Help me blow a bunch of $$$

[Beckerkumm]

I have a Sharp VH25 and use Cat 40 with it. There are lots of deals on Cat 40 vs NMTB and most Taiwan mills have keys that accommodate either and you only need a longer drawbar. I have two machines with both a vertical and horizontal spindle. the Rambaudi UR60 head serves for both but I don't like changing much so I'd not recommend a combo unless you get a deal or lack in space. I did on my machines but i buy used. If you buy a 40 taper 5 hp mill, check the height. My Sharp is really too high without a raised floor to be comfortable for an old 5'11" guy. If the mill is Taiwan, I don't think there is much difference between Acer, Acra, Kent, Webb, Sharp or some others so what you can find and deal on tips the scale.

Carbide boring bars are tooling I find deals on for either used or NOS. Lathe tooling not so much but still worth watching for. There are some deals on tooling on ebay but I've found that I don't know enough so I call Frank at Maritool and have been happy with his stuff and his suggestions.

Dave

 

[tailstock4]

I have a Sharp VH25 and use Cat 40 with it. There are lots of deals on Cat 40 vs NMTB and most Taiwan mills have keys that accommodate either and you only need a longer drawbar. I have two machines with both a vertical and horizontal spindle. the Rambaudi UR60 head serves for both but I don't like changing much so I'd not recommend a combo unless you get a deal or lack in space. I did on my machines but i buy used. If you buy a 40 taper 5 hp mill, check the height. My Sharp is really too high without a raised floor to be comfortable for an old 5'11" guy. If the mill is Taiwan, I don't think there is much difference between Acer, Acra, Kent, Webb, Sharp or some others so what you can find and deal on tips the scale.

Carbide boring bars are tooling I find deals on for either used or NOS. Lathe tooling not so much but still worth watching for. There are some deals on tooling on ebay but I've found that I don't know enough so I call Frank at Maritool and have been happy with his stuff and his suggestions.

Dave

I have some of the NMTB tooling and some Cat tooling. The only problem I have with that is if you use a power draw bar, changing them would be a pain. And on the Taiwanese 1054 Vectrax, it is so tall that if you don't use a power draw, I would have to keep a stool around.

Both 50 taper machines I own have a drawbar with an adjustable nut on top so that you don't even have to change drawbars to use the Cat 40 or the NMTB. In the last picture I have a drawbar that has a step down that allows use of 40 taper tooling in the 50 tapers with an adapter - but I almost never do this.

 

[tailstock4]

I have a Sharp VH25 and use Cat 40 with it. There are lots of deals on Cat 40 vs NMTB and most Taiwan mills have keys that accommodate either and you only need a longer drawbar. I have two machines with both a vertical and horizontal spindle. the Rambaudi UR60 head serves for both but I don't like changing much so I'd not recommend a combo unless you get a deal or lack in space. I did on my machines but i buy used. If you buy a 40 taper 5 hp mill, check the height. My Sharp is really too high without a raised floor to be comfortable for an old 5'11" guy. If the mill is Taiwan, I don't think there is much difference between Acer, Acra, Kent, Webb, Sharp or some others so what you can find and deal on tips the scale.

Carbide boring bars are tooling I find deals on for either used or NOS. Lathe tooling not so much but still worth watching for. There are some deals on tooling on ebay but I've found that I don't know enough so I call Frank at Maritool and have been happy with his stuff and his suggestions.

Dave

Do you have any pictures and/or postings regarding the Rambaudi?

 

[Beckerkumm]

Here you go. Sorry for the sideways one. Dave

 

[erikmannie]

I have a PM-1660TL. I bought 29 quantity CXA holders, plus boring & threading bars + inserts directly from Aloris. They always have some monthly deal on their website.

For lathe chucks, I like 12” TMX chucks, & buy them from Bill at Small Tools. I don’t think he has ever charged me sales tax. I like my Bison 5C collet chuck. I bought the D-1-6 adapter from Small Tools. Make sure to get a Set-Tru if it is an option (and it is an option for 3J, 6J and 5C).

eBay is a good source for a used USA or UK made D-1-6, 14” faceplate. My lathe dogs are made in India.

For 12” lathe chucks, I imagine that you would need a Sky Hook. I got a CXA toolpost model. The company in Idaho that sells them has great service for this fine product.

My 6-jaw chuck sees a lot of use.

I bought my Crawford 5C collets from Small Tools. I don’t use the metric 5C collets much.

For tool holders, I like Kennametal with Kennametal inserts. I bought mine from Carbide Depot. You can call them on the phone, & they will set you up with what you need.

For a keyless drill chuck, I chose an Albrecht. Buy solid carbide drills if you can stomach shelling out the cash.

I know that I’m repeating myself, but if you are buying tooling & you see that is made in China, I hope that you move on to something made in Taiwan, USA, Germany, UK, Japan or anywhere else that is not PRC. So many of the things that I bought that were made in China had to be repurchased because I was not happy with the quality.

In rare cases, I could not find a quality manufacturer of a particular item. For example, my large bull nose live center is Made in China. I am just very careful with it.

I bought a 3-phase Precision Matthews PM-1054V. I 100% recommend this knee mill.

I prefer analog metrology equipment over digital electronic. That way you never need to deal with a dead battery.

I spent about 35K on tooling for the PM-1660TL, & about 20K on tooling for the knee mill. I always spend many hours researching every purchase on the internet looking for the best price. I don’t regret any purchases of quality tooling, & I regret all of the purchases of tooling that was junk.

Don’t forget the taper shank drills! Most of mine are made in China because I wasn’t willing to spend what you have to in order to get USA made taper shank drills.

 

[K30]

edit-First of all, Thaks guys!

Here's what I've gleaned so far:

Don't buy Chinese. This pretty much applies to everything in my life at this point. I'm tired of getting screwed.

3 Jaw chuck- PB, Bison, Gator, or TMX. Find it in Set-Tru, and with 2 piece jaws if possible. Consider a 6 jaw-hadn't thought of that, but yeah, that might be handy for making bushings and small stuff. I will also keep a weather eye out for a collet chuck.

Carbide boring bars: Probably best to E-bay this, AS NEEDED for specific projects. More info: my friend has asked if I could go into production on a small volume basis of some ~4" diameter by approx 3" tall "boxes" with screw on lids, sort of like a small jewelry box. That's my most immediate need. But I'm going to need to make bushings of all kinds of sizes for various broken farm stuff. So I will need to reach 6" deep at some point.

Taper shank drills: Yeah, I'm not buying those new! I'm watching for deals I can't turn down, but I'll grab them either cheap, or as needed.

Grinder and learn to grind HSS: I do need to do this, I understand the geometry. I have probably a lifetime supply of HSS bits from 3/16" up to 1 1/2" (that's probably going to be a parallel). I've been keeping an eye out for an old Baldor or similar, but haven't come up with one yet. I will probably have use for a D-bit grinder at some point, just not right at the moment.

Inserts: I'm likely fine with WNMG for roughing since I already have some. I do need to come up with a LH and neutral tool holder (or just use HSS for chamfers, I have some that just need honed a little). Consider DNMG for finishing stuff.

Mill: If budget was unlimited-consider Wells Index. This actually isn't off the radar. The main problem is I haven't been able to get them to return an e-mail. I may give up and just call them. I think they even have a dealer localish to me. I believe that the 847 has 40 taper as an option, but that's a big hole in a quill that size. I don't know on that one. I would probably be fine with any of the Taiwan made mills, they're all similar.
more on bridgeport style mills: I don't like the head swivel being that far behind the head. I don't know why they designed it that way. It's significantly closer to the C/L of the quill on an Wells Index, and appears to be on some of the larger Taiwan mills. I feel like this is more conducive to staying in tram. It might not really make that much difference...

Horizontal bandsaw: Check out Ellis. Good info, they were not on my radar. It doesn't look like coolant is an option on those. How's that affect the life of blades? I'm still watching for a used one too. I lost a bid on one from work that was a 5 year old 13" Kalamazoo. Dangit.

Budget: I should have maybe added some info? My immediate budget is approximately $30k. It's probably double that over the next 4 years or so. I am a huge fan on not buying stuff I don't need, so that doesn't need to get spent either. My logic is that with the way the universe is going, I would probably be best served to get the machines bought with the quickness before they get any more expensive. I'm in my early 40s here, so I'm buying with the intent of using whatever I have for the next 30 years or more. That's one reason I'm trying to find quality stuff. I also take very good care of stuff with the intent of it becoming someone else's when I croak. The machines and tooling I fully intend to be GIVEN, not sold to someone young that can/will use it when I die. I won't leave any debt that needs cleaned up, and between the property, life insurance, and my lack of a family, no one is going to need the money for it.

Used equipment: I'm near Wichita KS. I can't even explain how much machinery is stashed around here. I think Abom had a video visiting one of the warehouses down there that's literally acres of machines and tooling retired from the aircraft industry. I did NOT think to look there for bandsaws. I should do this.

 

[Chips O'Toole]

Gator is Chinese!

 

[Ischgl99]

Depending on the production numbers for the “jewelry boxes”, you might want to look at an indexable insert drill. They can quickly drill a large hole with a flat bottom and also be used as a boring bar to save you considerable time. They are pricey, but you can add that cost into your quote since it will save time over more traditional tooling, so with enough volume, no net cost increase to your customer.

Haas has a video showing how they use it on a CNC, but the same can be done on a manual lathe.

 

[GeneT45]

Hard to say on the coolant-free life of sawblades, but a good blade (I typically use Starrett bi-metal) properly tensioned will deliver a lot of cuts. I've never owned a saw with coolant though, so I may just not know what I don't know.

I wouldn't grab a Dxxx insert tool for finishing - only for 'detail' work where you really need the acute point. Your trigon tool can make a superb finish AND do roughing with the right inserts.

Using HSS for your chamfer tool is a pretty good idea. Chamfering is generally a light cut so HSS will work in even troublesome materials like 17-4 where I would want carbide for other turning.

An odd thing happens with machine tool deals - as you get 'in the loop' and people find out that you're making chips, deals sometimes find you that you would never find out about when you're just getting started. People tell you about that uncle that died, that neighbor that's been trying to sell his lathe, etc. In short, some stuff can just fall right in your lap - but only after people know you're someone to talk to about it.

GsT

 

[erikmannie]

I don’t know if other people do this, but on my lathes I only use HSS for cuts between .0001” (i.e. “one tenth”) and about .008”. Between roughing, medium- and fine-finishing, I find carbide inserts to be amazing! And yes, I am using balanced cutting. The HSS is great for when I failed with the balanced cutting.

Regarding HSS tool bits, I am always pressed for time, my bench grinder is a hunk of junk, & even if I did have the time & equipment to grind my own HSS, I am sure that I could not meet or exceed the quality that one gets on a carbide insert.