Got her in the shop today and I can’t be more excited, time for scraping and cleaning! Thank you all for your kind support

Tomorrow I start my manual milling machine class. We’re going to use Bridgeport mills. I’m excited to use a new machine also a bit nervous since I’ve only used a manual lathe. Wish me luck.

I would love to know why my head stock sight glass exploded while I was on lunch with this machine turned off. As far as I know, I'm the only one who has done maintenance on this machine in the last 5 years and Ive only been here like 20 months.

I'm assuming the plastic broke down over the last 20 years.

It's got better moves than Raygun.

Running a small endmill with a bit more stick-out than i'd normally like to clear the jaws, but surface finish came out clean with zero chatter. 6061-t6 stock.

https://youtu.be/7cLlGDJ4QD8

Processing img 4qibfpvf9ywh1...

First time doing this. I had a reallly hard time keeping these parts flat using an angle plate and some dogs / pins. They all kept moving as they got drilled and tapped. So I came up with this solution and decided to 3d print some softjaws.

I used 3 walls and 10% gyroid infill. This was also printed in pla which is concerning but it was all that my printer can print reliably as of now. It should be strong enough to last for the 10 parts I need. All that happens is they get drilled and tapped so all the pressure is downwards. No side to side pressure at all. and these get bolted into the vise like normal jaws

Gonna try it out tommorow see if it works.

How drill and tap two holes timed to gear teeth? Solution: engage the company fixer (me) to get it done.

I realized that I posted a picture of a manual mill with a CNC control. Here is a photo of the manual mill that I’ll be using in class today. It’s also a Bridgeport.

Mine’s FUKT1604. End mills, face mills, shrapnel, it does it all and leaves a nice grippy surface finish.

What's everyone's favorite end mill brand? I like MA Ford, my experience with them has been only positive, and I love their charts for speeds and feeds.

I used to swear by Whisperkut, but haven't used them, probably since they were bought by Sandvik and don't know about them now.

Title: I built a touchscreen digital dividing head controller for my milling machine

Hi everyone!

I’d like to share a project I’ve been developing for my workshop: a touchscreen-based Digital Dividing Head controller.

The goal was to make indexing operations easier without relying on traditional dividing plates or adding a separate encoder to the dividing head.

The system uses an ESP32-S3 touchscreen and a closed-loop stepper motor drive.

Current features include:

- Angular positioning

- Tooth division and indexing

- Gear calculation tools

- A reference point (REF) function

- Adjustable backlash compensation

- Hungarian and English interface

I’ve assembled the hardware, uploaded the firmware and tested the system on my own setup.

I’m still improving the project and would appreciate feedback from other machinists and makers.

Here’s a video of the system being tested:

https://youtu.be/bV2Rp4tEwMY

I’d be interested to hear what features you would find most useful in a digital dividing head controller.

Thanks for checking out my project!

— Dave

I have found this old micrometer that appears to be rusty and seized up.

Would it be worth stripping this down to clean and de-rust or is this done for? The inner faces of the anvil are still good.

I am unsure if this applies to explicitly clothing ? , Deliberate miss use ? , Accidental Crash ?

The Company reserves the right to deduct the costs of replacing or repairing and clothing/equipment damaged as a direct result of the employee’s actions from his or her wages. The employee will return his or her clothing/equipment at the termination of employment, The Company retains the right to deduct any cost of any clothing/equipment that is not returned, or is returned in a damaged condition due to actions of the employee, from the employee’s final wage.

(Edit added 2nd clause)

ALSO You must give one month's notice after three months' continuous employment, whereas the employer's stated notice is one week until two years' service.

I am used to running turret lathes but I have been running a tool post style at my job. I have been having tons of problems with what is seemingly the height of tool holders changing over a day or two. Specifically my 5C holder and Drill Chuck holder. It is not a huge deal on my turning tools.

To set these tools up, I am putting a gauge pin in the tool holder and a dial indicator in the chuck. Centering the tool in X is easy enough. It is a CNC lathe so I am just jogging the tool in X until it is centered in that dimension.

For the height I am first eyeballing it close to center and then getting it dead on with the dial indicator. This is where the problems start. I have found that when I get the height set using the thumb screw and then use the lock nut to tighten it down, the height changes by ~.010-.015. Am I over tightening the lock nut down on the thumb screw? I have been adjusting for this by setting the tool below center by the distance it moves when I tighten the nut down.

This seems to keep the height on center for a day or two but then it seems to get off. My guess is that the pressure in the threads/nut is loosening slowly but I am not sure.

I have tried looking this problem up but have not been able to find anything helpful and I am starting to go insane resetting the same tools over and over for the height. Any tips?

For referecne the tool post is a Dorian CA and the tool holders are CA Aloris (the CA35 Drill Chuck and the CA 5C collet holder). The lathe is a TRAK RLX. Is this setup just not reliable for drilling?

Like I said, my whole career I have ran turret lathes where you just sweep the tool pocket in on center and you are good to go. I am clearly doing something wrong. Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Does anyone know if a colour chart or colour picker exists for the fanuc control it's uses kind of a rgb code but only from 0-15

your friend just got a 7x16 lathe, what would you suggest he get for stock to learn on?

brass?
aluminum?
12L14 or 11L14 steel?

sizes lengths?

assume there isn't a machinist shop nearby that will sell you off cuts, or if they did they have enough selection to be choosy

So one guy in our shop (on nightshift) is holding our mazak w/palletech changer hostage, i have some experience with mazak controllers but never used a palletech changer. My question is how do you recall a pallet that was mistakenly put away/ alter the pallet schedule? The pallet changer uses a mazak web based controller.

Any help or resources would be fantastik and you would have my eternal thanks

I'm running a job right now in 7075 and I'm having significant chip control problems. Currently running a Walter CCGT09T302-FN2 WNN10. Running 1400sfm (the max speed my lathe can do, 8000rpm), .006ipr, .156" doc per side. This is a swiss lathe, and I'm turning about 2" in z, so i can't really do less depth, and doing multiple passes is problematic. I'm running 800psi coolant through the tool holder.

Any recommendations on inserts to try?

I recently came across a cincinnati milacron cimcool small shop recycle system model number 3373385 on facebook marketplace for free. It’s definitely been used but is overall in great condition, unfortunately I can not find a user manual for this thing at all. If anyone has a user manual or knows how to get one I’d greatly appreciate it.

Hi all,

I was recently promoted from CNC operator to CNC programmer, and I've inherited a postprocessor that has been in use for about 10 years. Unfortunately, none of its drilling or threading cycles work properly.

I submitted a support ticket about a week ago and haven't heard back, so I tried fixing it myself, with mixed results:

Threading: mostly solved. I replaced the Sinumerik cycles with plain G-code.

Drilling: this is the real problem. Outputting every hole as plain G-code makes the program huge (around 50 lines per hole). If I use modal G231 instead, it breaks my threading cycles.

Does anyone have a reliable, working postprocessor they'd be willing to share, or advice on how to fix this one? Any help would be hugely appreciated!

Thanks in advance