Question about Klotz Utilities

[japcas]

Hey guys. I've been looking over some of the programs on Marv Klotz website and they are very useful. I have used the ball cut calculator several times and the results have been very good. I found that you can cut a ball on the lathe very easily using this program and with light filing and sanding they can come out quite accurate. I have had a problem with a couple of the programs though and can't figure out why so I thought I would ask it here figuring some of you guys may have had the same problem. On the ball cut program after you execute and run the program it outputs the data in a notepad document. I have been trying to run the radius cutting calculator that you use on the mill with a tilted head and when I am finished inputting the info it closes but then there is no notepad document to get the calculated info out of. I am sure I am missing something but can't seem to figure out what I am doing wrong. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks and if you haven't taken the time to check out the site you should because there is a lot of useful info on there.

[Steve Steven]

You are having a problem with windows settings. Go to the top of his page, read the last few paragraphs where he talks about how to set it up so it dosen't close. The answer is in the program, it should not close, then you can get the answer.
Steve

[japcas]

Thanks for the help. I had read that info before but I am not very computer literate. I went back through them slowly and finally understood what I had to do so all is working fine now. Now I can go back and download a few of the other programs that I was having problems with.

[Millman]

Balls, Schmalls!

You know, when I was a Puppy,,balls were cut without any computer programs. 100 yrs. from now, there will still be some who will have the skills to cut their balls.

[japcas]

If you are referring to using a radius attachment that is fine but I don't have one. I can use one though. This program eliminates the need to make or buy a radius cutting tool for the occasional ball cut. If you are referring to using kentucky windage then I doubt that it would be anywhere near as accurate as using the incremental step method using the program.

[mochinist]

If you are referring to using a radius attachment that is fine but I don't have one. I can use one though. This program eliminates the need to make or buy a radius cutting tool for the occasional ball cut. If you are referring to using kentucky windage then I doubt that it would be anywhere near as accurate as using the incremental step method using the program.

My balls arent perfect, one hangs lower than the other.

Anyways what were you doing that you needed such accurate balls? I do this for a living and have yet to be asked to make a ball that needed any accuracy, they were almost all for handles and such, and I usually use a radius guage and a series of files, after roughing off some of the material.

[Evan]

This one I made earlier this year had to be very round or it wouldn't work at all.

[JCHannum]

The program is a series of plunge cuts coulped with carriage moves to produce a rough, multi faceted ball which is hand finished with a file and layout blue. It was in the first Machinist's Bedside Reader, and in an early issue of Home Shop Machinist by Guy Lautard.

It is a simple, accurate method of producing a ball, and can be done by laying out a spread sheet and doing the calculations yourself or using Marv's program to do the calc's for you.

Either way, the actual machining is done manually, and it requires a skilled lathe hand for the best results.

[japcas]

Mochinist, these balls are for handles too but I prefer to file as little as possible so this procedure gets them really close. Also I have a shape that almost makes it impossible to egg shaped. I do this for a living also and when we want them real close I would use the cnc. I enjoy learning new ways to do things. I don't make these often so at the time I can't justify the money or time it would take me to make a radius cutter but one of these days I will probably get one but for now this works great.

[japcas]

Nice looking work Evan. What method did you use to make that? It appears to be blackened aluminum but I'm not sure. What is the material?

[Evan]

The black parts are acetal. The aluminum looking parts are, er, aluminum.

I used a simple ball turning attachment that I made mainly for this job. I don't seem to have a pic of it although I did take one. I'll see if I can find it.

[mklotz]

I get about ten emails a week asking the same questions the OP asked. It's
very frustrating that folks won't take the time to RTFM (Read The F... Manual).

As someone pointed out, most spheres cut on the lathe are for appearance and
need not be especially accurate. Doing it by hand is fine if you're such an
accomplished machinist that you have that skill. Nevertheless, and I'll type
this really slowly so that arrogant jerk, Millman, can follow,

THIS IS NOT A PROFESSIONAL MACHINIST BBS. THE EXPECTATION IS THAT MOST
VISITORS WILL BE, TO SOME DEGREE, AMATEURS, WHO MAY NOT HAVE ALL THE SKILLS AND
COORDINATION EXPECTED OF A PROFESSIONAL. PROVIDING TECHNIQUES THAT PRODUCE
GOOD RESULTS AT THE EXPENSE OF TIME IS NOT A BAD THING.

The other advantage of the incremental technique is that it can be adapted to
produce profiles other than spherical. For example, the program OGIVE uses the
same incremental technique to make, surprise, ogives. PROFILE is the
generalized version and allows one to specify his profile in a data file from
which the program generates the incremental cutting schedule. If folks have
other shapes they'd like to try the incremental technique on, contact me and
I'll make a stab at writing a program for that shape.

[mochinist]

Mochinist, these balls are for handles too but I prefer to file as little as possible so this procedure gets them really close. Also I have a shape that almost makes it impossible to egg shaped. I do this for a living also and when we want them real close I would use the cnc. I enjoy learning new ways to do things. I don't make these often so at the time I can't justify the money or time it would take me to make a radius cutter but one of these days I will probably get one but for now this works great.

Understood

And nice work as always Evan

[mochinist]

THIS IS NOT A PROFESSIONAL MACHINIST BBS. THE EXPECTATION IS THAT MOST
VISITORS WILL BE, TO SOME DEGREE, AMATEURS, WHO MAY NOT HAVE ALL THE SKILLS AND
COORDINATION EXPECTED OF A PROFESSIONAL. PROVIDING TECHNIQUES THAT PRODUCE
GOOD RESULTS AT THE EXPENSE OF TIME IS NOT A BAD THING.

So he doesnt have to get out the bifocals

[dp]

THIS IS NOT A PROFESSIONAL MACHINIST BBS. THE EXPECTATION IS THAT MOST
VISITORS WILL BE, TO SOME DEGREE, AMATEURS, WHO MAY NOT HAVE ALL THE SKILLS AND
COORDINATION EXPECTED OF A PROFESSIONAL. PROVIDING TECHNIQUES THAT PRODUCE
GOOD RESULTS AT THE EXPENSE OF TIME IS NOT A BAD THING.

This describes me perfectly - I've spent months working on a simple thread dial because I want to. And I want a good thread dial when I'm done. Along the way I'm learning more about hob making, gear cutting, scribing, stamping, and a whole slew of operations that I didn't know about two years ago when I bought the lathe. The real pleasure in all this is the learning (when I was 20 I'd never have guessed 40 years later I'd still be educating myself), and I'll have a thread dial at the end of it. I'll also have a lot of new tools and skills so I can make thread dials by the millions