Who has machine tools?!?

[DocsMachine]

I dunno if this is the place to post this, but by golly I'm gonna post it!

No, I have not been drinking, shut up!

Who here has some machine tools out in their garage? Or shop. Or man-cave, she-shed, underground lair, doomsday bunker or spare bedroom.

Pix required. Mandatory, actually. Don't care if it's a gerbil-powered can opener. Let's see it!

Personally, while I could flood this thread... that I started... ... I'll stick with the one I've been working on recently, and just (almost) finished. Back in 2009, I bought a small horizontal mill of Craigslist, knowing it was going to need a little attention. Here's what it looked like when I got it:



I rebuilt it back then, and had it running within a few months, but it still had a few issues. I used it fairly regularly (If you ever bought one of my M4 or Phase style Flashpoints, it went through this machine) but it was never perfect, mainly because the table was badly worn from decades of factory use before I ever got it. A couple years ago I had the chance to send the table off to be reground back to straight and true, and... well, long story short, I only got the parts back in April.

And here's what it looked like as of a couple of days ago, when I did some of the last necessary work, and it's now very close to a brand-new machine again:



That's a 1962 Nichols Hand Miller, toolroom version. NMTB-40 spindle, I run the 3-phase motor on a VFD, and as you can see on the rack behind it, I have a ton of tooling for it. (There's two other drawers of tooling, besides what you can see.) If you want to see more of the blow-by-blow of the re-rebuild, there's a full thread over on the Tinker's Guild.

Who else has something fun in their garage?
Doc.

[russc]

It ain't much, but it's mine!!

[CrowsFeast]

^Long intake runners on that. Which BMW engine is it and what's it going in? is it the E36 I6?

Living in a condo I don't have a whole lot of room for such things but "one of these days!"

[russc]

It's an E30 325is. I did a top end rebuild on the engine in it, but apparently I left something loose and it bent its valves after about 5000 miles. I'd be way ahead if I'd just hire a mechanic. Haha. The engine on the stand was purchased to swap in while I look at rebuilding the stock one.

The little Taig is already getting some upgrades. I've got a 3/4 HP variable speed servo ready to swap in, and I have it controlled with a Gecko G540, which was a YUUUUGE upgrade from this insanity:



Yes, that is the CNC controller this mill came with. I'm pretty sure the PCB was masked with sharpies. I kind of want to see if it works, one of these days...haha.

[latches109]

Sounds fun! I just stripped and rebuilt an m54 engine. Broke 4 vanos pistons, terrible casting on some of them. I had to pull 6 vanos from the junk yard to get enough “good” parts. Lucky they labeled them metal oil housing $7 haha. Any progress updates on the swap?

[rawbutter]

I'm jealous, Doc.

My mill is newer, but much smaller. And so far I only have one draw of tools for it. But thankfully this isn't my garage. It's a climate-controlled storage room behind the garage. So at least I can stay cool in the summer.

[Jahnman]

I wish...
One day Ill pick up a mill and lathe, possibly some extra machinery for my future garage. I so miss the machining world, but just dont have the ability to get back into it just yet. I need more space and enough power to run them first.

Side note, I still have my measuring equipment, so I guess I have SOME tools lol

[DocsMachine]

Yes, that is the CNC controller this mill came with. I'm pretty sure the PCB was masked with sharpies. I kind of want to see if it works, one of these days...haha.

-When I first started converting my Logan over to CNC, I bought a used controller from a local. It came with drivers....

... on a 5.25" floppy disc.

(I really just needed the stepper drivers, which did, in fact, still have current support.)

My mill is newer, but much smaller.

-Can't honestly say I'm a fan of 3-in-1 machines today, but on the other hand, there was a time I'd have killed and helped hide the body for access to something like that.

I started this business with literally a badly-worn-out mill-drill, and a little while later, a Grizzly 9x20 lathe. I had a bench grinder that served double duty as a polisher, and I think I had maybe a dozen endmills, some of which I'd been forced to resharpen with a Dremel. None of that is hyperbole.

It ain't much, but it's mine!!

-Don't knock it! I've thought a couple of times about getting a Taig, myself. They may not be a full production machine, but then, I can't afford one of those. And, for you car guys, check out a series of YT videos called Project Binky. They have a Taig CNC, and while they don't use it much, they make some pretty nice parts with it.

Doc.

[russc]

-Don't knock it! I've thought a couple of times about getting a Taig, myself. They may not be a full production machine, but then, I can't afford one of those. And, for you car guys, check out a series of YT videos called Project Binky. They have a Taig CNC, and while they don't use it much, they make some pretty nice parts with it.

Doc.

Just took a look at a couple of their "Howie Did It" videos, and that's actually pretty damn impressive. They were goosing it through some big steel parts. That makes me feel pretty good about what I aim to do, mostly in aluminum.

[DocsMachine]

Check the latest one, Episode 32, as well. They use it right at the beginning to make a mount for a crank position sensor, and then later to make an adapter for their coil packs.

Doc.

[cfos00]

My tiny little machine shop, although that will be getting a space upgrade once I finish moving out to Arvada, CO. Then, the big step up to being in the garage! Woohoo! You'll notice a mini lathe, mini mill, and air compressor. I use that stuff to make my parts for my Annihilation Kits (R/T autocockers, as shown below)!

[Siress]

My man... it's been months since you posted this and it still gets to me. How did you achieve those tool paths with those machines?

[russc]

Okay, you need to do a post about that kit. Looks awesome!!

[Jellyghost]

I love the older american made machines. They are so worthy of restoring, cheap, and made to be repaired.

[Rusty Brass]

My tiny little machine shop, although that will be getting a space upgrade once I finish moving out to Arvada, CO. Then, the big step up to being in the garage! Woohoo! You'll notice a mini lathe, mini mill, and air compressor. I use that stuff to make my parts for my Annihilation Kits (R/T autocockers, as shown below)!

Wow. You are one dedicated SOB. I am thoroughly impressed. I have the same mill and lathe in my garage and I have a hell of a time motivating to make proper use of them. I can't even imagine trying to get anything done in my shed. Good on ya.

[DocsMachine]

I use that stuff to make my parts for my Annihilation Kits (R/T autocockers, as shown below)!

-I'm sorry, the rules say you can't just post a drive-by like that without adding more detail. It might get a little off-topic for this particular thread, though, so I suggest starting a fresh one where appropriate, and... well, bragging a bit. I'd like to know more- heck, I might want to order a kit myself. One of the few things I don't have is a functional RT 'Cocker.

Doc.

[DocsMachine]

I love the older american made machines. They are so worthy of restoring, cheap, and made to be repaired.

-Big fan of American machines. Especially older ones, they simply don't make machines like those anymore.

Now, that said, it also depends on what you want to do with them. I get along just fine with older manual machines, because that's the way my brain is wired. But if I were to try moving into real, full-time production, I'd be better off dumping the lot and buying a row of modern CNCs. The problem with that, is one of those machines will cost more than I have in a roomful of working, capable machines, and I just don't have the product lines to keep half a million in modern CNCs running.

The rest of you, let's see some more machines. Don't make me spam my own thread with more of my stuff.

Doc.