My lathe paid for my mill.

[n3480h]

It was supposed to be a hobby machine shop, to make parts for myself. Friends found out and the ball started rolling. I bought a HF minimill about 2 months ago and put a dent in the fun money budget. Since then, I have made a number of custom parts on my 7x10 lathe (now 7x14). So many that the mill has been paid for by the lathe. Now its paying for tooling, including a new rotary table for the mill. It appears there is no shortage of work out there, probably because commercial shops have longer turnaround times and somewhat higher overhead. All of the parts I'm making are for experimental aircraft, a subject I know pretty well. Some 4130 steel, some aluminum, some carbon fiber. A nice little niche market to augment eventual retirement.

Tom

 

[Tamper84]

That's gotta be nice when that happens!!! So are those spacers/bushings? Also what kind of experimental aircraft?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Ray C]

Very nice and rewarding indeed... -And it ensures that you'll never retire (in the traditional sense). Don't know about you but, not having something to do all day would drive me crazy.


I do some small time work too and am careful about the jobs I take and people I deal with. Got stiffed once by a neighborhood guy who belly-ached about an aluminum weld on a bracket that I advised him against doing in the 1st place. After the part broke again (as I told him it would) he wanted his money back. Instead, I re-made the part from steel with a little discount. -Then his check bounced for the whole amount. Except for my known folks, it's cash & carry now.

Lot's of folks want trailer hitch repairs. -Heck no! Those need proper annealing and treating after hitting with heat. Even if I did have the means to do the work properly, I don't want the NTSB on my butt after someone overloads the trailer and blames it on me.


Ray

 

[jumps4]

it is a good feeling isnt it
i'm not looking for any work but a friend who owns an automotive machine shop had me make him parts because i could do it faster and easier on my cnc lathe i built. by the time i made all the rest of the things he keeps thinking of it has almost paid for cncing the lathe. it's not real money but it helps pay for more fun.
steve

 

[n3480h]

Chris, the small parts are 4130N steel plugs, threaded for Heim joints. They get welded into steel control tube linkages for a new biplane's ailerons. The larger piece is a fuel tank flange to mount an internal pump and gauge sender inside a Formula V racing plane's tank. That gets welded to the bottom of the tank. I still have to drill and tap five 1/4-28 holes for the mount bolts, but the tricky part is done. The groove is for an O-ring, and its radiused at the bottom. Had to grind a tool for that - and it worked.hew: The carbon fiber work is not difficult, but the stuff is tough on cutters and the machines must be strip cleaned afterwards because milled CF is very abrasive.

So far, all the things I make are for experimental aircraft - definitely nothing for "certified" aircraft. Since I will soon move to the country, I imagine I'll also be doing work for area farm equipment repairs. I'm in no hurry to retire from my QC inspector job, but one never knows these days. I intend to be ready. Between machining, hunting, and a big garden, I'll have no time to slow down.

Steve, I have not abandoned CNCing the mill, and probably the lathe too. But I have to get my basics down manually first. CNC would have been great for the 16 identical plugs. The OD of each had to perfectly slip fit the tubes they went into. Happy customer. I suppose its time to form an LLC for the business that has snuck up on me, lol.

Thanks for the kind words, guys.

Tom