What did you do today?

[kj4oll]

I spent time practicing how to thread on the 1946 Logan.
The Logan gears I bought from ebay recently showed up, as did the Warner threading tools.
Cleaned and the gears and lubricated w/ Dutch Boy white lead that I had from ancient times.
Lubricated the gear spindles and all the other points w/ Mobil spindle oil.
Watched a couple of videos on how to configure the lathe for threading.

Found out that there were little, tiny, squinty numbers under all the dirt and grease on the round part, behind the compound rest and cross feed ball cranks!

Took a while to figure out how to set 29.5 degrees.
The “zero” mark is on the back of the cross feed, located after cleaning and using bright lights and magnification. So I have to walk behind the lathe to set this…..odd

Watched a video on how to use the threading dial I bought on ebay.
Made swarf, and grooves that are beginning to resemble threads!

gears_installed_lubricated

squinty_numbers_visible

[RB211]

absolutely nothing

[DennisCA]

First catapult done last night. I could tighten the springs more yet, but it throws well enough as is.

[The Metal Butcher]

kj4oll, good job! Gotta start somewhere. I'd give those ways a clean, that's one of the most important areas of a lathe to keep clean if you want it to last a while.

Dennis, nice catapult. A gift, or for yourself?

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I finished a graphite part for an engineer at work this morning, then got the printer switched over to run tungsten. I later learned that the graphite part was just graphite because that's what they had, and could have been aluminum or other conductive metals. Argh! Man do I hate graphite. At least I can take 1/2" off with no qualms lol.

This is the main lathe at work. Nardini Mascote 1440.



I have mixed feelings about it. I really like the gear changes, long throw, very smooth. 9 real speeds is quite nice, and it runs slower than average. I also really like the feed clutch, has a manly, positive engagement. It's also the quietest lathe I've ever ran. Must have a really good oil pump. Maybe it's all that graphite. 😛 Starts instantly as well.

Things I don't like:

• 8tpi screws
• you must reverse the entire gearbox to feed in the opposite direction instead of just the apron, requiring a stop.
• Gearbox setup sucks compared to an Asian lathe style (ABC, RST, VWXYZ). Two levers to half or double feed vs one, hard clash requires a spindle stop)
• The brake fires with enough force to squeal the belts every time.
• Motor speed selector is nearly on the floor. WTF?
• Feedscrew and leadscrew run at the same time, they also each have their own tumblers. Strange.

The things got so many problems. The wipers are worn plumb out so they do nothing. Auto oiling doesn't work.The ways are of course packed with graphite, so if you do oil it it just bleeds graphite. Gib surfaces packed too, everything is stiff. I run it dry, cleaner that way. A guy promised me some funding if I'll get them a list of work it needs done, we'll see. They really aren't equipped for much machine work here, but yet they expect it often which doesn't make much sense. And they really need a metal lathe segregated away from the graphite dust. I'm really spoiled at home.

I wasn't hired on to do machine work like... at all, but that's what happens when folks find out your capable I guess. Ehh, maybe they'll train me on the CNC mill. I could use some CNC experience.

[J Tiers]

After running an interminable set of errands, one of which was to get some bronze oilite thrust bearings...... I made a fixture to turn down the bronze bearings from the standard 1 1/4" OD to 1.05" OD, did that, and installed in the Benchmaster, which is getting closer to finished now that scraping has been completed.

[DennisCA]

Dennis, nice catapult. A gift, or for yourself?

It's one of two catapults, each a gift for my twin boys (age 7).

[Cenedd]

The Metal Butcher Do you have a decent second-hand commercial machinery market where you are? Might it be quicker and cheaper to buy a better 2nd hand machine and then sell that one on?
Sounds like commercial machining is like IT: buy the cheapest machinery and expect the earth from it!

It's one of two catapults, each a gift for my twin boys (age 7).

Very nice Dennis....but I fear you've made a mistake there. Surely that's the sort of gift you give to say your brother's children! In that spirit my brother in law gave my son a drum kit. My wife was thrilled! Obviously when he had a kid we made sure to get him a whole wind-instrument section

[Arcane]

Today I did a little bit more cleaning up in my shop and I made some label blanks for a few of my AKRO style bins where the original labels have gone AWOL and then I went to find a pen. Grabbed one pen, no ink, grabbed another, same thing so I decided to go through my supply of shop pens and weed out the bad one. I discovered I had three dozen pens and two thirds of them were garbage! I had no idea I accumulated that many pens and I'm sure my house pens are worse.

[The Metal Butcher]

It's one of two catapults, each a gift for my twin boys (age 7).

A most excellent gift! I'm well over 7, but I'd still be pretty excited by a catapult on Christmas day. WTG dad!

(All the money you saved can be used to pay for the breakage. )

The Metal Butcher Do you have a decent second-hand commercial machinery market where you are? Might it be quicker and cheaper to buy a better 2nd hand machine and then sell that one on?
Sounds like commercial machining is like IT: buy the cheapest machinery and expect the earth from it!

They could buy better things if they wanted to.

It's not actually that worn out. It's go some wear, but I regularly face the printer build plates to within a few tenths of flatness. No problems on my diameters (at least on graphite). It just needs some tender, loving care.

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Tungsten print was a success. Lots to learn, but we're starting out on good footing. Strange to have something 6200F+ just a foot away from you. Also is way brighter than the Ti. Definetely don't want to stare at it, even through the laser glass.

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Dad and I got the 330A/BP fixed at home. Wasn't the HF relay, but instead a lose end on a wire. Now we have a spare relay, so that's good I guess. I've got some serous tig welding coming up, up to 1/2" aluminum. I may want to get some big boy 1/8" electrodes.

I also reworked dad's way wipers. The Lagun came with none, so we made knife edge rubber wipers with Aluminum backers. I believe we used 1/8" 60A Neoprene from McMaster, but I'd have to check the order to be sure. Seems about right. Works really good as well. Squeegees everything off so well that the ways practically stay dry, while the saddle keeps its oil in. Should help a lot with flood coolant as well.

[J Tiers]

More oiling improvements, and got the saddle on the Benchmaster. It's coming along, finally.

[DennisCA]

Finnish christmas dinner.

Potatoes are home grown.


Homemade rutabaga casserole and red beet sallad


Homemade grey salted ham, oven baked:


Homemade gravlax


Home baked christmas bread




No lutefisk for us though...

[Mcgyver]

Looks good - a feast!

[Tim Clarke]

That's beautiful bread, and so is the rest! I'd love to try all of it.

[lakeside53]

Got the base for my Humming bird feeder heater done! Crazy here - many of the Anna's hang out all winter, and it's not whether you feed them or not. A lot simply die when it goes into the teens for a few days, so I bring feeder in at night and change it in the day etc. High low switch, 12 volts fed from the bottom, red LED so I know it's on, over sized 25 ohm power resistors from my junk drawer. Snaps onto the bottom of the feeder when I figure out how.

[J Tiers]

Finished baking the oatmeal-molasses bread, got together with the usual small "pod" of neighbors for dinner and drinks (people we see regularly, some of whom have already had covid and are safe.).