- Joined
- Sep 28, 2013
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- 4,302
hmm, title might be a bit strong, but I figured I'd head off criticism of my choice before it started 
Long story short is that I want to do some light milling on my WT 15in drill press until I know where I'll be in 6mths (or even what country) and have the funds to buy a proper mill. Yes, I know milling in a drill press is a bad idea and I've taken on board all the advice and cautions to that end, as well as being the lucky recipient of a thread on collet chuck from George Wilson (thanks George!). I also needed an X-Y vise of some sort and with a 25% off coupon, I could just about afford a 6in X-Y vise from Harbor Freight (http://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-cross-slide-vise-32997.html)
I bought it knowing that I was basically buying a kit of castings and screws, so I expected to spend a fair bit of time removing paint from where it wasn't supposed to be and filing/ sanding down machining marks. I was pleasantly surprised when it turned up, pretty solid and moved relatively smoothly. That was the extent of my playing with it though as I immediately stripped it down I've since spent a bunch of time scraping off paint and smoothing down the sliding surfaces, so it now slides around much more smoothly and easily (pics of the parts later).
One thing that I wasn't that impressed with (although they were in line with the price) were the end plates for the lead screws which were plain stamped steel plates. The end of the lead screw rotated on and in the plate with the captive nut/ dial rubbing on the other side. Also, neither lead screw was supported at the other end. The upper one isn't long enough to be supported, but the lower one runs within the casting. So I raided my machinist buddy's bearing stash at work (he scavenges them from any broken down equipment that comes through the repair shop) and came up with 2 bearings that fit the handle end of the leadscrews and one that would fit within the casting to capture the other end of the lower screw. I scrounged some brass to make thrust bearings to sit under the captive nuts.
I thought I'd tackle the upper screw end plate first as it was a bit more complicated. I'm using some 1/2in thick alu plate that I scrounged out of a metal recycling bin.
With original end plate
Rough cut on my poor complaining band saw
Faced and finished on most of the sides (next one I'll do the facing after the holes!). I did the facing with a round nose HSS bit that my uncle in law gave me - it had sat unused in his tool box since the Vietnam war!
Chucked up in my 4 jaw, boring out the bearing pocket. It's recessed by 0.5mm at the back to provide clearance for the inner race.
Done and faced flat
Other side done with recessed holes for the new bolts and the brass "thrust" washer I need to make.
Close up
I still need to make the washers out of some flat plate, tap new threads for the larger bolts, make the lower bearing plate (similar to this one, but rectangular) and grind down the end of the lower screw to fit the outboard bearing. Hopefully by the end of this week as I really want to start using this vise, even just for drilling!
more to come
Long story short is that I want to do some light milling on my WT 15in drill press until I know where I'll be in 6mths (or even what country) and have the funds to buy a proper mill. Yes, I know milling in a drill press is a bad idea and I've taken on board all the advice and cautions to that end, as well as being the lucky recipient of a thread on collet chuck from George Wilson (thanks George!). I also needed an X-Y vise of some sort and with a 25% off coupon, I could just about afford a 6in X-Y vise from Harbor Freight (http://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-cross-slide-vise-32997.html)
I bought it knowing that I was basically buying a kit of castings and screws, so I expected to spend a fair bit of time removing paint from where it wasn't supposed to be and filing/ sanding down machining marks. I was pleasantly surprised when it turned up, pretty solid and moved relatively smoothly. That was the extent of my playing with it though as I immediately stripped it down
I've since spent a bunch of time scraping off paint and smoothing down the sliding surfaces, so it now slides around much more smoothly and easily (pics of the parts later).One thing that I wasn't that impressed with (although they were in line with the price) were the end plates for the lead screws which were plain stamped steel plates. The end of the lead screw rotated on and in the plate with the captive nut/ dial rubbing on the other side. Also, neither lead screw was supported at the other end. The upper one isn't long enough to be supported, but the lower one runs within the casting. So I raided my machinist buddy's bearing stash at work (he scavenges them from any broken down equipment that comes through the repair shop) and came up with 2 bearings that fit the handle end of the leadscrews and one that would fit within the casting to capture the other end of the lower screw. I scrounged some brass to make thrust bearings to sit under the captive nuts.
I thought I'd tackle the upper screw end plate first as it was a bit more complicated. I'm using some 1/2in thick alu plate that I scrounged out of a metal recycling bin.
With original end plate
Rough cut on my poor complaining band saw
Faced and finished on most of the sides (next one I'll do the facing after the holes!). I did the facing with a round nose HSS bit that my uncle in law gave me - it had sat unused in his tool box since the Vietnam war!
Chucked up in my 4 jaw, boring out the bearing pocket. It's recessed by 0.5mm at the back to provide clearance for the inner race.
Done and faced flat
Other side done with recessed holes for the new bolts and the brass "thrust" washer I need to make.
Close up
I still need to make the washers out of some flat plate, tap new threads for the larger bolts, make the lower bearing plate (similar to this one, but rectangular) and grind down the end of the lower screw to fit the outboard bearing. Hopefully by the end of this week as I really want to start using this vise, even just for drilling!
more to come