New Tools in my shop, need some lessons

[Jerry]

Group,
Anyone live in the Sacramento area (Northern CA) that knows how to run a milling machine and large lathe? I have a Steinal mill, and LeBlond 13 inch lathe installed. Older units but would like some pointers in how to use them. No, I don't have a manual to either yet. I am still searching on line for that.

Jerry

 

[Billm]

Jerry
I have a friend who lives in Sacto and teaches machine shop at SF City college.
Want his info? I'm sure that he would love to help!
BillM

 

[TR3driver]

I'm too far away to help directly, but I'll throw in a plug for "Home Shop Machinist". Although they also cover the micro machines, there are a lot of good "how to" articles for medium size machines.
https://www.homeshopmachinist.net/home?noredirect=true&noredirect=true
The sister magazine "Projects in Metal" also has a lot of information on how the authors solved a particular problem, again frequently using medium size machines.

Lindsey Books is another treasure trove of information:
https://www.lindsaybks.com/
The old South Bend books have a lot of information that applies to almost any manual lathe.
https://www.lindsaybks.com/bks/lathebk/index.html

For my Atlas lathe, even the Atlas manual didn't give spindle speeds; and I've never found a manual for my vertical mill (which is actually a converted horizontal mill). Took me a long time to even figure out that there is a gear train inside the pulley cone! So this tool comes in handy:
https://www.harborfreight.com/digital-contact-tachometer-66400.html

 

[Banjo]

Step one: pack them up on a cross-country truck, and address them to me! hehehehe.
I'm too far away to be of any assistance, and don't know squat anyway. I'm heading down that same "expanding my skill-set" road as well. You got a big step on me, as I don't have a mill or a lathe yet.
Best of luck.

 

[Jerry]

I have a little lathe, a 3 inch jaw model. I have been able to do the basics with it, but the large 13 inch model could be more fun if I learn how to use it. I read a basic book so far , but it was far to basic.
I have not done anything on the milling machine yet. It could have projects on the car restoration and repair.

So far my wife says retirement is good, I spend all my time in the garage.

Jerry

 

[Banjo]

Well, If you're retired, and have a flexible schedule, why not look into a course at a local community college or vocational school?

 

[Jerry]

Ran the milling machine yesterday to cut down some metal for a car. I figured out the controls for what I needed to do yesterday. I also bought a "manual" off the internet. They downloaded it to my computer. It was crap for $150. 20 pages of what I would call a sales brochure. It says what you can do somewhat with the machine, but not how to do it.

I sent them a note on my displeasure and they offered to look for a more specific manual.

Jerry

 

[SilentUnicorn]

Hey Jerry,
do you know the difference between climb milling and conventional milling?

m

 

[Billm]

Jerry
Did you get together with Mike?
He told me that he would try to contact you.
BillM

 

[Jerry]

We exchanged a bunch of email. I invited him over to see what I have to work with, but have not heard back from him since last week. He did invite me to attend the class he teachs, but I have not decide on a free date yet.

Jerry

 

[Billm]

Mike gets pretty involved in lots of stuff so the fact that he hasn't gotten to you yet is not a big surprise to me. He is a great guy (and a HUGE Mini freak) and will help you with your stuff.
Bill

 

[DNK]

...HUGE Mini freak)

Uh...Isn't that redundant Bill?

 

[JPSmit]

...HUGE Mini freak)

Uh...Isn't that redundant Bill?

Not quite:

Mini + freak = redundant

Huge + Mini Freak = Oxymoron.

 

[DrEntropy]

HERE is a HUGE Mini freak. Or a Freak HUGE Mini... or a HUGE freak Mini.

 

[Billm]

Well- you are all close (but no cigars)
Mike's nickname is "Animal" and he ain't a small guy. His first car was a Mini Cooper S that his mom had raced before he was born, but he turned out OK anyway.
BillM

 

[DNK]

HERE is a HUGE Mini freak. Or a Freak HUGE Mini... or a HUGE freak Mini.

Lot of green backs for an Austin

 

[Jerry]

I noticed Mike was into Lemons racing, so we have a lot in common. We are running a Cortina in the March Infinion Lemons race. I spent some time on the Lathe this weekend, and was able to get the milling machine going also. I figure out to do some simple things.

I am hoping to get the Cortina running by the race time!

Jerry

 

[Hap Waldrop]

I've got Asian Bridgeport mill, and a Clausing variable speed lathe 14x60 lathe, I took a tool and die machine shop class at the local tech college years ago, it was worth every penny. I would not call myself a tool and die machinist, but I use my machines to do the various jobs I need to do to my modded MG motors. Some of the stuff they taught you at T&D class seem redundent at the time, but has turned out to be very valauable, like being able to custom shape and sharpen a cutting bit to do something different than store bought cutting bits. Also a big lathe makes a great place to mount a crankshaft, I use it to hold the crank and make measurments, and then also run on real low speed and polish cranks as well.

 

[Jerry]

I will need to trim a TR3A crankshaft for a rear seal. Can I do this on the lathe or will it be too unbalanced?

Jerry

 

[TR3driver]

Should be do-able if your lathe is big enough. But I think you'll want a tool-post grinder rather than trying to single-point it; and centers big enough to engage the holes in the ends of the crank. Need a pretty big wheel on the grinder, too, to reach in between the #4 throw and the flywheel flange. Keep the lathe turning slowly enough, and balance won't be a problem.

Personally, I'd take it to a crank grinder anyway, just because I'd hate to screw it up.

But I'm curious, why are you messing with that troublesome old seal conversion, when the new "Mad Marx" version works better and doesn't require machining the scroll off? Seems like a no-brainer to me, especially given all the horror stories of seal conversions that leaked much worse than the original seal (which actually does pretty good if you set the clearances right instead of following the book).