The Home Machinist!

But having reached the design one arrives at what I think is Joe M’s question how can a thing like that be manufactured at a cost of pennies each? These being non-standard, they most likely cost more than pennies a piece. Again... probably form over function. The thicker center base improves heat t...

Aluminum is used for two reasons, cost and formability. Copper has a slightly better thermal conductivity, but for all but the most critical applications (which will most likely use some other cooling method) aluminum is virtually identical in performance to copper for passive air thermal transfer. ...

Buy good quality fixtures with electronic ballasts and a top rated bulbs. Not home depot no ballast junk. You bulbs will last 10 plus years And no flicker or problems with low temps. Getting older fixtures and new ballasts is a good choice. As is switching for different work area,s That's a fact......

That CM lathe looks just like a different model of the Tida lathe, the TD-1236B (B version, not E as earlier indicated). This was also rebadged under various names including CM and Enco I think. An Enco model number was 110-2032, though I thinkk that was the 12"x30" model, not sure about t...

Interesting... I recently devised my own pressure testing method which nearly identical to Steve's method with one important (and probably cleaner) difference. Instead of using a grease gun to build pressure, I used an old hydraulic jack and water. In my case, I was testing a 60gal tank from a 1975 ...

Tida made a TD-1236E model lathe in Tawian that was badged under a number of different names including Enco/etc. It is kind of a"standard" lathe format with a square spindle head, 3 levers on the upper portion (2 spindle speed, 1 direction), 4 buttons/indicators, a 4th lever on the lower r...

In the telco/cell industry it is known as "ucky-puck", a soft, self-adhering rubber tape that makes a water tight seal. It is then wrapped with cloth or vinyl tape for UV resistance. We buy it by the case, but you can buy the same stuff at HomeDepot as mastic rubber electrical tape. Used f...

Still looking a few weeks later... A few things pop up but have weird problems, like this one: A Victor 16x30 gap bed lathe. Lots of options, a little short but I could work with it... But someone needed a bit more swing for their custom 3-jaw mounts so they.... wait for it... ... Ground out the v-w...

Still kicking tires on lathes and looking at different things. I have narrowed it down to a few options, one being a '90s model Acra LC-1340GH. It seems very heavily built but I had originally crossed if off the list as nearly every SAE thread required a change the bull gear pairing (you only get 3 ...

If you are going to get the HF micrometer, I would suggest you do not get the "0-1 Mechanical Micrometer". I found it to be a piece of garbage, the internal mechanism keeps binding/freeing and giving inaccurate readings on the counter. The digital micrometer seemed OK, though occasionally ...

I'm in Tucson, its a figurative desert here it seems. Most stuff seems to show up Phoenix and disappear rather quickly. Looks like the Republic lathe disappeared today, the listing is gone now. I found my Rockwell 3/4 mill locally, I was there the morning after the ad was posted and the seller had a...

I think I've finally got to the point where my old 6x18 Craftsman lathe is just too small and unstable for what I want to turn (and I'm really tired of change gears). So I've been looking to buy myself a new present. Unfortunately, here in the desert southwest there a few manufacturing outlets and h...