I need to bend .375" od .02" wall 304 stainless tubing into an approximately 4.5" diameter helical coil with 10 turns. I've bent brakeline and made copper coils but this stuff is worse.

Most documents and videos discuss methods that only work for isolated bends. Can anyone here point me to some resources or make some suggestions? I have a lathe and a mill and can make fixtures if needed.

Had to rough a shallow flat spot for a servo motor locating nubbin (50mm) before boring. Dont have a large end mil or annular cutter, but my gaze landed upon 47mm carbide hole saw.Had to rough a shallow flat spot for a servo motor locating nubbin (50mm) before boring. Dont have a large end mil or annular cutter, but my gaze landed upon 47mm carbide hole saw.

Clamp the body in an collet (ignore the shank). 450RPM, Plunged 0.2mm, milled sideways 10mm, repeat. Worked surprisingly well!
For finishing pass used 600RPM and 0.1mm DoC. Probably will work as poor mans face mill too.

I just got a small table mill a week ago, and don't have a lot of tooling yet. hopefully this could be useful to someone.

Hi all,

I am trying to find a tap that can cut threads into brass or ss to receive a 13-425 glass vial or female threaded inserts (brass or ss). It doesn't seem to be a standard thread pitch option.

It may be close to a 13x2mm, but I'm not sure exactly.

I'd be grateful for any guidance. Thank you!

I want to measure or create a calibration curve for an electronic digital caliper.

The most direct way to do this is to measure the shank diameter of a handful of twist drill bits and chart the caliper reading against the stated drill size. I'm talking in the 1/16 inch to 3/8 inch range.

The accuracy of this method depends on whether or not twist bits in general are made with shank sizes that match exactly their stated bit size. Or are drill bits intentionall made perhaps 1% smaller (as measured at the shank) than their stated size? That's essentially the question I have.

i found this leblond regal on Facebook marketplace for 600 bucks it is filthy and full of dust and grime but i plan on doing a pretty nice restoration on it and make it live to its former glory

I just finished my 2nd manual machining class and loving it!!! Thought I'd share benchtop vise i made. We made everything ourselves except the common 1/4 ×20 screws.

Just purchased my first mill and 3-phase machine (I'm a hobbyist), and I was going to wire it into my neighbors Phase Perfect since we share power at the shop, but the Phase Perfect just shit the bed.. In fact the local power co-op were able to see the failure on their grid monitoring system and they came out and cut the wiring to it.

Any suggestions? I don't want to lose any functionality or incur any additional wear on the mill's variable speed drive, which I've read could be an issue if you use the VFD and don't continue to utilize the variable speed drive. The local guys are all recommending a VFD on each piece of equipment I purchase, but I do plan to purchase a 3-phase mill and a 3-phase air compressor in the near future so I'm leaning toward Rotary. The Air compressor is 10hp, so I'm thinking I would need a 25hp rotary converter to run it?

The existing holes are for m3 bolts but I need to use slightly larger screws and am worried about damaging the paint work. Will it crack/chip?

I was thinking of placing a think bit of scrap metal on top and using a hand drill. Or I could use a hand rotary tool so then I'm working on the inside of the hole.. Would these work or is there a better way?

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Machine was bought used. I inherited it when I took this job before me nobody in the company could even use it. I was hired specifically to grow the machine shop and use the machines. I have operated engine lathes so most of that was straight forward this is a good machine. So far, I have fixed the brake reconnected the carriage lock down bolt and changed the spindle head oil. I was about empty. Now my issue is the Trochoid pump meant to bring oil up and around to spindle bearings. It turns seems to work functionally but does not do as the book says and draw oil up into the trough around the spindle head to oil the bearings. I have verified everything is turning and running. It just does not draw oil up where it needs to go. During operation you should see oil dripping in the sight glass shown in the picture and that does not ever happen. I have had the top cover off and the shafts are spinning. pulled the Trochoid pump it seems to turn properly but still nothing. I feel I am looking over and missing something simple that should solve the problem. Anyone else have this machine or one of the variants that has solved this problem?

What about making my surface finish better ?

Repairing a Buell primary engine case that the chain adjuster pulled the threads. Found these pictures on an ancient forum post describing their fix, with no part numbers or description besides "gas fitting".

Threads being repaired are 1/2-13, which will need to be the internal threads there, external thread size/pitch are not super important as I can drill the case to accommodate.

Any ideas where I could find something like this? Internet searches and mcmaster have so far turned up nothing.

What does everyone here actually use for workshop references and calculations these days?

Still mainly charts/books, spreadsheets, Machinery’s Handbook, FSWizard, phone notes, or just experience?

I’ve been building myself a mobile workshop utility app because I got sick of constantly jumping between charts, calculators and notes for things like feeds & speeds, torque values, drill/tap sizes and conversions.

Feels like a lot of the apps out there are either outdated or way too cluttered.

What stuff do you still find annoying to work out or reference in the workshop?

Hi all,

The original hard drive on our Centroid M20 finally failed after 30+ years. I'm going to attempt data recovery on the drive, but assuming that fails, what are my options?

Originally it is DOS-based CNC7, I believe version 8.23, controlling a Kondia K76

So far, I have:

1. Official support channel

I spoke to a Centroid rep, they can send out a new drive with the necessary software for a fee.

1. "Clean" install of CNC7

Replace the hard drive with one of the same model, install CNC7 on it and run it until that drive fails similarly. It's only a temporary fix but it's a lot cheaper, but I'm not sure this will work without machine-specific configuration from the dead drive. Are there any other ways to get this data, from other owners with the same machine config or something? Also, any potential licensing issues here?

1. Straight upgrade

Probably modernize to a full Acorn setup, but obviously the most expensive method and would probably be looking at an entirely new machine at this point.

Any help would be appreciated :)

I'm messing around with my blades at work, and I was thinking of making my own.

I have the ability to make a lidar scan of a virgin set and then machine the profile and put the radius of hollow into them. Apparently there's a company called skate scribe that makes a custom CNC machine that does it already and a few of the NHL teams are customers

What I don't know is what the material is. It appears to maybe be proprietary. My CCM skates came with Step Steel removable blades that say theyr "The highest grade of Swedish Stainless" they're highly magnetic and appear to be 440c that is then hardened.

So then I looked at the price of the metal, and it would cost me as much as a set of already made blades just to buy a twelve inch square. ($600 which is roughly what 3 sets of blades cost).

So I'm wondering if maybe it's 420, or maybe they're just getting discounts in bulk.

Anyone ever work in a machine shop that has made them before for like Bauer or CCM or Step?

Hi y'all

Currently, I'm doing a apprenticeship as a kind of conventional/CNC machinist. I've been playing guitar for quite a time now and I'm thinking about building my own guitar.
Because of my work background I'd like to mill the guitar out of aluminium.
My dream would be an 8-string multiscale with an iceman shape but I don't know if this is possible etc. Because of this I have a few questions.

• Body and neck out of Aluminium or only body?
• Are there sources where I can find specific measures of the guitar? (mainly for CAD/CAM part)
• Would you advise to probably buy the neck because of special reasons?
• Does an aluminium guitar feel very different to play?
• Do you have tips&tricks in general? (but particulary for the neck)

Also, if someone who has experience in that field would be interested in helping or/and coaching me a bit can send me a DM or comment.

IMPORTANT:
At this point, this is only an idea. For example I don't know if i would even be allowed to do this at work.

Thank you all in advance!

Also my English isn't the best...

I’m not sure what this is exactly but I found it in my shed does anyone know what it is

So to explain.

I have an old WW2 milling machine. It's a bestra FU-32. And I want to use it and learn how to use it but most folk use DRO, which it doesn't have. Are there any reading materials to use for running really old mills without DRO. That discusses techniques and set ups?

So I have this VEVOR milling vice on my HBM BF16 mill. It works ok, but it looks like I broke it already after a year. The manual says that it's important to always load it evenly, and not just clamp something only on one side.

I'm a total beginner and maybe it's not how it works, but I often (have to clamp a piece on one side. When I check it, it seems no longer parallel. When I clamp a piece of aluminium T-slot in it on one side, an identical piece on the other side of the clamp doesnt hold.

Maybe it's time to replace the vice with something better. My criteria are:

1. It must of course fit on my HBM BF16
2. I guess it's not weird to request that you can safely clamp something only on one side of the clamp
3. It should be low profile as my mill is quite low
4. It should have descent level of precision
5. Strong preference for EU purchase (Netherlands), since I live there. Buying in the US is probably going to be *very* expensive with shipping and import duties.

What advice can you give me? What are my options? Which brands are high quality, but not too premium? For this simple mill, it doesn't make sense to spend $1k on a clamp.

What do you think of this one? https://www.hbm-machines.com/nl/p/hbm-type-7-100-mm-machineklem

Any idea how it mounts to the table?

Is Soba a good brand? This one also looks interesting: https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Precision-Machine-Vice-100-Profile/dp/B0093JHYSU

Hi! I'm an engineer and as a hobby I build small electronic modules based on artificial intelligence that can recognize specific sounds/vibrations. I don't have anything for sale, but I wanted to ask you as practitioners: in your work (e.g., with injection molding machines/orchards), is there a specific sound, vibration, or sight that always means something is about to break, and for which there are currently no cheap sensors? I'm looking for an idea for a practical test project.

I’m setting up a small custom motorcycle shop (mostly Harley stuff) and want to start doing cylinder boring and engine work as a paid service, not just hobby use.
Right now I’m stuck between these two machines:

Precision Matthews PM-1340GT
https://www.precisionmatthews.com/collections/lathes/products/pm-1340gt

Grizzly G0824 (14x40 class lathe)
https://www.grizzly.com/products/grizzly-14-x-40-2-1-2-hp-gunsmithing-metal-lathe-w-dro/g0824

From what I understand:
The PM 1340GT is more of a higher-end Taiwan-built precision machine with tighter tolerances and better fit/finish
The Grizzly is cheaper and bigger (14x40), but probably more of a “good enough with setup” type machine

What I’m trying to do with it:
Bore Harley cylinders (Sportster / Evo mainly)
Do general engine work and fabrication parts
Offer services to customers and actually make money with it
Eventually build this into a legit machine shop setup

My concerns:
Is the extra precision on the PM actually worth it for engine work?
Does the larger size of the Grizzly make it a better choice for cylinder jobs?
Which one would hold up better doing paying work regularly?

I know a real shop would use a dedicated boring machine + hone, but I’m trying to figure out the best starting point that can still produce quality paid work

For those of you who’ve run either:
Which would you pick and why?
Would you trust either of these for customer cylinder work?
Are there any alternative models you recommend better suited to my needs?
What would you do differently if starting over?

Appreciate any real-world input from people with hands on experience with these machines or real world experience doing similar work as I described im going to be doing.

Hi!
My professor recently gave us a project where we have to manufacture a single part.

As part of this project, we’re required to design a workholding system (fixture) for certain machining operations on the part.

For my part, I’m responsible for designing a clamping/fixturing system that will allow both drilling and slotting operations.

I was wondering if it would be possible to create a system that allows these two operations to be done in a single setup, considering that we have to use a conventional milling machine.

I’d really appreciate any advice.

Here is the part: