/diy/ - Do It Yourself

>>2566387
I wonder what starfleet protocol says about having sex with simulacra of your crewmates on the holodeck.
Imagine going full hog on geordi's bussy, real down and dirty buck breaking like pappy used to do. then the real geordi walks into the holodeck.

About to cut some tr70x7 threads into stainless between 2 reliefs, on a empirical unit lathe no less. Wish me luck.

I'm just gonna leave this here. Sleep tight, QC bros.

Anyone used the Kennametal Harvi I TE endmills in 1018? I'm currently using Kyocera 4FL endmills. They work pretty good but I'd like to try out some different ones in a production environment. Do they live up to the hype? Tool life? MRR?

Ideally I'm looking for something that I can make more chips quicker with, but get better tool life on.

Actually - Speaking of MRR - What do you guys usually aim for in mild steel with an endmill? It's surprisingly difficult to find any info on what mrr people run at

>>2566486
My threads run deep. Bridgeport for scale.

Kinda a noob here, does tool brand matter? I dont want to spend the money buying mutitoyo when fowler or spi would be just as good.

I recently bought a drill gage and the measurements on it were all wrong so I'm paranoid about buying something more expensive like a micrometer set and them being off.

>>2566955
Yes they matter, this trade is the definition of "you get what you pay for"
The real question is, how much does precision do you *actually* need?

A 20$ chinese fowler mic and a basic Mitu mic arent going to have any noticeable difference for most people.
I actually bought a cheap fowler mic off amazon for shits and giggles, I have several other 0-1" mics, its not really that bad and its accurate.
Its just way shittier fit and finish than a Starret or Mitu.

>I recently bought a drill gage and the measurements on it were all wrong so
I dont think any drill gage is high precision, its kind of just an eyeball thing. Kind of useless, just use a pair of calipers and youll figure out what size they are.

Also drill bits are tapered. Mic the shank side of a drill bit it and will always be undersized for what its stated size is, while the cutting edge will be on size.
Its usually in the low tenths, but its still something to be aware of, best practice is never measure drill bit shanks.

>>2567092
>precision do you actually need
well say youre working on something at its ±.0005, you'd use micrometers to measure it instead of calipers. isnt this how this works?

generally the micrometers are all measuring at tenths of a thousandth , i dont get how you could sell them if they werent accurate, although ive seen some horrendous tools at harbor freight so I know they do.

>>2566418
Kek, this nigga knows what's up.

>>2567193
>well say youre working on something at its ±.0005, you'd use micrometers to measure it instead of calipers. isnt this how this works?

Well yeah youd pick the right tool for the job, that doesnt address the objective accuracy of your tools though.

>generally the micrometers are all measuring at tenths of a thousandth
Most dont have tenth scales on them and they cost more.
> i dont get how you could sell them if they werent accurate
I mean the Fowler I have doesnt have tenths, and its accuracy claim is +-.001". They arent NIST certified or calibrated, who is going to fight a chinese factory over their stated accuracy? Its a cheap tool.

If you are going to buy a tenths mic, and actually expect it to be dead on, you buy something like a Starret, looking at one with a tenths scale and it has a rated accuracy of +/-.00005"

Things arent so bad on the caliper and micrometer front.
Things get way worse once you start buying other tools and setup pieces and other random machining stuff. Lord help you when buying any India made shit.

>>2567828
>claim is ±.001
Why did you buy it? Whats the point?
Like calipers are .001 and have a larger range than any micrometer

>>2568452
Because while the resolution of the calipers are .0005, expensive japanese made Mitutoyos calipers are rated at +/- .002" at 4" - 6" extension
I have a pair, they are nice, but they arent really precision measuring tools and dont hold a high precision over their whole length.

Mics are far more accurate, repeatable, and only have to hold that accuracy for 1"

>Why did you buy it? Whats the point?
To have a beater mic on my second lathe.
What kind of tolerances are you holding with your work?
I dont normally work in tenths and dont need a beater mic accurate to .00005" on that particular lathe.
Calipers are great for rough measurements, but they are far too finicky for money cuts. Way too easy to fuck it up.

I no longer work in a shop, just a hobbyist now.
Hobbyists in particular need to be realistic on what sort of precision they need (or can actually physically get out of their machines).
A hobbyist with a benchtop lathe isnt going to see much of a tangible difference using Fowler tools vs Starrett tools.
But the difference is there, it does make a huge difference if you need the accuracy.

>>2567193
you can use fowler and it's going to be fine. just get the swiss style ones, they're way better than the normal fowler and they feel a lot better and they're just basically better than the normie loop ones. if you can afford better, definitely buy better, and i'm going to upgrade mine at some point. just don't feel like you have to spend more than you can. at the other extreme, don't buy fucking "anytime tools" bullshit from amazon and really scrape the bottom of the barrel, at least not for measuring equipment. the general rule of thumb here is that you can cheap out on most hand tools, but not on measuring equipment

>t. uses fowler mics on the od grinder with +/-.0003" tolerance

>>2568526
>tolerances at work
Its honestly pretty forgiving, but sometimes I get something thats +.001 -.000 and I dont like to ask for tools. Theres no tool crib just other workers who are busy and/or don't like me asking for things. Plus when applying for work people ask if you have tools and I'd like to have a good kit for that alone.

>dont hold high precision over their whole length
was afraid about this when looking at foot long calipers, I only have a 6in pair and so often I'm working with something thats above that but doesn't warrant using the 24 inch ones the shop own.

Something I was also afraid of when buying tools at flea markets like some old timers suggested. How an I know what I bought was accurate. Do bring my own machined metal with me? lol.


>>2568578
>swiss style ones
Are they called swiss style? I thought fowler was some chinese company?

>can afford better
I'm just worried I'm going to spend too much on something I might not need again or would be a waste. Like you see brown and sharp tools at like 3 times the price of mitutoyo and you wonder.

>>2568827
>Are they called swiss style?
Yeah they are their higher end and more expensive ones.
>I thought fowler was some chinese company?
Fowler is an old dead american company thats all import now, but its a high quality chinese company.
Vertex is super high quality, SPI is another good one.

Like the other anon said. There are two different levels of import tools.
Companies like Fowler and Vertex who make their own tools which dont look like anyone elses.
Then companies like Anytime Tool, HHIP, HFS etc etc that rebadge identical tools out of the same factory, which cost less but are obviously lower quality.

Shars is weird, they sell a lot of rebaged tools, but they also sell higher end stuff only they make like the Tegara chucks and vises or the Aventor indicator arms and Calipers. Both aventor and tegara are really good.

If you start buying a bunch of stuff youll figure out whats what, its pretty obvious after a while.
Cheap amazon stuff has its place sometimes.

>>2568827
>How an I know what I bought was accurate.
Sounds stupid, but just look at them.
If a micrometer doesnt look beat up, the anvils are in good shape, they move smoothly, they are probably accurate.
Reality is, mics that were used for 40 years look like it. Mics that were bought and used 5 times by grandpa then sat in a box also look like it.

If you want to actually test the accuracy, you bring gage blocks with you.
You calibrate it to 0, then check to make sure its accurate in different points between 0-1"

Its really overkill, buying used is what it is, and will more than likely be accurate enough.

Since this is for your job, I personally would buy new and be done with it. Probably would spend the extra and get Mitutoyo stuff too.

>>2566955
I bought a spi indicator holder and every time I use it I wish I had just paid extra for a noga

>>2568946
If its any consolation, I bought a Noga DG61003, so regular duty 176lb fine adjust head.
Its really not sturdy at all, overrated as fuck.

>>2566387
You guys ever look at what they sell at harbor freight?

>>2569466
Their machines?
Nah, I bought my machines locally.

They have a handful of things in the store though.
I bought pretty much everything they had when I first started out. They all used to be a better deal but have went up in price, and coupons barely exist.
Same exact stuff as on amazon, slightly better price.

The only thing I have bought a lot of are the magnetic base indicator arms for $12. You just custom adapt stuff to the solid post, or remove the post and bolt to the mag base. Shitty movable arm, bad for it intended purpose. Good if you are just using the solid post.

Other than that, the only other real interesting thing there isnt directly machining related. Its for metalworking though
https://www.harborfreight.com/25-piece-doming-block-and-punch-set-93539.html

The telescopic gages work fine, the 0-1 dial indicators are accurate, the parallels are meh and the same price as amazon.
I bought their endmill set a long time ago at $50 then a 20% coupon, they are about what you would expect from a cheap endmill set. Will get the job done and then dull.

The HSS lathe blanks are ok, their brazed carbide lathe toolsare ok.
Their indexable carbide lathe tools were alright if you needed 1/4" tooling and didnt want to wait from china. The inserts are extremely expensive to replace though, better off buying chink tooling with more popular sized inserts if you are looking to save money.

Their 115pc drill sets are trash. My particular M2 set, every single # drill is ground incorrectly, and like 1/3rd of the letter and fractional sets are ground poorly too. Like unusable until you sharpen them bad. I find the # sizes arent on size either. Its splitting hairs, but they still arent accurate.

Center drills are shit.

The standard 6" digital Pittsburgh calipers are ROUGH, but are still accurate. They serve their purpose of being beaters. They were worth it at $8-10, its a lot harder to justify how rough they are at $22

I've been toying with the idea of getting a desktop CNC for years, but it seems like unless you only want to do aluminium/wood on a shallow router, or do a custom conversion on a Grizzly or whatever and have a very small work volume, you need to spend $10k on something approaching (or actually) industrial grade. My understanding is that the issue with scaling up these cheap routers to have more Z height and steel cutting ability is just rigidity.

Would it be possible to fix the cutting head to the center of the gantry, move the whole gantry up and down, beef up the gantry supports a bit and just change your CAM settings to do tons of plunge cuts, then a final finishing pass? Maybe with specific tooling?

If the cutting head was centered and fixed in the gantry and the whole thing moved, there'd be 0 deflection under any plunging load because it'd be pulling against itself along the Z axis. Sure it might take a long time, but you'd be able to get high quality CNC steel parts out of something not much bigger than a 3D printer. Am I missing something here?

>>2569630
Anon, if you were going to modify a router that much, you might as well build it from scratch. Thats a lot of work to do.

> My understanding is that the issue with scaling up these cheap routers to have more Z height and steel cutting ability is just rigidity.
CNC routers like you posted cant cut aluminum, its frame is literally extruded aluminum. It has no rigidity at all.
The larger ones built with solid 10mm aluminum frame walls still have rigidity issues cutting aluminum.

People modify sieg or grizzly milling machines (cast iron with dovetails) for a reason. And even then the Sieg mini mills arent doing steel very well.

> do tons of plunge cuts, then a final finishing pass?
If your plunge cuts overlap, you are going to get bad deflection issues. And then you have to contend with interrupted cuts on your final pass will be hitting a jagged edge.

You cant really cheap your way out of this. People will show flimsy machines making 1 cut in aluminum with very low DOC, not mentioning its destroying an $8 endmill in one shot.

>>2569466

I have a bunch of stuff from HF. Belt sander and spot welder I haven't used much but seem fine. I'm mostly happy with the ability to do things like buy a spring assortment for 5 usd and then when I need a single spring in a month it's basically worth that price, so I have a bunch of little things like that.

>>2568946

Buy the Noga, I did the same thing and treated myself to the upgrade about 12 months later. For most things I think it's safe to buy the cheap one but for this it was definitely worth it.

>>2569661
>Anon, if you were going to modify a router that much, you might as well build it from scratch. Thats a lot of work to do.
I'm not planning on building this, I'm just wondering why someone hasn't already built a kit/off the shelf machine like this.

>You cant really cheap your way out of this.
Yeah I've seen that the Sieg and Grizzly conversions don't really look that capable. Is there really nothing in between that and an $8000 (minimum spec) Tormach tho? Used Tormach I guess would be in between but you know what I mean.

>>2569666
Sherline, Shopbot

>>2569674
+1 for sherline desu. Sherline tools are top tier hobbit machines.

>>2569666
> why someone hasn't already built a kit/off the shelf machine like this.
Thats kind of what the G0704 conversions used to be, they steel capable with an ok envelope. But then again they used to cost $999 and everything else has gone way up in price.

PocketNC is the only one I can think of really, and its like 7 grand. At that point you buy a tormach.

>>2569674
>>2569675
Sherline isnt going to cut steel very well.

>>2569678
>Sherline isnt going to cut steel very well.
Mm, I've used their long-axis mill for steel just fine. Obviously you can't take deep cuts and huge strain but it's absolutely capable. I machined the first prototype of a stainless part, that's now in every 5G phone, on a sherline mill (picrel). Along with other steel, irons, and shitloads of aluminum and red metals. They are very stiff and durable

>>2569682

>>2569684
all of these are steel. all 100% on the sherline (except tapping by hand). I had some reservations about it at first too, but never an issue.

>>2569682
>>2569684
>>2569686
Which model do you have?

I have a 3D printer with a 12x12x12in build volume and I've run into the edges a couple times making motorcycle parts, so I was hoping to find something with about that much space. I don't really need that much Z travel, but I know cheap fixtures will eat into that without my help.

Looking to start milling my own prototypes. I have limited experience in cnc machining work. What's a good manual mill for under $1000?

Is 32 too late for starting a machinist apprenticeship? always worked low-skill jobs like forklift operator, construction helper etc. but not having a marketable skillset in gnawing at me
i have been watching a bunch of this old tony and AvE on youtube for years, and machining (and welding for that matter) look neat
I'm good with numbers and spatial thinking
no real experience in that field though
I'm in germany and skilled metalworkers are in short supply last few years because all the young guys want to go study social sciences, business or other faggy things, so finding a job won't be be a problem in that field

Am I too old yet?

>>2569945
addition: apprenticeships here are usually paid and last 3 to 3 1/2 years

>>2569947
>>2569945
I'm not a kraut, so I don't know what social conventions are like over there, but if you're not retarded/haven't given up trying in life yet, you're not too old for anything.

Also I don't know anything about apprenticeships, but the machine shops I've worked in in the US don't even need you to have any skills at the entry level. You just run the same machine with pretty much the same settings all day every day and move material in and out along a predefined production path. They'll employ any retard, and you can move up from there if you care to.

>>2569707
sorry anon ,been away
I have the biggest version of their cheapest mill, which came "CNC ready," I added my own drive system once I got tired of using it manually.

I'm not sure this is 100% the same anymore b/c mine is 12 years old but https://www.sherline.com/product/5400a-cnc5410a-cnc-cnc-ready-deluxe-mill-package/ with the "15″ Extended Column Upgrade" AND "18″ Extended Mill Table" is my work volume.

I also have one of their Lathe, which is nice because you can just bolt on the exact same CNC drivers, but I've used it maybe twice. If you're a big turning fan maybe, but mine just collects dust. Picrel is last time I used it....to sharpen a pencil for an hs STEM tour of the shop

>>2569964
>I don't know what social conventions are like over there
usually 30yo here would be seen as "scratching it" (if i use this figure of speech correctly)
>not retarded
mildly autistic, but I figure this could be benefitial for machining
>haven't given up trying in life
as you see, i am willing to turn over a new leaf
i finally want something to show for on my CV
> the same settings all day every day
>predefined production path
>They'll employ any retard
fits my description perfectly

thanks anon

>>2569975
also I do recommend a fine DRO because those handwheels are tiny af. there's not much backlash but its trivial to go over or lose your place. a third party one is cheaper than buying sherline's preinstalled

Looking for jobber drills here. Any brands that are not trash? More specific, im looking for made in USA. How is current Norseman/viking, Chicago Latrobe, Cleveland, etc.?

>>2570002
Dont buy DrillHog and youll be fine.

>>2570002
I have never had an issue with Norseman/Viking stuff. Have used a lot of it.
I know its the normie brand, but they really are good and their popularity makes them easier and cheaper to acquire.

Was a local tool clearout a few years ago and bought some stuff. Some random drills I got were Cle-Line, Champion Brutes, Morse, Precision Twist (made in Brazil, but very nice), set of Hertel Silver Deming bits.

They are seem to be of the utmost quality, they all perform well.
I really like the Champion Brutes in hand, not sure why but they seem really nice. Probably nothing special but if I needed a new set id probably buy one from them.

The only modern new USA made brand of drill bit ive had issues with is Snap-On. A friend gifted me a 29pc jobber set of bog standard black oxide HSS 118* points.
One bit was defectively ground, it was almost flat and had no chisel. Another was missing its rollmark.

Im not sure who makes them for SnapOn. I know their higher end "thunderbit" set is made by Triumph, so maybe they made that set too.
Dunno, would think SnapOn would want higher QC than that.

>>2566418
There were episodes that showed holodeck incelery. Both Barkley and Geordi in particular.

what are the machinist prospects in your area like? my job finally imploded so now I am needing a new one. I got an offer for one making $21/h which is what I was getting before, but with 401k and medical and stuff, but I turned it down because I am having a sperg crisis and decided I want to move to another state. I had an interview with a place in texas but they haven't gotten back to me after they said they were going to send me an offer.

is it worth getting into the machining/tool and die trade? i'm an 18 y/o twink btw if that matters

>>2569945
>i have been watching a bunch of this old tony and AvE on youtube for years, and machining (and welding for that matter) look neat
This alone puts you ahead of like 75% of prospective machining apprentices. Find a job as a saw operator to get your foot in the door. From there the sky's the limit.

>>2571501
I make $27/hour, plus medical, dental, 401k, yearly boots, etc here in Ohio doing mostly mindless cnc tending. 2nd year.
Pretty much all aluminum too, fun stuff.
I think most places around here start in the $21-25 range.

Could you guys explain the difficulties of machining a tool like this?
The parts are usually all steel

>>2572804
What is it? A little bender jig or something?
I can't imagine it'd be too difficult provided the required tolerances aren't extreme

I need a decent set of T-handle tap wrenches. All of the cheap ones I've seen have terrible fit and finish and I don't trust the center hole to line up with the tap. Starrett models are pretty nice from what I've seen but the prices are typical of Starrett. Anything recommendations for something in between?
>>2571501
My employer has over 100 openings between two locations. Pay starts at19.50 for no experience and tops out at 35 under the current contract. From what I heard, they've been hiring even completely green prospects at 21.30 for want of bodies. Benefits are decent, but vacation is sparse starting out.
In the general area there looks to be a good number of jobs listed, split between braindead buttonpusher jobs and position at high end mold/die and aero shops.
This is Connecticut, so cost of living is high and things are generally fake and gay.
>>2572804
With CNC the only slightly concerning thing might be getting the corner radii. Long tool projection with a small cutter can be finicky, but still perfectly doable. Kind of guessing at the scale. Looks like the tighter ones are drilled anyway. Doing it manually would be a pain. You would need a rotary table to cut the angled slot walls, a handful of different cutters to match the various round features, plus a form tool for the concave surfaces. Depending on what sort of tolerances you have you could also just finish the "easy" elements, rough the tricky ones in, and finish by hand work.

Is there some trick to getting a good surface finish in mild steel? Finally got my own small lathe and trying to clean up some mild steel parts and it looks like shit. Like the cutter tip randomly drags some material along, making tiny irregular grooves. Tried oil/no oil, different speeds and feeds, cutters that came with the lathe and the one I already had for my mill's boring head and which previously gave me a nice shiny surface, though on a higher grade, harder steel. Tried swithcing inserts to ones for machining aluminium (they have a sharp edge, not rounded like yellow ones for steel) and got slight improvement, but still not very good. Is it shitty steel? Cheap chink inserts? Some slack in the machine? My boring head setup looked much more sketchy though yet had no such problems even when it chattered. Also I took apart the carriage and milled all the guiding surfaces to proper geometry first thing out of the box, so it's rock solid now.

>>2573360
I was using chinesium inserts and they would cut ok for a few parts but then turn to shit even though they weren't visually chipped. try better inserts or grind a hss tool with a big tip radius.

>>2573360
Somewhat deeper than normal finishing pass, obnoxiously high surface speed, and sharp tools. You may not even be able to really spin it fast enough if it's a small-diameter part. Mild steel is kind of just a pain in the ass to get a decent finish on.

Gonna be real, most the time I just get it as good as I can and clean it up a bit with sandpaper, hit it with the toolpost grinder, or just say "fuck it" and let it be shitty.

>>2573360
Look up "vertical shear tool" and give that a shot. I've been meaning to grind one for finishing some nasty HSLA. Really simple process.
On a small lathe I'm guessing you are taking pretty shallow cuts; you might not be able to easily see insert wear with the naked eye.
With some materials it's just a pain to get everything dialed in right. One particular job milling this HSLA I just couldn't get anything to work right. Run at a conservative speed and deal with rapid edge build up, speed it up just a bit and the inserts are cratering. Didn't help anything that this was a 5" cutter hanging on something like 16" inches of extensions.

>>2573368
>they would cut ok for a few parts but then turn to shit even though they weren't visually chipped
Mine are doing consistently shit job both new and used so it doesn't seem to be the cause.

>>2573373
>or just say "fuck it" and let it be shitty.
It's a contact surface that's supposed to seal against ptfe gasket so I'm worried about leaks if it's too rough. That's why I'm doing it in the first place.

>>2573558
>Look up "vertical shear tool" and give that a shot.
Now that's an interesting thing. I don't have a hss blank or any substitute on hand right now, but will definitely try it later.

>On a small lathe I'm guessing you are taking pretty shallow cuts;
More than a small lathe issue, I'm working on a finished part and while there's no tight tolerances, I just can't take too much material off.

Anyone here with 5-axis experience? Been having some really weird chatter issues. Everything has been aluminum until now, had to make a part out of stainless. At normal, very mild F/S that work totally fine on a normal 3-axis in my experience, the damn tool screeches like a banshee but only the one endmill. The other 3 sound fine with equivalent F/S based on their size, and a 3" facemill goes through fine. Any ideas? Gauge length isn't anything crazy, few times D for tool stickout and 3-4" long holder, tried both a hydraulic chuck and a shrink fit holder. Only thing that helped was bumping the RPM by 50% but obviously that's eating the tool in stainless steel. I'm starting to wonder if its the riser plate we have, it's aluminum which seems to be common, but it also has a huge, hollow core in the bottom which doesn't seem to be the norm.

>mfw what should have been a 6-8 hour job took two days

>>2573360
Your lathe is too flimsy for carbide, use very sharp HSS

>>2574167
Here's what it does to somewhat hardened 440b steel so I don't think rigidity is the issue in this case. Seems like it's just just how gummy mild steel works: https://youtu.be/mRuSYQ5Npek

>>2574327
You need more DOC with carbide. They are not as sharp as HSS

>>2574410
How deep are we talking about? It's making proper chips so isn't that fine?

>>2574540
I think your doc is supposed to be bigger than the nose radius of the tool

>>2574761
There's tip radius, and there's cutting edge radius, and then there are manufacturer's recommendations which vary wildly depending on insert material, style and I guess what they think are the optimal cutting conditions. I've seen numbers ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 mm for visually similar inserts for steel with 0.4 mm tip radius. Alu ones that gave me best finish are really fucking sharp and mine in particular list 0.02 mm minimum recommended DOC with 0.2 mm tip radius.
Anyways, you can hear it when it stops cutting and starts scraping on mild steel, it makes really awful crunching sounds as it builds up a pile on the edge that starts digging a trench into the material after just a light touch before falling off and repeating it again.

>>2574127
Haven't done any 5 axis work but I've dealt with some pretty flimsy set ups otherwise. What are you using for a tool (diameter, # flutes, coating) and cutting parameters (SFM, IPT, radial and axial depth of cut)? If you know the precise alloy and condition that's helpful too. Is your cutter showing any unusual damage or wear modes?
pic rel has served me pretty well with regular endmills. Inserted tooling is something else entirely though.

What are some gifts you have machined for other people?
Im trying to think of a gift I can build my brother.
He's a helicopter mechanic thats only kinda into woodworking. We both are at a point where if we want something we just buy it, so gifts are hard to do.

I just want to do something interesting and special for him, not just buy something.

I have access to CNC lathe, Mill, CNC router, welders, all the woodworking tools etc etc.

if I make an internal thread deeper to repair damage or whatever and want to make a new bolt that will maintain the same class of fit, do I only have to change the pitch diameter or does the od need to be bigger too?

I'm building an ER20 belted spindle with approx 1kW of power. Here's what I've got so far. I'm planning to use a HTD 5M 15 mm belt.

What I'm most worried about is the bearing setup. Currently I'm thinking of two 7305 angular contact ball bearings with an axial lockable tightening nut to adjust pre-tension. Is this anywhere close to rigid enough for tooling in the general 10mm size range? I wanna machine aluminum and steel and I don't want the spindle to be the limiting factor.

I guess I could use tapered roller bearings instead but that would limit my RPM.

What's the advantage of facing with a large diameter cutter for just unagressive facing? I understand the advantages of a single point cutter or being able to do things in one pass, but I have a CNC router.

The way I see it is if I set depth of cut to a few thou, 1000 SFM, 1 thou chipload and 50% stepover, there's no speed advantage to a large diameter cutter. The reduced RPM for the larger cutter makes the feedrate slower which offsets the wider stepover.

Also any good tips for facing 1/8 or 3mm stock to precise thickness? I use masking tape to face one side, then use masking tape to face the other side, then measure actual thickness and use a zero point based on the top of the stock with an offset for measured thickness. Masking tape is convenient, but I can't figure out how to measure the thickness of it accurately.

>>2575884
A pushstick that looks like a hand.

how do I cut a sawtooth texture onto a surface? I tried using a 60 degree engraving tool and a 90 degree chamfering mill but both of them broke the tip off. is tilting the head and using the corner of a square endmill the only way?

>>2578637
>What's the advantage of facing with a large diameter cutter for just unagressive facing?

Depends. Face mills are generally large to accommodate multiple inserts/flutes. You can't really cram 8 inserts on a holder that's only 1/2" wide. You can easily do so when it's 2-3" wide. It only really starts to matter when you have like 10HP+, and you can't feed your face mill any harder while the machine itself is just cruising at 20% load.

The fact that the larger mills need fewer passes to complete the operation is mostly a byproduct of the need for many cutting edges. As you've noted, the actual MRR for a given depth of cut is dictated by the per-tooth chipload and surface speed, which is independent of cutter diameter. A 3-insert 1" shell mill can face off a part just as fast as a 3-insert 3" mill. But you'd struggle to find a cutter that large with so few cutting edges in the first place, because the major selling point of large face mills is the number of cutting edges, not the width.

Tl;dr: There's no reason to use a large face mill unless you have a monster of a machine that can max out a bunch of cutting edges at once. Arguably, smaller ones are slightly better in the sense that they don't exaggerate issues with the machine being slightly out of tram.

>Also any good tips for facing 1/8 or 3mm stock to precise thickness?

Vacuum workholding is the go-too for thin stock, as long as you aren't drilling or routing a bunch of holes in it. Even then, it takes a lot of them to make anything else look more attractive than a vacuum clamp. Look up some DIY vacuum tables for routers, they're cheap, easy to make, and ideal for large, thin sheets.

>>2578662
Kicking the head over seems the best option. Other choice would be mounting the part at an angle, which would require stepping over and down between teeth rather than just moving the table over. Pointy cutters are really sensitive to feed rate. Between the null cutting speed at the tip and the inherently weak construction it's really easy to just blow off the tip. Best to crank the speed all the way and feed agonizingly slow if you are taking more than a few thou.
Another possibility, depending on the size of the part would be mounting the part at 90° and using a double chamfer cutter like pic to cut the form.
>>2578637
Glue might be more consistent than tape and should hold a bit better. For measuring, I think a drop indicator will work pretty well if you can mount one on the router head.

>>2573360
I think I've figured it out. Basically you need to crank the speed balls to the wall until you're making blue chips, this gets you a nice shiny finish. Depth of cut isn't really important, both 0.1 and 0.025mm worked equally fine for me. The latter is even better because it produces less swarf that can get caught on the tool and scratch the finished surface. All that with noname chink yellow inserts that came with the lathe.

Not sure which thread to ask about CNC lasers, but I want to use a laser engraver to engrave a fill like this:
>https://docs.lightburnsoftware.com/UI/CutSettings/CutSettings-OffsetFill.html
Any other pieces of software that can do this? I'm attempting to write a python script to do this for me, but I'm not hopeful.

>>2572804
Maybe those protruding tines need to be hardened, in which case they'd deform if you do the hardening after the last machining step. You'd want to get them roughly down to size, harden and temper, then take the last ~10 thou off with sufficiently hard tooling. Solid sintered carbide would probably do the job.

t. not a machinist.

Any tips for zeroing on mill-turning? I've seen a bunch of videos, but no one really goes into how to zero the tools. No one seems to actually be making anything with any real precision either.

>>2581047
the laser I used at my old job used a program called ezcad3. it was actually completely awful as a cad program so I would draw stuff in fusion360 and then import the .dxf file and only use the laser program to do the fills.

Is haas run by crypto Russians?

whats the name of these in english? how do you sharpen them?

My post seems to have disappeared for no reason...

Drilled holes in mild steel with good #21 drill. Teeth chipped on 10-32 plug tap in 3 holes. Got some spiral flute bottoming taps (some holes were blind), chipped a tooth in 5 holes. Taps both seemed much harder to turn than they should have, even with plenty of Tap Magic on. Drilled out all the holes with a #19 drill, my remaining spiral tap went through the remaining ~30 with no issues.

WTF am I doing wrong? All of these taps are good, I feel like they shouldn't have too much of an issue making 75% threads in soft steel. Is that just wrong or what?

>>2582405
looks like what we call a "countersink bit"

>>2582428
This might be a bullshit guess, but I almost think that softer steel grabs more rather than chip as other steels. I ran into this with larger taps and it was even a through hole. Like you, I just used the size up in drill bit and it tapped fine. If it's not super critical I would play it by feel and make it larger if needed like you did. If it is critical, maybe use an older worn tap, or even intentionally make a cheap tap smaller with a grinder and give yourself and "roughing tap" and use your good tap as a "finishing tap."

>>2582449
>countersink bit
thanks, now I can also search information on english

I got a job offer from a shop in a different state that will pay good money but they have a 1.9/5 on glass door. should I pass on it? I wouldn't want to relocate just to end up quitting because it's a shit show.

>>2582428
"Mild" carbon steel is famous for having hard spots which make it shit to machine and those may be quite large.

>>2584791
Read the content of the reviews if there are any. Maybe even call other local shops, explain the situation, and ask them their opinions. They'll be biased and might even outright lie to you, potentially, but it still might be worthwhile.

>>2569630
>>2569666

don't waste your time with toys. Buy a used industrial machine and spend your time on maintenance of the machine.
If you buy a proper industrial machine you always have the possibility of doing freelance work.

>>2578393
there is a reason why high speed spindles are very expensive. It is not easy at all to get very low runout, high rpm, low vibration and maintenance in one package.
if you want to use 10mm sized tooling you want to use roller bearings. But 1kW for that sized tooling is too low. 5kW would make more sense.

Just buy a high speed spindle from china, they're fairly good for the price, or save up and buy a nice spindle.

when will AI replace machinists?

>>2585571
>implying AI will ever be good enough to hit reset

>>2569630
take the edm-pill

>>2585515
My RPM range is somewhere around from a couple thousand to 15 000. All those China VFD spindles are crazy high RPM and no torque. That's why I wanted a belted drive, electric motors really like high RPM but the tools can't handle that high.

>>2570246
>Barkley
I've watched TNG hundreds of times and never seen this character. Do you mean Lieutenant Broccoli?

>>2585773
You mean God-Emperor Barclay?

>>2586230
One of the best episodes

If I wanted to CNC a revolver cylinder like this, would a lathe with live tooling work best? I'm not super knowledge of CNC machines. Also would a ball end mill be better than a square end mill at cutting the diagonal parts?

>>2586692
a mill with a 4th axis could be an easier method than a lathe with live tooling
looks like the non-diagonal slots are cut with a slitting saw or maybe a shaper, but the diagonals would probably have been done with a square-nose end-mill
depends on the shape of the dog riding in the slot i guess

Not sure if this is the right thread to ask but you guys seem close enough to the subject.
I wanted to get a steel cutting blade for my miter saw but it seems like all the options on the market are quite bad in quality and come in retarded sizes. A lot of reviews say they only last a dozen cuts or so.
Also there don't seem to be any blades made for 30mm shafts.
So, what are my options? I don't want to keep struggling with crooked cuts from my angle grinder.
>inb4 just buy new tool

>>2566418
there are a couple episodes that sort of address it. It's not against the rules or anything but people generally do think it's kinda weird and an invasion of privacy. But in general as long as you don't let it interfere with your work you're free to do whatever you want on the holodeck

>>2586827
what diameter material are you trying to cut?

Do you have a machinist portfolio? I'm trying to make my resume stand out and I think making a portfolio could look good

>>2587104
Don't really have a certain size in mind, I just want it for general use cutting round or square tubes. I'd say 40mm square tubes 3mm thick should be about the maximum I'd expect to work with.

>>2587260
I have a mechanical engineering project portfolio which I think really helps since I'm young and haven't graduated yet.

I'm learning CAD at the moment and have 0 machining experience or knowledge beyond watching TOT videos occasionally. How small can I make dimensions on my small machine parts designs before it starts causing added difficulty to produce for a machinist? 1 thou? 10 thou? 50? I've really got no idea at present.

>>2569630
The answer invariably is a grizzly conversion or getting something like a small Tormach. You just can't take short cuts to get a rigid enough structure that will handle serious milling.

>>2587619
Hi Anon. Here is what it's like:
tolerances >0,15 mm? A work stop is enough repeatability.
tolerances >0,10 mm you determine coördinates once and smply make the cut. It will be good.
tolerances <0,10 mm you have to make a cut, measure precisely, and make the REAL cut the same way at coördinates you adjust after your measurement.
Tolerances <0,05mm you need a good heavy (less vibrations) machine and you need to attach some extra measuring equipment. Also tolerances on holes and other features you can make in 1 clamping are always easier to get right than positional accuracy between 2 features on opposite sides of a part . If you understand what I mean.
I'm assuming manual machines here. If you have a CNC mill it can do incredible stuff but you better have one lol .They're not cheap.

Tolerances <0,01mm it really depends .

And keep in mind that 0,05 tolerances on a really small feature are nothing compared to the same tolerances on a much bigger nominal size.

Hope that helps. Last bit of advice is that een the best machinist will have an easier time and finish your parts sooner/cheaper if you just don't go balls to the wall with the tolerances. Make parts easier.

>>2587619
+-.005 is easy. you can go down to +-.0002 and still be doable with normal machining but it will cost you. less than that and you are getting into specialty processes.

>>2587710
>>2587720
That's all very helpful, thank you both.

>>2586827
>>2587273
Have you searched online or just in stores?

>>2588066
Online, of course. Steel cutting saw blades are a specialty item, especially in my shithole. I have to import one from overseas.

>>2588069
Sorry I think I misunderstood, what is the "shaft size"? I couldn't find any measured in 30mm (or 1.18inch).

>>2588098
I mean size of the hole in the center. 30mm diameter
The blade itself can be 210 or 216mm, either works.

>>2588103
Ok yea we call that the arbor, that's what I thought you were saying. Man I can't find any metal cutting blades in that size either. Sorry dude, they may not make them.

>>2566418
>Endlessly raping everyone in the crew to death.

Ehhh probably fine, I'm sure he won't be an issue.

I have steady work and I'm looking to upgrade from a Tormach. 99% of the work is in aluminum and very few parts require significant material removal. I would really like more than 24" X travel as some parts I want to run are that long.

What would you recommend? (This has to fit in my garage. I don't want to rent a building.)

Hurco VM One (brand new advertised as a garage mill)
Haas VF2 (new or used, year 2006+?)


Brother TC-S2A (used)
Brother Speedio S700x1 (the dream machine)
Robodrill Alpha T-21iDL (used)

Fadal 15XT or 3016 (cheap but may outgrow it)
Sharp SV2412 (cheap but may outgrow it) (X travel isn't ideal)

I'd like to keep it under 60k

Why is machinist pay so low? I don't want to be a machinist anyway but I always assumed it would be a higher paying job than it is.