Milling Welds

Thanks to all of you. Plenty of suggestions for me to try.

I think that the proper name for the part that I've been working on is "compound rest" - it's the top-level sliding component that holds the tool post.

I know that the part is easy to machine because it used to have a central spigot (terminology?) which fits into a depression on the cross-slide on a Myford 7. My lathe is an odd Myford/Drummond which was adapted (by an expert - not me!) to have a Myford 7 type headstock - but it still has a standard Myford/Drummond carriage. My cross-slide is flat so I had to take off the nubbin, spigot, bump thing to get it to fit on my lathe. It came off easily with a few cautious passes of the HSS end mill.

The reason that I'm working on a second-hand part from eBay is so that if I do bugger it up, I haven't wrecked my lathe: I can still use the original compound rest and tool post. I'm not a total idiot (opinions do vary on this point).

I've bought a Dixon-type QCTP - it mounts to my old Sheldon with no modification other than a top spacer for the nut and I've used that set-up very successfully. The plan is to have a suitable compound rest for the Myford/Drummond which can carry the QCTP so that I can move it from machine to machine. Now that I have the QCTP, I plan to copy the tool holders on my mill and, when my skills have improved a bit, then to copy the body so that I'll have one for each lathe.

I deliberately didn't put all of this detail in my original post because the core problem is that I have a difficult-to-work weld. I can see that everyone is wondering "Why did he do this stupid thing?" - and now you know. There was method in my madness.

Jim Dawson: that has to be the easiest step to try. I'll put on a new HSS cutter and turn the speed down.

Firstram: carbide end mills are on their way to me from the magic that is eBay. If plan "A" doesn't work then I'll post my reaction here.

BaronJ: I think you're right about the Dremmel. I'll see if I can find some suitable grinding tools for plan "C". I confess that I didn't know that such things existed.

Winegrower: I'll put annealing down as plan "D" but, if BtoVin83 is right, that I've contaminated the weld with tungsten, then I suspect it may not help.

To go back to PWaller's post: if all else fails, I suppose I could simply mill out a new body for the compound rest from a block of steel. If I do this, would it be best to use a steel that can be case-hardened? I've never done this before but I do have an oxy-acetylene torch and buckets of sand and water. What could possibly go wrong? :)

Thank you again, to all of you, for taking the time to post your suggestions. I promise that I'll post back with a progress update in due course. It's all learning, I suppose, and knowledge is power.

Kind wishes,

Nick
 
Nick, I was reiterating what Jim D said, you can grab a carbide tipped router bit for wood and get the job done. Take it easy on the DOC and feed rates and you'll surprise a few people by "routing" steel.
 
Nick, I was reiterating what Jim D said, you can grab a carbide tipped router bit for wood and get the job done. Take it easy on the DOC and feed rates and you'll surprise a few people by "routing" steel.

Thanks,

Sorry: I completely misunderstood. I presumed that you meant there would be alarming sparks and shards of hot metal, not that I'd be pleasantly surprised! I have a wood working router somewhere - I haven't used it for ages - but there is a box of tools for it. I'll go and see if any of them is carbide tipped. If not, it's back to eBay.

I still cannot find those grinding bits that BaronJ mentioned. All a trawl of eBay throws up is a mixture of Dremmel-type tools and pepper mills.

I shall get off my rear end, go out to the workshop and see if I can make any more progress.

Kind wishes,

Nick
 
I am out in the workshop now, on my old laptop.

Progress! I swapped the cooked bit for a new-looking cutter that's rather smaller (7/16) and I turned the speed down to 500 rpm. I've been taking slow, shallow cuts and it is working. I think that I was simply going too fast. So far, Jim Dawson seems to have had the answer.

Next, I need to find out if it is possible to resharpen cooked HSS bits...

Thanks again for all of the advice.

Kind wishes,

Nick
 
Congratulations !

Next, I need to find out if it is possible to resharpen cooked HSS bits...

They can be resharpened, but for small bits (<1/2 inch) it's not really worth it IMHO. They are pretty inexpensive to buy new.
 
Carbide will have a tendency to shatter or chip on a rough intermitant cut like a weld. Best bet is hss and take it easy.
A lot of times I will use a angle grinder and leave the weld a little proud then mill the last bit to save on your cutters.
 
Thanks once more to everyone. I am now back in my study, having a cold beer to celebrate: the hole has been moved. I was going to mount the bolt that holds the tool post by cutting threads, but although I have some taps of about the right size and some dies similarly, I don't have taps and dies in the correct combination, so I went for an interference fit: I turned down the end of the bolt until it was just too large to fit in the new hole, heated the compound rest body with a propane torch until the hole expanded and pushed the bolt into place. Everything is cooling (slowly!) now and I don't think the bolt is going to be coming out in a hurry.

If it all goes back together, I'll post a couple of pictures to show what I've been up to.

BaronJ and Firstram: I'm going to get some grinding tools and carbide router bits to add to the tool stock, along with some new dies. One cannot have too many tools.

The problem with the Bridgeport, I think, is that it often lets me get away with bad practice because it's so capable: obviously throwing more oomph at the problem isn't always the way forward.

Here, in the UK, it is a bank holiday tomorrow: I think I might just have another beer and bask in my success.

Kind wishes,

Nick
 
Here are two photographs: one showing the QCTP mounted on the unmodified top slide of my Sheldon, the other showing it fitted to the modified Myford ML7 topslide which I've bolted to the (unmodified) cross-slide of my adapted Myford-Drummond. I'm sorry: I do find the top-slide / cross-slide nomenclature confusing. I'll get my head around it in the end.
20180827_120249.jpg20180827_114654.jpg
Do excuse the mess and clutter in the background. I think it may be time to tidy the workshop and clean the lathes.
 
I have heard that MIG weld can be hard. That can be useful. For example, an article I read recommends it for build up of repaired anvil edges if you dont have the correct rod. For machinable welds, 7018 is good if you keep a tight arc and the weld stays clean. Your multipurpose welder should be able to handle 7018, and it is a cheap way to go (no gas). Annealing also helps. One thing that helped me get through some hard metal is a cobalt lathe bit rigged up in a homemade toolholder which spins it like a flycutter. Keep the feed rate real slow, since only one "tooth" is cutting.
 
Back
Top