pollack@dendrite.cis.ohio-state.edu (Jordan B Pollack) (01/03/91)
I recently came across a journal called HOME SHOP MACHINIST which makes it appear as if there is a thriving American subculture with precision metalworking equipment at home. There seem to be only a few editor/contributors (who also advertise their own vanity press books), and all of the articles were serialized. But there were quite a few large advertisements, which means either they are very cheap to run, or someone is responding to them. The discussion in this tiny group so far seems to be about blacksmithing. Has anyone moved up the technology ladder from smithing to machining? Anybody playing with PC-driven Hobby CNC machines, or import combination mill/lathes? -- Jordan Pollack Assistant Professor CIS Dept/OSU Laboratory for AI Research 2036 Neil Ave Email: pollack@cis.ohio-state.edu Columbus, OH 43210 Fax/Phone: (614) 292-4890
jstewart@ncs.dnd.ca (John Stewart) (01/03/91)
In article <POLLACK.91Jan2193344@dendrite.cis.ohio-state.edu> pollack@cis.ohio-state.edu writes: >I recently came across a journal called HOME SHOP MACHINIST which >makes it appear as if there is a thriving American subculture with >precision metalworking equipment at home. There seem to be only a few >editor/contributors (who also advertise their own vanity press books), >and all of the articles were serialized. But there were quite a few >large advertisements, which means either they are very cheap to run, >or someone is responding to them. Where to start? Years ago, the magazine "Live Steam" used to contain machining articles as well as model construction serials. Somewhere down the line, people started complaining that there was too much (if they were live steamers) machine shop construction articles, and of course, the machine shop constructors did not like the model building serials. So, sometime around 1980, Live Steam stopped running machining articles, and home shop machinist was born. Unfortunately, both (IMHO) would have been better under the same cover. Many people have metalworking equipment. Most are older, but some in our local club (like myself) are 30's or younger. I used to get "Live Steam" from 1971 til 1978, now I subscribe to the British publication, "Model Engineer" (M.E.). M.E. still has a wide range of articles. (and it is published twice per month!) > >The discussion in this tiny group so far seems to be about >blacksmithing. Has anyone moved up the technology ladder from >smithing to machining? Anybody playing with PC-driven Hobby CNC >machines, or import combination mill/lathes? M.E. had an article about converting a Myford ML-10 to CNC a while back. Most people seem to either 1) be afraid of computers, or 2) enjoy the mechanical aspects of machining. Me, I'd hate the thought of having a computer do what I find is really fun. Also, when model locomotive building, there are many parts that would be complex to program, but are fairly trivial to machine. "Import combination mill/lathes?" I assume that you mean buying equipment. New metalworking equipment of good accuracy is pricey stuff. For a fully equipped Emco Super-11, one would be looking at around $20,000. I'd love new equipment, but for probably $2,000 I have a fairly good workshop consisting of a 9" lathe, 7" shaper, drill press, bench vice, drills, taps, reamers, etc. What are your interests? John Stewart jstewart@ncs.dnd.ca
jstewart@ncs.dnd.ca (John Stewart) (01/04/91)
In article <1991Jan3.215435.27905@src.honeywell.com> vestal@SRC.Honeywell.COM (Steve Vestal) writes: >Anyone remember the old Unimats? If you were willing to work small (something >like 3" swing, 6" between centers) it was a fairly amusing gadget for $149. >Like Barbie dolls, I suspect the profits were in the attachments. I still >have mine in the basement. I sold mine for $400.00 (cdn) and bought an old - but in good shape - 9" metal lathe for $300.00. I wish that I had kept it, as it was good for turning (and milling) really small stuff. Yes, the attachments were (and still are) very expensive. I have seen a small metal lathe by "taig" (?) as advertised in the classifieds of Popualr Science, and for the money, it seems like a good machine. >The same company used to make something called a Maximat, essentially a larger >version for $2K or so (not counting attachments, of course). Am I to >understand that nothing of this sort exists any more? Does anyone know of any >better sources for relatively inexpensive machine tools than bankruptcy >auction notices in the classifieds? Yes, they (emco-maier) still exist. You are looking at $3 or $4,000 for an 8" swing lathe with vertical head, to somewhere over $10,000$ for the 11" top of the line model. Yikes. Some places sell far-east machine tools. Some of these are very good, others are not so good (from what I have heard) There are some discount places, again, look in the back pf popular science. If you are willing to wait, classifieds in the local paper (including placing your own) are a pretty good bet, especially if you know what you are doing. :-| Also, as I mentioned to another reader, local schools and colleges have evening classes. I have just signed up for a new, local one, and it works out to be 25 hours for $50.00 cdn. For doing things that are out of the range of my equipment, it's a good bet. One word of caution on this approach, though, I have found that in years past, coming home a well equipped from night school to my home shop was depressing! John Stewart jstewart@ncs.dnd.ca
jones@pyrite.cs.uiowa.edu (Douglas W. Jones,201H MLH,3193350740,3193382879) (01/05/91)
From article <POLLACK.91Jan2193344@dendrite.cis.ohio-state.edu>, by pollack@dendrite.cis.ohio-state.edu (Jordan B Pollack): > > Has anyone moved up the technology ladder from > smithing to machining? That's the only reason I follow this group. I own no machine tools more complex than a drill, but I'm interested in inexpensive ways of doing relatively precise machining. The most complex job I've done with my drill is to use it to drill a 1/8 inch hole the length of a 6 inch rod. The fairly well-known trick is to clamp the drill in a vise and chuck the rod in the drill. I had to drill from both ends of the rod, and the two holes met quite nicely at the midpoint. Keeping the tool fixed and rotating the workpiece serves to keep the borehole centered on the axis of rotation. Doug Jones jones@herky.cs.uiowa.edu