What Projects Are You Considering This Winter?

[Chris Cramer]

I'm running into some trouble with the milling machine I mentioned I was planning to build. Ive got the 3 axis gantry working fine, using grbl firmware with an arduino uno connected to 3 tb6600 stepper motor drivers; and I have a 500w spindle powered by a 27v power supply. The only thing is it cant seem to make easy clean cuts even through just wood or plastic, even at a feed rate of 10.

 

[Janger]

New cutter? You need a new cutter.
What RPM? For wood set it as fast as it will turn.
What depth of cut?

A few rules of thumb which I learned from @Alexander and other readings.

Start with the right RPM for the cutter and material. Use the forumula: 4 * material speed / cutter diameter.
e.g. for 1/4" HSS cutter 4*100/0.25 = 1600 RPM
speed is 100 for steel with a HSS cutter.

Then calculate your feed rate. Assume you want the cutter to bite in 0.001" per tooth per rotation as a starting point.
Using 1/4" HSS cutter with 4 teeth.
0.001" * 4 teeth * 1600 RPM = 6.4" per minute for the feed rate.

Now what about depth of cut? I would start with 0.010" and start going up by 0.005 or 0.010". I was told 0.035" was the max probably for my 1500 pound mill. I pushed it more than that.

And finally the step over. Rule of thumb is don't try to cut more than 1/3 the cutter diameter. so 0.25 * 0.33 = 0.083"

There are various calculators which make this simpler to calculate. I use one on my phone from Walter. It's a good one for me. There are others Sandvik etc. Tom's techniques on you tube has a good video on this topic:he also has some downloadable charts on speeds and feeds already pre calculated for material and cutter diameter. I have them posted on the wall.

Post some pictures. Let us know how it's going. Love to see what you've built.

 

[Chris Cramer]

After building my 2x72 belt grinder, and downdraft table I'm feeling more confident that I could build a Lathe, that would be the next tool on my list. I still have a 1HP motor that I could use for the spindle, and several mechanical components like some lead screws and bearings; but I'd have to buy the chuck and the cutting tools.
Would 1 Hp be enough to cut metal? and if I made it CNC after It works as a manual machine, would it require high torque servo motors, or would a nema 23 stepper motor be accurate enough?

 

[Dabbler]

This winter I'm doubling the insulation in my garage, as it costs a tone to heat it. While I'm up in the attic I'm adding the structure to make the first part of a traveling gantry crane that will lift around 200kg.

no pictures of fluffy fibreglass. sorry.

 

[Tom Kitta]

After building my 2x72 belt grinder, and downdraft table I'm feeling more confident that I could build a Lathe, that would be the next tool on my list. I still have a 1HP motor that I could use for the spindle, and several mechanical components like some lead screws and bearings; but I'd have to buy the chuck and the cutting tools.
Would 1 Hp be enough to cut metal? and if I made it CNC after It works as a manual machine, would it require high torque servo motors, or would a nema 23 stepper motor be accurate enough?

This highly depends in the lathe size and how much you want to cut with one pass. Generally a 10" swing lathe should be fine with 1hp & if you want more I have plenty of motors to sell. I assume you will use a VFD at some point to change motor speed - this will necessitate larger motor.

Steppers are as accurate as servos especially when combined with feedback I would not worry about it for hobby equipment. Generally bigger means you can move faster.

 

[Tom O]

This winter I'm doubling the insulation in my garage, as it costs a tone to heat it. While I'm up in the attic I'm adding the structure to make the first part of a traveling gantry crane that will lift around 200kg.

no pictures of fluffy fibreglass. sorry.

There’s no insulation in my ceiling of the garage either so far.

 

[Tom Kitta]

There’s no insulation in my ceiling of the garage either so far.

I have on average like R35 or so but there are areas with less and more & some voids. Should get more insulation to remove any bridges. For me most heat escapes through garage door gaps.

 

[Tom O]

Yeah I hate that whistle while you work that most garage doors have.

 

[kevin.decelles]

Looking back at last years post:

1. (done) Overhaul ‘54 Ford naa tractor
2. (sold it) Rebuild hydraulics on JD430
3. (didn't start) Compound/cross slide rebuild on VonWyck lathe
4. (in progress) Shaper vise fix
5. (complete) Cnc mill x axis pulley replacement
6. (in progress) Improve my TIG welding skills
7. (going very well) Hoard metal!

This years winter projects:

1. Shaper reincarnate (shaper #3) (running state, not showroom)
2. Shaper tune up (shaper #1) (running state, not showroom)
3. CNC mill upgrades (VFD+3ph motor, tool setter/probe)
4. CNC Practice

 

[Susquatch]

You know, that’s one thing I keep meaning to read more about
I get the general gist of the importance of the event, but I would’ve been about 17 years old at the time it happened.
But, if you have any suggested reading or care to elaborate I’m all ears on why you feel it was important enough to you to make the trellis
Seriously, please elaborate, sir

I cannot believe how much there all is here that I have missed. Sorry to be so late chiming in.

I know exactly where I was that day. I was in the air flying from Windsor and Toronto. I used to travel a lot. That day I was travelling with a colleague. I remember saying to him that something was wrong. The plane was not following conventional routes at all. In fact, it made a direct line landing on a runway that flight had never used before. Straight in, taxied across the grass and stopped out in the open at Pearson where we were all told to disembark quickly and head to the terminal on foot. It was crazy. No one knew why but our imaginations were running wild. We could never have guessed how much worse things might be.

Nobody told us anything. We left the terminal and grabbed a taxi. The taxi trip started normally, but then the driver - who didn't speak English - got all excited and started pointing at the radio. Of course, it wasn't speaking English either.

We got to our destination and entered the building to see over a thousand people all gathered in a small atrium watching a single TV. There we learned what had happened. We decided to split up right away. He had family in Toronto so he was going to see if he could get to them. By then the taxis and buses had all shut down. Cell phones stopped working - the circuits were overloaded. I hitch hiked - in a suit - to the train station. I figured it was the only way out of the city. It wasn't. The trains were stopped too. However, one did come in and a bunch of military people got on. I didnt have a ticket, but I got on anyway. I figured that they wouldn't check me until I was outside the core city area and by then I'd be ok to find another way home. At one point, an officer approached me and asked me what I was doing on the train. I told him. He then told me that the train was going to Windsor enroute to getting the military folks to New York to assist with the situation there. He also said I could stay as long as I didn't leave my seat. Thank God.

Around Brantford, my phone started to work and I was able to call home. They were all terrified and were fearing the worst. It was a good call.

As the news started to roll in and the truth settled in with it, I began to appreciate the severity, and the implications.

I dont know if any of the men and women on that train were killed or injured, but I was sure impressed by their sense of duty and willingness to go.

Others have said it wasn't war. I think it was. Anytime that many people are killed by an act of hatred - it is war. Anytime that many people give their own lives in order to save others, it is war.

I had a sense that day as to how my ancestors felt during the first and second wars. I was filled with emotions that raged from pride to fear to anger to gratitude to hope.

We are not safe. We will never be safe. Peace is a gift.

 

[DPittman]

Looking back at last years post:

1. (done) Overhaul ‘54 Ford naa tractor
2. (sold it) Rebuild hydraulics on JD430
3. (didn't start) Compound/cross slide rebuild on VonWyck lathe
4. (in progress) Shaper vise fix
5. (complete) Cnc mill x axis pulley replacement
6. (in progress) Improve my TIG welding skills
7. (going very well) Hoard metal!

This years winter projects:

1. Shaper reincarnate (shaper #3) (running state, not showroom)
2. Shaper tune up (shaper #1) (running state, not showroom)
3. CNC mill upgrades (VFD+3ph motor, tool setter/probe)
4. CNC Practice

Looks like you've been productive and have great plans for the next year also.
How did the overhaul of the NBA tractor go? Was it a full restore? Any pictures to show?

 

[David]

Harkening back to my list here's half of the trellis I built. There's a matching one on the other side.
Still need to build the bit over the door.

 

[Susquatch]

My winter (shop related) to-do list:

1. Repair neighbours Ripper. (This is a BIG job by my standards but maybe not for @Brent H.) The broken tooth is 2" plate and probably weighs 300 pounds. The old shear bolt mount is badly damaged because somebody replaced the grade 5 bolt that should have been there with a standard one. I see this all the time.

2. Clean, Derust, and Paint Bridgeport VariDrive Mill

3. Make a Control Box for my Hartford Mill & wire it all up properly.

4. Fabricate a rolling cart for my own single tooth Ripper so I can move the darn thing. It's always in my way.

5. Acquire and install a DRO on my Hartford mill and perhaps on my lathe too.

6. Clean and tidy the barn so I can find the mill.

7. Sell the Bridgeport & probably my mill/drill too.

When I am done all that this coming winter, it will probably be spring of 2032........ LOL!

 

[Brent H]

Well.........

1. Pick up project car in Calgary and meet up with the Forum lads !!! Woo Hoo!
2. Rebuild the project lathe - Miss Metric
3. Get the VFD installed on the Project lathe and the Cincinnati tool sharpener
4. Finish walk in closet for the boss
5. Machine bracket for the vertical shaper and install on Bridget (Le Tete a Sloter)
6. Machine threading dial for Miss Metric
7. Finish welding up a pile of squares for .....welding frames etc LOL
8. Several cabinet jobs on the side
9. Start on the basement bar install
10. Hope to see Ontario Forum guys in February or......
11. Get @architect up to pick up his box of tools and do some welding and lathe work
12. Weld up a rotisserie, strip and mount the project car for body work

That should take me to spring and then it will be busy....

 

[BMW Rider]

My main project this winter is a woodwork one. I'm building an entertainment cabinet to hold our TV and equipment. I'm not making it an easy build though as I have done my own design and am doing it in Greene and Greene arts and crafts style in cherry wood with ebony accents and leaded glass door panels.

Other project that is ongoing is prepping my motorcycle for some southern adventures. I'm going to Copper Canyon in Mexico in February and plan to store the bike somewhere in southern US for a return trip home in early spring. I'm working on a few routine service items as well as a front suspension upgrade and fitting new soft luggage. Not much that involves machining work at this point, but things always seem to pop up.

 

[YYCHM]

Other project that is ongoing is prepping my motorcycle for some southern adventures. I'm going to Copper Canyon in Mexico in February and plan to store the bike somewhere in southern US for a return trip home in early spring.

How are you going to get the bike down there in February?

 

[architect]

Well.........

1. Pick up project car in Calgary and meet up with the Forum lads !!! Woo Hoo!
2. Rebuild the project lathe - Miss Metric
3. Get the VFD installed on the Project lathe and the Cincinnati tool sharpener
4. Finish walk in closet for the boss
5. Machine bracket for the vertical shaper and install on Bridget (Le Tete a Sloter)
6. Machine threading dial for Miss Metric
7. Finish welding up a pile of squares for .....welding frames etc LOL
8. Several cabinet jobs on the side
9. Start on the basement bar install
10. Hope to see Ontario Forum guys in February or......
11. Get @architect up to pick up his box of tools and do some welding and lathe work
12. Weld up a rotisserie, strip and mount the project car for body work

That should take me to spring and then it will be busy....

That's a proper list and you are right about #11 .

Is there typically an Ontario meetup in Feb? If so I'm totally down.

 

[Chicken lights]

Well.........

1. Pick up project car in Calgary and meet up with the Forum lads !!! Woo Hoo!
2. Rebuild the project lathe - Miss Metric
3. Get the VFD installed on the Project lathe and the Cincinnati tool sharpener
4. Finish walk in closet for the boss
5. Machine bracket for the vertical shaper and install on Bridget (Le Tete a Sloter)
6. Machine threading dial for Miss Metric
7. Finish welding up a pile of squares for .....welding frames etc LOL
8. Several cabinet jobs on the side
9. Start on the basement bar install
10. Hope to see Ontario Forum guys in February or......
11. Get @architect up to pick up his box of tools and do some welding and lathe work
12. Weld up a rotisserie, strip and mount the project car for body work

That should take me to spring and then it will be busy....

I’ve got a rotisserie I could loan you. But no painting in case overspray gets on it.

 

[BMW Rider]

How are you going to get the bike down there in February?

I looked at options and decided I'll just haul it down myself. Should be an easy three days each way driving and will be cheaper than commercial transport plus airfare for to get me down there.

 

[140mower]

Hmmmm. If I write it down, maybe you guys can guilt me into actually doing it.
1.) I'd like to sell the 10k I am currently using and start cleaning up the next one.
2.) I want this to be the winter that I get the old (1913 ish) K&T 1a horizontal mill powered up and see what it needs.