Open Source Ecology - User contributions [en]

Precision Machining Tooling

2012-02-09T13:34:02Z

Bowstrokes: /* Lathe tooling */

=Cutting tools=
two and four flute HS end mills 1/8-3/4 and some carbide ones too.
Drill bits at least to an inch
maybe some reamers in standard sizes
broaches for making key ways...sets with hubs
taps and dies from #6 to at least half inch
pipe taps and maybe dies as well.
Rigid company makes a very good set of stud/pipe extractors. They are so good that they can put enough torque on a broken stud to tear the threads off.
Good quality hacksaw blades and files. (buy the best you can buy like
Starrett bi metal for example) (brand name files) That goes for drill bits and taps/dies as well. Cheaper cutting tools like files are not even sharp to begin with, don't hold the edge they have and you end up working much harder to accomplish the job. Good brand name cutting tools pay for themselves by lasting a long time.
You might want a bore set as well (recessing socket head cap screws for
instance)
cutting torch. A properly used cutting torch can make some pretty nice slots
and can also burn out a broken tap without wrecking the hole. A torch can cut
a bearing race off a shaft quite often with no damage to shaft.
Also,you can use the torch for heat treating steel. (hardening and tempering)
Small boring bars to fit a boring head for the mill
insert cutters for mill (they have to be picked out carefully because of mill
limitations)Some of the insert cutters with negative rakes take a lot of power and a very solid machine to run them.

=Milling machine attachments=(for a small mill like a series one Bridgeport)
an angle plate or two (maybe around six inch or so)
set of hold downs (necessary and not expensive)
a really good quality jacobs (or similar) chuck. (don't bother with off shore)
a set of R-8 collets.
A digital readout for mill is a real time saver. Not only do they show you exactly where you are, they can plot hole circles and angular dimensions and
are great for repeatability. Sometimes you have to do several different
operations on each hole. You can do one operation on each one and come back
and do the subsequent operations quickly and accurately.
Edge finders and wigglers. (electronic edge finders are nice and not that dear if you have the digital
readout to use the edge finder with.)
coolant delivery system, can be an air mister, or fluid with pump etc.
Power feed servos for the mill can be great time savers and maybe save on cutter costs as well.
A decent vice and sets of parallel bars.
There are also some special jaws that pull the work down on the paralell bars when the vice is
tightened.
A sine vice is nice to have. Lets' you mill exact angles. They are used with a set of gauge blocks.
Vee blocks. Good for milling keyways in shafts (something you'll very likely do)
dividing head and tail stock.
An angle vice is very handy as well. Doesn't have to be huge. The Bridgeport series one mill won't take heavy cuts anyway.
If you get a chance to get a Narex boring head cheap, buy it. (wonderful tool0
surface gauge (isn't what it sounds like) it's used for setting up stuff level for one thing.
Vernier height gage...nice to have along with a surface plate.
Machinist level. Accurate level also needed for setting up the machine in the first place.

=Measuring tools=
vernier calipers... 6 inch and 12 (digital are nicer than just plain vernier)
telescope gages inside and outside calipers. (they look kind of like dividers)
bore gages
small hole gages
radius gages
vernier height gage
mics to six inch probably at a minimu2-12m (and standards for them)
inside mics (sets go 2”-12” or more depending on what you're doing)
small inside mics are really handy and go from .2” or so
depth mics also come in sets.
Dial indicators and mag bases (small finger style for small accurate measurments) and fairly large with
maybe a one inch range for using on the lathe and mill.
Thread mics are nicer to use than three wire measurments. Quicker and easier
feeler gauges

=Lathe tooling=
quick change tool post
carbide insert cutters and carbide insert parting tool( worth it's weight in gold)
boring bars for holding high speed tool bits and also bars for carbide inserts
carbide insert parting tools... (worth their weight in gold)
center drills
live centers for tail stock
center rest and follower rest (rides of carriage)
taper attachment (nice to have instead of offsetting tail stock)
lathe dogs (for turning shafts between centers)
coolant delivery and collection system (pay for itself in tooling and speed encreases)
knurling tools (nice to have)
good grinding wheels for grinding tool bits
tool post grinder for accurate ground finishes done in lathe. They can do inside and outside with the right
attachments. (nice to have)

Precision Machining Tooling

2012-02-09T13:27:38Z

Bowstrokes: /* Milling machine attachments */

=Cutting tools=
two and four flute HS end mills 1/8-3/4 and some carbide ones too.
Drill bits at least to an inch
maybe some reamers in standard sizes
broaches for making key ways...sets with hubs
taps and dies from #6 to at least half inch
pipe taps and maybe dies as well.
Rigid company makes a very good set of stud/pipe extractors. They are so good that they can put enough torque on a broken stud to tear the threads off.
Good quality hacksaw blades and files. (buy the best you can buy like
Starrett bi metal for example) (brand name files) That goes for drill bits and taps/dies as well. Cheaper cutting tools like files are not even sharp to begin with, don't hold the edge they have and you end up working much harder to accomplish the job. Good brand name cutting tools pay for themselves by lasting a long time.
You might want a bore set as well (recessing socket head cap screws for
instance)
cutting torch. A properly used cutting torch can make some pretty nice slots
and can also burn out a broken tap without wrecking the hole. A torch can cut
a bearing race off a shaft quite often with no damage to shaft.
Also,you can use the torch for heat treating steel. (hardening and tempering)
Small boring bars to fit a boring head for the mill
insert cutters for mill (they have to be picked out carefully because of mill
limitations)Some of the insert cutters with negative rakes take a lot of power and a very solid machine to run them.

=Milling machine attachments=(for a small mill like a series one Bridgeport)
an angle plate or two (maybe around six inch or so)
set of hold downs (necessary and not expensive)
a really good quality jacobs (or similar) chuck. (don't bother with off shore)
a set of R-8 collets.
A digital readout for mill is a real time saver. Not only do they show you exactly where you are, they can plot hole circles and angular dimensions and
are great for repeatability. Sometimes you have to do several different
operations on each hole. You can do one operation on each one and come back
and do the subsequent operations quickly and accurately.
Edge finders and wigglers. (electronic edge finders are nice and not that dear if you have the digital
readout to use the edge finder with.)
coolant delivery system, can be an air mister, or fluid with pump etc.
Power feed servos for the mill can be great time savers and maybe save on cutter costs as well.
A decent vice and sets of parallel bars.
There are also some special jaws that pull the work down on the paralell bars when the vice is
tightened.
A sine vice is nice to have. Lets' you mill exact angles. They are used with a set of gauge blocks.
Vee blocks. Good for milling keyways in shafts (something you'll very likely do)
dividing head and tail stock.
An angle vice is very handy as well. Doesn't have to be huge. The Bridgeport series one mill won't take heavy cuts anyway.
If you get a chance to get a Narex boring head cheap, buy it. (wonderful tool0
surface gauge (isn't what it sounds like) it's used for setting up stuff level for one thing.
Vernier height gage...nice to have along with a surface plate.
Machinist level. Accurate level also needed for setting up the machine in the first place.

=Measuring tools=
vernier calipers... 6 inch and 12 (digital are nicer than just plain vernier)
telescope gages inside and outside calipers. (they look kind of like dividers)
bore gages
small hole gages
radius gages
vernier height gage
mics to six inch probably at a minimu2-12m (and standards for them)
inside mics (sets go 2”-12” or more depending on what you're doing)
small inside mics are really handy and go from .2” or so
depth mics also come in sets.
Dial indicators and mag bases (small finger style for small accurate measurments) and fairly large with
maybe a one inch range for using on the lathe and mill.
Thread mics are nicer to use than three wire measurments. Quicker and easier
feeler gauges

=Lathe tooling=
quick change tool post
carbide insert cutters
carbide insert parting tools... (worth their weight in gold)
center drills
live centers for tail stock
center rest and follower rest (rides of carriage)
taper attachment (nice to have instead of offsetting tail stock)
lathe dogs (for turning shafts between centers)
coolant delivery and collection system (pay for itself in tooling and speed encreases)
knurling tools (nice to have)
good grinding wheels for grinding tool bits
tool post grinder for accurate ground finishes done in lathe. They can do inside and outside with the right
attachments. (nice to have)

Precision Machining Tooling

2012-02-09T13:24:28Z

Bowstrokes: /* Cutting tools */

=Cutting tools=
two and four flute HS end mills 1/8-3/4 and some carbide ones too.
Drill bits at least to an inch
maybe some reamers in standard sizes
broaches for making key ways...sets with hubs
taps and dies from #6 to at least half inch
pipe taps and maybe dies as well.
Rigid company makes a very good set of stud/pipe extractors. They are so good that they can put enough torque on a broken stud to tear the threads off.
Good quality hacksaw blades and files. (buy the best you can buy like
Starrett bi metal for example) (brand name files) That goes for drill bits and taps/dies as well. Cheaper cutting tools like files are not even sharp to begin with, don't hold the edge they have and you end up working much harder to accomplish the job. Good brand name cutting tools pay for themselves by lasting a long time.
You might want a bore set as well (recessing socket head cap screws for
instance)
cutting torch. A properly used cutting torch can make some pretty nice slots
and can also burn out a broken tap without wrecking the hole. A torch can cut
a bearing race off a shaft quite often with no damage to shaft.
Also,you can use the torch for heat treating steel. (hardening and tempering)
Small boring bars to fit a boring head for the mill
insert cutters for mill (they have to be picked out carefully because of mill
limitations)Some of the insert cutters with negative rakes take a lot of power and a very solid machine to run them.

=Milling machine attachments=
an angle plate or two (maybe around six inch or so)
set of hold downs (necessary and not expensive)
a really good quality jacobs (or similar) chuck. (don't bother with off shore)
a set of R-8 collets.
A digital readout for mill is a real time saver. Not only do they show you exactly where you are, they can plot hole circles and angular dimensions and
are great for repeatability. Sometimes you have to do several different
operations on each hole. You can do one operation on each one and come back
and do the subsequent operations quickly and accurately.
Edge finders and wigglers. (electronic edge finders are nice and not that dear if you have the digital
readout to use the edge finder with.)
coolant delivery system, can be an air mister, or fluid with pump etc.
Power feed servos for the mill can be great time savers and maybe save on cutter costs as well.
A decent vice and sets of parallel bars.
There are also some special jaws that pull the work down on the paralell bars when the vice is
tightened.
A sine vice is nice to have. Lets' you mill exact angles. They are used with a set of gauge blocks.
Vee blocks. Good for milling keyways in shafts (something you'll very likely do)
dividing head and tail stock.
An angle vice is very handy as well. Doesn't have to be huge. Teh mill won't take heavy cuts anyway.
If you get a chance to get a Narex boring head cheap, buy it. (wonderful tool0
surface gauge (isn't what it sounds like) it's used for setting up stuff level for one thing.
Vernier height gage...nice to have along with a surface plate.
Machinist level. Accurate level also needed for setting up the machine in the first place.

=Measuring tools=
vernier calipers... 6 inch and 12 (digital are nicer than just plain vernier)
telescope gages inside and outside calipers. (they look kind of like dividers)
bore gages
small hole gages
radius gages
vernier height gage
mics to six inch probably at a minimu2-12m (and standards for them)
inside mics (sets go 2”-12” or more depending on what you're doing)
small inside mics are really handy and go from .2” or so
depth mics also come in sets.
Dial indicators and mag bases (small finger style for small accurate measurments) and fairly large with
maybe a one inch range for using on the lathe and mill.
Thread mics are nicer to use than three wire measurments. Quicker and easier
feeler gauges

=Lathe tooling=
quick change tool post
carbide insert cutters
carbide insert parting tools... (worth their weight in gold)
center drills
live centers for tail stock
center rest and follower rest (rides of carriage)
taper attachment (nice to have instead of offsetting tail stock)
lathe dogs (for turning shafts between centers)
coolant delivery and collection system (pay for itself in tooling and speed encreases)
knurling tools (nice to have)
good grinding wheels for grinding tool bits
tool post grinder for accurate ground finishes done in lathe. They can do inside and outside with the right
attachments. (nice to have)