I "R" a Machinist

[bilcoh]

Forgot I'd taken this photo mid process, to show the progress.

[ceejay]

Wow, my favourite topic "Machine Shop".

Yep, by all means, learn the skills and you will save thousands
of dollars over your lifetime by being able to fabricate, machine
& weld things together.
If you are a pure newbie at machine shop work you cant get any
better info than what is in an Old publication called
"How To Run A Lathe"
Published by South Bend Lathe
Of Indiana USA.
This book is long out of print. and does not have an
ISBN number.
It was first issued in 1914, and every subsequent year since,
and up to 1965... (and many of us know what a great time
we all had in the sixties... yeah man)

Sorry, back to the book, you wont find any mention of CNC
jargon or anything to do with computers, this instruction book
is for the people who want to develop intricate manual turning
skills, and when you think about it 98% of the things
you will make on your small lath for your elan can be machined
manually anyway.
For accurate measuring, all you need is a good quality vernier,
and may be a micrometer.

Once you get to know and understand how to really "drive"
a lathe a whole new world suddenly opens up.

You will be able to machine most types of metals, in any given
diameter, and be able to cut many different types of threads,
even learn to chase and repair different pitched threads


There is nothing that is not covered in this great little book,
yes, the technology is old, but lathe work today is no different,
it is just that the machines are more refined and much more
user friendly.
Hope you can find a copy.

PS
I am forever thank full for having such great trade school teachers
when I was a just young lad, the principles and machining secrets
they passed on in their teachings have stuck with me for ever.

[reb53]

Couldn't agree more.
I've had a lathe in my workshop for 35 years and have lost count of the times when I've thought, " yep, paid for itself again ".

By the way Dave, probably time to take the rust off that 4 jaw....

Cheers
Ralph.

[bilcoh]

Argh! That's right. Meant to preemptively post that when I included that last pic. I knew I'd get chastised. I plan to pull the lathe apart bit by bit to clean it up, but really wanted to dive right in and make progress on the car rather than spending a month here and there "restoring" an admittedly low quality lathe. I did hit one quadrant with some steel wool to see how much it would improve.

Which begs the question....for surface rust like that, what's the suggested approach. I can pull it completely apart. Beyond steel wool, what are the options, and what's the best coating after cleaning it up?

Thanks,

Dave

[reb53]

Hi Dave,
I've just spent a couple of weeks completely stripping two Myfords. One to sell, and the one I bought to replace it. By the time I'd finished they'd been stripped to single components. Now that Myford has gone out of business there won't be any more new ones.

I cleaned all the chucks, ( four in total), using Scotchbrite abrasive pads held against a piece of wood and presented to the slowly revolving chuck, ( with its jaws removed).

Cover the bed to keep the abrasive residue off, and expect the pad to get a bit chewed up when it catches the slots where the jaws normally reside. Doesn't take long to get a nice brushed steel look. The jaws were cleaned up with a similar type material but in the electric drill. Jaws and chuck body need to be well cleaned afterwards to get rid of all the fine abrasive powder.
How much rust protection you need afterwards I suspect depends on the humidity/dampness in your workshop, but a wipe over with an oily rag has always been sufficient for me, ( and the lathe as well actually....).

Cheers
Ralph.

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

John wrote:

Another plus is that you will be able to play tunes on the rake/clearance angles on your own tools to achieve the cutting effect that you prefer. i.e. finish, depth of cut, swarf breaking etc.


OY! I've got so much to learn. I'm looking for a set of tools and was thinking of going HSS, maybe carbide, but staying away from the indexable, so I guess I'm on the right path there.

Greg, I previously machined Delrin for the rears, and did not go "top hat", but just a round cylinder with the steel liner. The bolt clamped the liner, and I believe I left the Delrin just long enough to stand proud of the A-arm housing so that the Delrin contacted the flanges before the a-arm would. Same should hold true for the fronts. I'll need a washer on the back of the suspension pin, or it's possible the suspension arm could work it's way off the bushing and toward the frame cross-member. That would be bad.

You could go for the carbide tipped tools, they certainly hold their edge longer especially when cutting tougher materials.
They can be resharpened "at home" but a diamond grinding wheel will be needed & a certain amount of skill if you don't want to write off that wheel.
As a young apprentice I was not allowed near the workshop diamond wheel, only the more experienced machinists & the foreman were permitted to use it.
However I think the smaller diamond wheels have become fairly cheaply available since the old days.

[prezoom]

If you can keep the temperature around machine tools 2 degrees above outside ambient temperature at all times, this will go a long way keeping the rust at bey. A light bulb, left on close by, will do the trick.

Rob Walker
26-4889

[bilcoh]

Just wanted to thank everyone for the feedback and suggestions. I was actually reading online about methods to de-rust items as well as prevent it in the future. You're all right on with your suggestions. The intriguing one on rust removal was electrolysis. I might have to give that a try on a test piece and see what comes of it.

[reb53]

Dave,

I assume by "electrolysis" you mean the system of hooking up your rusty item, ( in a bucket), to a battery charger etc.

I've used this with heavily rusted and deeply pitted items and it works really well. Just quietly fizzes away for hours and does the work for you.
With lighter rust I found it wasn't worth the bother as you still end up with dark staining all over the place which requires you to get stuck in and manually remove it anyway.
Cheers
Ralph.