake system)

Well, all the components are broken down as far as I could take them.



The half nut, I tried to take apart further, but the screws holding the springs on were stripped from the factory, so I didn't want to pull them out, only to find out I couldn't put them back in, so I left it in a tin of degreaser to well, degrease for the time being.

After cleaning up the lead screw, I decided to clean up the bottom rails that make contact with the fixed base. It looks like they were "cleaned" buy cutting off the bottom of the casting with a saw.. (the left is factory finish, the right is filed down and finished with the 220g/Mystery grit sandpaper)



After cleaning up both rails (and knocking the edge off a little), I looked at the base casting. There was no effort to clean off the epoxy paint on those sliding surfaces. So I took the file to those as well.





The lead screw is held captive by a pair of washers with a spring in the middle. The spring was roughly half compressed when it is installed. A quick trick to install it back in to be able to pin the washers is to compress the springs. I had some small Zip Ties that just barely fit between the lead screw and the spring.




When I took apart the jaws, the steel cable was wrapped around the lead screw. I thought that was an error during assembly, so I didn't do that on reassembly



Looks like it was done on purpose to keep the wire contained when the jaw is closed (the half nut towards the jaw), so another attempt and success!

Or so I thought.

I forgot that the half nut needed to go on the other side of the base casting, as there is a bump to prevent it from going through, so attempt #3 was in order ... and that braided steel wire was starting to get frayed at the end to feed it through the 2 holes .... I finally got all but 1 strand of wire through the locking nut ... I hate it when that happens ... Hopefully, I don't have to take it apart ever again!


I put some oil on the new bare metal, and some grease on the half nut



And now onto the fun bits ... SWARF!!!






Nice

I think with the new shop space, I need a "dirty" bench and a "clean" bench .....





Brad

 

[Bradells]

Lastly for the day, a question to all ...

I'm moving this summer, and as always, it is an upgrade of sorts. I'll actually have a garage! No more spare room workshop under/below another tennant!


What are some garagey wisdom to pass down? (it's a small single car garage ... sharing space with storage items, including recycling/compost/garbage bin ... I can smell it now ...)

Any security setups (there is an automatic garage door) and tricks?


Brad

 

[kevin.decelles]

Fire extinguishers and exit plan! Sh_t happens!

First aid kit too.




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[DavidR8]

Fire extinguishers and exit plan! Sh_t happens!

First aid kit too.




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I fully agree with this advice.
I have two of these in my 22’x19’ shop.
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ki...rechargeable-red-fire-extinguisher/1000414442


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[Bradells]

Yikes! That's smaller than my 7X12 was.

Without the riser kit, it’s about a 3x14

With the riser kit, it gets almost to 5” I’d say..


Brad

 

[Dabbler]

I have always locked my garage door with a padlock from the inside. When I first moved in, (and the garage was empty) the garage door kept opening at 'random' intervals, and stayed open for hours or days. Even rolling code garage doors can be fairly easily be hacked open. A padlock on the inside can't.

 

[kevin.decelles]

Windows are nice, fresh air and light , but also provides window shopping opportunities. I invested in the cheapest blinds I could buy and keep them Down until I need to have to be fits of light

+1 to @Dabbler on manual lock (internal) . My shop door is on a manual chain fall, and secured in the inside .


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[Bradells]

No windows in this one, not going to put one in either... (late 90’s early 00’s styled community house with attached garage).

Been looking at wireless door alerts (sends an alert to your phone if the door opens/closes).

Was also looking at a camera setup as well. We had one installed on our current rental after the neighbours truck mysteriously burned to the ground a few years ago due to ‘teenagers’....


Have a bucket full of old casters from work to build some roll around units (lift up onto the wheels, collapse onto levelling legs when in position)

Fire extinguisher on the way.. I always have a few first aid kits stashed around the house/vehicles/work bags..

Thanks and keep them coming!


Brad

 

[RobinHood]

Good lighting - one needs to see what one is doing in order to do it safely.

 

[DPittman]

Take any opportunity to insulate and seal up drafts if you plan on heating it ever.

 

[Janger]

Yup I reiterate all the above. Good locks. Curtains. Video alarm. Padlock put through the garage door wheel track. LED Lighting. Smoke/CO detector. Heat.

 

[Janger]

Well time for another "I probably should do this one day" project ...
Brad

Quite the post Brad.

 

[Tom O]

I have a detached garage with a monitored alarm that comes with a motion sensor i don’t lock the house door when I’m out there I have a cheap door chime that goes off when someone opens it I’m thinking that it would work on the Roll up garage door too but chiming in the house. I suggested this to my neighbour who had his van broken into and of course they had the garage door opener in it!