uninformed Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 8 hours ago, Stellaghost said: Limited is defined purely by your imagination and how desperate you are to get the job done..... Also things like magnetic chucks, 4 jaw chucks and backplates allow more to be achieved, tool post mods will allow you to cut internal gears etc regards Stephen I’ve seen photos (actually slides) of a mate cutting splines for the lockers he made for his ENV diffs back in the 60s. A electric drill was mounted on the lathe bed, parallel to the workpiece and drilled out each spline. Not a DRO in sight…. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share Posted January 23, 2022 9 hours ago, simonr said: but, expensive - no. Ahh but if I had an electronics head, which I most certainly have not, sid the roach would be the equivalent of a black hawk helicopter, sadly electronics and electrickery are pure voodoo to me, so for mere mortals like me it's expensive unfortunately I would love to have your skills, really I would regards Stephen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 33 minutes ago, Stellaghost said: I would love to have your skills, really I would And I, yours! 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post miketomcat Posted January 23, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted January 23, 2022 If you two were in the same workshop all hell would break loose, good job your at different ends of the country. Mike 2 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 ⬆️⬆️✅😂 they actually would make an autonomously flying black hawk helicopter machined from solid with Victorian machinery. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyw Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 11 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said: Biggest problem for me is garage space, not that my garage is tiny but I've got a decent bench, a lathe, MIG and TIG, drill press, and a bay of pallet racking plus some other shelves and it all adds up - I'd happily DIY a CNC plasma table but the only time I have 6' square of free floor space is if I park the truck outside. Same with mills, folders, etc. I just can't house any of the stuff that takes up floor or bench space. I've been slowly building an MPCNC that I plan to use as a plasma table. Initially I've gone for a 500mm sq working area, but it would be very easy to scale up. Time will tell if plastic parts and plasma are a good combination, but others have been successful. For first assembly it's mounted on an MDF board, but would be on a box section steel frame eventually. This could then be placed on whatever frame/trestles are available, so not too hard to store on its side. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 22 minutes ago, mickeyw said: I've been slowly building an MPCNC that I plan to use as a plasma table. I like that! Very clever solution. There will be no problem with printed parts & the plasma - by the time any sparks get close to a plastic bit, they will be cool. I have a few printed parts on my plasma - mostly as cable guides & things like that. Belts appear to be quie resilient too, much moreso than chain anyway. The only issue you might have with plasma is acceleration. Your motors look fairly small. When you are cutting a corner, one axis has to stop and the other accelerate which results in the torch effectively stopping momentarily at the corner. This leads to burning. You notice it particularly on thin material. My current machine uses 8Nm Hybrid Steppers on X & Y to give better acceleration - and the corner precision is much better. That said, you can just put a radius on all the sharp corners (Sheetcam has a feature which adds these automatically if you want). I said above that I hardly use my mill anymore. That's not only down to the plasma, but the 3D Printer too - often combining plasma cut & printed parts for strength & form. I think we all just adapt to the tools we have available, and what is the easiest solution. I'm still hoping for an affordable Metal 3D Printer one day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share Posted January 23, 2022 5 hours ago, mickeyw said: I've been slowly building an MPCNC that I plan to use as a plasma table. Initially I've gone for a 500mm sq working area, but it would be very easy to scale up. Time will tell if plastic parts and plasma are a good combination, but others have been successful. For first assembly it's mounted on an MDF board, but would be on a box section steel frame eventually. This could then be placed on whatever frame/trestles are available, so not too hard to store on its side. @mickeyw is there a build thread for this, may help with my electronic retardation....... Regards Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 @Stellaghost to be honest quite a lot of the electronics now is plug and play (well on par with wiring for Land Rovers). They're a little more but have a look through cnc4you they do/did some packages for multiple axes that just work with Mach4/Mach3 (the software that takes CAD files and controls the magic stuff). I ran some tests on a DIY CNC capacitance scanner I built and the cnc4you drivers (gecko I think) would run the steppers roughly twice as fast as the cheap chinesium ones supplied as part of the PCB mill. With proper steppers as well my father has got them going twice as fast again. So you do get what you pay for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share Posted January 23, 2022 22 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said: I have a Proxxon MF70, which has a total bed travel of ~100mm and was previously used for CNC cutting keys... it isn't really up to whittling brackets or anything much involving steel in the workshop. @mickeyw I've been wondering if a mag drill with broaching bits ( because they look like milling cutters ) could be utilised in conjunction with a compound slide table to make a mini mill of sorts, hmmmm regards Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 1 minute ago, Stellaghost said: mag drill with broaching bits I know they look like mill bits but do they actually have a cutting surface on the edge or is it the bottom teeth that actually do the cutting? I may have a compound table that would work well for that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share Posted January 23, 2022 (edited) 9 minutes ago, Ed Poore said: I know they look like mill bits but do they actually have a cutting surface on the edge or is it the bottom teeth that actually do the cutting? I may have a compound table that would work well for that... Might have to experiment with that at some point this week, only cos I've got nothing better to do lol regards Stephen Edited January 23, 2022 by Stellaghost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share Posted January 23, 2022 15 minutes ago, Ed Poore said: @Stellaghost to be honest quite a lot of the electronics now is plug and play (well on par with wiring for Land Rovers). Ahh Ed, I've got around 1900 posts on this forum, a couple of them and I mean about 2 refer to anything to do with electrickery........... Is that not telling you anything lol Regards Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyw Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 1 hour ago, Stellaghost said: @mickeyw is there a build thread for this, may help with my electronic retardation....... Regards Stephen Stephen I'm afraid theres's no built thread by me, but many others have done so here https://forum.v1engineering.com/. The first thing you need is a 3D printer, is that's not too much tech for you . I've printed and assembled the hardware, and I've bought parts to wire it up, but that's as far as it's progressed for the moment. The computery bit require some learning. So many projects on the go 🙄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share Posted January 23, 2022 1 minute ago, mickeyw said: Stephen I'm afraid theres's no built thread by me, but many others have done so here https://forum.v1engineering.com/. The first thing you need is a 3D printer, is that's not too much tech for you . I've printed and assembled the hardware, and I've bought parts to wire it up, but that's as far as it's progressed for the moment. The computery bit require some learning. So many projects on the go 🙄 Thanks for the reply Too many projects on the go....... Tell me about it lol so much so I don't think I've time or the right kind of brain to learn this tech, also I've managed for 58years without it, do I really need it or is it another one of those " nice to have's " Regards Stephen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishbosh Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 @FridgeFreezer - if you do go for a mill I would avoid ones with round columns - you cannot adjust the head height without losing your centre which is a real pain. I tried all sorts of tricks to try and solve this problem when I had a mill (Warco Major IIRC) and never managed it. The mill itself was a pretty good size for what I needed but the lack of ability to accurately change the head height was a lot more of a hindrance than I had expected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 @FridgeFreezerwe've got a Peatol mini mill that's been CNCd and it's a pretty potent mill for it's footprint. Unfortunately I think the guy who used to import them has gone senile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 @bishbosh good tip, thanks - I was eyeing up cheap imported XY tables to bolt to my drill press as it's basically the same thing as a lot of the low-end mills (round column, same head & motor) just minus the fine control on Z and with no X/Y table. For £100 it feels less of a faff than the vertical slide in the lathe. Here's my current mighty mill in its natural habitat - not exactly room to squeeze a bridgeport in there: @Stellaghost you don't really need a 3D printer, you just need to know someone with a 3D printer who would like to know someone with a shed full of metalwork tools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted January 25, 2022 Author Share Posted January 25, 2022 8 minutes ago, FridgeFreezer said: @bishbosh @Stellaghost you don't really need a 3D printer, you just need to know someone with a 3D printer who would like to know someone with a shed full of metalwork tools That is very true I have a similar arrangement with a local farmer, he breaks stuff, I repair it Payment is always a box of Wagu meat or Hampshire pigs meat from his own stock, damned good arrangement if you ask me lol regards Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishbosh Posted January 28, 2022 Share Posted January 28, 2022 Be careful trying to mill with a drill press. Depending on how it is mounted (often Morse taper) if you don’t have vertical pressure on the tip of the cutter the chuck can fall off….. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted January 28, 2022 Share Posted January 28, 2022 4 minutes ago, bishbosh said: Be careful trying to mill with a drill press. Depending on how it is mounted (often Morse taper) if you don’t have vertical pressure on the tip of the cutter the chuck can fall off….. This is a very good point… they’ll just chomp their way down into the vice or workpiece. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 16 hours ago, bishbosh said: Be careful trying to mill with a drill press. Depending on how it is mounted (often Morse taper) if you don’t have vertical pressure on the tip of the cutter the chuck can fall off….. Ah, that's useful information, thanks! I think mine is something like B16 taper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 1 hour ago, FridgeFreezer said: Ah, that's useful information, thanks! I think mine is something like B16 taper. Yeah, B16 is the small taper often found on stuff like drill chucks. They don’t take a lot to pull off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
De Ranged Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 (edited) On 1/29/2022 at 7:08 AM, landroversforever said: This is a very good point… they’ll just chomp their way down into the vice or workpiece. When I first got my mill drill I learned this the hard way, cutting a bigger slot in the lathe tool mount.... I now only have two surfaces I can trust lol First thing I learned.... end mills will pull the MT out but not stop spinning, and a drill chuck isn't a collet chuck... it doesn't matter how tight you do them there will still be run out and the end mill will pull its self out 😔 Edited January 29, 2022 by De Ranged gramma bad 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted February 4, 2022 Author Share Posted February 4, 2022 Christmas present off my good lady arrived yesterday finally back in stock no chance and no point in opening it as on 12hr nights at the moment, roll on Sunday What is it ???????????? Answers on a postcard lol Regards Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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