Aussie Mike's machine shop

[Aussie Mike]

Got the air system finished today. Very happy with the results. Only a couple of leaks and they were from the pipe threads on the brass fittings. A bit of extra thread tape sorted them out.

Here's the PEX pipe with an air fitting on the end. I've put a few of these around the shed to easily jack into. I'll be expanding the system in future to add more connection points.



I have to say very easy to connect and setup. I'll see hoe it goes for leaks or problems in the coming months.

I put a double outlet behind the mill. One for the air draw bar supply and another for an air duster. Handy to have when you are machining. I've got a spare regulator that I'll bolt next to the wall to drop the pressure for the air duster. 130PSI is a bit dangerous for blowing chips and swarf away.



Tidied up the mill wiring as well. It was pick'n mix cable ties broken and oddball cable fixings. I wrapped the wires with spiral wrap to tidy them up and I had some spare rubber lined P-clips to secure it in place.



Had fun working on it all today.

Cheers

[indianamoon]

Mike,

Consider putting a "T" at the outlet down low with a vertical leg and valve at the bottom to drain off the condensate. We also always come off the top of the high run and then a couple of elbows down to keep the condensate spray in check.

[Bernica]

Originally Posted by indianamoon

Mike,

Consider putting a "T" at the outlet down low with a vertical leg and valve at the bottom to drain off the condensate. We also always come off the top of the high run and then a couple of elbows down to keep the condensate spray in check.

Agree with Indianamoon. Drip legs at the low spots and a good filter / dryer setup at the compressor outlet....

[Aussie Mike]

Slowly working out tooling for the new mill. The Hafco mill uses an NT30 taper for the tools. The CNC mill has an R8 taper which means most of my old tooling is not compatible with the new mill... Bugger.

Many of the tools like the boring head and indexable tipped face mills are mounted on arbors so it's just a matter of detaching them from the NT30 arbor and buying a suitable R8 arbor. I picked up a couple of new arbors the other day.

I also bought a new mill vice. With CNC there is no need for a swivel base vice any more. Any odd angles can just be programmed in. The new vice is a beast. It's a modular vice that is precision ground so should make for some nice accurate machining. The jaws are 6" wide and it opens to 12". It's also has a special type of jaw that pulls the work piece down as well as clamping it in place. To me it's machinist porn.



Cheers

[DaveW]

Looking good Mike, looking forward to seeing some chips.

Can i ask where you got your Vertex Vice from, I've been looking for the 6x8 version of this one and can only find in the UK....and OMFG the price plus shipping.

cheers and regards
Dave

[Aussie Mike]

Speak to Tom at Standaco machinery Machinery Melbourne, Industrial Machinery Sales, Machine Tools - Standaco He's been really helpful.

I went there to get the 6x8 version too but they only had the 6x12 in stock so he did me a good deal on a 6x12. Their list price on the 6x8 was better than Hare and Forbes price too. It's basically the same vice just 4" longer. You can mount it sideways or cross ways and just have a bit of extra overhang.

Not surprised on the shipping cost, the thing weighs about 37KG.

Hare and Forbes also list the 6x8 on their web page http://www.machineryhouse.com.au/V311 It doesn't say vertex on it but I think it's the same one.

An old machinist friend of mine used to say "You can do a small job on a big machine but not a big job on a small machine".

Cheers

[DaveW]

Thanks Mike,
I had been to Standaco, but didn't have in stock and he did offer 6x12 as well, but I thought i would keep looking, i can easily fit the 12" version so maybe I should reconsider.
Naturally, I didn't leave the showroom empty handed though

Dave

[Aussie Mike]

Originally Posted by DaveW

Naturally, I didn't leave the showroom empty handed though

Very hard to leave Standaco or Hare and Forbes empty handed. So many goodies. I'm like a kid in a sweet shop.

[deano59]

Originally Posted by Aussie Mike

Very hard to leave Standaco or Hare and Forbes empty handed. So many goodies. I'm like a kid in a sweet shop.

im like that with the snap on truck the bugga even stops at my house now knowing i cant say no ..

[Paul F]

Cool. Get that vise trammed and let's see some chips fly Mike.

[07cob]

Originally Posted by Aussie Mike

Slowly working out tooling for the new mill. The Hafco mill uses an NT30 taper for the tools. The CNC mill has an R8 taper which means most of my old tooling is not compatible with the new mill... Bugger.

Mike

Can you get an adapter for the NT30 to R8? It will take up some vertical travel but you should have plenty for most jobs. At least you might be able to reuse some of your old tools. Not sure if it would work with the fancy schmancy new fandangled tool changer.

Geof

[Wazza]

"fancy schmancy new fandangled"

Whoa!!!.....ease up on all that High Tech gobbledy gook techno speak !!!
Cheers,
Warren

[Aussie Mike]

The NT30 taper is quite a bit bigger than the R8 so any adapter would put the cutter a long way from the end of the quill and not be ideal for rigidity.

It's not a problem. The change over to R8 tooling hasn't been too expensive (probably about $500 to get set up again). R8 prices are pretty good as it's common. I just picked up 3x new R8 ER40 collet chucks on eBay for $160 delivered. Quality seems pretty good too.



Cheers

[MOTORHEAD]

You Guys are having waaaaaaaaaay too much fun with your TOOLS !!!

[SVO 050]

Mike,

[SVO 050]

Mike,
Iv,e used those collets for a couple of years and had no problems, even with the TAFE apprentices abusing them. Very neat home machine shop set up you have there, obviously reflects the quality of the work you do.
Regards
SVO

[Aussie Mike]

Hi SVO.

I'm a fan of the ER collet system. They do seem to cope well with repeated use and abuse. Been using them for a few years now. I like that they grip 360 degrees, are quick to change and seem to be accurate and center themselves well.

I jury rigged the mist coolant system last night and tried it out. Picked up some 6061 aluminum stock today. Hoping to make some chips fly on the weekend.

Cheers

[Modena]

Originally Posted by Aussie Mike

Hi SVO.

..... Picked up some 6061 aluminum stock today. Hoping to make some chips fly on the weekend.

Cheers

video please, sir!

[Aussie Mike]

Some chips flew on the weekend.. Hooray!

I actually made something useful rather than just machining random shapes. In the pursuit of learning to drive this thing I set myself an exercise to create a part that would have been difficult to do on the old mill and that used many of the programming functions of the new CNC one.

I machined up some tool holder racks to help organize the Mill tooling. Anyone who has been to my shed would know I'm not good at cleaning up after myself so I figure a bit of organization couldn't hurt. It may not be a very exciting part but it was fun to work out and will come in handy.







Anyone interested in seeing the mill in action and hear me drone on about it can check out the video uploaded to YouTube.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZxxyEH2dIM[/ame]

Cheers

[leroy17]

Oh this is going to get good.

Tool rack looks insane, sure beats a 2x4 with holes drilled in it.

Fantastic work which never gets old.