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trlvn's terrific travelling RF30 tale

Susquatch said:
Agreed. You need access. It won't go under the cabinet on that same wall, but the work table currently on the left could and wouldn't interfere with the lathe. I'd just swap the tool chest and work horse for now. That way you could also put lathe things on the workhorse - chucks, collet sets, etc.
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It's hard to make out from my picture but the Workmate is too close to the mill. And the way the legs splay out, it would use more floor space than the tool chest. I think it is going to end up in the garage.
Susquatch said:
I think I see tool holders on the lathe table in front of the motor. I'd put lathe tools (chuck keys, quick change wrench, etc) there instead and I'd make a shelf on the wall above the lathe for the tool holders.
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I still have to put away a lot of stuff like those quick change tool holders. Definitely agree about having regularly-used tools right at hand. For example, I want to have spotting drills, countersinks and my stub drill set all mounted on the walls near the mill since they are used so often. Maybe a number drill set, too. With the setup I'm developing, those will all be handy to the lathe at the same time.

Thinking about it, there are a bunch of things that need to be out ready to use. Cutting oil/fluid. Caliper, 1 inch micrometer, 6 inch ruler. File for de-burring. Pencil and note pad. What else do you keep at hand between the mill and lathe?

Craig
 
trlvn said:
Thinking about it, there are a bunch of things that need to be out ready to use. Cutting oil/fluid. Caliper, 1 inch micrometer, 6 inch ruler. File for de-burring. Pencil and note pad. What else do you keep at hand between the mill and lathe?
Click to expand...

Oh, such a GREAT question. I'd like to know the answer to that question too! I've had a lathe for what some here would call a lifetime. But I'm relatively new to a decent mill. I still don't know what I will use most.

For the time being, I want:
1. Allen wrenches for my vise, T-Nuts, and tool holders
2. A 3/4 inch box ratchet for the draw bar, vise screw, and mill bolts
3. A magnetic base flashlight
4. A 6" rule
5. A dropper bottle of AP cutting fluid
6. A plastic mallet
7. A dial caliper
8. A 10ft tape measure
9. A butt grabber
10. Collapsible Stick Magnet
11. A decent magnifying glass
12. Dykem Marker Pen
13. Pen and small pad of paper
14. Phone charger & stand
15. A 1/2" HSS End Mill in a dedicated R8 Collet. And maybe a 1/4" end mill & collet too.
16. An R8 Drill Chuck
17. Large & small drill centers
18. Edge Finder & Centering Tool.
19. Noga deburring tool.
20. Lathe File

That's my two cents for now. But I'll bet big bucks others have better lists based on way more experience.
 
trlvn said:
A what?
Click to expand...

Many years ago, one of my sons swiped this gizmo I had that operates a pincher at the end of a long arm by squeezing the handle. He used it in the pool to pinch everyone's butt under water from a distance. He particularly relished doing it with an innocent bystander between him and his victim. Ever since then we have called my pickup arm a "butt grabber". I like them cuz I'm always dropping something but don't bend over very well anymore.

EZPIK 26"~66 cm Foldable Small Grabber Reacher Tool - Trash Picker Grabber Reacher Tool Heavy Duty - Short Reacher Grabber Pickup Tool for Elderly [ Metal Latch ] https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07WRG21LX/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_YGSPCB9WSH8GG8ZFR4H1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Dusty said:
Tried that once (not in public), got my face slapped with a stern warning
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Silly boy! You are NEVER supposed to grab your own wife!

My bride was born in Italy. She loves it when she gets her butt grabbed! Even in church!
 
Susquatch said:
Many years ago, one of my sons swiped this gizmo I had that operates a pincher at the end of a long arm by squeezing the handle. He used it in the pool to pinch everyone's butt under water from a distance. He particularly relished doing it with an innocent bystander between him and his victim. Ever since then we have called my pickup arm a "butt grabber". I like them cuz I'm always dropping something but don't bend over very well anymore.

EZPIK 26"~66 cm Foldable Small Grabber Reacher Tool - Trash Picker Grabber Reacher Tool Heavy Duty - Short Reacher Grabber Pickup Tool for Elderly [ Metal Latch ] https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07WRG21LX/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_YGSPCB9WSH8GG8ZFR4H1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1



Silly boy! You are NEVER supposed to grab your own wife!

My bride was born in Italy. She loves it when she gets her butt grabbed! Even in church!
Click to expand...

Thought I'd throw this into the mix, never mentioned it was my wife's butt. Devil made me say that. LOL
 
Finally got around to organizing storage for milling cutters:

cutter storage regular bits.jpg


This drawer is about 22 X 16. Being cheap--and somewhat OCD--I was looking for an inexpensive way to keep the cutters organized and not banging into each other. My 'system' uses 1/8" inch hardboard (that I already had) and plastic corner protectors that are actually designed for wallpaper. The corner protectors are approximately 1/2" X 1/2" and I simply notched them with the table saw so I could lay in 1/2" strips of 1/8" hardboard to create the rows and columns. Most of the spaces are 1 inch by 3.5 inches; a few at the back are double-length for over-long cutters.

The following shows roughly how they were constructed.

cutter storage detail.jpg

I started with double-sided tape to position the corner protector parts onto the hardboard base. I felt that wasn't strong enough so then I added a few drops of hot melt glue for each strip.

A few cutters didn't fit the slots above. However, my wife does paper crafts and she whipped up some simple 'tubs' out of card stock. This was a good use for some card stock that had been deemed 'ugly'!

cutter storage bigger bits.jpg


Just a couple more shop-improvement projects and I may actually be able to actually start a metal-working project! ;)

Craig
 
trlvn said:
Finally got around to organizing storage for milling cutters:

View attachment 19362

This drawer is about 22 X 16. Being cheap--and somewhat OCD--I was looking for an inexpensive way to keep the cutters organized and not banging into each other. My 'system' uses 1/8" inch hardboard (that I already had) and plastic corner protectors that are actually designed for wallpaper. The corner protectors are approximately 1/2" X 1/2" and I simply notched them with the table saw so I could lay in 1/2" strips of 1/8" hardboard to create the rows and columns. Most of the spaces are 1 inch by 3.5 inches; a few at the back are double-length for over-long cutters.

The following shows roughly how they were constructed.

View attachment 19361

I started with double-sided tape to position the corner protector parts onto the hardboard base. I felt that wasn't strong enough so then I added a few drops of hot melt glue for each strip.

A few cutters didn't fit the slots above. However, my wife does paper crafts and she whipped up some simple 'tubs' out of card stock. This was a good use for some card stock that had been deemed 'ugly'!

View attachment 19360

Just a couple more shop-improvement projects and I may actually be able to actually start a metal-working project! ;)

Craig
Click to expand...

Looks awesome!

Cant believe you tricked your wife into helping!

Looks a lot like a fishing tackle box! Hmmmm..... Wonder if some of those tackle trays might do the job too!
 
YYCHM said:
WOW That's quite the collection of end mills.....

cutter-storage-bigger-bits-jpg.19360


Are these actually for your mill/drill of something else?
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Those are roundover and keyway cutting bits. I got the roundovers in an action box lot for almost nothing. A couple are pretty badly abused but others still have the protective goop after being re-sharpened. I've never actually cut metal with any of them...yet! The smallest cuts a 5/32" radius while the biggest cuts 7/16" radius. I'm not sure my RF-30 has enough oomph for the big ones.

Craig
 
trlvn said:
Those are roundover and keyway cutting bits. I got the roundovers in an action box lot for almost nothing. A couple are pretty badly abused but others still have the protective goop after being re-sharpened. I've never actually cut metal with any of them...yet! The smallest cuts a 5/32" radius while the biggest cuts 7/16" radius. I'm not sure my RF-30 has enough oomph for the big ones.

Craig
Click to expand...

Is your mill/drill R8? Some of that stuff looks too large for a R8 collet?
 
Susquatch said:
Looks a lot like a fishing tackle box! Hmmmm..... Wonder if some of those tackle trays might do the job too!
Click to expand...
I went round and round trying to decide what size to make the storage slots. Eventually, it occurred to me that keeping the boxes was a good thing since they're easy to read the diameter, number of flutes, etc. From that, the biggest boxes pretty much defined the 1 X 3.5 size except for the extra-long mills.

Craig
 
trlvn said:
I went round and round trying to decide what size to make the storage slots. Eventually, it occurred to me that keeping the boxes was a good thing since they're easy to read the diameter, number of flutes, etc. From that, the biggest boxes pretty much defined the 1 X 3.5 size except for the extra-long mills.

Craig
Click to expand...

Good stuff. That is exactly what would kill me. I don't handle compromise very well. They say "One should never let the perfect be the enemy of the good." In my case they like to kill each other.
 
YYCHM said:
WOW That's quite the collection of end mills.....
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I bought 6 or 7 new end mills shortly after getting the machine. Then for the next few months, I kept stumbling across auction lots that included bunches of cutters and went fairly cheaply. Only a few of the cutters were outright junk compared to quite a few that have considerable life left. OTOH, only a single one is carbide.

Craig
 
trlvn said:
It is an R8 spindle and the 3 largest roundovers are 1" shank. My collets only go up to 7/8" but I could get a 1" end mill holder with R8 shank.

Craig
Click to expand...

They do sell 1" R8 Collets.

Search Amazon for "R8 1 inch Collet". Two come up. One is cheap, the other is not.
 
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