Tips in general, little discussion , just the tips,

[Ox]

The drain line on the A/C unit on your CNC cabinet should drain into the coolant tank.


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

A post in another thread brought to the front of my mind.

If you are ever removing the drive shaft on a machine tool, let’s say taking the drive shaft out of a lathe apron. Always turn the keyway in the shaft to the bottom first. This could/should prevent any key inside the apron gearing from falling out.

I found that out the hard way.

Regards Tyrone

 

[Farmer Phil]

If you have to move heavy stuff and you do not have a crane or fork truck, know what a kneeling trailer is and where to rent one.

 

[Ox]

3ph Electric Motors:

I have not had hardly any issues with standard 3ph induction motors to speak of ... since the 90's it seems.
Mostly b/c most of what we run anymore is all CNC...

But I did need to replace the 10hp motor on my compressor recently, and rebuild takes time, and it wasn't any cheaper than new.

My local rebuilder sells US Motor(s) brand, but they are built in Mexico....
When I replaced the one on the compressor earlier, I noted that "Dang, this thing is heavy!".
I have found that motor to run cooler.

I smoked a small 2hp motor on a hydro pump on Saturday.
The motor was smokin' hot and the bearings tied up.

I scaled the motors this time, and I found the new US Motor to be 50% heavier than the 40 yr old Baldor.

The pump should prolly be upgraded to a 3hp motor on it - as I am running a higher pressure in the current app than what it was set up for originally, but 2hp is the max for the frame size, so, gunna try this for now.

So far I am quite impressed with these motors. Not much you buy these days seems to be nearly as good as the old days, let alone noteably better.


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

 

[???]

For those who work in metric but need to translate to imperial its often quicker to dial in the digital caliper and then press the mm/inch button than go looking for the calculator. Obviously works the other way round also.

 

[michiganbuck]

To get the intersecting angle, one can scissor-cut a piece of paper to fit..then fold so the cut lnes even up.... then protractor the angle / or use it for a gauge..
I just used this method yesterday to set my table saw at the angle of intersecting walls for shoe molding. The angle was not a 45* for a 90* corner..but was about 55* for about a 110* corner.
I just folded the scissor-cut paper gauge and angled my saw blade to match

 

[Bill D]

To drill out a bolt or nut place a socket over it then use a 1/4. 3/8, or 1/2 drill, depending on socket drive size, to spot drill the center of the bolt head. Remove socket and drill away.
Bill D

 

[Ox]

I am puting this out there mostly for the younger crowd that seem to be slowly working their way into our trade:

I am sure that there are numerous younger folk that came up through green button pushing, where us older fellas started on manual machines. We started with blue chips in our face, and there were other, more experienced guys around (in most cases) to show how to somewhat safely deal with the situation, but as I was throwing chips off of 4340P/H yesterday, I thought that this post may be usefull.

I am by no means Mr. Safety. I will assess and deal with the situation at hand, and not be ready for anything all the time. But I doo wear, and likely had worn a hat since T-ball as far as I can remember. It is my sunglasses when needed, and it is my chip visor as well - when needed.

While glasses are great for stopping hot chips or Kamikaze bugs from flying straight into your eyes, I will actually place a hat higher on the safety list than the glasses, and the two work VERY WELL together!

With just a hat alone - and the bill of your hat pulled down to just the point that you see the cut, a chip would have to really have a straight projection to git you. They typically will have an arc (depending on your distance) and the hat bill will shield from that pretty good. Also, you can glance at the cut quick, and then tip down even more and keep cranking for a bit and then glance again.

I just cringe when I see fellas with glasses and no hat. Getting a hot chip behind the glasses would be the worst possible scenario as far as I'm concerned. Sure, there are some glasses out there that have side and top visors, and those are likely better than just regular glasses. (safety or not) But if you have a pr of glasses, AND you pull your hat down tight to the top of your glasses, then no hot chips are getting in behind your glasses, nor landing on your forehead, and some of us have more forehead than we used to....

I just can't imagine running a hot chip machine (mill or lathe) without a hat!
I am not talking about drilling and tapping a hole. A pr of glasses alone would be suitable for that, and really only required for power snapping as broken taps are not hot, but they doo fly a long way in a straight line.

But if you are running a dry end mill, or turning hot chips on the lathe, I feel that this is a reasonable requirement.

You're still going to get burn scars on your hands/arms, and you can show them to the gurls (chicks dig scars) but they may not be as interested if you have a big melt spot beside your eye, or are actually missing an eye. Keep the scars where they will doo you the most good!


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

 

[michiganbuck]

Grinding tip from Don Bailey:
If you want to correct a little angle or squareness and don't have a shim or any method..Grind off the high side/area so the part will tip that much when set on the chuck..and grind the opposite side, then regrind the first side

-Another tip (mine) It is tough to grind a few millionths for size or angle, so consider using a hone( take care not to round the part.).
-You can blue up a part, and then come to just wipe off the blue and get a very good feel for tenths grinding. I like to blue up with a grease pencil or a wax crayon.
-A piece of automotive wet abrasive paper on a flat plate can be an OK lapping device for size or surface finish.
-Hand Rub Feeling the part with a parked, dressed wheel can tell touch and almost touch.
-A tab of masking tape on the dial can remember where you were.
- A hand spray bottle is an ok coolant system.
-Break a Ring Fail Wheel so it doesn't have to be tested again.

 

[Ox]

Another grinding tip:

Don't just set your tool on the demagnetizer and cycle the power, and skip off happily....

After setting on the demag for a bit, start to peel it up and away slowly.
You will feel the unit slowly lose it's hold on your part.
Until you are maybe 6-8" away, and then go ahead and shut it off.

This will doo a much better job of demag'ing.

I had been dooing this for several years myself, and then a chum had been running a Magnaflux (or equiv) machine quite a bit, and he told me that he found this to be helpfull for getting a better damag. I don't believe that I had ever told him of this trick prior. He found it on his own.


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

 

[rjwalker1973]

when setting up a compound angle use a sine bar and a sine plate instead of a compound sine plate when possible. That way you can set your primary and secondary standard with out having to calculate the true angle.

 

[rjwalker1973]

I never bolt a vise into a machine without indicating it. If I do not have time to indicate it for some weird reason I turn it sideways with no bolts in it so that whoever come in after me don't have to guess. I do the same with tools I never put a tool in and not touch it off. I'll leave them laying on the table or rack beside the machine.

 

[michiganbuck]

Finding a long-winded pm post..or just about anything on the computer you don't wish to read then Copy Paste it to a Word doc...and let Word read it to you.

Most Word programs have this feature
If you do not seem to have it then search "Reader on Microsoft Word" to learn how to add the reader icon to your taskbar.
*Indicated by an A that is to the high left a few places to the right of the Word save icon.

 

[chad883]

Finding a long-winded pm post..or just about anything on the computer you don't wish to read then Copy Paste it to a Word doc...and let Word read it to you.

Most Word programs have this feature
If you do not seem to have it then search "Reader on Microsoft Word" to learn how to add the reader icon to your taskbar.
*Indicated by an A that is to the right a few places from the Word save icon.

That works really well, even on a post from Ox.

 

[michiganbuck]

I never bolt a vise into a machine without indicating it. If I do not have time to indicate it for some weird reason I turn it sideways with no bolts in it so that whoever come in after me don't have to guess. I do the same with tools I never put a tool in and not touch it off. I'll leave them laying on the table or rack beside the machine.

And never put on a wheel on a machine with not dressing it.....because the next guy/or you may have an accident.

 

[1potatoe]

When using a hole saw , always put a small chip relief hole inside the hole diameter.

 

[rjwalker1973]

And never put on a wheel on a machine with not dressing it..

exactly. I know some folks will say "well you should always double check" and that's true, but it saves a lot of time if you know exactly where you are at on a job or machine. I even put notes in my program when I go to lunch" stopped here for lunch", just in case I forget where I was at when I come back.

 

[Bill D]

Make sure all those knobs and levers on the lathe threading box the actually locked into the detents. Other wise what I thought would be 12 tpi comes out as some wierd metric pitch around 24 TPI. Hard to see what is going on inside an internal thread, harder still with first time cutting acme threads and no proper acme thread gauge.
Bill D

 

[BoxcarPete]

I am puting this out there mostly for the younger crowd that seem to be slowly working their way into our trade:

[snip]

I just cringe when I see fellas with glasses and no hat. Getting a hot chip behind the glasses would be the worst possible scenario as far as I'm concerned. Sure, there are some glasses out there that have side and top visors, and those are likely better than just regular glasses. (safety or not) But if you have a pr of glasses, AND you pull your hat down tight to the top of your glasses, then no hot chips are getting in behind your glasses, nor landing on your forehead, and some of us have more forehead than we used to....

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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

You're about a year and a half too late with this advice. This happened to me while I was running roughing cuts on the lathe, a chunky purple 9 snuck its way between my eyebrow and glasses. I surprised myself with my reaction speed when I had the feed and spindle power both killed before my glasses hit the floor. Burns on both top and bottom eyelid, but the lashes did their job and kept the hot steel away from the peeper itself and no lasting harm was done.

 

[Bill D]

My power hacksaw does not shut off after the cut is completed. Cutting 2" diameter round takes about 20 minutes. I put a tin oil drip pan under it to catch the swarf and the cutoff when it falls. Now I can hear it from outside the shop when it falls.
Bill D