2014 POTD Thread Archive

Nice motorcycle chassis jig.

Looks very similar to the one I fabricated about 10-years ago. I also added a small expanded metal tray on the side to set parts/tools on when working.

Mike.

Here is what mine looked like.

Nice, I had seen that one among others before I started mine. That is where I got my inspiration for mine. I'll have to add the tray to mine because a simple tube change on the daughter's bike had me looking for somewhere to set a wrench and screwdriver.
 
Nice, I had seen that one among others before I started mine. That is where I got my inspiration for mine. I'll have to add the tray to mine because a simple tube change on the daughter's bike had me looking for somewhere to set a wrench and screwdriver.

That little shelf sure made it nice for both parts and tools. The best thing was when cleaning up I could leave the parts on the shelf and they stayed with the project even after putting tools away.

Mike.
 
everything takes me a long time, but here's a little 6mm collet I made from some scrap steel to use the 6mm roughing endmills I bought off eBay in my DP mill. The end is slightly peened so that it doesn't disappear inside the chuck, although it is more of a pain to get out than the ones I originally made (example at the top). Cutting jig came in handy again!

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You are getting more use out of that collet chuck than I got out of it since the late 60's,Matt:)
 
You are getting more use out of that collet chuck than I got out of it since the late 60's,Matt:)

it's one of the coolest things I've ever been given (after my "I love Dad" mug and the like) and it'll get a ton more use too. I have a lot more projects lined up including a couple of high power LED lights for my mountain bike which I'm not quite ready for yet. I'll just have to remember not to buy any more metric tooling!
 
Played with a little more threading last night to get a feel for it on my new lathe.

Ground my own HSS threading tool. 60* cutting angle, 5* helix angle.
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Helix angle can be seen a little better in this picture.
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Flat is ground @ a width of Pitch/8. Calculated out to .0096". Turns out I passed it a bit but @ a fat .0011" I should be fine.
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I like to just breath over a stone with the cutting edges prior to beginning.
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Cut my relief groove, then set up the bit in the toolholder.
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Marked it with a Sharpie for visual reasons and made a scratch pass to verify thread pitch was correct.
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Completed. The nut threaded right on and is a nice fit. I shot for a 2A fit.
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All in all threading on my new lathe is a pleasure.

Mike.
 
Good job Mike! I'm not in the least surprised to see that you're pleased with your lathe. Can't wait to see you get the mill set up and running after it gets there.

Dale
 
Last night I had some time to kill while waiting for a guy to pick up his bike so I thought I would cross another item off of my list of things to do. I had wanted to make a larger die holder for my tailstock threading die holder for years and never seemed to get around to it. I didn't have one for 1.5" round dies so I grabbed some 1144 round stock out of the rack and cut a 2" long piece of 1.75" diameter off in my new to me Jet 7x12 horizontal bandsaw that I finally refurbished and got up and running.

Turning one half down to 1.00" diameter to fit precisely into the smaller die.
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While machining this part I decided to focus on getting more familiar with my new lathe and seeing just how accurate it is and how repeatable I can make cuts. Like everyone else, once you get a feel for your machine you have a much more precise idea of what kind of roughing cuts you can make and how close to your final dimensions you can get prior to your finishing cut(s).

Here I removed .080" (.040" actual DOC). Machine didn't even flinch. Keep in mind that this is only a 1300 pound/2hp lathe, not one of the 3k pound/5+ HP monsters that some of you guys may have.
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Now I decided to push it a little and take half a dial revolution and measure for accuracy. Here is a .050" DOC, .100 total diameter removal. This dial is taking some getting used to but I am getting much more comfortable with the total diameter markings vs. what I was used to with dial markings signifying crossfeed movement. Prior to this cut I had a measurement of 1.331" and after this cut I had landed at a measurement of 1.229", .002" difference from target to actual.
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Okay now I decided to take that measurement and make one complete revolution of the crossfeed dial in two consecutive cuts, each cut taking .100" material removal for a total target of .200" material removal. Starting measurement was 1.229" and after one complete dial revolution in two .100" cuts I landed at a measurement of 1.031". Only .002" shy of my target in one revolution of the crossfeed dial, I'll take it. I am completely satisfied with that. Now I am at least getting a very comfortable feeling for the machine to rough out and get within .010"-.020" before taking another measurement and dialing in on the final dimension.
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After measurement I offset my dial to the final dimension and took a final cut of about .014" and faced out.
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My target was 1.000" and after the final cut of .014" here is my actual dimension. Sorry, I should have grabbed a micrometer for this but was too lazy to walk to the toolbox and get another measuring tool out for something that had some margin. I was more trying to make a target dimension and shoot for it to get a feel for the machine.

Final measurement was 1.0005". Half a thou off from target. Very satisfied.
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Breaking the edge and throwing a chamfer on each of the two sharp edges.
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Test fit into the smaller die holder prior to turning around and machining the other half.
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1.5" round thread die drops right in. All I have to do now is drill/tap for my retaining screws.
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After chamfering the outer edge and the inner bore.
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And after all cleaned up and ready to be put to bed for the evening.
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Mike.
 
Looks like you're becoming very comfortable with your new lathe rather quickly. Not that your a beginner but like you said, it's takes a little time to become accustomed to any new machine. Good job.
 
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