Shop Nerd tricks, tips and tools

[darkzero]

Metal shelf provides place to hang mag base upside down. Lots of room to work around the chuck.

I like that Barry!

 

[ICUDoc]

This is the fastest & easiest way I've found to set the QCTP at 90° to the chuck & almost exactly parallel to the bed. Really useful when boring a hole that's the minimum diameter for the bar being used. Loosen the QCTP bolt so it rotates freely, place a 1-2-3 block against a piece of round stock that is freshly faced off and move the carriage forward until the QCTP is in full contact with the 1-2-3 block.

I've checked this method by traversing an indicator along the length of a boring bar & it's more than close enough for everything I do. Bar will likely still be out of square by .005"-.010" over 6" but that's about as small as a pimple on a elephant's butt.

Barry that is AWESOME! So quick and elegant- I'm going to go try it right now!!
Thanks!
EDIT: Ooops and I like the steel shelf too- light over / mag base under: nice use of space...

 

[precisionworks]

Thanks Will & David

Wanted to endorse a product I've used for the past few months - an aerosol grease called Fluid Film. Made from processed wool wax (lanolin). So far it's the best grease I've tried for the three jaw chuck scroll & jaws.

http://www.fluid-film.com/

 

[archer6817j]

Darn this thread! I just bought a Belomo Triplet 10x loupe:

 

[precisionworks]

Needed an industrial strength paper towel holder & found a small flat piece & some 3/4" pipe in the scrap pile. Tack welded the pipe to the plate in three places with the TIG torch:

 

[precisionworks]

Slipped the roll over the pipe:

 

[precisionworks]

And screwed a Tee on the end to retain the roll:

Cost ... about 10 minutes.

Value ... priceless

 

[PhotonFanatic]

Can't wait to see the TP holder.

 

[darkzero]

Can't wait to see the TP holder.

Auto mechanics use red rags or blue towels to wipe themselves oily fresh clean. What do machinists use, WypAlls?

 

[precisionworks]

Not sure how many machinists cover up the lathe (or any other oily machine) but mine is either in use or it's covered.
In addition to OCD crackup the cover keeps airborne dust & grit from settling on the ways. After every job & sometimes during a lengthy job the ways are re oiled. Without a cover they will attract & hold stuff that can shorten the life of the bed.

The cover is made by HTC Products & it was purchased during the 1980's. Shows no wear at all, pretty amazing because it has been folded (when the lathe is in use) & unfolded (to cover the lathe) around a million times. If $25 or $30 is too much to spend there are any number of other covers that can work, something like an old bed sheet is better than nothing.

http://www.htcproductsinc.com/tsmc.html

The HTC ToolSaver has rubberized magnets sewn into each corner & the magnets are as weak as convenience store coffee. IMO a better solution for keeping the cover in place is the use of a few "blueprint magnets" (ceramic magnets in a steel cover with handle). McMaster has them for about $5 each.

 

[darkzero]

BBQ grill covers found at the local big box stores work great too. Probably not available for 13x & larger machines though. I just use old beach towels as they are on their way to getting thrown out.

 

[wquiles]

I use bed sheets once my wife decides they don't look nice enough, which means they are "perfect" for covering greasy machinery

Will

 

[kuksul08]

This is the fastest & easiest way I've found to set the QCTP at 90° to the chuck & almost exactly parallel to the bed. Really useful when boring a hole that's the minimum diameter for the bar being used. Loosen the QCTP bolt so it rotates freely, place a 1-2-3 block against a piece of round stock that is freshly faced off and move the carriage forward until the QCTP is in full contact with the 1-2-3 block.

I've checked this method by traversing an indicator along the length of a boring bar & it's more than close enough for everything I do. Bar will likely still be out of square by .005"-.010" over 6" but that's about as small as a pimple on a elephant's butt.

In the past I have run the qctp up against the face of the chuck in between the jaws, seems to work okay. The issue I have is when you tighten down the top nut, it tends to rotate the qctp, so you can't make it too tight.

 

[archer6817j]

I've never checked the accuracy of this method, but I normally extend the quill of the tailstock and bump the qctp (with tool) up against the quill. However, about 90% of the time ill just eyeball it

 

[darkzero]

The issue I have is when you tighten down the top nut, it tends to rotate the qctp, so you can't make it too tight.

Try applying a light coat of way oil under the nut or check if you have excessive oil or grease under the TP. My TP never moves no matter how light or hard I crank down on the nut. Even my China TP on my old lathe never moved when tightening the nut & it did not even use a flange nut & washer.

 

[precisionworks]

when you tighten down the top nut, it tends to rotate the qctp, so you can't make it too tight.

I'd bet a Diet Pepsi that your T-nut is a thou or two higher than the cross slide.

 

[tino_ale]

I don't think this has been shared before but I stumbled on an iPhone application called iEngineer and I think it's worth considering.
Had to pay for the Metric screws (you shouldn't need it, the US screws are free) but I think it's a good companion for drilling taping torquing etc.
The app itself is pretty neat IMO.

 

[darkzero]

Here's a simple & easy one that costs just about nothing. Whenever I part something that has a through hole, this is how I catch it.

 

[wquiles]

Good one - I like it a lot

 

[PhotonFanatic]

What's wrong with using a finger? Wuss. :devil: