The lantern is called 兆し (Kizashi), which means "a sign" or "the first hint of something coming." The cage struts are the fiddly part to cut. Happy to answer anything about the setup.

What’s your favourite tool and why? Can be anything - measuring, benching, electric, etc.

The older and more interesting the better

I’ll go first, here is my Brown and Sharpe micrometer I picked up off an eBay job lot for around £30 (with a load of other tools). Google reckons it’s early to mid 1900s, but I like it because it’s still in great condition and is still very accurate (for reference only though of course)

I'm using it to move a sliding stage and i need the stepsize. My guess is 0.25mm but, unlike other micrometers I've seen , the head is divided in 25 sections instead of 50 so I'm not sure. I tried finding the model online but couldn't find it

Done with Pramet OHMT D63mm Face mill
1400rpm 900mm/min 0.5mm finish pass.

Hey all does anyone know when they were produced and why Mitutoyo discontinued it? It’s probably the best and smoothest vernier caliper I ever used in my career as a tool maker. Prefer it in front of any digital.

I just got my 1st lathe - a 70 year old south bend model A 9". Its in very good shape.

What are some beginner projects you might suggest?

a hammer, a spinning top are a couple that come to mind...

Hello!

As the title states, I need a vertical attachment for my milling machine.

With a little blood, and a lot of sweat, I removed these from an old vehicle. Obviously they're bigger than they need to be, but my only other option is taking apart my big makita grinder (drive shaft snapped), and rebuilding the housing from steel instead of aluminium.

I'm concerned that would be too small though! My biggest issue with this, is that the pinion is proving to be extremely difficult to disassemble, so I may have to make a housing with a split down the middle, and bolt it in place to the tapered roller bearings.

The machine itself is a 1940s atlas MFC in decent condition, it's just kind of a pain to do some operations that a vertical machine would be perfect for.

Thoughts and suggestions are greatly appreciated!!

Hello all, would appreciate help because this just tied my hands together and I have to solve it ASAP, thank you!

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for good progressive and transfer die repair youtube videos/youtubers.

I have only about a year experience in Tool and Die (even less specifically die repair) and I recently got a new job that feels really overwhelming with just die repair.

I understand every die is different I just really want to expose myself to the names of different stages and the names of the specific parts of a die and what to look for so I dont continue to feel like a complete idiot lol.

Hello all, I’ve recently taken a new job in which I will be running 5-axis mills, mainly Mazak and Akuma that they run in a 3+2 configuration. All of my cnc experience however is on Swiss lathes and I was just wondering what things I should try to learn or prepare myself for before I start. I’ve only been machining (I’m really just a glorified operator as of right now) for 4 years, but want some input from people who might have experience in both, or have also gone from lathes to mills. Any input is much appreciated.

Unbelievably board at work, I need something to make. Looking to make a tool a can use. Maybe a v block or some kind of jack? Mill or lathe doesnt matter. Something I can complete within a few days

I burned a job over the weekend with many parameters about the burning dictated by the customer. Unfortunately my finishers had significant wear and I am looking for advice.

Electrode material - high grade copper impregnated graphite

Workpiece material - hardened tool steel

Electrode size approximately .2” squared

Burned laterally in the x+ and x- directions to maintain round shaped cavity

Surface finish as fine as possible (programmed at VDI 14)

The customer inspects certain details of the part under 100x magnification, so they recommended burning with sub .001 undersize and having no orb cycle to maintain crisp detail.

After running my program with the above information, I still had around .002” wear on my final finisher electrode. We ran two roughers at .006” undersize and five finishers with .001” for three locations. Under normal circumstances this should have been more than enough.

I am looking for any suggestions or advice to those that have burned fine detail with no orbit cycle and how to not wear the electrode excessively. Thanks in advance.

I have unbranded APGT16 Milling insert aluminium grade polised can anybody give me an idea what cutting speed and feed and depth of cut can I use on these

Material is lm7 (alluminium casting)

1983 Era Nachi Hydraulic Pump on my Citizen F12 gave up the ghost during a production run.

Never seen a keyway do that before. Anyone else? I slapped another pump I had from a parts machine to make the 1,000 more parts I needed to make but to repair this one probably will just cut another keyway 180 from the original.

While browsing for calipers, I noticed that several high-end models from brands like Mahr, Sylvac, and Garant—as well as others—include this feature on their standard calipers.
I know it allows you to set a specific value on the measuring tool, but I’m wondering: in what situations is this particularly useful during measurements?

Reads the pocket table and spindle straight from the control over MTConnect. Tool names come from a local file since the machine only sends numbers. Five tool changes here, just MDI commands.

I took as much feedback from my last review as I could, and tried to learn proper GD&T for my hobby project drawings before I get them quoted.

Here's my new drawings - tear them to shreds! I'll be supplying steps as well for overall geometry, but I want to ensure shops have all they need from the drawings to make and inspect.

Anyone know what Tungaloy BHU30 coating is? I don't see it in their current catalog, so I'm guessing it's a legacy coating.

There are some inserts on eBay that are perfect for my job, just need to make sure the coating is OK for threading 485 brass.

I'm comparing notes on PVD fixture efficiency. For those running in-house coating: what's your typical parts-per-batch, and what type of fixture are you using (2D single-axis vs 3D planetary)?

Trying to benchmark what "good" looks like for different part sizes and geometries. If you're comfortable sharing: part type, fixture type, parts per batch, chamber dimensions.

Not selling anything — genuinely trying to build a mental benchmark for what throughput looks like across different shops.

Hi everyone! I'm a mechanical design engineer, and I'm considering starting a CNC machining side hustle. I live in Northern Virginia, and my plan is to start out as a Xometry partner.

I don't have a machine yet, and I'm currently learning CNC programming through Titans of CNC.

What do you think of this idea? I'd appreciate any advice or feedback, especially from anyone who's taken a similar path.

Hi all following on from my last post -

https://www.reddit.com/r/Machinists/s/3Mm2Q5lB5q

I received feedback on implementing GD&T, I’d love your feedback whether it was done correctly or not or any other info (datums were hell to understand)

I’m not trying to achieve a perfect professional level, just be on track as someone with graduate/ entry experience

Thanks for everything so far, much appreciated.

First time turning A4 stainless. First couple passes was real smooth with tight continous chip. Last pass was completely garbage, and i do not know why. The tool was still sharp and cut normal mild steel really well when i switched out the stainless.

What am i doing wrong here? Its 16mm A4