TOOLS

[woodone]

Max,
I have a milling machine (China made) and it has an R-8 spindle- my lathe is a MT spindle.
I use a spindle that takes ER-11 collets. I use the MT in the lathe- the R-8 in the mill.
But the collets will fit in either spindle collet holder.
I just did a small job on the mill and the run out was about 0.001. I not sure where the run out cam fro has the holder and the collets are supost to be less than 0.0005.
Maybe it was the router bit it’s self?
BTW- I use dental burs for some milling work. This was an bur that was 0.005MM on the cutting end. I think think I got the decimal right.
LOL $500.00 will just wet your whistle.!  Ask how I know- still buying stuff.

[peteski]

...
BTW- I use dental burs for some milling work. This was an bur that was 0.005MM on the cutting end. I think think I got the decimal right.

That would be 0.0002"  Human hair diameter is around 0.002"  That would be a *REALLY, REALLY* small dental burr!

[Iain]

Ten years ago, most all of my modeling tool collection fit in a single Lifelike locomotive box.

It's grown to a small tool box.


I also have tools for doing electronics work (happily useful for model trains, as well), and tools for working on the steamship.  I like to have my own Channelocks (the brand, but also the tool) and adjustable wrench in my back pocket so I can take up on glands and suchlike as necessary.

[Iain]

@mmagliaro What mill do you have or would suggest?

[mmagliaro]

Max,
I have a milling machine (China made) and it has an R-8 spindle- my lathe is a MT spindle.
I use a spindle that takes ER-11 collets. I use the MT in the lathe- the R-8 in the mill.
But the collets will fit in either spindle collet holder.
I just did a small job on the mill and the run out was about 0.001. I not sure where the run out cam fro has the holder and the collets are supost to be less than 0.0005.
Maybe it was the router bit it’s self?
BTW- I use dental burs for some milling work. This was an bur that was 0.005MM on the cutting end. I think think I got the decimal right.
LOL $500.00 will just wet your whistle.!  Ask how I know- still buying stuff.

These lathes come with a self-centering 3-jaw chuck for the main spindle, and I do not plan on running out to get a 4-jaw until or unless I really need one (some models come with both a 3-jaw and 4-jaw).
Since I already have the chucks, collets and collet holders, and other handy things like a dial indicator, all I'm picturing for accessories are a quick-change toolpost holder, some cutters, and a live center + chuck for the tail stock.  That isn't going to push me over $500.   Whatever else I discover I need as time goes on, well, so be it.

By the way, the reason I went with the ER-32 collets is that they go from 2mm - 20mm, whereas the ER-16 only goes up to
10mm.  ER-32 also has so many gradually increasing collet sizes, I can now chuck any N Scale wheel on the planet firmly into a nice 6 or 8-jaw collet (much better than a 3-jaw chuck!).  I can clamp it by the tread to cut the flange, or clamp it by the flange to cut a traction tire groove into the tread.  It is wonderful to be able to hold wheels in a precision collet to cut them instead of all the myriad crazy fixtures and methods we have all used over the years.  And this is doing vertically in a mill spindle.  Imagine how much easier it will be to have it horizonal out in the open in a lathe!

[mmagliaro]

@mmagliaro What mill do you have or would suggest?

What I HAVE is the Micro-Mark mini mill.  Mine is almost identical to the one they still sell.  All the mills that looks like
the Micro-Mark mill ARE the same machine, whether they be sold through Micro-Mark, Grizzly, or anywhere else.  They
all come from Sieg in China.  For a $600, I can't complain.  I can cut parts accurately to about .002" in it, which I find amazing.
If you are looking for .0005" level accuracy, these mini mills ain't for you.  I have just kept it clean, adjusted the "dogs" in the X-Y table and the vertical column a few times to get rid of any play in it, and otherwise, it has been trouble-free.  It has the original motor and gears, and I've had it about 20 years (although I really only started using it heavily about 7 years ago).

My one BIG complaint about this machine (and all the Sieg mini mills), is that the vertical Z-motion is crap.  It is a rack-and-pinion system that you have to position and lock carefully to prevent it from dropping by part of the rotation of the pinion while you are cutting.  Everybody who has one of these works around it - either by just not doing any vertical milling (lock the head in its Z position, and then just cut sideways), or by setting the depth, locking the spindle stop there, and then lifting up and down, knowning the head can't drop below the spindle stop (but it can still unpleasantly drop by like 1/16" while you are moving it and if you aren't careful about this, you can break cutters).
About the only way I've seen to "fix" this is to retrofit a whole ball-screw column support that can precisely move the head up and down and not allow it to drop.  But that's a lot of work, the parts are expensive, and I've just never bitten the bullet to try building such a modification.

So yeah... other than the annoying Z axis behavior, it's a good machine.  And it came from MM all clean and in good trim, ready to use.

[Iain]

thx

[rodsup9000]

These lathes come with a self-centering 3-jaw chuck for the main spindle, and I do not plan on running out to get a 4-jaw until or unless I really need one (some models come with both a 3-jaw and 4-jaw).

 Max,

  Get a 4 jaw chuck. I haven't had a 3 jaw on my lathe (14" X 48" Clausing) in at least 10 years. With the 4 jaw, I can indicate a piece in, with less than .0005" runout in a minute or two and it is repeatable. Most import 3 jaws that I've seen, will have a minimum of .0015" or more, regardless of what is advertised and are not repeatable. The other most used chuck I use is my 5C. It has about .0005" repeatable runout.
 
 When looking at import lathes, try to get one with Imperial leadscrew if you are going to do any Imperial thread cutting. Some lathes have a optional metric gear set for cutting metric threads. I haven't seen any with a metric leadscrew with a optional imperial gear set.     


 Tooling, fixtures and consumables do add up fast. I've spent close to $10,000 over the last 20 years for that kind of stuff for the Bridgeport and the lathe. That being said, I do a lot of other projects on them too.
   

[parkrrrr]

When looking at import lathes, try to get one with Imperial leadscrew if you are going to do any Imperial thread cutting. Some lathes have a optional metric gear set for cutting metric threads. I haven't seen any with a metric leadscrew with a optional imperial gear set.     

It's the same gear going in either direction - the 127-tooth one. They're apparently hard to find for C3-based mini lathes, but the C4-based bench lathes come with one.

[woodone]

That would be 0.0002"  Human hair diameter is around 0.002"  That would be a *REALLY, REALLY* small dental burr!

Opps- I got mixed up between MM and thousands.  0.5 MM OR just a hair under 0.002.

[CRL]

Opps- I got mixed up between MM and thousands.  0.5 MM OR just a hair under 0.002.

Since it’s been established a human hair is 0.002, then a hair under 0.002 would be 0.00000000.

 

[woodone]

LOL- right on!

[peteski]

Opps- I got mixed up between MM and thousands.  0.5 MM OR just a hair under 0.002.

One thing I remember is that a 1mm is 0.039"
Me thinks that 0.5mm is around 0.020", not 0.002"   

I own dental burrs that size.  I mostly get my burrs from Rio Grande Tools (big supplier for the jewlery trade).  They have a very extensive selection.

[Kentuckian]

I have no excuses. Thanks @peteski for the example of using eBay and Best Offer. The Weller I bought new, the other two from eBay, for a fraction of the new price.

[JMaurer1]

The first time my wife came over to my apartment, I had been working on some trains and my other hobby (r/c car racing) and had three soldering irons out (a propane one with a fine tip for cordless soldering of DCC decoders, a standard Weller for track, and a heavy duty one for soldering r/c batteries together). She found my irons sexy (her father owned an electronics company). When she eventually found out I owned five irons and used them all, she knew I was a 'keeper'. Still wish I had a resistance iron...