Jump to content

cnc mill and shop work - mklotz70


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 79
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Mike - I watched the "Put the mill on the stand" vid about four days ago. I've finally recovered from fright enough to write. :lol: I thought the "Unload off the truck" episode was scary. I think when one of your buddies said something about the beam on the engine hoist bending I couldn't help rolling back away from the computer! Anyway, you got it up there with no damage to mill or people.Hopefully the future vids on actual milling will be more relaxing to watch.

 

I got the VFD for my South Bend mill and have started digging through all my boxes of wiring bits and pieces to find stuff to wire it up. But my wife's car is dying so we need to do serious car shopping for awhile. Maybe we will find something soon and I can get back to wiring the mill. Wheat harvest is only about three weeks away, so it may have to wait until after that. It won't be nearly as much fun as a CNC mill, but I won't have to think nearly as much as learning CNC.

 

Len

Link to comment

Hi Len,

The "flexing" of the hoist is hardly noticeable in the vid.  The legs flexed, the upright flexed, and the top bar flexed.  I think the only reason it didn't snap or collapse was because everything "gave" a bit.  I will be using something else if I have to move it again!! 

 

If it's your first mill......it will be just as exciting as cnc without some of the stress!  After crashing my little lathe a few times, it's much more relaxing to use the bigger manual lathe!!  The learning curve for cnc is pretty steep!!!   At least it has been for me!

 

Thanks!

Mike

Link to comment

Mike - I already have a smaller vertical mill - a Clausing 8520 with a 6X24" table. The SB I just bought has a 9X32" table. Not a huge difference, but should allow whacking away at larger pieces. The Clausing spindle uses #2 Morse taper so doesn't allow very large tooling. The SB is that weird 30MM spindle that is massive compared to the #2 Morse. One online site claimed the 30MM is slightly stouter than the common R8 used on most modern mills.

 

A few years ago I read articles in "Home Shop Machinist" magazine on adding CNC to a manual mill. As I recall, it didn't sound extremely difficult, but like any DIY project would be very time consuming to add all the motors and controls. For my amateur use a DRO for the mill would be a huge help. When I get this thing up and running, I want to read up on adding DRO.

 

A young man I know has worked in various machine shops. He said he has seen some really spectacular CNC crashes. Of course this would be on big commercial machines running at maximum speed. He said the noise of a crash tends to liven up the whole shop! With your CNC you can program to run it a fairly slow speeds until you are comfortable with running it faster. Really looking forward to watching the chips fly (untouched by human hands).

 

Len

Link to comment

Interesting.  I know R8 isn't the best option in a spindle, but it's extremely common.......and I like that both of my mills have the same thing.  I thought about getting a larger manual mill, but most of the stuff I want to do doesn't need the extra size as much as it needs the cnc capability. 

 

I'm not "machinist enough" to use the mill without the DRO!  I hardly touched either the mill or the lathe until after the DROs were on.  I spent more on the DRO on the mill than I did on the actual mill........and it was worth it!!!!

 

I've wanted to convert my manual mill to cnc, but it's a challenge trying to make the parts on the mill that you're tearing into.  I may try to convert it later, but with the big cnc......why?  Most likely, my next machine will be a larger cnc lathe.

 

With the size of some of the machines out there, I wouldn't be surprised if you could feel the crash. lol 

 

I have made a few plastic chips, but right after I cleaned up that mess, I shut it down so that I can finish the brake kits.  Once those are done, I'll bounce between the mill and the ball joint project.

 

Mike

Link to comment

That is pretty awesome. I would love to learn basic machining for small projects but I have no idea where to start. Fabrication has been a big intrest of mine for a while. Love th work you do Mike, be careful moving that big boy around :P

  • Like 1
Link to comment

That is pretty awesome. I would love to learn basic machining for small projects but I have no idea where to start. Fabrication has been a big intrest of mine for a while. Love th work you do Mike, be careful moving that big boy around :P

 

Thanks!!!

Hopefully, I won't have to move it around much!

What is it you want to make?  That's the best place to start.  You'd be amazed at just how much to can fab with a grinder and some files. :)

Link to comment

That's the thing, I have only really needed to make something a few times so I can't justify it. The things I have needed to make were a crossmember for the roadster, flanges for a few projects, and some tools/furnace accessories to refurbish my grandpa's blacksmithing setup so I can start that hobby again. 

 

For me I think it's more that I would love to know how to do it, but in all honesty wouldn't use it enough. Like blacksmithing, my grandpa taught me how to make knives, and for about two years I made knives, ferrier supplies and some tools, then I got out of it.

 

I love watching lathes and mills though. I'll definitely be watching this to see what neat things you create. Who knows, maybe you'll get a B210 disc brake kit that'll be awesome and fit under 13" wheels :P 

Link to comment

Blacksmithing?!  Very cool! Lost art, but way too much work for me. lol

 

The chances of a b210 brake kit is a bit slim, but I'm thinking one of the setups already fits......the 1200 kit?  The chances of one that will fit under 13" rims........Zero. Sorry.  I've looked at it several times for other cars like the 1200, 410, roadster......and I've not found anything other than stock brakes that will fit.  A good bit of the reason on the 410 is because of the rim shape itself.  It would be more possible for an aftermarket 13" rims, but the stock ones are the worst to try to fit.......same with the 14's on the trucks.....stock steel is the hardest to fig behind.

Link to comment

Yea, I just don't want to get stuck paying $2000 for a set of the datsport struts/brakes that they say will fit behind 13"s (aftermarket). Mainly because it's a lot of money, but even then I don't know where to find pads for the "girlock" calipers. I'm not sure if the 1200 kit will fit. From what I understand the entire strut/brake setup is different between the two.

 

That is pretty awesome. It tore through the plastic like it wasn't anything. The sprinkler effect was nice, it's like you're a pro or something :P

 

So is there any way to capture all of the debris? It's kinda worrisome that you'll be spitting out metal that far. Just think about all of that metal in your keyboard...

Link to comment

I'll be building an enclosure around it as soon as I can.  The stand has some nice big chip trays, but I still have not mounted them yet.  I've got a ton of stuff to finish up before I can get to some serious time on the mill.

Link to comment

That machine is amazing. :w00t:  Nice toy.   They say, he who has the most toys wins, B)  if you are not winning then you are a close second. Good sandblasting tip.  

 

Think about attaching a shop vac to your enclosure to suck up the plastic chips, or metal filings.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.