Shop Made Tools

[DATo]

jkopel,

The block you are using for that vise stop would make an excellent boring bar holder as well.

We have one at work which looks almost exactly like the one you made and it is a great boring tool holder for larger boring bars in the lathe. When you made it if you had put a center drill in the headstock of the lathe and fed the block into it you'd have exactly the right height for the bar and this wouldn't affect the way it is used as a vise block so you could use it for either application.

[ccm399]

ccm399,

Can you remove that top plate so we can see what the guts look like?

I sure can... when I get back in town. I am in Canada right now on business. I fly back tonight so hopefully tomorrow night I can snap a couple pics. I modeled it some what off an Accuturn holder like this one: LINK

As you can see I have not added the spring yet and a couple other finishing touches. Plus I changed where the locking screws press on the tool holder arms. I was never a fan of the locking happening behind the pivot.

I'll get some pics up though.

Chris

[J. R. Williams]

It would have much easier to drill the holes for the table support before welding the unit.

[goodscrap]

Air Bearing

I made this last winter for sharpening milling cutters, i posted a thread on here but thought it might serve better if i put it in the shop made tools, hopefully someone else will find it useful.




it has a three position stop arrangement to give a horizontal set-up position, then a primary and secondary clearance, this is achieved by adjusting the bolts, (a bit like a wood working router) and has an indent ball/spring to lock in the desired position.

there is a piece of drill rod inserted through the side of the pivoting plate, with a pocket cut to expose it so that it contacts the 3-position stop in a single plane, this is in a pocket on the underside to keep grinding dust out. as already mentioned it allows clearances to be indexed between without additional set-up, it also allows the head to be tilted away from the wheel between cuts, so there is no danger of slipping up whilst re-positioning the cutter on the next flute.





horizontal setting



secondary clearance angle.

Yes the wheel needed dressing in the above pic

i did a bit more work after that but haven't updated any pics etc, if you do a search for 'air spindex' you should be able to find the old threads.

and here's a link to a video of it floating: http://s182.photobucket.com/user/cov...ring1.mp4.html

Brian

[gandalf]

Easier tapping

Hi folks,

I want to share a setup I use that makes life easier when tapping holes.



The idea is to make a "Weldon" flat on the stem of the tap, and make a sleeve that the tap fits in, fastened with a set screw on the flat. The sleeve has a slit on the side, and goes in a die handle, so it can be driven as if it were a die. You'll say "so what?". Well, the tail end of the tap sticks out, so after I drill the hole to be tapped, without disturbing the setup I just remove the drill, open the chuck to acomodate the end of the tap, and close it just short of clamping the tap, so the tap can slide up and down with minimum play.

Now the tap is supported at both ends and will be exactly square with the work, and I can go ahead and tap the hole. Also, there is no chance to bend the tap sideways and risk breaking it. This is more or less what dedicated tapping jigs usually do, but this is using just a simple sleeve, and leaving the work right where it was when I drilled the hole, so tapping is a breeze. It can be done on the milling machine, the lathe, and also the drill press if the work is clamped.



Because the tap is supported at both ends, it is also possible to use very small taps with minimum chance of breaking them. For the smaller taps, instead of a die handle I use a small knurled knob which I drive by hand.



The left photo shows a #0-80 tap in a 20mm diam. knob. In the back is a 40mm knob, which works well for 2mm and 2.5mm taps. The right photo shows an 82* countersink and a 3/16" counterbore with removable pilots, made from 1/4" O1 tool steel. The pilot stems are 1.5mm, fastened on the side with a #0-80 set screw. The threaded hole for the screw is 2.5mm long, and tapping it, even though it was tool steel, was quite straightforward. I made six such cutters, and the only difficulty was that by the time I was tapping the last hole, the tap had become rather dull, and did not cut nearly as well as it did at first.

[Stern]

If it was me I would torch cut them and clean up with a die grinder before I bought a mag drill, unless I need it for something else. Do a good job and the average person will never notice that they are not drilled.
James

I did contemplate that, but since my oxy/acet is a small set the o2 runs out very fast (need to make a trip one day as im out of 02 and argon for the TIG). Since I have an abundance of hole saws (use them all the time to drill holes in sprinkler pipe [sched 80], and buy them by the dozen) I think I will make a small pilot hole that goes straight through the sides, then I can use the pilot for the hole saw to follow. Will make sure when I do the big table I drill those first before welding the table up. Off today to see what kind of cylinder I can buy (biggest one I can afford) so I can start working on the movable mount for it.

[ccm399]

ccm399,

Can you remove that top plate so we can see what the guts look like?

Better late than never they say:





Chris

[goodscrap]

rear mounted Kurling tool for small diameter stock, been using it for straight / spline type knurls to create an interference on some hinge pins. beauty is it allows good access for repetitive work, i've done around 300 pins in the last week. it has three wheels to prevent bending the stock and is semi-floating so it self-centres.

it offers about 2:1 on the hand-force so no spanners are required, there is also has a depth stop to ensure repeatable depth of knurl. i don't use coolent, but have found using the air-line to give a continuous blast when knurling keeps and chips from trashing the job



Brian

[_Paul_]

I changed the vice on my BP so used the opportunity to make a new stop.









Paul

[vpt]

Made a pillar cutting attachment for my bandsaw today. Should make perfectly strait cuts every time.

[bborr01]

Andy,

When you get the saw indoors, could you take a picture of the pillar attachment in use? I can't seem to figure out what it does or how it works.

Thanks,
Brian

[vpt]

Andy,

When you get the saw indoors, could you take a picture of the pillar attachment in use? I can't seem to figure out what it does or how it works.

Thanks,
Brian

I have a few more pics. I'll make a video once I get around to actually cutting the pillars. I made up the jig so when I clamp it to the pinch weld on a pillar the saw will make a repeatable perfectly strait cut threw the pillar. So then hopefully when I make the cut on the pillar of the truck/car and then the same cut on the "new" roof when I put the "new" roof on the truck/car the cuts should match up perfectly and not need any trimming, grinding, or filling in of huge gaps.

As you seen the pillar gets clamped in the little channel with the bolts. In this picture you see the clamp is below the blade where you would be ready to make a cut.


Here the clamp is rotated up to where you would have completed the cut threw the pillar of the vehicle or "new" used roof.




So in theory instead of measuring the pillar and wrapping tape around and hope to get a square cut I should only have to measure where to put the clamp on the pinch weld, slap the saw on and cut and it should be perfect every time.

Here is the thread I started: http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/thr...to-start-on-it

[_Paul_]

Made some Tee Nuts to replace those that "vanish"... the ones you see in the back ground are commercially made items.

Just have to case harden these now and all done.







And what they were made from a lump of EN1A

[dalee100]

Hi,

Never enough tee nuts! I need to make another batch myself. I like to make them from round stock, as I find the rounded leading edge slides into the tee slot easier.

dalee

[goodscrap]

I can't claim to have thought this up on my own, luckily when i bought my lathe it was quite well tooled up, the previous owner had made a spindle nose adaptor to accept 3C collets and a hollow tubular drawbar, i've never used these much - mainly because the drawbar needs repairing for propper workholding. None the less i had a load of pins to face to length and ideally a backstop of some sort to use in conjunction with a bed stop, (which i also have). Luckily to chap who made the 3C adapter made it so it would fit inside the chuck, so it was a small matter of putting in a suitable collet and a bit of bar stock.

not really a shop made tool, but saved me no end of time.







Brian