Cambridge - machinist newb

[ThirtyOneDriver]

While looking for information, I've come across this forum a number of times and thought it was time to become a member.

Growing up I wanted to build racing cars because that's what Dad's hobby was - I joined the Army soon after high school as a Materials Technician (Army's "jack of all trades"/millwright, but diluted experience because of soldiering, training, etc.) and recently retired due to a back injury (nothing cool; a guy lost his temper playing ball hockey and cross checked me). I'm still trying to pursue my dream/passion of building racing cars but learning that my body limits me in time and strength/capabilities. I have a CX709("x", the one w/ the motor issues) lathe, a CX611 milling machine, a CR-6 MAX 3d printer, and an Ender 3 Pro 3d printer (plus a bunch of welding and fabrication stuff); most of this stuff is recently "new" so I'm learning.

Researching a DRO for the lathe and a DRO + power feed vs. a CNC retrofit for the milling machine is what brought me here; I got the CR-6 3D printer unboxed and working around Christmas and LOVE setting it up to work on something in the morning and letting it work. My back tends to last for about 90 minute cycles so designing items on SolidWorks and then having a machine make them instead of me being bent over a machine or a welding/cutting bench has been very rewarding... it makes it so that during those "good" cycles, I can do something like weld, or clean my shop, or whatever.

I have some tooling, I'm trouble shooting some stuff and may have made some unorthodox decisions on stuff due to a lack of experience/knowledge and an abundance of impatience, I could use SOME guidance (overall) but I do have a "go to guy" that I trust (lessons could be a useful thing, but I don't want to sit at a computer and watch someone else work, I'd prefer to have the "hands on" experience)... I figure that (like the last ~20 ish years of "adulthood") I'll figure things out as I attempt to do things... that I'll break some $h!t, wear some cr@p out, need stitches at some point, need saving at some point, but generally do a little better job tomorrow than I did yesterday.

Nice to meet everyone.

- Johnathan (goes by John)

 

[YYCHM]

Welcome from Calgary.

 

[justindavidow]

may have made some unorthodox decisions on stuff due to a lack of experience/knowledge and an abundance of impatience

I feel this one @ThirtyOneDriver !

Nothing wrong with learning and nothing wrong with "getting it wrong": I come from a heavy IT background where we preach "fail fast": you can learn the most when you know what doesn't work and why it doesn't.

Welcome from Manitoba!

 

[DavidR8]

Welcome from Vancouver Island!

 

[6.5 Fan]

Welcome from SK.

 

[trlvn]

Welcome from Oakville.

Craig

 

[darrin1200]

Welcome aboard John

I’m a retired Gun Plumber. 26 years, and like you, left for back problems. Unfortunately, I couldn’t convince VAC, that it was job related.
When were you in, I taught regimental from 2004-2008.
These are a great bunch of patient guys around here.

 

[ThirtyOneDriver]

@darrin1200 - 2002-2018; field portion of my 3's regimental would have been ~ Feb '03 and 5's ~ Jan '06/'07 (we were still using Cherokee's as MRTs for our RRR, I recall really enjoying being the "driver" because of the snow) - Dom was my best ANCIL supervisor throughout my career. I won the lottery w/ my back - happened while in KAF, super well documented even before an MO believed me (2010 injury, got to see medical attention for it ~'15/'16) and once believed I was referred to a civi-surgeon who essentially came back w/ a "you're ducked" assessment. I have family ties to your trade if you were in before '85 (I doubt it, math is close but not likely).

 

[deleted_user]

While looking for information, I've come across this forum a number of times and thought it was time to become a member.

Growing up I wanted to build racing cars because that's what Dad's hobby was - I joined the Army soon after high school as a Materials Technician (Army's "jack of all trades"/millwright, but diluted experience because of soldiering, training, etc.) and recently retired due to a back injury (nothing cool; a guy lost his temper playing ball hockey and cross checked me). I'm still trying to pursue my dream/passion of building racing cars but learning that my body limits me in time and strength/capabilities. I have a CX709("x", the one w/ the motor issues) lathe, a CX611 milling machine, a CR-6 MAX 3d printer, and an Ender 3 Pro 3d printer (plus a bunch of welding and fabrication stuff); most of this stuff is recently "new" so I'm learning.

Researching a DRO for the lathe and a DRO + power feed vs. a CNC retrofit for the milling machine is what brought me here; I got the CR-6 3D printer unboxed and working around Christmas and LOVE setting it up to work on something in the morning and letting it work. My back tends to last for about 90 minute cycles so designing items on SolidWorks and then having a machine make them instead of me being bent over a machine or a welding/cutting bench has been very rewarding... it makes it so that during those "good" cycles, I can do something like weld, or clean my shop, or whatever.

I have some tooling, I'm trouble shooting some stuff and may have made some unorthodox decisions on stuff due to a lack of experience/knowledge and an abundance of impatience, I could use SOME guidance (overall) but I do have a "go to guy" that I trust (lessons could be a useful thing, but I don't want to sit at a computer and watch someone else work, I'd prefer to have the "hands on" experience)... I figure that (like the last ~20 ish years of "adulthood") I'll figure things out as I attempt to do things... that I'll break some $h!t, wear some cr@p out, need stitches at some point, need saving at some point, but generally do a little better job tomorrow than I did yesterday.

Nice to meet everyone.

- Johnathan (goes by John)

Welcome from another John in Toronto.

 

[ThirtyOneDriver]

Here's some pics of my Black Friday "shopping spree" - because I bought this stuff before really "knowing" what I didn't know, I've created a project (or two) for myself.



The QCTP that I bought is too (big?/tall?... I can't lower the tools low enough using the adjustments to have them hit the c/l of the lathe chuck) for my lathe (BXA, 13" x 24" CX709"x" lathe).
I've assembled some additional tooling and material (a block of 1018) to remake the 'tool slide'(?) (RED ARROW in photo) so that, when I mess "improve" it up, that I still have the original to fall back on.
The BXA wedge style QCTP that I bought has the 'American' style(?) custom t-slot and using my highly inaccurate eagle eye, I think I should be able to machine said slot into the tool slide(?) while not affecting the compound rest(?).



Before I actually attempt to remake the tool slide, I'm going to spend some time using the mill to gain experience/knowledge... Not shown in any pictures yet is a 5" vise that I like, some indicators that I have but don't have experience w/ and some other stuff that will help me. I used the edge finder the first time to square the fixed edge of the vise but now believe that I should be using the indicator in the future.

 

[YYCHM]

Here's some pics of my Black Friday "shopping spree" - because I bought this stuff before really "knowing" what I didn't know, I've created a project (or two) for myself.

View attachment 19683View attachment 19684

The QCTP that I bought is too (big?/tall?... I can't lower the tools low enough using the adjustments to have them hit the c/l of the lathe chuck) for my lathe (BXA, 13" x 24" CX709"x" lathe).
I've assembled some additional tooling and material (a block of 1018) to remake the 'tool slide'(?) (RED ARROW in photo) so that, when I mess "improve" it up, that I still have the original to fall back on.
The BXA wedge style QCTP that I bought has the 'American' style(?) custom t-slot and using my highly inaccurate eagle eye, I think I should be able to machine said slot into the tool slide(?) while not affecting the compound rest(?).

View attachment 19685

Before I actually attempt to remake the tool slide, I'm going to spend some time using the mill to gain experience/knowledge... Not shown in any pictures yet is a 5" vise that I like, some indicators that I have but don't have experience w/ and some other stuff that will help me. I used the edge finder the first time to square the fixed edge of the vise but now believe that I should be using the indicator in the future.

How much do you have to lower the QCTP in order to make it work? Post an image of the TP mounted on the compound. A simple solution might be to mill a little ofF the bottom on the TP. Another option is remove the compound and replace it with a slide riser block.

 

[MrHermit]

Here's some pics of my Black Friday "shopping spree" - because I bought this stuff before really "knowing" what I didn't know, I've created a project (or two) for myself.

View attachment 19683View attachment 19684

The QCTP that I bought is too (big?/tall?... I can't lower the tools low enough using the adjustments to have them hit the c/l of the lathe chuck) for my lathe (BXA, 13" x 24" CX709"x" lathe).
I've assembled some additional tooling and material (a block of 1018) to remake the 'tool slide'(?) (RED ARROW in photo) so that, when I mess "improve" it up, that I still have the original to fall back on.
The BXA wedge style QCTP that I bought has the 'American' style(?) custom t-slot and using my highly inaccurate eagle eye, I think I should be able to machine said slot into the tool slide(?) while not affecting the compound rest(?).

View attachment 19685

Before I actually attempt to remake the tool slide, I'm going to spend some time using the mill to gain experience/knowledge... Not shown in any pictures yet is a 5" vise that I like, some indicators that I have but don't have experience w/ and some other stuff that will help me. I used the edge finder the first time to square the fixed edge of the vise but now believe that I should be using the indicator in the future.

Hello welcome! I turned a custom tool post for my 709 that was longer/larger diameter for the qctp that I bought then turned the bore on the stock tool holder so it would also fit. Opened up and rethreaded the ... Um silver tightener handle thing that holds it down so I could continue to use it as well.

 

[MrHermit]

Hello welcome! I turned a custom tool post for my 709 that was longer/larger diameter for the qctp that I bought then turned the bore on the stock tool holder so it would also fit. Opened up and rethreaded the ... Um silver tightener handle thing that holds it down so I could continue to use it as well.

Idk if I have the same qctp you bought or not

 

[Six O Two]

Welcome to the forum!

Your black friday haul is impressive! I love new tool day.

I think you'll find a BXA tool post too big for that lathe. I had it's predecessor (ct089) and i felt the AXA was the perfect size, given the lathe's capabilities. Might be easier to take the hit on return shipping to swap it out. Remaking your compound slide would be a pretty epic beginner project. I think often times the dovetails and gibs are hand scraped for a precision fit. Also, you kind of want a big chunk of metal there to add rigidity at the point where the tool is held. Although I guess you could create a solid post and remove the compound altogether to get a bit more height as YYCHM suggested (See also the solid toolpost thread). You can also machine the bottom of the tool slot in the holder so it goes lower.

 

[Six O Two]

Idk if I have the same qctp you bought or not

That's an AXA QCTP (250-100 series), the smaller one. ThirtyOneDriver's are BXA, and marked 250-2XX.

As I recall, I had to turn an adapter to fit the AXA on my ct089 as well, which stepped up the existing M8 stud to M12 for the qctp (numbers approximate, it was a while ago). As I was pretty green (still am...), I scrapped about half a dozen tries before I had a (admittedly very simple) part I was happy with.

 

[ThirtyOneDriver]

How much do you have to lower the QCTP in order to make it work? Post an image of the TP mounted on the compound. A simple solution might be to mill a little of the bottom on the TP. Another option is remove the compound and replace it with a slide riser block.

Getting pictures ready for you may have opened a new avenue to pursue... I threw this together and think I could (without investigation) maybe make an adapter to mount the QCTP in the same position w/o using the t-slot mount. "They" say something about getting your 'laziest' friend to weigh in on projects because that friend likely sees a much easier solution to whatever rabbit hole you got going on... well; out in the shop in shorts and slippers to take a picture works as well.

Here's the photos:

Don't judge on how I put it together... it was an efficiency thing.

@MrHermit is correct about the AXA and BXA.

I think I could machine something that fits the bore of the BXA QCTP, fits the factory tool slide, etc.

I'll check that thread out @Six O Two

 

[Six O Two]

Getting pictures ready for you may have opened a new avenue to pursue... I threw this together and think I could (without investigation) maybe make an adapter to mount the QCTP in the same position w/o using the t-slot mount.

Yep, totally... Like this:

or this:

Fitting a Quick Change Tool Post to your Lathe [QCTP]

Fitting a Quick Change Tool Post to your Lathe What is a QCTP? Quick Change Toolposts (abbreviated QCTP) are a beautiful thing. My Lathemaster 9x30 came

www.cnccookbook.com

Looks like you'll still need to mill maybe an 1/8" off the bottom of either your toolholders, or the tools themselves (or use smaller tools) to give you enough clearance to center the tool properly. But you're actually closer than I expected.

 

[Susquatch]

Welcome from SE Ontario.

I'd suggest that you slow down a bit, but I'm old so my version of slow would probably look like reverse to you. So don't listen to me. Just enjoy!

 

[YYCHM]

This image seems to indicate the tool is too low???

Is it too high or too low?

 

[YotaBota]

Might be easier to take the hit on return shipping to swap it out

That's my feeling as well, get the tooling that fits the machine especially if you plan on keeping the lathe for a while. Talk to Accusize and explain that you bought the QCTP based on the swing of the lathe and see what they will do about exchanging for a AXA tool post. With the BXA you little to no wiggle room as to what size tooling you can use. You could go down to .375 tooling then you would be giving up some rigidity, boring bars may be an issue as well. The 13 inch swing would normally dictate the BXA but different machines have different needs.
Oh,,,, and another welcome from Vancouver Island.