Can't tighten down my quick change tool post due to Grizzly's poor design

mikey said:
Where there's a will, there's a way! Glad you got it sorted, stioc. I bet that lathe will hog aluminum now!
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Thanks Mike. I need to adjust the gibs etc and also sort out my tooling. I feel the cheap tool holders and carbide inserts they came with could be much better because when I see youtube videos of others their tools just seem to cut without effort. Anyone have suggestions for good carbide tool bit holders? preferrably for CCMT (triangle) bits since I purchased a new batch of them.

Aukai said:
Congratulations!
Just checking on a safety note for the press picture. Is the press plate that the vice is on a steel plate, or cast iron? They are moving away from cast iron plates now because they shatter, and fly apart under load.
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Thanks for mentioning that. I'm aware of the issue and these are indeed the old cast iron plates, I haven't been able to find an inexpensive source for steel ones. They cost as much as a new press from HF. The good thing is that it's a 12T press, most of the issues were with the 20T press. I also usually put a plate on top of them if I'm going to be putting a lot of force on them. This was may be a 1-2T force so I didn't. I've been using this press for various projects for over 6-7 years and no issues but at some point I'll upgrade to one of the newer 20T ones.

savarin said:
Thats correct, your slide may be different to mine though.
It was just a generic cheap 4 jaw, I had to make a back plate for it.
See here.
www.hobby-machinist.com

aligning the holes in the back of a chuck.

My new 4 jaw chuck has 4 8mm fixing bolts on the back but the holes do not go all the way through so I cannot use a transfer punch. I need to transfer the hole centres on the chuck to the back plate so I can drill them. 1) How can I do this accurately? My first thought (only one actually) is...
www.hobby-machinist.com www.hobby-machinist.com
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Thanks I'll check it out. I've seen a lot of the 'big guys' on YTube etc use a 6-jaw...I wonder if that's the best of both worlds (3 and 4 jaw)?

Bob Korves said:
It is a shame that these lathes and tooling for them are kits needing lots of modification work, instead of something you can just turn on and use happily out of the box.
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Bob, I completely agree! which is why I want a better lathe, leaning towards the 12x size like the G4003G. Although most just end up getting the PM 13x40GT and have great things to say about them. As I get older I lean towards spending the extra money and getting something that does a good job rather than it turning into another project. When I was younger I bought old beat up cars with 'potential' and enjoyed fixing them. Now I'd rather drive new cars that get me to where I want to go day and night without me 'tuning/fixing' them up. However, the flip side of that is since I don't make money off of my lathe/mill etc if I didn't have to tinker with them I won't have too many projects to do with them either lol What type of lathe do you have btw?

I have to say that I'm proud that I have enough tools, stock, supplies that I can start a small project like the one above and get it done without needing to run to the store. I can do the same thing with automotive work, fabrication and even small woodworking/home type of projects.
 
Check out the places local to you for drop offs/cut offs, I made extra plates for my press out of 1 x 5 plate/bar stock, and cut my own V & round shapes.

 
Aukai said:
Check out the places local to you for drop offs/cut offs, I made extra plates for my press out of 1 x 5 plate/bar stock, and cut my own V & round shapes.

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That's pretty cool, what did you use to cut 1" steel plate?
 
I have a Jancy Slugger metal blade chop saw, my portable band saw, and an annular cutter. When the bar was too long to carry I cut it with the XP 45 plasma
 
stioc said:
Thanks Mike. I need to adjust the gibs etc and also sort out my tooling. I feel the cheap tool holders and carbide inserts they came with could be much better because when I see youtube videos of others their tools just seem to cut without effort. Anyone have suggestions for good carbide tool bit holders? preferrably for CCMT (triangle) bits since I purchased a new batch of them.
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I think even the cheap tool holders will work. What seems to separate the higher end tool holders from the cheap ones is the fit and finish in the insert pocket. The better ones have tighter tolerances and the screw hole is precisely located. This makes a big difference in how stable and solid the insert is. Still, a cheap tool holder will work for hobby use.

What actually does make a difference is the insert and it pays to use inserts from a known good maker with the right nose radius. I prefer inserts from Seco, Iscar, Kennametal and Korloy. All can be found on ebay.

CCMT is fine for most work. CCGT inserts work best for aluminum; they will also work with most materials but will not last as long because the edge is more fragile due to the huge rake angles they use on these inserts. If you haven't tried them, look for CCGT-AK inserts; these are ground, polished, uncoated and have an aggressive positive rake that works well for aluminum.

Pay close attention to the nose radius of your inserts. For a small machine like yours that must perform well at low speeds and horsepower, it is wise to use a smaller nose radius. For a CCMT/CCGT insert, the smallest nose radius is 0.004". This insert will have a designation like CCMT 22.50 or CCGT 32.50. That zero at the end is the nose radius size.

This smaller nose radius will help you to keep radial cutting forces in check at smaller depths of cut. In general, the minimum depth of cut you can take will be somewhere between 1/2 - 2/3 the nose radius; you have to remember this when doing finishing cuts. If you have a 0.004" nose radius then the smallest depth of cut the insert is likely to make is 0.002" (0.004" off the diameter) without chattering. You may need to slow your feed to take this cut but it should do it. For roughing, anything over the nose radius will work. How deep this is depends on the power and rigidity of your lathe.

You will see all sorts of grades and coatings our there. I know we are supposed to pay attention to this but I usually don't because my machine is limited to 2200 rpm and I haven't found that the coatings make a huge difference for me. Grades do make a difference (I like CM-1 for harder stuff) but, again, not that much for me.

Bottom line: use the tool holder you have but use good inserts from a known good maker. Look for the smallest nose radius they make and look for a CCGT-AK insert for aluminum.

Hope that helps.
 
Korloy any good?
 
The Korean Korloy is pretty good. There is also the Chinese "Korloy" that I suspect I have been duped into buying and it seems to work okay, I think. I tend not to use carbide much so I try to buy good stuff from Seco and Iscar and prefer to use those.
 
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