Projects? Tool improvements or real projects?

[Pevehouse]

No , HM is filled with tool junkies, they need more tools. Just ask Dave @mmcmdl ..

yea, people make things... Some very cool things. Charles @savarin is making the coolest Binocular for searching the stars. Some do automotive work, some do repair stuff. seems like you have missed much of the cool stuff. Maybe you are concentrating on the TOOL stuff too.

Guilty as charged, I’m am for sure a tool junky

 

[Pevehouse]

I have to admit that I sometime envy those people that chose this hobby because the were into a particular hobby or craft that led them to machining. They always seem to have a fun next project planned.

I,on the other hand, just wanted to learn hobby machining for the love of tools …and for some reason unknown to me it gives me satisfaction. That said, it makes it difficult at times to choose what area or equipment I will need in the future….so I just want everything….thats allowed here


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I too have that inner pull toward machine tools and tools in general. Not sure why. I think it was something I was born with,lol

 

[LX Kid]

'Some of us on here have a lot of improvements to make to our machine tools!

I've got my Chinese 7x in bits again (3rd time) to add some more rigidity improvements.

My bandsaw is awaiting the removal of the grip with the deadman's trigger that you have to hold down, and the replacement of the trigger with a switch. I also have a vertical table for it that clamps in the vice. The welder who 'made' it for me screwed up by warping the table surface plate when he welded the supports on so I have to sort that out.

My drill press needs the head boring out a little so it's actually straight and the right size for the quill and a bushing the right size putting in. I need to turn some new handles for the feed and drill and tap some new holes as the existing handles are a bit wobbly. I've also got to install a little digital readout scale.

As a beginner, I'm unlikely to initially do any projects that will set the world alight but it's nice to have somewhere, that when I'm ready, I can talk about what I've done.

Also tools are cool.

What kind of drill press is it? There are a couple of real good video's on YouBoob on accurizing drill presses. Lot of times it's just the bearings are worn and other times it could be a cheap drill chuck installed and has a bad run out. Video's might be a good place to start.

 

[projectnut]

To me designing and building a tool or fixture are far different than attempting to make improvements on cheap offshore machines. Over the years I've made hundreds of tools and fixtures. I used to label them and save them shelves in the shop, the garage, and just about any place that wasn't already occupied. It was getting so crowded I finally had to start disassembling and recycling them. I still have a few of the more complicated ones, or the ones I feel will be used again in the near future, but by in large I now make them, use them, and get rid of them.

Before buying any machine, I research what is available in the new and used markets. In general, I'm not interested in a machine that will just get by, but rather look for something that will become a permanent fixture in the shop and give good service for many years to come. Case and point are the HF horizontal bandsaws. Almost everyone here who has one has had to make "improvements". Those improvements range from making the machine more rigid, to making it cut straighter, or getting blades to last more than a few cuts. To me buying one of these saws is a crap shoot. You never know what it might take to get it to work properly, or whether the company will stand behind it if it is beyond repair.

There are currently several used 11" x 7" Johnson, Wells, Wilton, and Dayton saws available on Facebook and Craigslist for the same or less money. Granted they will need to be inspected to be sure they haven't been abused, but being industrial quality I'm sure they can do quite a bit of hard work, and still have plenty of life left in them.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

'Some of us on here have a lot of improvements to make to our machine tools!

I've got my Chinese 7x in bits again (3rd time) to add some more rigidity improvements.

My bandsaw is awaiting the removal of the grip with the deadman's trigger that you have to hold down, and the replacement of the trigger with a switch. I also have a vertical table for it that clamps in the vice. The welder who 'made' it for me screwed up by warping the table surface plate when he welded the supports on so I have to sort that out.

My drill press needs the head boring out a little so it's actually straight and the right size for the quill and a bushing the right size putting in. I need to turn some new handles for the feed and drill and tap some new holes as the existing handles are a bit wobbly. I've also got to install a little digital readout scale.

As a beginner, I'm unlikely to initially do any projects that will set the world alight but it's nice to have somewhere, that when I'm ready, I can talk about what I've done.

Also tools are cool.

LOL, I was guaranteed by a certified welder right here that this does not happen.

As far as the "Beginner" aspect goes, Ive coached a lot of new guys at work and told them to look at it like this.

When you learn a new skill you have learned a skill. When you learn a second skill you have actually compounded your skill set as you can combine those two skills into a third or even fourth skill.

As you move forward your skillset expands exponentially, and at some point you will hit that "WOW" project or moment and it will all come together for you.

This will all hold true as long as you stay humble and have the good sense to take constructive criticisms at face value rather than feel insulted.

Been doing this stuff for a long time and I still have plenty to learn.

.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Same here but for 48 yrs . Most time in prototype working with engineers. Engineers are great but don't understand the concept of how to build things efficiently . They didn't have the machining expertise back in the days . We made things our way in the shop and they made revisions according to our input . Saved the company mucho dinero this way . We were treated like gold in our little top secret shop until our old German leader retired . We were then thrown out into production after the other bosses tore the walls down . There was a lot of jelously from these bosses in production as we didn't use their services and they could not enter our area . Think of it as a skunkworks area .

Were the same/similar where I work. Engineering anymore just comes to me with the concept and I run with it. They have the company card so I have to make a list and have them order the materials, but that's OK as I usually need some type of new tool to help their projects along every couple months.


As to the part in bold, we get that too.

My favorite part is when I have to tell them NO. They go into fits thinking their the final word on everything because their management, but the higher ups know we run the shop, not production bosses or even our direct supervisor.

Its widely understood that if we need to tell them no there's a good reason for it. Those who push things soon come to realize if they push too hard or too often we can always slow walk things. That's not to say we simply don't work, just that other projects take priority, its how the power balance can work in our favor.

 

[ChazzC]

Tools to make tools (or improve tools); some of this is because I can’t afford (or have the space) for more capable tools, but I see a lot of modifications to Bridgeport’s . . .

As for other projects, this is from a recent post - I’m really surprised that no one saw this and called me out:

 

[MikeInOr]

I got into welding (fabricating), then machining because I felt my Erector set was too restrictive!

My projects are mainly geared towards my old working machines habit... I mean hobby. Someday my OWWM habit will hopefully result in actually completing a woodworking project.

I am finding that I don't really enjoy machining for machining's sake. I do enjoy creating stuff that is useful to me. The more machining I do the better I get and the less time it takes me to complete a project... which makes it more fun. But I would generally rather buy a tool off AliExpress than spend all day making my own. I enjoy woodworking because I can produce projects that are considerably better than I can buy and I sometimes I might even save some money building it myself.

 

[SouthernChap]

What kind of drill press is it? There are a couple of real good video's on YouBoob on accurizing drill presses. Lot of times it's just the bearings are worn and other times it could be a cheap drill chuck installed and has a bad run out. Video's might be a good place to start.

It's a 1980's NU-Tool (Taiwanese rebrand) that I got for what I initially thought was a bit of a song; "Eh a couple of new bearings will sort out that play", I thought to myself.

Then someone on here suggested that the bore on their model (different brand, same model) was bored just too large from tbe factory, and lo and behold, during the bearing install, I see the same thing, plus in my case, the holes are bored slightly off straight.

The chuck is one I transferred from my previous drill press, it's an oldish Jacobs that is well within the normal runout of chucks between 0.002"-0.003" at a couple of inches (I also have a keyless Rohm that's a solid 0.002" runout which I loved but it started to slip even under relatively light duty. Need to find out if that's something that can be solved).

Anyway, what I was meaning with my post was that, for some of us at least, posts about tools improvement are, in addition to being an interest, a necessity!

 

[SouthernChap]

As far as the "Beginner" aspect goes, Ive coached a lot of new guys at work and told them to look at it like this.

When you learn a new skill you have learned a skill. When you learn a second skill you have actually compounded your skill set as you can combine those two skills into a third or even fourth skill.

As you move forward your skillset expands exponentially, and at some point you will hit that "WOW" project or moment and it will all come together for you.

In the past 9 months, I've learned loads. My benchwork is much improved, my measuring and marking out is better. I've used my bench grinder to grind HSS tools that actually work well!

When my lathe is in one piece, I can face, turn, drill, bore and part plastic, aluminium and brass with reasonable surface finishes and I'm scrapping parts via blowing dimensions much less now than when I started. The rigidity improvements are mainly to help with the milling attachment and give me a bit more confidence with steel.

Honestly, I'm having loads of fun.

Also, after watching MrPete's Mayonnaise Jar engine videos, turns out building little steam engines is something I'm interested in too.

As for taking advice, don't worry. It shouldn't be long before you're all sick of answering my questions: I genuinely have a list written down in a notebook in the workshop.