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Affordable Shim Stock

Shimming machinery was one of the things I did for a living. Get brass, it's much easier to work with. The cut lines can be smoothed by sliding the face of a good ballpeen against something hard and smooth . Steel has more spring effect,too . Less spring, the less hair you pull out. It's used when you don't want it being pounded out. Think of power hammers. Lighter the machinery, the harder it is to line it up. BTW. Most suppliers have variety packs, the last time I was in Precision Bearing, I saw some sitting on top of the keystock rack. I didn't ask the price, I have collected enough over the years. Rarely is .001 or .0015 used. Smallest usually used is .002. To get that thou, you add or subtract in your shim pack. And yes it does take time, a day or so. Good Luck
 
Downwindtracker2 said:
Shimming machinery was one of the things I did for a living. Get brass, it's much easier to work with. The cut lines can be smoothed by sliding the face of a good ballpeen against something hard and smooth . Steel has more spring effect,too . Less spring, the less hair you pull out. It's used when you don't want it being pounded out. Think of power hammers. Lighter the machinery, the harder it is to line it up. BTW. Most suppliers have variety packs, the last time I was in Precision Bearing, I saw some sitting on top of the keystock rack. I didn't ask the price, I have collected enough over the years. Rarely is .001 or .0015 used. Smallest usually used is .002. To get that thou, you add or subtract in your shim pack. And yes it does take time, a day or so. Good Luck
Click to expand...
Thanks, unfortunately I already picked steel up…. Roll of 5 thou, and roll of 1 thou….
I feel like I have my work cut out for me
 
I often joke about making a sacrifices to the alignment gods . I made a fairly rigid stand out of steel tube with adjustable feet. I first leveled the lathe with them. The level was a newly purchased and checked 24" Stabil just to get it in the ballpark. I didn't trust my old carpenters levels for even that rough leveling. On my generic Taiwanese ( BusyBee) there are six points with bolts. Here I used a machinist level. If you can loosen one of the bolts and the level changes, you have soft leg. It does take time and full head of hair because you will be pulling on it.chuckle.
 
Downwindtracker2 said:
I often joke about making a sacrifices to the alignment gods . I made a fairly rigid stand out of steel tube with adjustable feet. I first leveled the lathe with them. The level was a newly purchased and checked 24" Stabil just to get it in the ballpark. I didn't trust my old carpenters levels for even that rough leveling. On my generic Taiwanese ( BusyBee) there are six points with bolts. Here I used a machinist level. If you can loosen one of the bolts and the level changes, you have soft leg. It does take time and full head of hair because you will be pulling on it.chuckle.
Click to expand...
Ok thanks for the advice.
Mike
 
Some great shim stock is metal strapping, usually you can get it fir free from your packages or ask for it when its in the garbage at Homedepot or Lowes. There are different thickness and widths. While not as varied as true shim stock it makes for a good abundant source of stock to handle most of the rough work.

Remember inexpensive is good, free is even better.
 
I bought a lot of precision brand shim stock in sheets (not rolls) from kbc tools a few years back. Brass and steel, in many different sizes, fair prices if I recall. I just searched now but only saw the rolls. I use it mainly with the precision punch and die set for making washers etc
 
I’ll add that you can get K&S brand brass sheet and strip in various thicknesses from .005” to .064” at hobby stores. Usually they’ll have a rack with an assortment.

That was the cheapest and easiest way for me to get the brass shim I needed for the gibs on my mill.
 
Rauce said:
I’ll add that you can get K&S brand brass sheet and strip in various thicknesses from .005” to .064” at hobby stores. Usually they’ll have a rack with an assortment.

That was the cheapest and easiest way for me to get the brass shim I needed for the gibs on my mill.
Click to expand...
Do you mean this?

secure.sayal.com

ASSORTED BRASS SHIM

ASSORTED BRASS SHIM - K&S ENGINEERING
secure.sayal.com

I hadn't really thought of them but they have quite a bunch of "hobby metals" -

SAYAL Electronics and Hobbies - Search Result

SAYAL Electronics is a component distribution company specializing in buying and selling of all excess or closeout electronics inventories.
secure.sayal.com

Craig
(Ontario-based but apparently they will ship most anywhere.)
 
trlvn said:
Do you mean this?

secure.sayal.com

ASSORTED BRASS SHIM

ASSORTED BRASS SHIM - K&S ENGINEERING
secure.sayal.com

I hadn't really thought of them but they have quite a bunch of "hobby metals" -

SAYAL Electronics and Hobbies - Search Result

SAYAL Electronics is a component distribution company specializing in buying and selling of all excess or closeout electronics inventories.
secure.sayal.com

Craig
(Ontario-based but apparently they will ship most anywhere.)
Click to expand...
Yup, I’ve found that most hobby stores carry the K&S stuff. I bought the .025” brass strip I needed at Skycraft Hobbies in Burlington.

You can find some of the K&S stuff on Amazon as well.
 
highlander44 said:
Hi everyone,
I have a 12” Atlas lathe, and having a heck of a time leveling it.
Does anyone know where I could get an affordable shim kit? I see the shims at Acklands, and some of the shims are $50 each!
Looking for an affordable kit that has a variety of thicknesses.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thx
Mike
Click to expand...
What are you levelling it with, highlander?

And what do you know about 'WHERE' it is? Like, does the ground under your house/shop, move up and down over the seasons? This was a pronounced problem in my house in Nort/Central Alberta on the prairie Clay Mud.

The reason I ask 'what with' is that a Precision Level is a Torturer's Instrument, if you do not have a temperature controlled area that is also free of seasonal migration problems.

Further, even if the foundation is not moving, is the floor? wood? People moving around (including you)? We were able to demonstrate the problems with a precision Level when someone laid their hands on it for too long, and the level...wasn't, at least until the temperatures stabilized.

On the other side of that, have you been doing a Two Ring test? Allows you to have the lathe bolted to the wall, almost (the carriage should not be able to fall off!) and still produce a straight piece of work.
 
I've done the shimming route on a lathe and mill o_O, once you go adjustable bolts (feet) no more shimming. On my latest lathe install I went to machine pads with vibration isolation (ie rubber pads on the bottom). Lathe can shimmy a bit while staying aligned. On my mill it anchored with bolts that have nuts to adjust level.

The trick is doing it over several days to let things settle into place without tweaking the bed.
 
Yeah, a fine thread bolt, down through a fine thread nut below, is a pretty adjustable system.

Put some solid, or even somewhat flexible, feet, under those, and you have not a lot of use for shims.
 
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