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Category: Metal Removal

  • CNC Conversion of a Smithy CM-1114

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    Greg
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    The Smithy CNC was a prototype. Each piece was cut to fit it’s own purpose. If I were to do it again, there would a few things that I would do a little different. The mill column is from a Smithy 1220-XL,the original & a jack screw would have done as well. The carriage is…

  • How To Buy A Drill Press

    How To Buy A Drill Press

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    Greg
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    I. Introduction This is a monograph which summarizes the lessons I have learned in buying and owning inexpensive drill presses. Many of the problems I describe can be entirely avoided by buying high quality machines, but these machines command a price few home shop enthusiasts can afford. My first Taiwanese drill press was a bench…

  • Toolmaker Lapping

    Toolmaker Lapping

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    Greg
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    The lap used by the toolmakers was quite a simple affair. A piece of half-hard brass was turned identical to the dimensions of the associated D-bit. The actual lapping diameter, of course, had to be no greater than the cutting diameter of the D-bit, otherwise, it would not enter the hole at the start of the lapping…

  • How to Make D-Bits

    How to Make D-Bits

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    Greg
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    The turner, (lathe operator), made his own D-bits as follows: Using a piece of silver steel he would turn and then polish the cutting diameter to the exact size of the desired hole in the drill bush. Then he would turn a shank some .015″ dia. less than that, so as to permit the application…

  • BRIDGEPORT MILLING MACHINE “J” HEAD SERIAL NUMBERS

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    Greg
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    The serial number is on the knee of the machine It can be obscured by the chip shield.     Date   Start S/N   End S/N  1938  BH-1  THRU  BH-39 Round ram  1939  BH-40  THRU  BH-252  1940  BH-253  THRU  BH-656  1941  BH-657  THRU  BH-1549  1942  BH-560  THRU  BH-2943  1943  BH-944  THRU  BH-4105  1944  BH-4106  THRU  BH-4997  1945…

  • How to Build a Quorn Cutter & Tool Grinder

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    Greg
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    In George Thomas’ (GT) great and posthumous book, The Model Engineer’s Workshop Manual, he says, “The Quorn must be mentioned, if you have made this T & C grinder and can use it them you have established your pedigree as a model engineer!” (p76). Well, I’ve done it and the only thing I feel so…

  • How to Build a Power Feed for a Mill / Drill

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    Greg
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    I had taken a shop course at a community college a few years ago. They let me touch a Bridgeport Mill, then made me use it! It had a power feed on the x-axis and I was suitably impressed. When I moved to Arizona I finally spent my whiskey, tobacco, and evil women money on…

  • How to Build a Collet Chuck

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    Greg
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    The effectiveness of the usual small bench lathe may be increased greatly if you will take the trouble to build this neat collet chuck. With it, screw parts, locomotive axles, boat shafting and the like may be built on a production basis, The function of a collet chuck is simple: for turning wire parts, a hollow spindle…

  • How to Build a Collet Adapter

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    Greg
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    Two years ago I sold my WW2 Logan bench lathe and other apparatus when I moved to Arizona. I had taken a shop night class 3 years ago and their 13″ SB with collets really caught my fancy. I had started making Pat Loop’s collet chuck for the Logan (1-1/2 – 8 tpi spindle) but…

  • Pedestal Grinder Modification

    Pedestal Grinder Modification

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    Greg
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    Here is a quick and easy modification to a standard pedestal grinder that will make grinding single point tool bits with nice straight angles. It is especially helpful when grinding thread cutting bits for the lathe. This idea is not new and I forgot where I learned of it. It is very similar to a feature…