Who has machine tools?!?

[XEMON]

If for some reason I could only have one machine, it'd likely be a lathe. You can get "milling attachments" to let you do limited flatwork and slotting and the like.

thanks, have you ever used one of those 90deg vice on the tool post?

[Jellyghost]

I was just given a 60+ year old table saw. It appears to be a great saw, but the arbor is no longer a standard width. A standard arbor is about 5/8ths of an inch, and this arbor is 6/8ths of an inch.
Do you have suggestions for widening the blade hole or turning down the arbor? I have a drill press. I do not have a lathe or a relationship with a local machine shop. Thanks!
This may become my dedicated Dado saw.

[Flounder]

Some higher end blade manufacturers used to offer to bore blades out to a larger hole. You might find a sharpening shop that can offer the service as well. A quick Google search shows a few different 3/4 arbor blades on eBay and Amazon as well

[Jellyghost]

Thanks Flounder. I am not sure (but I have cheap blades to practice upon), but I think I can bore it out using my drill press. I think I can line it up with a bit that matches the current hole, and then clamp everything down before switching to a larger bit. Lets see how it goes. It should save quite a bit because I have this big cache of blades looking for a saw.

[Flounder]

I a have a new project to work on now. Step one is get it off the trailer. Most of the missing pieces are in the back of the truck. Will need to source a few things to get her up and running but excited about this new project, a special thanks to one of our members here who get me involved with this deal.

[XEMON]

Nice piece 👍
That will make lots of chips

[DocsMachine]

And DONE!

In August of 2013 I hauled this junker home...



After it had spent at least a decade out in the Alaska weather, and had been rather badly mistreated by a legion of previous owners.

As of today, we can officially declare this Monster project DONE!



She's 99.5% complete and 100% at-will operational. Those chips in the pan aren't just set dressing.

And for those that might have a hard time judging scale, that's a 10" 3-jaw chuck, and the tailstock drill chuck is a Jacobs 20N, capable of holding up to an inch shank drill.

She'll swing 18-1/2" and fifty-six long, weighs about three tons and has a ten-horse 3-phase motor. And it is damn near good as new again- better, in some cases.

Doc.

[XEMON]

I'm worried about you ... Are you starting to machine paintball tanks?

But in all seriousness, it looks sweet!
Any specific job waiting for for it?

[russc]

Wow. That looks like it was a labor of love. At what point is a machine like that obviously too far gone to save?

[DocsMachine]

I'm worried about you ... Are you starting to machine paintball tanks?

-No, but what a great idea!

Any specific job waiting for for it?

-Er... no?

Keep in mind that when I originally bought it, it was only a few years after the '09 recession. My paintball work had fallen off a cliff- as it did for a bunch of paintball companies. (It killed Smart Parts, led to the death of WDP, killed KAPP, put Shocktech in hibernation for a decade, etc.) I'd tried branching out into general machine work just to keep the lights on, and had just a few months before finding this beast, gotten a job from a local shop to make some new generator endplates.

I got 'em done, but they stretched the abilities of my little lathes to the limit. I thought that if I were going to do this kind of thing, I needed a bigger, more powerful lathe. It took me eight hours to make one plate on my Logan. On this monster, I bet I could have done it in less than two.

What I needed was something more like a 14" 5HP machine, but this is Alaska, a machine tool desert. Plus, I had near-zero money back then (and for that matter, only slightly more today.) This one showed up for basically scrap price, and since I'd already rebuilt a few near-unsalvageable machines by this point, I decided to take a chance at it.

All that said; had I known it was going to cost this much (well over $10K all told, though that includes a lot of tooling) and take this long, chances are I'd have passed on it. AND... in the intervening seven years, what I've at times laughingly called my "business plan" has changed several times, and pretty radically in some aspects.

Suffice to say I've refocused on the paintball manufacturing, but in this case, a 10HP manual lathe is really of little use making things like 'Cocker bolts and barrel parts.

I'll still use it, of course, but it's not like it's going to revitalize my shop, or add new capacity the way something like a CNC turning center would. I mainly finished it up just so the parts aren't scattered all over the shop, and it's not sitting in the corner like a dead lump just taking up space.

At what point is a machine like that obviously too far gone to save?

-Generally, when it's missing too many parts.

Iron doesn't rust like steel does. I mean, it rusts, but rarely turns to the loose, flaky stuff. Cast iron tends to get a coating of rust, and then stop, unlike steel that keeps rusting 'til it's a pile of dust.

A rusty cast-iron machine can be stripped chemically, electrolytically or mechanically, and relatively easily returned to service. It may not be as accurate as it was when new (without additional work) but it CAN be used.

The real killer on old machines like this, especially more obscure marques like this Springfield, is the lack of parts. If I had a Bridgeport, Logan, Monarch 10EE or a few other machines, spare parts can be had by the truckload. On the other hand, in the seven years I've been working on this beast, I've never seen anyone part out a Springfield.

It was a near thing on this monster, as we suspect it had been scrapped and partially parted out back in the 70s. Supposedly some dealer bought it and 'rebuilt" it- the oil pump was replaced with some aviation unit, the compound was replaced with some late-model Asian unit, the taper attachment is off an old Lodge & Shipley, it was missing one of the tailstock clamps, etc.

On the East Coat, it'd have been parted the rest of the way out and the rest scrapped. But this is Alaska, a machine-tool desert. It's like being way out in the Australian Outback- you don't just go to the store and buy another one- you work with what you have available, or you do without.

Fortunately, I already had a full machine shop, and the know-how for things like gear making and cast-iron welding, so it wasn't a monumental challenge.

Doc.

[XEMON]

Hoping to get some advice for my compact 5 ...

Id like to get a 4 jaw chuck (independent) for it, but the mounting on the spindle isn't quite standard:


Now, most "standard" small chuck have screw from the back ...

I don't really have the equipment to make adapter and I seam to have trouble finding chuck that mouth on my spindle.

Any advice/help/source for affordable chuck?
Also, anyone able to make me a plate if I supply the prints?

[SETHZILLA!]

It's new to my shop, but my wife has had it up and running in her business for almost a year before we shut it down due to Covid crap.
Moved all of her large format printers into the house and i cleared out a space for her to put the CNC Router in my shop. It's up and running now, (picture is from last month) so look for some cool aluminum products from me in the near future...

[XEMON]

What about a chuck back plate? :P

[Jellyghost]

I am cleaning out the workshop of an old machinist for Colgate-Palmolive. There are no large machines, but there are lots of different types of taps, dies, drill bits, reamers etc.... Can you help me identify the stuff in the pictures? The pictures are representative; there is tons of this stuff. Any suggestions on how to liquidate this stuff? Does anybody on here want it? I don't need to make retail. I just need a way to move lots of stuff without too much effort.

[Kit]

I would be interested in some, when you get it sorted out.

[DocsMachine]

Jellytoast: The first pic is Just What It Says On The Tin. It's shim stock, just thin brass sheet, used to, well, shim things. Machinists will often use it to shim lathe tools to proper height, if they don't have an easily-adjustable toolpost, but it can be used for a lot of things. It's worth maybe a couple bucks to somebody.

The second pic shows unground chunks of HSS, or High Speed Steel. Those are classically ground into lathe tools. The two with shown labels are good American-made pieces, and maybe worth a bit more to a discerning sort. But "a bit more" might mean a couple bucks for the 1/2" and maybe a couple more for the 5/8".

Third pic down are cemented carbide lathe tools. Those are at least US-made, but they're almost worthless. I have a drawerful I never use, as do most machinists. Offer all six pieces to somebody for maybe $10, shipped.

Fourth are a pair of endmills, 3/4" shank, I think that one says 7/8". Both look reasonably sharp and unabused- protect the cutting edges, if those get chipped or dull, they rapidly lose their value. Those can be worth $10-$20 each, and I'll take 'em if you're selling.

And last is a 7/16" hand reamer, also looks sharp and unabused. Also worth about $20-ish.

I believe if you list everything here, and don't mind doing a little mixing-and-matching for people, there'd be some interest. There's enough enthusiasts here that can always use a few more drills, or lathe tools or the like.

I can always use more, myself, but I have a pretty good stash. I'd be happy to let the wealth spread a bit.

Doc.

[XEMON]

What about flat rate box lot?

[Jellyghost]

I think flat rate is the way to go. I just brought a big group of items to my shop. I am thinking that I should post pics with some info. I want to price it to clear out if possible.

[XEMON]

Let us know what you have.
I know i might be interested in some tooling if price is right (i save teh left over for a closing shop a few years back). Now i start to know how to use my own lathe, i realize a lot of it is not stuff i like to use or the wrong size for my lathe ... So im on the lookout for a few things ... keep us in the loop ...

[WORR13]

figured Doc would appreciate this. 1947 9A, finally got it running
before-

after-

[DocsMachine]

-Noice!

For half a second there I was wondering what kind of motor you had powering it in the second picture.

You might think about finding something that can put between it and the table as a drip tray. Old machine like that, especially with plain-bearing spindles, as I said earlier in the thread, live in oil. You can't over-oil them, at least not until your socks start to squish.

I know those 'butcher block' tops are fairly fluid-resistant, but a "lip of a tray or something helps keep the mess contained.

You might find an HVAC shop to just 'brake' you a tray slightly larger than the overall dimensions of the machine, with a 3/4" or 1" lip, just out of galvanized 20 ga or something.

Doc.

[WORR13]

yeah i need some kind of tray for it. i was surprised how quiet and smooth this thing runs, man i miss American made. she's been starting to leak a bit on me (like an old Harley), i researched these lathes quiet a bit and was aware of that, but most of the things i have leak oil haha. i treated the block with mineral oil, really soaked it in. still gota clean the chucks and tooling for it and start making stuff

[DocsMachine]

Waking this thread back up, I'm sure some of you have picked up (and hopefully not sold off) more machines for your shop. Let's see 'em!

Personally, for '21, I've added three more machines. The first of which was this cute little Hardinge HSL-59 "speed" lathe, which I got as usual, as a junker that I had to rebuild.



Picked that one up as a "second op" lathe to complement the turret lathe I installed last year, and to run some small, high-accuracy parts.

The second of which is my first real, production-level CNC turning center!



That one's only been here about two weeks, and I'm still getting a few details sorted out- I still need some more tooling, a new light for inside the enclosure, etc. And then, of course, to brush way up on my gang-tool programming, but then, hopefully before the end of the year, parts will start falling out of this thing on a regular basis.

The third one? Stand by. We'll get to that in due time.

Doc.

[rawbutter]

That speed lathe is adorable.

I don't personally have any new tools to show off just yet, but I'm seriously considering getting a better milling machine. I've seen a few old machines on craigslist near me in the $1000-$2000 range, but I'm not sure what I should be looking for. I mean.....I know what kind of machine I want, but I'm not sure how to "kick the tires," so to speak. The machine I have right now is a mini mill/lathe combo thing from Harbor Freight, which I got new, but everything else I'm looking at is fairly used, and I don't know how to spot problems that I should avoid.

Take, for instance, this small Bridgeport. It's pretty perfect for me. Well, maybe a bit too large, but I'll grow into it eventually. Problem is I'm not sure if this is a fair deal or not. And if I go to check it out, of course I'll make sure that it turns on, and I'll check that and all the hand wheels move smoothly....but beyond that I'm not really sure what to look for.

So, any advice for buying used milling machines?

[XEMON]

Make sure the rails are smith (no work spots) and straight ... That's the most important and most difficult to fix ...
Also make sure the bed stays level from one end to the next ... If someone left it offset for a while, the bed can sag on one end ...