tools of the trade!!

[Stephen Cobb]

as my tank adventure continues, I have found a need for metal working
tools so I don't have to pay somone elese to do it for me. so I went
to youtube (again) and looked into "home made mill". good stuff here.
And now I have a home made dremel mill. Soon to be cnc but that is
another story... now I am working on a home made metal lathe. I am
still gatheriing parts and I don't know if it will be drill powered or
dryer motor powered.

but I am having trouble designing a table to move on the x and y axis
for the lathe and I also need one for the dremel mill.. I need it to
some how have hand cranks to move it on the x and y axis and in the
future, I will have it hooked up to stepper motors when I convert it
to cnc.

I thought about using drawer hardware with the rollers and tracks but
I don't know if I would be able to keep the slop out of it.... cant
have a slopy table that I am unable to lock down. That would make for
sloppy work...

anyone have any suggestions?

[Odyssey...@aol.com]

are you looking for a vise like one of these?

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=32996

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=32997

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94276 

 

Chris,
Odyssey Slipways

[Steve Tyng]

http://www.grizzly.com/products/5-1-2-x-12-Compound-Slide-Table/H7979

At $89 you couldn't build something from scratch cheaper.


Steve

[Frank Pittelli]

Steve Tyng wrote:
> http://www.grizzly.com/products/5-1-2-x-12-Compound-Slide-Table/H7979
>
> At $89 you couldn't build something from scratch cheaper.

or for a little less money, you can go with:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=32997

Combine either one with a used drill press and you've got an inexpensive
approximation of a milling machine. Not perfect, but definitely useful.

BTW: I've had a mini-mill from Harbor Freight for many years now and
even as the most inexpensive milling machine on the planet it has
allowed me to build lots of different hobbyist parts.

Frank P.

[Steve Tyng]

If your really intent on building a precision slide table I have some
plans from an old issue of Popular Mechanics. I'll scan and post them
later this evening.

Steve Tyng

[Clark Ward Jr]

What kind of vise slots into the tracks on the Grizzly table?

--
Clark in Georgia

[Frank Pittelli]

Clark Ward Jr wrote:
> What kind of vise slots into the tracks on the Grizzly table?

A vice only has holes in it's mounting bracket. You place a "T-Nut" in
the slide slot, a bolt in the T-nut and a nut on the other end to
tighten down the vice, part to be milled or a clamp.

In fact, one of the first things you make with a mill is your own supply
of T-nuts :-)

Frank P.

[Steve Tyng]

Clark wrote:

> What kind of vise slots into the tracks on the Grizzly table?

T-nuts fit into the slots and you bolt whatever holding device into
them.

Some ideas:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=98558
http://www.grizzly.com/products/Quick-Release-Drill-Press-Clamp-12-/H1127
http://www.grizzly.com/products/Drill-Press-Vise-6-/G5753
http://www.grizzly.com/products/4-1-4-Hold-Down-Clamp/G9590
http://www.grizzly.com/products/T-Slot-Nuts-pk-of-4-1-2-Slot-3-8-16/G9512


Steve Tyng

[Gregory Pwneror]

I personally don't think a home-made lathe would work that well, does it have dove tails on the saddle and a proper tool? Also I have a feeling it won't have the same power as a proper lathe. Also, what size is the chuck?

-Gregory

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[Stephen Cobb]

steve, I'll take those plans if you have them still... so far I have
used alot of creativity to keep my tank cost as low as possible. I
have considered using something like old scanners or old printers with
their sliding trays to make one.

[Adams, Kevin]

I've been told bearings commonly used in drill presses won't stand up to
the side load common in a mill and will wear quickly making it unusable
for anything requiring any accuracy at all. Is this not true?

[Frank Pittelli]

Adams, Kevin wrote:
> I've been told bearings commonly used in drill presses won't stand up to
> the side load common in a mill and will wear quickly making it unusable
> for anything requiring any accuracy at all. Is this not true?

Yes, milling machines are specifically designed for lateral loads,
whereas drill presses are not. Nonetheless, a cheap, surplus,
heavy-duty drill press still has plenty of strength to handle the types
of parts we use. The term "inexpensive approximation" was the key
phrase used in the discussion.

Frank P.

[Clark Ward Jr]

I've been told that about drill press bearings and lateral loads...
but like Frank says, they should be okay for light duty... My thought
was, can I find bearings from McMaster-Carr that'll fit my drill press
if I start to lose an acceptable tolerance? Because I'd like to do
light milling, but a mini mill isn't financially in the pic right now!
--
Clark in Georgia

[callum.kin...@googlemail.com]

An idea me and a mate thought of was to make a home made mill or lathe
(or go the whole way and make a 4 axis) and then use this hopefully
very cheap mill to make components for a more accurate purpose built
mill which should then have the durability to survive a decent amount
of time. No idea if it would work or not. Especially because I'm the
only one with any milling experience and that was from work experience
at school where all i did was load material into the mill. Run the cnc
program by pressing the big green button. Take product out. Put
material in and press green again...