Bill M's Pm1340gt Setup

[wrmiller]

Wow...a week of rain? We've had three dry days this month. Hard on the golf game, but gives plenty of time in the garage.

You should have a number of identical caps torn from a tape roll. Then there should be three loose ones. Those are the ones I was referring to.

In the 'old days' I would have had that board stuffed and soldered in a couple of hours or less. But my eyes aren't what they used to be. Mark's VFD params are good starting points. The only part I had to tweak was the duration of the first and second stages of the two-stage braking. But I don't think you're swinging a 65 lb. chuck, so you should be fine.

 

[GA Gyro]

Wow...a week of rain? We've had three dry days this month. Hard on the golf game, but gives plenty of time in the garage.

You should have a number of identical caps torn from a tape roll. Then there should be three loose ones. Those are the ones I was referring to.

In the 'old days' I would have had that board stuffed and soldered in a couple of hours or less. But my eyes aren't what they used to be. Mark's VFD params are good starting points. The only part I had to tweak was the duration of the first and second stages of the two-stage braking. But I don't think you're swinging a 65 lb. chuck, so you should be fine.

THX Bill...

I located the 3 loose caps... two of them look similar to the ones on the strip... the third one is a tubular, about 5/16 dia and maybe 5/8 long. I think I am fine.
I agree... in days past... I could have built both of the MachTachs an evening or two... ready to mount. Yet both my eyes and my focus are dwindling. Better IMO to take the time... rather than to repair a mistake... I may look at HF for a set of magnifying goggles... <grin>
I plan to hang the MachTach on the lathe under the DRO... On the 935 mill I am gonna make a new control box for the left side of the head... with the machtach in it. The control box for the mill probably will not get done until the fall, due to AC work... especially since the mill is running... another of those 'because I can'... things...

I have been SOOO busy with heating and AC... my best guess is: Folks have been bandaiding the systems at their homes, getting through rough times. Well this year, they seem to either have confidence or $$$, or both... as they are just replacing the systems I have been bandaiding for the last 3-5 years.

The weatherman says rain all week... mostly in the afternoons (normal pattern for the area).

Hopefully that will give me some time to catch up in the shop... including finally getting the lathe running. I have the machine on the stand, the crane arm arranged to lift things to the chuck... all the wiring done... I just need to program the VFD and get the QCTP mounted... then level and align... and I am ready to make chips. Just wish I had more time for the machine shop...

 

[dave2176]

Should I go back and get the bed dead level then adjust the headstock instead? This does seem to make more sense. Well, to me anyway.

Yes, level the lathe every which way then adjust the headstock to remove any spindle alignment problem. Make sure your test piece isn't picking up any spring out on the end throwing your measurement off.
Dave

 

[qualitymachinetools]

Yes what Dave said, I would level it up, and then adjust it.

 

[wrmiller]

Thanks guys. Will re-level this evening and maybe even get to some test cuts.

When the lathe bed was level, I had about .003" of taper across a 9-10" cut on a 2" diameter piece. Taper was towards the tailstock end, so it sounds like the headstock is pointed ever so slightly towards the operator.

I don't think I had any 'spring out' on the unsupported end, as the taper was at that end, and I literally could take a half thou cut and ended up with only .00075 deviation across the entire piece. Oh, and those shiny cutting inserts for aluminum? Razor sharp. Don't ask how I found that out...

 

[wrmiller]

THX Bill...

I located the 3 loose caps... two of them look similar to the ones on the strip... the third one is a tubular, about 5/16 dia and maybe 5/8 long. I think I am fine.
I agree... in days past... I could have built both of the MachTachs an evening or two... ready to mount. Yet both my eyes and my focus are dwindling. Better IMO to take the time... rather than to repair a mistake... I may look at HF for a set of magnifying goggles... <grin>
I plan to hang the MachTach on the lathe under the DRO... On the 935 mill I am gonna make a new control box for the left side of the head... with the machtach in it. The control box for the mill probably will not get done until the fall, due to AC work... especially since the mill is running... another of those 'because I can'... things...

I have been SOOO busy with heating and AC... my best guess is: Folks have been bandaiding the systems at their homes, getting through rough times. Well this year, they seem to either have confidence or $$$, or both... as they are just replacing the systems I have been bandaiding for the last 3-5 years.

The weatherman says rain all week... mostly in the afternoons (normal pattern for the area).

Hopefully that will give me some time to catch up in the shop... including finally getting the lathe running. I have the machine on the stand, the crane arm arranged to lift things to the chuck... all the wiring done... I just need to program the VFD and get the QCTP mounted... then level and align... and I am ready to make chips. Just wish I had more time for the machine shop...

Hey John,

The 'big' cap is an electrolytic. You should have three loose caps that all look identical except for what is written on them.

 

[coolidge]

Thanks guys. Will re-level this evening and maybe even get to some test cuts.

When the lathe bed was level, I had about .003" of taper across a 9-10" cut on a 2" diameter piece. Taper was towards the tailstock end, so it sounds like the headstock is pointed ever so slightly towards the operator.

I don't think I had any 'spring out' on the unsupported end, as the taper was at that end, and I literally could take a half thou cut and ended up with only .00075 deviation across the entire piece. Oh, and those shiny cutting inserts for aluminum? Razor sharp. Don't ask how I found that out...

I wonder if you just snugged up the headstock bolts if that .003 would vanish? Yeah I learned to use the insert tool to handle them they are sharp, still I hate a paper cut worst of all.

 

[wrmiller]

I wonder if you just snugged up the headstock bolts if that .003 would vanish?

I agree, it isn't going to take much. I'm thinking that once I get it level I'll put the test piece back in, make a small truing cut rather than zero out the set tru, and if still out put a DI on the tailstock end and try the headstock bolts to see if/how much it will move.

If I'm still out the .003 I only need to move the headstock/test piece .0015.

 

[GA Gyro]

Hey John,

The 'big' cap is an electrolytic. You should have three loose caps that all look identical except for what is written on them.

Hmmm... then I may be missing one... I need to download the videos from the site and figure out the parts lists.

THX for the heads up.

 

[wrmiller]

Don't need the videos. Go to the 'Docs' section of the website and download the manual. It has the complete parts list with descriptions, instructions on building and operating it.