Shop Made Tools

[mars-red]

Not exactly a tool, but a shop made thing that's tool related. I recently made up a tiny rack for my ER-11 collets that I'll be using on the little Hager mill. I somehow don't like the idea of ER collets sitting down into holes - with that groove they have machined into them it seemed like there must be a better way to rack them. I used a piece of aluminum scrap and came up with this. It's quite quick and easy to make. I realized after taking photos and doing the video that if you lay it on its back, it's even better - collets face forward and gravity keeps them secured in the slots.

Here's a pic of the finished rack:


And here's a really short, quick video:

https://youtu.be/OHO_IefxoA8

[RichR]

Very nice. When they made the collet at the left end they left out a couple of slots.

[mattthegamer463]

Made a weld gun holder, nothing fancy just a copy of some online versions, works great so far. Magnet is a "magnetic hook" magnet from princess auto, minus hook.

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

[jphonger]

Spindle Adapter

This isn't really a tool, per se, but it is a spindle adapter that I finally finished tonight. It allows me to use my lathe chucks which are 1-1/2" - 8tpi on a dividing head that is threaded 1 inch 8tpi. I have done plenty of single point external threading, but this was my first go at internal threading.
Finishing this part gets me one step closer to my plans of learning to cut gears. And yes, the dividing head may look familiar to some of you, ahem mars-red

[mars-red]

This isn't really a tool, per se, but it is a spindle adapter that I finally finished tonight. It allows me to use my lathe chucks which are 1-1/2" - 8tpi on a dividing head that is threaded 1 inch 8tpi. I have done plenty of single point external threading, but this was my first go at internal threading.
Finishing this part gets me one step closer to my plans of learning to cut gears. And yes, the dividing head may look familiar to some of you, ahem mars-red

That adapter came out real nice, great work! It's also nice to see the old girl getting some love, I look forward to seeing her put to use. Any idea what your first project with it is going to be?

[jphonger]

That adapter came out real nice, great work! It's also nice to see the old girl getting some love, I look forward to seeing her put to use. Any idea what your first project with it is going to be?

Thanks Max! I think some rotary broaches are imminent... but I haven't really thought that far ahead yet. probably a lot of hex stuff and some gears. This sort of opens up a whole new world, so I am still a bit awestruck.....

[Tim Aldrich]

I made that lantern style tool post that was discussed here. I used the original rocker but made everything else and I'm really quite proud of the screw. But, I made the square head 5/16" instead of the planned 3/8". I used the carriage lock screw on my South Bend lathe as a model.

Click for photo

[Tmoore4748]

Hi
Not so much a build but a modification to a common Chinese engine hoist that is useful for shifting machine tools.
The standard hoist takes up more space than I have. I modified the hoist so the moving arm folds down against the ram. The ram is moved higher to take full advantage of the available ram motion.

I made the lower ram support bracket so I could adjust the height but this is not necessary. I welded a plate onto the main upright that supports most of the weight on the bottom of the RAM.

The hoist now lifts higher in use, and takes up less floor space when stored.

Please tell me you've got more photos of this! I've been stuck in a shop a third the size of my old one, and desperately want to keep my hoist. Never thought of breaking it down like you did, didn't think it would remain structurally sound

[mikegt4]

Please tell me you've got more photos of this! I've been stuck in a shop a third the size of my old one, and desperately want to keep my hoist. Never thought of breaking it down like you did, didn't think it would remain structurally sound

My hoist works the same way, folds up to a much smaller footprint.

I retrieved it from my late brothers backyard in Florida where it had been sitting for years. I used electrolysis to remove the rust and repainted it. I think that it might be a USA made unit as all the steel and dimensions appear to be Imperial.

It only had casters on the legs and 2 under the main frame. Not very movable when folded. I put one non turning caster on the frame to move it around when folded. Now I can easily roll it around and it steers pivoting on that caster. I can tilt the caster up off the ground when the legs are down.

I figured out the horizontal CG and drilled holes (above the CG) on the lifting arm for a lift pin so that I can lift the complete unit out of my basement (Bilco door access) using my front loader. Previously I had to disassemble everything and carry all the pieces out by hand.

I can't figure out how to post photos.

[Dave C]

In keeping with the idea that for a little more $ you can make it yourself, Here is my home built shop press.

Several mods were done after that pic was taken, including adding some steel casters to make it portable. (Sort Of)

The basic design is not mine. My friend has a press that I've used and liked, so this is a copy of his press with a few modifications that I thought would improve it's usefulness. The basic 6" channel frame was salvaged from the scrap yard as was the 1/4x2x2 angle iron feet. Cost = $20. The bolster is 8" heavy channel given to me by a friend . I gave one of his employees $10 for cutting it. The rest of the metal came from my junk pile.
The bolster is my design. It's reinforced with 1/4" plate, and held together with eight 3/4" bolts running through pipe spacers. The spacers were faced to length on the lathe, and they surround the side frames.

A length of angle was added at the bottom to provide stability to the frame while creating a storage rack for the press plates. I do not trust my welding to be good enough to attach the header to the side frames, so that job was farmed out to a friend who is a pro. We often trade favors, so that was a freebie. The height adjustment holes in the frames were laid out, then drilled on a Bridgeport prior to welding the header to the frames. That was probably the most difficult part of the whole project. Sorry there are no pics, but doing the holes was the first operation after cleaning up the steel, and I hadn't thought about recording the project until it was suggested by a friend.
Once the bolster was bolted in place it became obvious that it was too heavy to raise without help. Years of bad experience with tangled and frayed cables on lifting mechanism had me scratching my head for a simple, yet inexpensive solution, but everything I came up with was going to be complicated, and/or expensive. Following is what I decided on, and I'm proud to say that it works and is trouble free. It started life as a Horror Freight boat winch that I picked up for a few bucks at a salvage store.

The winch was dismantled, the crank shaft was lengthened, the frame and cable was discarded, and replaced with a section of channel milled for clearance, and fitted with bronze bushings. The new cable is lighter and more flexible, and is one of those items that you save because it might come in handy some day. It was leftover when I replaced the power head on our garage door opener.

[Dave C]

New worm carrier bolted in place.

The cable drum was modified to fit inside the header and align with the worm gear. Grade 8 bolts are used as axles for the cable guide pulleys on on either end of the header. The bolts are long enough to allow the pulleys to slide as the cable winds on the drum.

I had every intention of making a new shaft for the winch, but that cobbled together eyesore works, and I'm the only one that sees it sooooo.
Here's another shot of the bolster before being installed:

[Dave C]

The lift cable attachment.


Once the press was finished, it wasn't long before moving it around made casters a good idea, but now it was too tall, so the frames had to be shortened. Luckily, there was some channel left over from making the bolster, and it was just wide enough to slip over the frame. Some longer and heavier angle was added to the feet for added strength and stability. Now,the whole bottom assembly can be unbolted should the frame need further mods. (shortening)



I learned the hard way why presses are short. I nearly escaped serious injury when attempting to press open the eye of a leaf spring. The spring flew out of the press like a boomerang and missed my head by inches. I changed my pants, and went to the trailer parts store and bought 4 new springs with the correct sized bushing eye holes. The next project was cutting another couple of inches off the press legs. One of these days I'll make that new shaft for the winch. The Frame was sand blasted before painting, another friend job, so all told including the Horror Freight jack, I have less than $100 in the project. Now if I had paid for all the materials and services, well, that would be a different story.
For the benefit of those who may have noticed the dates on the pictures, this project was actually done in 2010. The combination of rain and trouble with a leg is keeping me in the house. I ran across these pics while cleaning up my hard disk and thought someone may enjoy them.

[MattiJ]

Solid carbide boring bar for ~1/8" ~3.15 minimum holes:


Ideally would need finer grit diamond but mounting another grinder was too much to ask this time..

[DICKEYBIRD]

Man, would you look at that; clever devil aren't you Matti! I hope I can remember that one.

[MattiJ]

Man, would you look at that; clever devil aren't you Matti! I hope I can remember that one.

Pic does't show but I used shim between one of the chuck jaws to get the offset in case anyone is wondering. 4-jaw would be the obvious choice but I'm lazy..
And for mounting the small boring bars I use cheapo ER collet chuck on quick change TP.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/C12-ER16A-10...MAAOSwtGlZLpsf
For 6 dollars they might be less than perfect but for a stationary tool they are more than good enuff