This is my workbench now, what can I do to improve it?

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Harold_V
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Re: This is my workbench now, what can I do to improve it?

Post by Harold_V »

milwiron wrote: Sun Jan 17, 2021 10:32 am As Bill says, never overload your keyless chuck (s) with end mills or S&D drill bits. There's nothing more heartbreaking than watching a really expensive keyless chuck getting "unlocked" with a pipe wrench.
It can be worse than that. Years ago I was gifted an almost new 1/8"-5/8" Albrecht that had been improperly used (in industry) by overloading. In this case, the overload was so great that it cracked the bonnet. With mixed emotions I ordered a new bonnet and hoped for the best. The chuck, otherwise, was not damaged, so for less than $50 I ended up with an extremely expensive (and useful) drill chuck. Others may not be so lucky.

H
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shild
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Re: This is my workbench now, what can I do to improve it?

Post by shild »

Thanks for the replies everyone! Thanks Richard for showing me your lathe to rotary table setup. I need to do that.

I got that integrated keyless chuck today. So far I'm disappointed because it's just barely any shorter than my keyed arbor chuck and the throat depth is only about 1 1/8" so I can't choke up a bit much to save room. Guess I don't want the MT2 version for my lathe tailstock. But what is a compact Morse 2 chuck that will save room? Only have a 7x10 lathe so need as much room as I can.
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Bill Shields
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Re: This is my workbench now, what can I do to improve it?

Post by Bill Shields »

All the world is a compromise .

A rack full of short drill bits would be very useful...called screw machine length drills

Or bits with MT2 shanks.

If your investment in tooling is 5X the cost of the lathe. ..you are just getting started.
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
RET
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Re: This is my workbench now, what can I do to improve it?

Post by RET »

Hi shild,

One of the things you need that hasn't been mentioned yet is an accurate, easy to use CAD program. I have two, a 2D one (Anvil1000) which I use almost all the time and a 3D one (Synergy) which I use when I need to do complex drawings and generate "G" code for the little CNC mill. You might have a look at Fusion 360 (a 3D CAD program). You can get a free license for its non commercial use, but it has a very steep learning curve. Generally speaking, the good 3D CAD programs are not simple to learn, so if you need one, pick a good one and stick with it. As far as I know, the two best industry CAD programs are Mastercam and Solidworks, but I believe a commercial license for either one is in the thousands of dollars.

My Anvil1000 is a very old version which runs on Windows98, but it is very accurate (I keep an IBM laptop that stands alone just to run this program). It shows 8 decimal places, but behind the scenes it keeps track of 12. It is very intuitive and easy to use. You can probably buy a version which would run on today's versions of Windows.

Unless it is really simple, if I'm making something new, before I get to the metal cutting stage, I go through as many as 3 different design versions in my head and then I start drawing in CAD to settle on dimensions, looks, fit with other parts, etc. Most of the time I'll start with an assembly drawing, but being lazy I won't make a complete drawing, I'll just draw the parts I need.

Another important thing that hasn't been mentioned. You can get along without machine reamers, but what you do need, is a complete set of good taps & dies. That's one of the first things I got and I've been slowly adding to them ever since. I have taps & dies from #0-80 up to 1/2" in the National Coarse series; most of them include the taper, plug and bottoming taps. I also have National Fine from 1/2" down to #6-40, again with the taper, plug and bottoming taps. I don't use the National Fine series very much, but they are there if I do need them. Most of the ones I have are made by Butterfield. In addition, I have partial sets of M.E. (Model Engineer) taps & dies. These come in two series, the more useful one is 32 threads per inch and the other (for threading tubing) is 40 tpi. If you want those, as well as some others like BA your best source is likely to be in England.

Something else to think about. It never really ends, you know.

Richard Trounce.
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: This is my workbench now, what can I do to improve it?

Post by Greg_Lewis »

To add to what Richard wrote about taps and dies, now that I've been fiddling with this for many years, I wish I had standardized on thread sizes when I began. I've got almost every thread in the book somewhere in this engine and it can get confusing at times. I've found 40 tpi in various small sizes from #4 to 1/2 inch as well as some fractional sizes in that range, to be most worthwhile. The 40 tpi works on tubing without cutting too far into the wall, and it looks good in places where exposed. Of course, the appropriate thread needs to be used when the thread size is important, and experience is really the only way to gauge that. Course thread is recommended for cast iron; otherwise I wish I had used fine. And I wish I had used the same thread in the same type of application throughout. An example of that is the MTP (model taper pipe) vs. straight thread, for piping. (MTP vs. straight is always a controversial subject. I think it's a Chevy vs. Ford issue and I have come to prefer straight, but please let's not start that discussion here.)

A good source for special thread taps and dies as well as the more common ones is Victor Machinery (https://www.victornet.com).
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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NP317
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Re: This is my workbench now, what can I do to improve it?

Post by NP317 »

I've also found unusual taps and dies here:

https://www.midwayusa.com/taps-and-dies/br?cid=23814

RussN
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