WOW What a day!

Sam Salvati

Sam Salvati

Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
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Today I got to use a couple tools a bit out of my realm. I got started working over that big block of 52100 Chuck sent me, with the help and under the expert eye of my friend Lee, who with his son did most of the work honestly:D, the face/base milled flat, and the working face surface ground. I got to do a little bit of the milling, I made 3 small back and forth cuts with a carbide cutter! Milling machines are AMAZING tools! Very fascinating working on such a fine level yet with such massive amounts of force and pressure going on, yet also at the same time amazingly precise. Once the base and face were milled flat, we moved over to the surface grinder, Lee showed me how and what to do then left me to it. WOW are those cool tools! Working the surface grinder was so cool I had a ton of fun! Plus now I see why they are such coveted tools. Scored a nice fireplace door job too;), just thought I would share the good day vibes with you guys.:D
 
Cool! Machining is very addictive and gets more fun the more you use them and learn new tricks. It also keeps your wallet on a very strict diet so it does not get too fat.
 
Hopefully soon I will be able to score a small atlas lathe or something just for small fun hobby work, it's like my eyes have just opened to w whole nother world of metalworking! Instead of being a blacksmith and working within 1 inch of tolerance working in hundredths and thousandths, amazing! I already understand the wallet diet plan, tooling will KILL YOU, you can get the bare machine for practically nothing but getting all the little cutters and stuff really breaks the bank.
 
its fun at first, then you do it as a career and it gets remedial :p (i'm a machinist tradesmen).

it is kinda cool showing someone that has never machined how to do it then seeing them get excited about the results it can produce...guess you gotta be in the right sector of machining to see the fruits of that.
 
I can understand that Robert, while the cutter was going at it removing the material off of the bottom of the block, moving at the lowest speed, it got a bit boring kind of. The one of a kind stuff has always been my thing, I was never much one for making things 100 at a time.
 
yeah i tend to look for work that varies daily, production work gets extremely tireing...at least you got a good experience machining, within knives it comes in handy ALOT being able to mill up blanks and that soughta thing.

Roughing out is the boring part though, when you get to the tolerance work it gets more fun cause you need to think about what you're doing.
 
its like just about enerything. if you take a hobby, and make it into a job, it takes all the fun out of it. it doesn't matter if it is gunsmithing, knifemaking, buildiing street rods, etc..i think i will keep the knifemaking a hobby
 
sam, once you get a lathe and milling machine you will wonder how you ever lived without them
Tooling will indeed kill your wallet.
If you get a lathe spend the extra for indexable carbide tooling, it will allow you to work faster and harder, without having to grind bits. also your setups will be so much more repeatable
-Page
 
i got a kovel surface grinder form 1954. runs like brand new. very accurate. got it about 2 years ago out in Ohio at HGR industries. if your interested in one they have it. long drive for me, prob 12 hours round trip but well worth it, they'll even dicker on price with you.

i think i only paid 4 hundred for mine it was 3Ph. so i had to buy a new motor for 220, but still only have a total of about $600 in it. if ya get one make sure you have a substantial chuck, i have a 6'' x 10'' mag. chuck, and thought at the time it would be sufficient, well it ain't. get at least 6'' x 18''. the bigger the more usefull.
 
sounds like a great day mate. your lucky hehe i have never used a milling machine but seen it in action it is SO COOL...! :D

Daniel CL.

hello Sam btw DCL from Britishblades :D
 
Sam, I am kicking away this afternoon, just learning to grind with a 4x36 belt/disc sander. I am also jealous of you!
 
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