Woohoo! My vise is here!

Another small question.

I've seen on the Bridgeports that the quill doesn't seem to have spring tension or at least not as much as what my mill has. You have to manually bring the quill back up.
I think it would be better without the springiness (is that a word?). I am guessing that if it's like that on the Bridgeport it must have been proven with time to be a better way.

So anybody ever tried to slack the quill spring just enough to keep tension and not have it go down by itself?

Patrice
 
Here are a few pics of what I did today. Darn, I need more time. :(
A temporary solution for the more extreme milling operations. My shop is small and I don't want chips everywhere.
And the finished vise jaws.

Now I need to try and actually make something other than tooling. ;)

Thanks again for your help guys.

Patrice
 

Attachments

  • 100_3037.resized.JPG
    100_3037.resized.JPG
    64.2 KB · Views: 159
  • 100_3039.resized.JPG
    100_3039.resized.JPG
    54 KB · Views: 40
We are getting there.
Made a couple of replacement gib locking screws. You can see the old ones in the pic with the black plastic nut. I was tired of sticking my hand on the greasy leadscrew while tightening them.

I also tried to loosen the spring tension on the quill but it looks like it's all or nothing. Can't make it act like a Bridgeport. :(

Thanks for looking.

Patrice
 

Attachments

  • 100_3042.resized.JPG
    100_3042.resized.JPG
    51.6 KB · Views: 29
Looking good! I say while you're at it, you should use your mill to make another mill...a Bridgeport clone! :D

One thing to be said about fabricating tooling...it's still fabrication. You're getting great practice at setting up, modifying, and using your machine that will be invaluable. A mill is one of the only pieces of equipment that you can get, set up, and go straight to making your own accessories using just one machine.

I'm afraid that if I ended up getting a mill at this point, it would just sit collecting dust because of lack of knowledge of its use and lack of money for tooling :D. I need to find a skills-school locally and take some night classes in welding and machining.

--nathan
 
Patrice, does it still want to return back up when you lock the fine adjustment in. Maybe just a small amount of tension on that will keep it from returning up. Jim
 
I use mine in two ways. One is like a drill press, loosening the knob on the right. The other with the knob tightened and using the fine adjustment. While using the fine adj the quill doesn't have enough tension to move up on it's own, unlike the drillpress mode. Maybe the spring tension needs to be taken back just a notch or two.

Good luck
Did you recieve your Christmas present yet?
 
Thanks Jim and Mike.
See I wanted to find the right adjustment that would let me take the quill up or down and it would stay there but it doesn't work that way. I tried every adjustments and it's either tensionned so that it comes back up on it's own or it just falls down, not having ebought tension to offset the weight of the quill.
It's no biggie, I'll just use it as you say Mike. I just wanted to pretend I had a Brigeport. ;)

Nathan, I could probably make a Bridgeport "Clown" alright. ;)

Patrice

PS: Yes Mike I did. :D Didn't you get my PM from about 3 weeks ago?
 
I'm all out of ideas for ya Patrice.

I didn't get the pm, as long as you recieved the box on your end. Hope it helps.
 
Sent the PM again.

Don't worry about ideas. I still have a few "upgrades" to finish and then it's on to making a filing guide as my first project. So drilling and reaming and dowel pins and all that fun stuff. I can't wait. :D

Thanks again.

Patrice
 
Made a vise stop thingy. Far from perfect but a good learning experience. Next will be the filing jig tomorrow.
Learned by the way that I should have bought the edge finder without the center finder on the other end. The crappy thing doesn't fit on my drill chuck. :(

Patrice
 

Attachments

  • 100_3051.resized.JPG
    100_3051.resized.JPG
    55.7 KB · Views: 24
Did you make the vise stop out of aluminum? It kind of looks like it and I would definitely recommend redoing it out of steel if that is the case. That way you won't have to worry so much about it taking a dent from something and losing that nice square face you put on it.

Otherwise, you made a great decision by making that little tool. I'm new in the knife world, but not to machining and that is a great tool to have especially if you are cranking out multiple pieces that don't have extremely tight tolerances.

If you haven't already, invest in a nice set of dial calipers(Brown and Sharpe, Mitutoyo, Starrett, etc..) and maybe even a couple micrometers if you are going to be doing things with nice tight tolerances.
 
Thanks Dillon, I will make the next one out of steel then. It was just easier in aluminium to start. As far as the callipers, I would love to get a good set but the play money is just gone for now. It is on my list though.

Patrice
 
Might as well keep the aluminum one. It might come in handy if you are doing something softer that you are scared of scratching.

IMO, Fowler makes a pretty cheap set of calipers that are actually decently nice. The cheapies that you get at your local hardware store aren't worth your time.

Calipers would be my next purchase once the money is there again. I can't imagine machining without them. You can do without mics depending on what you are doing.
 
Dillon, any preference between digital calipers and the ones with a dial.
I know nothing about this. I thought that the ones you buy at the local store were ok. :(

Patrice
 
Dial or digital doesn't really matter to me. They are both nice. Digitals(good ones) will usually cost a little more. I have a set of 6" Brown and Sharpes and a set of 6" Mitutoyos. Both are dial and I have no complaints. Save your money and get dial.

When using calipers, you take the reading when they are gently touching the material. A lot of people want to squeeze the crap out of what they are measuring which springs the calipers, gives you a wrong measurement, and damages the caliper.

Also, keep your calipers in their closed case all the time except for the couple seconds that you are actually measuring. Metal chips and other debris will mess them up and you could knock them off your workbench.

Before each use, wipe the faces off and close them to make sure they zero out. This only takes a second and I do it every time I measure. Just wipe them off with your clean(ish) finger or close them lightly on your t-shirt and pull to clean.
 
:D I think everyone squeezes them at first. Just don't do it when you get some nice ones. The ones you have will serve you fine if you treat them right.
 
Patrice check out the local pawn shops. I've picked up some good stuff at really cheap prices. 6" Mititoyo digital, solar brand new in the box for $50 bucks and a Starrett 6" dial in the case with the height gage attachment for like 30 or 40 bucks. Both of these looked like they have never been used. As far as the dial or digital debate I vote Digital.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top