SHED MATTERS 2

[Stanley]

Nothing much yesterday, I was too thronged.... However, I've decided on the next project and it involves making sme fly-cutters for the mill. Something I've been meaning to do for a long while. Newton swore by fly cutters.....

[micktoon]

Hi Stanley, Hope you got your article done ok. I will keep my eyes open for a bigger mag base, that one i got last week is the first one I have seen for ages but who knows what the next boot sale will bring. I will check what I have in the way of offset tools too , I might have one anyway ? but if not will keep my eyes open. Any HSS is always welcome Stanley as always comes in handy.
I am looking forward to the fly cutters getting made, a lad I know on another forum did have good posts on making some flycutters but his photo bucket accout went pearshaped so lost all the photos, I do think there are a good few things on the net showing how others have made them so may be of use doing a google search if you have not alreadt Stanley.
I have been fixing my big horizontal bandsaw so will post about that once I have the photos off the camera.
Cheers Mick.

[Stanley]

I shall make mine just like Newton did. Did two regular articles for the paper yesterday. It's a toss up whether I do any more or go in the shed. AlwaYS NICE TO HAVE A STOCK PILE AT THE PAPER, i REST EASIER! (Bugger Caps lock!)
Later at 11:00. Got in the shed at about 07:30 and found some 2" stock for the fly cutter bodies. Measured off two 3" lengths and got set up to cut them with the saw on the HM. Didn't coverr myself with glory because after a few minutes cutting the saw shattered! Must have been cracked, Will have to look for A SIX INCH x 1/8" splitting saw... Change of plan! Into the lathe and parted two lengths off.





I tried out the tipped tool but decided it wasn't for me... Went back to the tried and trusted HS cutter.



Close of play. Two blanks cleaned up and squared. That's enough for an old fart!

[micktoon]

Hi Stanley, good to see progress being made in the shed An interesting looking parting tool you have there, is it to stop the job riding up over the cutter ? I was looking for something today so had a look for cranked to the side cutters, all I had was a couple of big welded tipped type ones and then I saw another tool and wondered if its exactly what you had meant all along , I bought a set of three a straight , right hand and left hand, like this one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/J-S-Jones-Shi ... 3f2b0fb11c , needless to say I did not pay that sort of price Stanley but is this the style you had been thinking of where you insert your own tool steel into the holder ? If it is let me know as I am seeing the fella I got mine from and I think he had more , I think they were £5 each, or do you just need R/hand or L/hand ?
I had a bit play with the lathe today and I am beginning to think that tipped cutters and Harrison lathe do not get along that well myself, my top speed is 750 and I think they are designed for higher rpm as I never get a real good finish.
Cheers Mick.

[Stanley]

No Mick, I was thinking of ones like the old Stag cutters, welded HSS on the end and cranked for boring. Glad to hear you have the same trouble with tips and the Harrison, I was beginning to think it was me. I have the same top speed of course. The bigger and more powerful the lathe and the faster it will drive the better for tips. Still good for castings though. (Just thought, Jones and Shipman made a lot of those holders for small HSS bits)
I learned my turning from a bloke who started on treadle lathes and used tempered carbon steel tools. They soon learned they needed very sharp cutters run cold and it infects you I think. They used different shapes as well, plenty of rake and rounded points.... One of Johnny Pickles' first jobs was turning the grooves on a large flywheel, about 1rpm and three inch square chilled cast iron cutters!
11:30. I've been in the4 shed for an hour after finishing the housework. You won't be surprised to hear that the first thing I did was have a clean up. Then I had a look at the cutters in the holders for the Harrison pre centred tool post. They are a mixed lot, all sorts of off the cuff sharpening in the middle of jobs so I decided to do two bog standard HSS cutters, a right and a left hand, starting from scratch.



Here's the first one and a test cut on some scrap. Good cut and it will get better with use and a bit of honing.



I did the same for an opposite hand cutter and tested it, nice cut and of course dead on centre. It's so long since I was in the shed that all the cutters need sorting out, saves so much time when you are actually on the attack! That's enough for now, a butty and a bit of a sleep I think.....

[Stanley]

Two hours in the shed again. I finished my tool housekeeping and went back to making the two blanks into fly cutters. First job was to start turning them down to 3/4" for the chuck. As you can see, no heroic cuts. It's all right watching Adam Booth on Youtube taking 100 thou roughing cuts on hiss bigger lathes. I know my limitations! Slow but sure, there's no rush.... I was considering going back in after dinner but I'm here instead. After all I'm nearly 80 and have been at it since 4AM this morning!

[micktoon]

You seem to making steady progress Stanley, which is the main thing. Like you say its time well spent sorting all the cutters out so they are ready to go. I think Clint Eastwood once said ' a man has got to know his limitations' Dirty Harry maybe ? anyway as long as you dont exceed your limitations you will be fine at any age.
Cheers Mick

[Stanley]

That's the way I look at it... Funny thing happened yesterday which just goes to show you should always read the instructions! I can't remember how long I have had the Mitutoyo digi gauge, bought it last century... I noticed yesterday that there is a little button on the corner marked 'hod'. I have always assumed it was part of the function whereby you can connect the gauge into a CNC system. You know what happens when you measure something in the lathe and the reading alters slightly when you draw it odd the piece, well, if you press the hold button it freezes the readout at the measurement! We learn something new every day.... Had to take the battery out and clean the contacts....
Handy to have a magnifying glass on the bench but otherwise I'm functioning OK. My mate, the local jeweller has had to give up repairing watches, his eyes have gone....

[Stanley]

Close of play this morning. Two bodies made exactly the same size in case I bugger one up, if I don't the other will become a smaller cutter. You'll note a scar on the left hand one.... a bit of incompetent turning. I can't make my mind up whether to drill for a round cutter or mill an open slot for a square one. Despite watching miracle videos on Youtube I am not going to get into drilling square holes!
That reminds me of Hoggarth, the old blacksmith at West Marton under whom Jimmy Thompson served his apprenticeship. The biggest job Hoggarth ever had was building the wrought iron gates and overthrow at new Gledstone Hall while Jimmy was learning. The upright bars were 1" square. The normal way a smith would make those holes would be to punch them with a square drift while the bar was white hot but then you have the problem of straightening the deformed cross pieces without altering the spacing. There were a lot of holes so Hoggarth either made or bought a square hole cutter. It was a triangular piece of hardened steel and a hardened die block with a 1" square hole in it. The cutter was mounted loose on the end of the drilling spindle and rotated in the hole. It bounced about cutting metal out until it reached the confines of the hardened die block. Result, a 1" square hole. Clever stuff eh?

[micktoon]

Hi Stanley more steady progress, I will have to check my digi gauge for the Hold button , I dont even know if it has one, if it has I have not used it. The square hole gadget sounds good I have seen one on Youtube but always thought it looked like the type of theng that when I tried it would not work
I have been busy with a new project but no photos done yet so I will post once I am sorted out.
Keep up the good work Stanley

Cheers Mick.

[Stanley]

Too busy shopping with Susan yesterday to get in the shed but I'm all lined up for today!
Later at 11:30. Long absence from the shed creates problems! When you are in there every day you can put your hand on anything because you remember what you did with it last.But before we get to that problem, let's address an ongoing one.
I told you I had solved the digi calliper problem but it has not gone away, the reading is AWOL when you go back to it after it has stood overnight. I decided that the problem was that my scraping at the spring terminal was not doing the job, time for more radical measures!



The Dremel high speed drill and grinder is one of those tools that you have about you but don't use every day. I got it out this morning.



I fitted a small grinding head to it and ever so carefully, ground the face of the tiny contact. It was soon bright and shining and when I popped the battery in it functioned perfectly. Let's see if it is still that way tomorrow. Incidentally you may notice that the Dremel is hung on a chain. This, with its integral spring is a permanent fixture over the bench. It supports the weight of the tool when you are doing very accurate work.
So far, so good. On to the main item on the agenda. I made sure I had some 3/8 round HSS and started to set the mill up for grinding a facet on the end of the fly cutter so I could get an accurate register for drilling the body. I found one of the tee bolts for holding the vice on the milling table but couldn't find its mate. This is important to me because I like to have both bolts the same thread and nut size so one spanner does them both. After a few minutes rooting round and failing to find it I decided it would be quicker to make a new one so I went digging for either a 1/2" Whit bolt or some threaded rod. I found both and ran the die nut down them to make sure the threads were OK. At this point I tripped over the original bolt, stowed the new ones where I could find them and got on with what I started.



I soon had the facet milled on both bodies and by that time it was time to make my dinner and get it cooking and then take Jack for his second walk and a bit of light shopping. So that's the morning done! Slow but certain and I'm gradually getting things straight as I go on.

[micktoon]

Hi Stanley, good to see you have been in the shed again, I could not help have a bit chuckle at the part where you had one bolt after not being able to find its partner, so then had to find things to make a matched pair and once you have almost done that you find the original missing one ............... that is real shed life , normally I would find the original after finishing the two new ones and it would be in a place I am dam sure I have already searched too.
A dremel is a very handy bit of kit, the spring hanger is handy too so the weight of the dremel is not wrestling with your detailed work.
I am wondering if you will have Sunday shutdown or will be work as usual. I ahbve been in the shed today agai but photos stil on the camera up till now.

Cheers Mick.

[Stanley]

You're right about the bolt being an example of real life. You're also right in that it was where I had already looked. (mind you my looking isn't what it was....)
Our motto is 'The better the Day, the better the Deed!' so I shall be back later....
PS. I just tried the digi calliper and it is still on duty. Perhaps the Dremel solved the problem....



First job was to take the ETM split collet chuck off and replace it with a big three jaw. Two reasons, the ETM has been on for a long time and they can get frozen and second because I was going to do some drilling in the mill and a three jaw was handier.



When I'd drilled the cutter bodies I adjusted the face so the cutter wouldn't have to hang out too far to get clearance.



Close of play, both bodies drilled and finished apart from the tool clamping screws.... Quite enough for one day!

[Stanley]

You might well wonder what he's doing.... I have a vibration in my grinding wheel and suspect it's the ordinary grinding wheel that's out of balance. I thought I had one in the treasure chest and when I emptied it out without finding a spare I decided to tidy the drawer up. Then I put the grinder back together.



An hour later I had the first cutter fitted up with a piece of HSS and two five sixteenths Whitworth grub screws for holding it in place. It took a while to do the fiddly jobs like thread checking and finding the right sized tap, it's amazing how much the lack of near vision slows you down! Then I had to actually do the job and I have to be so careful to get things right the first time for the same reason. Picking up a centre pop with the Slocomb drill is a major operation! Anyway, by 10:30 I had one cutter done except for sharpening the bit .I needed to split the piece of 3/8 round Moly steel bit to make two cutters. Tip, grind a groove round it where you want the division. Wrap it up in a piece of cloth, hold it firmly in the vice ad then hit it with a heavy hammer. It will break on the groove. The cloth is essential because if any splinters of steel flake off and get in your eye you are in deep trouble!
That's enough for one day, dinner and my afternoon sleep.

[Stanley]

I decided that the vibration in my big grinder was due to a warped wheel. So I ordered a new Aluminium Oxide wheel and was surprised by the cost £30 but didn't look for an El Cheapo, it's a Norton brand wheel and so should be good quality.
11:30. Had the morning in the shed....



Finished the cutters and then decided to try them out. In case you think I was giving them an easy job, forget it, this is aluminium bronze, one of the toughest cutting jobs you'll ever come across.



After some light fast cuts I had one slow pass and here's the result, good enough for anyone I think. That's it, dinner, a sleep and remember to go to the vets at 5PM!!!!

[micktoon]

Hi Stanley , looks like the jobs a good un , like you say Ali bronze is tough stuff so a good test. Two more good tools added to your collection, well done .
Cheers Mick.

[Stanley]

I'll have a play today squaring the bronze block and will try the other cutter as well. I was reminded yesterday of Newton when he was at home and had a lathe in the attic. He was always a fan of fly cutters and they have one fault, they throw chips all over the place! His mother was always on to him because she had brass chips stuck in the carpets. This came to mind when I drained my pot of tea and found brass chips in the bottom....

11:20. Dinner time butty made and at last I can take the weight off my feet!



We started the day with a bit of a modification. I had to take a radius out of the top of the cutter next to the chuck because the way I had them finished before, there wasn't room to get the special spanner in that tightens the ETM collet chuck. One problem solved! At that point Jack started barking and I realised I had a delivery. It was my new grinding wheel so I dropped everything and replaced the suspect wheel. I switched it on and as I did reflected that if it still vibrated I would be rather annoyed! However, all was well, my diagnosis of a warped wheel was proved right and the grinder ran vibration free for the first time in 25years! Lovely...
Back to squaring my block of Aly bronze... I soon realised that a problem that had been with me for a few months had suddenly got worse. The vertical mill was nodding as it cut. You may remember me doing some surgery on the work bench to allow a full range of movement on the work table of the tool and cutter grinder. This involved losing one of the supports of the work bench. I did some enlightened packing and wedging and made it firm but over the months the deficiencies of this have been getting more and more obvious as the structure became too flexible.
This is serious and I am still thinking about it. Whatever the conclusion I come to it's going to be a lot of work. One of the disadvantages of having such a small shed! We will solve it but I want to make quite sure I'm going the right way.



15:39. I have had my sleep and fed Jack. I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I woke up with an idea in my head that could be an easy way out of my sagging bench problem, not only that, but I just happened to have a piece of mahogany in the treasure chest that will do perfectly with two saw cuts. Further good news came when I realised that the sticker I had put on the back door asking the postman to put a packet I was waiting for in my safe place if he came while I was asleep had gone off the back door. Sure enough, a nice heavy little package was in the green bin. This was a fly-cutter I saw advertised by Hemingway, at £26, cheaper than I could make one!
The bad news is of course that when I opened the box it's a kit of steel etc. and instructions to make your own! This of course is down to my eyes being so bad that I missed this vital piece of information in the advertisement. So, like it or not, I have another fly-cutter project for one that will surface a far larger area.... Ah well.... It will keep me off the street corners!

[micktoon]

Hi Stanley ,
I like the look of the fly cutter after its been altered , looks more custom made. I hope you get the bench sagging sorted out ok, I am sure you will come up wit a 'plan' its a shame you did not live closer as i could have give you a hand with thay type of project.
Looks like you will have a full set of fly cuters by the end of the mission now , it will be interesting to see if the kit has any better info than you have used making your own. Glad your new grinding wheel solved the problem, nothing worse than replacing something like that and finding it makes no difference.
Cheers Mick.

[Stanley]

The elimination of the vibration in my big Chinese grinder was the highlight of the day. I got it very cheap about 30 years ago and have put up with the vibration ever since. It runs like silk now and the new grinding wheel is much better, very free cutting. I'd never heard of the company, Kinik Abrasives so I looked them up. Surprise surprise, Taipei, Taiwan! Another Chinese wheel but this time a good one.



Here's the scale of the problem. Bit of a miracle that my surgery on the bench to make room for the tool and cutter table to swing 90degrees didb't cause the problem immediately, the VM is a heavy piece of kit! The chest of drawers is valuable storage space. It dates back to when my mother and dad first started living together in 1936. There would be no problem curing the bench if the support didn't interfere with the drawers so I had to do a bit of thinking. In a small overcrowded shed storage space is at a premium! I have decided that the chest is sturdy enough to act as the support, you can see the piece of mahogany that will be cut to size and inserted as a bearer across the top of it. Ideally the drawers need to come forward so they line up with the edge of the bench.
Like all these jobs, this leads to another complication but a good one. There has been a constant problem with the chest of drawers in that the heavily loaded drawers tend to stick. In order to move the chest forward I will have to lighten it so I'll take all the drawers out, Empty therm and plane them down to they are a better fit. I'll put a ledge across the back so I am not losing stuff down the back after it has come forward!
So, a bigger job but a bigger reward, those sticking drawers have always nagged me but you know how it is, you soldier on.... I've always said that whilst small overcrowded sheds pose their challenges, they are good for you because you are always looking for ways to improve them.
Of course it is far too much for an old half blind fart like me but it will get done and do me good! The main thing I have in my favour is that I have an answer to the problem, I have the tools and I have all the time in the world, no rush....

[Stanley]

Later.... Well, I've sat down for the first time since this morning and it feels very good. My dinner is made, Jack is empty and as soon as I've brought you up to date I can go and have a couple of hours sleep.
It's been a good morning, three hours hard work, I broke a sweat! I'll bet I'm losing weight now I am back in the playroom.
First job was to get all the brass milling chips vacuumed up, they're as sharp as hell and tend to stick in both you and your clothes. Then a good tidy up of the stuff on the top of the bench and a bit of rationalising about what went where. Next, the same thing for the things that were stored under the bench but on top of the chest of drawers. Once I had that lot sorted I got my smoothing plane out and started emptying the drawers, cleaning them out and planing all the high spots off them with a good rub down of the runners with candle wax when they were eased. An old carpenter's trick and it does wonders for the way drawers slide.



An unusual sight in the shed. I hate wood shavings and sawdust in the shed... Apart from anything else, Jack loves shavings and pinches them to have a chew and then discard them. He was busy all morning spreading them around in the kitchen! That was the job and once I had the drawers all out I shifted the chest forward until it was directly under the edge of the bench. Lots of bending and lifting, it must have been doing me good....



Here’s a snap of the contents of one of the drawers This one has all sorts in it but mainly lubricator glasses, big paraffin lamp wicks (used as lubricator strips with wipers on oil cups), chain saw spares, new balls and volute springs for Kirkham HP lubricators and various packings and 'O' rings. All stuff you would have a job finding these days. Everything sorted and cleaned and the crap thrown out.



Close of play. A glimpse into another of the drawers, mikes, callipers marking out tackle, vee blocks, all sorts of good stuff. All cleaned and oiled before putting it back in the drawer. All the drawers sliding easily, the chest lined up with the front of the bench and the shavings cleared up. Not bad for one session. Tomorrow I'll address the de-sagging of the bench!

[David Whipp]

Eat your heart out Heath-Robinson!

[micktoon]

Hi Stanley , a good days work , one job always leads to another or a few others I find , I bet you enjoyed your sleep this afternoon anyway , you deserved it today , you will be aching tomorrow but I bet it will have done you good overall.
Cheers mick.

[Stanley]

Only had an hour in bed, my mind was too active planning the next steps. No aches this morning, I must be getting back into shape! Weighed myself and was pleasantly surprised, exactly what I should have been. Busy day today so not a lot in shed I suspect. I'll see how we get on. I might cut the support timber anyway.

[micktoon]

Hi Stanley and all, did this a few weeks ago now but not had the chance to post. I have had a big Startrite Meba horizontal bandsaw for a few years but it needed a few things fixing, mainly the coolant and bearing blade guides, I think its 10 inch round max cut.

This is the saw its tatty but good machine, I fitted castors to it so its movable and an inverter so its ran off single phase 240 volt.





As you will see the guide bearing housings have had a hard life, the vice quick locking handle has been snapped off , the main pivot shaft has slid along into the casting, the quick release spring is missing , the stop bolt snapped off, the coolant pump was belt driven from the motor , that packed in so fitted a couple of electric pumps that both failed so another new pump was needed too.









The damaged bearing guides are cast and can hit the vice when the saw is lowered is not careful, this has cracked both guides, one has been repaired in the past, as with all machinery repairs I seem to come across , not very well done.





Cleaned off and stripped down they have been almost cut through on the underside with the rear of the blade inside, the bearings the blade runs on must have collapsed at some point in the past but the saw still been used for this to have happened.



The previous repair was made good and the other guide welded up with cast rods and patched with extra plate on the top to strengthen them up.





Back together and primed with new bearings fitted that the back of the blade runs against, the shafts etc were cleaned up that they fit to and the other bits and bobs fettled on the main saw.





Re fitted to the saw , new coolant pipes , tap and pump fitted to the tank, the first one did not have enough flow so a bigger pump fitted that seems to do the job now.





First job after the blade guides were set up , cut an old Oxy bottle in to three inch sections for John Doubleboost for wheels for his Lister trolly, the saw cuts lovely and straight now.





I plan on doing a few mods to the saw so you can hold shorter stock to cut and also a stop system of some sort so repetitive cuts of the same length can be made.

Cheers Mick

[Stanley]

It's a basket case Mick but knowing you it will end up a Rolls Royce and run like silk. I envy you.... If I had a bigger shed there are two machines I have always coveted, one is a mechanical saw and the other is a small shaper. Johnny Pickles was a big shaper man, he generated most of his flat surfaces using one and the results are superb.
Watching other people in their sheds on Youtube is very instructive, the standard of the tackle they are using varies but is almost all far more modern than mine... but they are educating me into using different methods of doing things. One of the chief differences is that they all favour carbide tipped tools and it has puzzled me for a long time how others can get such a good finish where I can't. I've come to the conclusion that they are not using negative rake settings and mine are. At some point I shall look into this just out of curiosity and not need because I have more HSS than you can poke a stick at and understand the technology better.
If all goes well, the supporting timber gets fixed this morning. Good thing having more time to think, I have improved on the original plan... I don't know about anyone else but I enjoy sitting quietly with a pot of tea and my pipe working out the details and improving. It works best when I think as I am drifting off into sleep, I think my head carries on working during the night. Amazing how you can wake up with the solution clear in your head....