Thanks Rob. My feed screws seem very dry especially the Z axis which takes quite a load. You might like to know that I have just found out from Crossfords in Wales that Molyslip HBS is now discontinued, but they can get an alternative but a box of 12 One tin would probably last me ten years! I did not realise the chuck was retained by a drawbar, thought it was only milling cutters that required the bar due to side thrust, only noticed this when I partly dismantled the machine to make it movable. I'm not as tough as you. But then again it does not appear to have a slot in the shaft to use a drift to break the taper's grip, so when I looked up top to insert a drawbar to free it I was surprised to see one already there. While I was waiting for better weather in which to move the mill up the garden and clean it I bought an imperial drawbar and collets to allow me to use imperial end mills inherited from my dad, oh well I have two imperial bars now Isn't this fun, and I haven't done more than make sure it runs so far, let alone machine anything However, life would be a little boring if everything was straightforward, Jim
Hi Jim, I had quite a job removing the drill Chuck in the first place. The drawbar came undone quite easily but the chuck wouldn't drop out. I tried tapping it with a fair hefty rubber mallet without any success and in the end I had to partially unscrew the drawbar, put the box key on the top of the drawbar and give it a smart rap with a hammer to break the seal. The chuck then dropped out to the limit of the threads that I had unscrewed it and from there it was easy to remove. Buying a collet chuck to suit existing collets is exactly what I did. I have an ER25 set that I bought for the lathe and now I use them in both. I should have thought that you could use imperial end mills in metric collets as long as you measure them before fitting and select the appropriate sized collet? That said, had I been more familiar with imperial measurements I may have done the same, but having learned everything in metric at school I find working in 12's and fractions far too much like hard work (much to Chris's disgust as she was rather hoping that as a result of Brexit we would return to imperial measurements).
I did, and then upon leaving school, my chosen profession as a butcher had me learning to weigh in pounds and ounces pretty quickly...
Hi Rob, I did not have any collets already. I bought the simple more compact MT2 collets to minimise protrusion from the spindle, downside they only accept the designated size of tool bit, but only three standard sizes (metric and imperial) are required or necessary in a Micro-Mill, or Mirco-Mill as the data panel on the m/c says. To release the chuck I used a copper/hide mallet, has more mass to it than a rubber mallet, but a sharp tap was necessary. Well I learnt most things in S.I. units in the 1970s and then worked for senior engineers in imperial for some years. Now with an Italian wife I mix and match units to suit the job and conversation. Regarding grease I have ordered two items from Amazon :- Comma GR2500G 500g Multi-Purpose Lithium Grease Hazet 2162M Grease Gun The miniature grease gun was not the cheapest but looking at the reviews seemed to be the best value for money. Jim
Hi Jim, Thanks for the links I may follow your example. So far I have used quite a range of my collets in the mill albeit only one of them for holding cutters (I bought a starter set of 6 double ended slot drills which all have the same shank size. The rest I have used to hold various drill bits and an edge finder.
An edge finder, just looked that up, what do you consider to be a worthwhile type, although individual needs will come into play here? Jim
Hi Jim, I suspect that it doesn't really matter because I have seen a video on making your own and they are in fact quite simple but very effective. But I don't have stock of materials to do it and it would cost more than I paid to buy in material to make it. The key to them is that the two mating sufaces really need to be hardened. I bought mine via eBay from a British tool supplier Allendale for less than £7 posted. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294118958928
Thanks, I'll take a look, I'd rather spend my time doing my specific items rather than making easily available off the shelf items. Life's too short, regards Jim
Hi Jim, I couldn't agree more if you are machining to gain skills then you may as well make something useful but if you have to start off by sourcing materials that will ultimately cost more than the off the shelf item then you need to look for a different subject to machine. Another thing that machinists in all the videos use constantly is parallels. At the minute I don't have any but plan to ask my son for a set for my birthday later in the year. in the meantime I have cut a really cheap and cheerful steel rule in half and that's sufficing for the moment. For anyone on a budget, by looking around you can get them in several widths and being quite thin they are great for supporting the small parts that we tend to use for modelling.
Hi Rob Time is a rather more limited asset relative to cash, not that I am loaded, far from it Twenty+ years ago I too would have made as many tools myself as possible for practice, with very limited budget, but I could not afford a mill then and if I could there was nowhere to install it. I used to do that a lot when learning about digital electronics and micro-controllers, designing and constructing various pieces of test kit, hardware, firmware and software, but I will make specialised jigs as required to aid machining. Good idea about cutting a rule. To start off I bought some budget parallels from ArcEuroTrade "Economy Thin Parallels-Set of 4prs 3.1/2"x5/32" - 1/2"to7/8"" Arc part # 100-140-00300 for just under £16. Regards Jim
Hi Rob, they struck me as a cost effective starting point, it would be too easy to buy unnecessarily precise (and costly) parallels. Can buy thicker ones later if necessary. Regards Jim