The Home Machinist!

thanks for the replies. I meant to mention that I was using a good rubber belt, not the old leather ones. I liked the cleaning tip of using gasoline as well, though I do sometimes clean parts with gasoline. Hasn't been a problem for me so far. at 73. I made the belt from automotive belt with ribs on...

I have a 1938 south Bend 9" lathe. IT runs the flat pulleys and belt. any advice on getting a bit more bite on those belts before they slip?

thanks guys . your right, i do need the book and I do have a number of the south bend books

That's what I thought too. What size should the blank be before threading for an 18 mm thread?

Hi guys, I have to make a part for something. It needs an external thread on what will be a tube when I drill it out. A matching male thread I have is metric 1.5 pitch but I don't know the size. The outside of the thread tips measures 17.91mm. would that be a 18mm die? And when I turn it, is that 17...

Thanks guys. I dont even have a left hand hand wheel but could make one if I decide to. But thanks for the input.Heading off to Colorado now for skiing.

In looking at x axis power feeds for my Chinese mill/drill there are units that mount on the right or left side of the table. The right hand ones are much cheaper than the left hand units. Is one considered better than the other for some reason? Mill 7.jpg The left hand one would appear to be better...

I see you put yours on the front. Dont you miss the stops? Or does that stuff on the front just not matter much?

this is my machine
in your last picture of the hand crank do those scales turn freely to 0 them? Mine looks just like yours but only turns with the hand crank.
And yes that did help , thanks a lot.

I'm not saying the backlash is excessive (for the machine), just that its there. How long do I need the scales to be, or how much "longer" than travel? (4 inches, say) ? My table is 28" by 9 1/2" not really relevant, except to compare to yours. x travel is 20", Y is 7",...

Hi guys,I'm looking for an inexpensive DRO for my equally inexpensive Chinese round column mill.The hand dials are way off, due to backlash inherent in the machine. Since it has no knee ,I'm thinking I don't want the third (Z axes) scale. They seem to come in sets. I'd want just the X and Y axes two...

I bought this dial indicator in a lot of old machine shop tools some years ago. 8 maybe, For very little money. Nice wood box and everything. I think it’s all there even. The plunger on back of the disk works but it’s become sticky. Is there a way to clean these up so it will work again? I don’t wan...