Machining Geometrically Challenged Castings - (and fitting a worklight to my mill)

[@andrewdolinskiatcarpathian]

Up cycling has never been better than this. Outstanding result. 👏👏👍😀

[@TheKnacklersWorkshop]

Hi Mark, I do enjoy videos where there are challenges with marking out and holding the work piece... I like to see the thought process people go through... A good job was done by your good self... Take care Paul,,

[@sandrammer]

A prime example of why a machinist should learn to cast their own parts. Well done!

[@Preso58]

Absolutely! Back in the bad old days I would have had to fabricate that bracket by welding (badly) some steel sections together and it would look awful. Regards, Mark

[@weldmachine]

Hey Mark. Chris at Just1Guy Metalworks will be very grateful for the shout out. Your right when you say he does some great work with just a simple Lathe that he is continuously improving.

[@Preso58]

I have enormous respect for people that make do with a machine that they have improved and worked on to expand it's capabilities. I think that it is far more authentic than someone who has a massive workshop full of brand new tools. I first got hooked on a channel called Rolingmetal some years ago. He lives in the Netherlands and has a few vintage machines and it's fair to say he has his fair share of failures but it's always entertaining and it's totally relatable. Regards, Mark

[@weldmachine]

@@Preso58 I think the time comes as we become older to stop buying tools ? Unless they save us money our they make us some money, lol. Even now i am already starting to look at what i have and trying to decide what to do with tools i have purchased for past jobs over the years. Being that i do pretty much everything i own the tools that go along with these jobs also. Building, Plumbing, Mechanical etc. I was thinking i could give these tools to my son one day ? But it seems anything to do with the word Work he does not seem that interested. He is still young so i still hold hope ???? But it seems his heart is set on becoming a School Teacher. I think it,s the attraction of so many holidays that seems to attract him. ( my thoughts only, LOL ) There is still some hope as my partners sister has a young son who Loves my workshop. Maybe a chance still yet. Great talking to you again. Peter.

[@carlbukowsky1931]

You're very entertaining and I enjoy watching your work. Keep the videos coming! You have a very down-to-earth approach to solving problems that I like. Thanks for sharing your work!

[@Preso58]

Thanks Carl. Positive feedback is always welcome. Regards, Mark

[@glennselsmark9107]

I have watched a number of your videos now and have picked up a number of tips... spending too much time watching your work, got to get of my ass and get creative. Great work Mark and keep them coming

[@glennselsmark9107]

Hi Mark, yesterday i went to one of our local foundry supply stores " Mathews Industrial supplies" Osborne Park Perth WA (John). A couple of products you may know of "wash coat" for painting inside your crucibles ( extends the life of them , creates a non stick surface ) and most excited with the second ... Degassing tablets that you hold in some tongs and stir through the molten metal.. Amazing and easy and the results are brilliant.. the porosity is gone and the metal super clean .. i thought i would share this with you.. keep the vids coming.. love your work :)

[@MarionMakarewicz]

it's the little details to attend to with the same care and concern as the obvious big things. Always inspiring. And relaxing.

[@Preso58]

Thanks for that. I spent most of my career trying to get my students to understand the importance of paying attention to detail. Regards, Mark

[@CreaseysWorkshop]

That's a gorgeous surface plate!

[@Preso58]

I can say that it has only been driven by a little old lady on weekends. It's about the only thing in my workshop that hasn't gone rusty! Regards, Mark

[@CreaseysWorkshop]

Mark Presling can you just put a little note on the back saying that in case of my untimely demise please call John Creasey! Put one on that mill too!!!

[@christianmccollum1028]

That height guage is awesome! She's so 🔥 So glad I found your channel, mate. Respect from Texas.

[@Preso58]

Awesome, thank you! New content coming out in a day or so. Regards, Preso

[@Just1GuyMetalworks]

Wow, looks great! Even matched the powder coating perfectly. You'd never even know that was shop made 😃! Thanks for that amazing shout out, Mark 😊! Nearly choked on my coffee laughing 🤣. Your too kind sir, thanks again 👍😁👍.

[@Preso58]

I did actually powder coat the lamp as well. It was a sort of cream colour when I got it and it was badly corroded in places so given my absolute hatred for rust, it had to be sandblasted and re-coated. Regards, Mark

[@weldmachine]

Hey Chris. Nice of Mark to give you a shout out. I am sure you will see a few more views and subs coming your way very soon.

[@Just1GuyMetalworks]

@@Preso58 ah, ok. Well looks great all the same 😊. I have an old antique light above my lathe with a coffee tin for a shade 🤣. I may have to revisit that now 😉.

[@ronwilken5219]

Hi Mark, relatively new to watching you work. Beautiful job on the Bridgeport judging by the paint job. The light quite compliments it in age too. Looking forward to your collet rack build as I'm just equiping a new PM 932 mill with accessories and both lamp brackets and collet rack are on the menu. Looking forward to seeing your rendition. Regards from Canada's banana belt. 🇨🇦🍌🥋🇺🇦🕊️🇦🇺🐏👍

[@cogentdynamics]

Mark, I really enjoy hanging out with you in your work shop! Thank you. Your Bridgeport restoration is so beautiful, I hope to clean and reaping my own one day. Many Bridgeport knee mills had two work lites before DROs. My first "M9 head which was originally aboard a ship in the 1940s was so equipped. I love what you do and appreciate your sharing with us.

[@Preso58]

Thanks for that. I find it interesting that ships had machine shops on board. When I was still at college I worked as a volunteer with the Brisbane Maritime Museum. At that time they were restoring the SS Forceful, one of the last steam tugs to be operating on the Brisbane River. In the stern of the vessel was a lathe and a stores with all manner of spare parts neatly fitted into pigeon holes just behind the lathe. I can only image what it must have been like to be working that lathe in a two metre swell at the stern of the vessel! Regards, Mark

[@swdweeb]

How satisfying being able to cast a part and machine it for use. Well done mate

[@Preso58]

I must agree. In the bad old days before I bit the bullet and started down the foundry rabbit hole I would have had to fabricate that bracket from welded steel and it would look like crap. Regards, Mark

[@cavemansmancave9025]

Hi Mark. Great part and great video. Another way to approach fitting the base of the bracket to the mill is to machine three pads for three point contact. This can be accomplished by face milling the base flat, end milling a full length longitudinal slot a couple mm deep and a vertical slot from outside edge to the horizontal slot at the same depth. That will stabilize the mount. This is not to criticize what you’ve done but to provide another option to those that might want it. Thanks, John

[@Preso58]

I badly wanted to set the casting up on the CNC mill and pocket out the back of the mounting face so I could then file away the excess metal easier. With a thin rim around the edge it would be a lot simpler to scribe the profile and cut away the high spots. At the end of the day I chickened out and just went with the cork but it looked rubbish. The three point contact thing would be better than my cork interface. So many ways to skin a cat! Regards, Mark

[@a0cdhd]

Dear Mr. Presling. An excellently cast and scrupulously manufactured appurtenance for the adjustable luminary on your meticulously refurbished Bridgeport milling machine.

[@Preso58]

Thank you for your very eloquent exaltation! Regards, Mark

[@a0cdhd]

@@Preso58 A pleasure Mr. Presling.

[@garyskowbo3564]

See I knew you would figure out how to machine that bracket.👍 I was thinking that a fly cutter could also work, but the boarding head did a great job of it. Thanks for sharing another great video!😀

[@leiferickson3183]

This is really instructional - Thank You! I have always been baffled by how people machine a rough cast part like this.

[@Preso58]

Leif, I have heard it referred to as "finding the part inside the casting". Regards, Mark

[@Si-Al-Ti]

The channel Blondie Hacks made a series of videos where she is making a model steam engine machined from castings. I thought the same thing when I watched it :)

[@Tule54]

Nice little project and a good looking work lamp. 👍👍👍🖖

[@roylucas1027]

Fun video. Always good to see you hard at work.

[@AaronEngineering]

Great work Mark. Love the restoration job you did on that Bridgeport milling machine. Your casting came out amazingly also. Martin would be proud of you 😉. Cheers, Aaron.

[@Preso58]

Aaron, Martin is one of my harshest critics but I don't mind. It's almost like having Clickspring comment on your filing technique! Regards, Mark

[@dalejones4186]

Loved the video. Thank you for sharing Preso.

[@samrodian919]

Nice one Mark the Bridgeport looks great! As you say a 9watt LED won't burn you, but the shade will get warm I assure you! Look forward to the next one.

[@yvesdesrosiers2396]

Nice job Mr P. Like the look of that light. Thanks for sharing

[@Preso58]

Yves, it's a bit of a classic isn't it? Regards, Mark

[@jimpritz4169]

Interesting video Mark. Happy to see that I'm not the only one whose got the wife's car in my way all the time I want to use my mill. These women always thinking they have to keep their car in the garage!

[@Preso58]

Jim, my wife recently purchased a brand new Subaru Impreza with the works. If I put so much as a single metal chip on the paint I'll be a dead man. I used to just get in her old Mazda and slip the handbrake and roll it back out of the way of the mill but this new car has so many "features" that unless I've got the key on me it's going nowhere. 😬 Regards, Mark

[@cavemansmancave9025]

Laying out castings for machining is an art but sure helps understanding how the casting deviates from the design so we know how much stock is available to cut. Nice. Thanks, John

[@garagemonkeysan]

Wow, great example and instructions for machining a sand casting. Fit and finish is out of this world. Mahalo for sharing! : )

[@bennettjasper2804]

i guess I am quite randomly asking but does anyone know of a good place to stream new movies online ?

[@joycethomas8868]

Your Bridgeport looks NICE !

[@scruffy6151]

What a beauty light and bracket.

[@lv_woodturner3899]

Very nice light. Well designed. I like the set screw on the big nut. The round pocket does look much better than a straight mill on the face. I would have gone straight to machining on the mill and not considered the lathe. I do like the low power consumption of LED's. As you said, so much less heat than the old incandescent. I did smile when you found the chuck interfered with the second countersink. We all have to work around interference issues at some point. Glad the smaller dia chuck worked. Dave.

[@Preso58]

I tend to do this thing where I will start with the lathe before exploring the options for the milling machine. It's probably because I did so much model engineering using just a lathe in the bad old days before I had my own mill. I was also a bit wary of starting with the boring head without knowing how to set it to a specific radius of cut. I did watch a video by Joe Pieczynski where he showed how to do it but I couldn't recall the specifics. Once I got some accurate dimensions off the boring head and the tools it became much easier. Regards, Mark

[@johnnyholland8765]

Machined lots of castings when I worked for the Boeing aircraft company. Just remember three points of contact at the same height then you can cut your primary datum surface. Most of our part numbers had fixturing to load them but sometimes you had to free hand them. As far as the base of your bracket you could machine it flat then create a shallow recess to create "feet". Then with a little transfer fluid "dykem" you could file to fit the surface. Many different ways to do things. Good job and your machines look great.

[@Preso58]

Johnny, I was fortunate enough to visit Boeing in Seattle. What a nerd's paradise! I also got a visit to the Museum of Flight which was a standout for me. I actually got to touch an SR71 Blackbird. One old timer volunteer latched on to me when I got there and I started to talk about Skunkworks and Kelly Johnson and I swear he lit up like a sunbeam. They were probably the best of mates! I take your point about three areas of contact. I went through lots of scenarios for matching the back face of the casting and at one point I almost set it up on the CNC mill so I could pocket out the back face leaving just a thin rim around the edge so it would be easier to hand file it to match but I chickened out at the last minute. The cork interface worked but I upgraded later to an epoxy layer which was formed against the curve of the ram casting. Regards, Mark

[@johnnyholland8765]

@@Preso58 I worked for Boeing for 13 years than moved to a private contractor and actually made some parts for the Blackbird. I remember reviewing the drawings and they actually had a little skunk in the title block. Thought that was super cool. I now work for Parker Aerospace machining electro hydraulic servo valve bodies. About one more year and I hope to retire. Been making chips a long time. Enjoy your channel and thanks for the reply.

[@AmateurRedneckWorkshop]

Good job making the bracket. Keep on keeping on.

[@charles1379]

mark as a suggestion to get over the marks left after your plunging down to clean up the face of the bored surface at 24:18 the "over cooked surface" the final cut should be a vertical plunge and then withdraw the boring head horizontally to clean up the base of the cut as well. hence two clean surfaces. this works well for all manner of cuts which intersect, the last cut should be aimed at dressing up both surfaces. Again great work

[@kenny5174]

My old Index Mill, has a motor plate for the power cross feed drive. The plate bottom is not flat, and the mill column is not flat. Index used 4 mnounting bolts, and four grub screws that go through the motor plate than can be used as leveling feet. Fairly simple, but able to align the belt pulley. Great video.

[@Preso58]

Ken, I was fishing around in my scrap box a few days ago and found part of a mounting arm for a DRO which I bought for my lathe and didn't use. It had exactly the same arrangement that you have described. In fact when I first saw it I thought the mounting centres would fit to the other side of the Bridgeport ram. I will need to fit a DRO arm there shortly. Sadly though, the hole centres are about 10mm too short. I have since made a casting for a new bracket and I'll use the grub screws and mounting hardware from the leftover unit. Regards, Mark

[@weldmachine]

WOW. The Bridgeport Mill is in great condition. I know about rebuilding machinery to well. Currently Fully Rebuilding a Mazak CNC Lathe that is just starting to look like a machine again. Nice job with the Work Light, definitely makes a difference when you can see what your doing.

[@Preso58]

I know there are people who like to keep their machines with all the scuffs, oil stains and chipped paint so that the heritage remains intact but I cannot stand it. It would be nice to have a fully rebuilt CNC lathe. It will be quite satisfying when you get it back to new condition. Regards, Mark

[@weldmachine]

@@Preso58 Thanks Mark. I agree with you about owning tidy equipment / machines. It has a way of not only improving the look of your shop. But also your mood. I hate the idea of having an untidy place to work this also goes for machinery. The idea of rebuilding the Mazak CNC Lathe was brought about by normal circumstances that most of us know about ?? Lack of Funds, LOL. To many times i have watched KZbin and seen to many machines i would LOVE to own. But reality is what we need to deal with. Reality for me is how much i can justify buying / spending on any one machine. It is coming along well now, it,s even starting to look like a machine again now compared to what i have been looking at for the last ? years. I welcome you to check out my progress so far in a recent video i have posted. Being that you are also based in Melbourne. You will have to make some time one day and stop by and have a look at my shop. You are more than welcome when the time suits. All the best. Peter.

[@DDB168]

Excellent job. Looks great.

[@daveanderson2316]

Nice job Mark.

[@LetsJeep]

That sure is a gorgeous Mill! The lamp is a perfect match! Hope the horizontal mounting works out. I did mine similar and it wouldn't hold its own weight. Had to remake the mount vertical. 🙄

[@Preso58]

I should have done that right from the get go. I fell into the trap of duplicating the original bracket that was on the mill. However, so far the arm has been working well. Getting plenty of compression on the bellville washers at each joint seems to be the key. Regards, Mark

[@charles1379]

A suggestion for getting a solid clamping on an uneven base is to hollow out the underside of the base of the casting a "little" will reduce the rocking of the casting considerably. I appreciate the the tight tolerance are not needed here but for those interested in obtaining a secure, good fit the casting can be blued and mounted to transfer the contact points, then removed and suitably ground in line with the marks. then a thin compliant gasket will make a rock solid union. cheers

[@Pest789]

I love how your personal projects always end up looking like finished commercial products.

[@joshuaharlow4241]

Great work!! Love the video!!!

[@nevillemarchand6140]

Always good teaching content .Regards Nev

[@priority2]

Outstanding video Mark. Thank you🙂

[@hermanhandlebars2687]

Very nicely done 👌

[@DavidKutzler]

A useful trick when I'm using my 70-year-old eyes with a wiggler is to lower the wiggler point until it's about 1 mm above the work surface and then use a bright LED flashlight to cast the shadow of the wiggler point onto the work. Since light travels in a straight line, you can align the shadow of the wiggler point precisely with your scribed lines in the X and Y directions.

[@Preso58]

David, that's a great tip. I must file that away for next time. Regards, Mark

[@bobvines00]

Mark, if you _really_ want to go overboard, you can "restore" and repaint the lamp to match the bridgeport's colors. :P Seriously though, this was a nice video showing how you went about fixturing & machining the "geometrically challenged casting"! I truly look forward to your upcoming videos as you "pimp out" the Bridgeport. ;)

[@Preso58]

Bob, maybe we can interest one of the video streaming services to come up with a new show concept "Pimp My Machine Tool". 😁 I'd watch it! Regards, Mark

[@CapeCodCNC]

Very cool light!

[@Preso58]

Yes, I love it. I did actually buy two small LED desk lamps on those flexible gooseneck mountings, one to go on either side of the column but at the last moment I decided to use the LoVo light. It was way more work but it has a certain charm about it. Regards, Mark

[@tomlee7966]

great work Mark

[@joell439]

stunning result 👍👍😎👍👍

[@argee55]

Thanks for another excellent video.

[@campbellmorrison8540]

Lovely light, like you I need heaps of light. Surprised a little you didnt paint the casting the same colour as the machine but either way very nice job.

[@Preso58]

It's always a tough call trying to work out a consistent theme for colours on a machine. I tried to limit this one to black, silver and the machine green. Regards, Mark

[@turningpoint6643]

As always well thought out and executed Mark. I'd guess one of the items on your tool list for that new BP is a decent boring & facing head. Hard to find good used examples, and none seem to be cheap when you do. I finally gave up and bought new. It could well be something you already know and that part being aluminum you can sometimes get away with it since the drilling loads are much lighter than in steel. Albrecht and others mention NOT using reduced shank drills in keyless drill chucks. The reason is due to those increased torque loads the larger drill sizes develop the chuck will start to self tighten to prevent any slippage of the drill shank within the chuck jaws. If that becomes sever enough the chuck can tighten to where it will permanently deform the hardened and ground internal working surfaces and parts within the chuck. Having to use something like a strap wrench at any time to loosen a keyless chuck is a sure indication of over stressing it beyond what it was designed to do. And for the same reason it's why I choose to not use my keyless chucks for tapping above about a 3/8ths tap size. Oddly this information doesn't seem to be all that well known. But this might save someone from ruining an expensive chuck. These keyless chucks really are great and I'd hate to be without mine, but they still can't do everything a good keyed chuck can.

[@Preso58]

That's interesting. I did not know that. I have had a keyless chuck tighten so much that I had to put a vice grip on it. I had been using a large hole saw and I thought it was because the cut was intermittent and there was a lot of vibration. I will bear that in mind in future. I would love to own a nice boring and facing head. I have seen some of the lovely tools that Stefan Gotteswinter uses and I get quite jealous when he casually mentions that he picked up a "nice" German unit on Ebay. Regards, Mark

[@turningpoint6643]

@@Preso58 There's a few older threads on the Practical Machinist forums mentioning the very real possibilities of ruining keyless chucks that way Mark. And with a few mentioning they had already done so in the past by making the same mistake. If there over stressed enough then a couple of posters mentioned that the chucks can seize up to the point of being impossible to get them open with any method. Until I'd read those posts I hadn't known about this either. But it does make logical sense after it's pointed out. So I went back and double checked, and yes it's also mentioned it in the small user manual my Albrecht came with had I read it like I should have.I don't know it as a fact, but one could probably assume that over stressing these chucks may also permanently affect there self tightening ability's and maybe jaw run outs. Those German made Wohlhapter B&F heads are probably what everything else is judged against. I've never used one, but If they are even better made than my Narex it sure can't be by much. Afaik those Wohlhapter's are no longer being made. And one thing to watch for with a used one is many were built with integral tool shanks. Mostly I assume for use on the drool worthy Euro style mills like the Deckels etc where they used a MT spindle bore on there older mills with vertical heads. Or for use on larger radial arm drill heads. Fwiw and just in case you might at some point run across one. If my information sources can be trusted, apparently any Wohlhaupter heads with a recessed and red painted dot in the tool shank just above the head attachment point indicates a non integral tool shank. If I recall correctly, the second and a bit larger B&F head Stefan purchased was of Japanese origin and those seem to be very well made. Where you are, finding a used one like his might not be impossible. For used prices in North America, Wohlhaupter and maybe to a lesser amount Narex seem to be the better known brands so almost always have a high price even used.There's also some South Korean manufactured B&F heads, but I can't recall reading any threads where a good brand name or there quality and working performance was discussed. Given the hardening and amount of high precision grinding for the parts operational fit on my Narex, I have real doubts about any of the much cheaper Chinese or Indian manufactured heads. Again I've never used one so............................? I know very little about the Wohlhaupter heads, but Narex makes a variety of B&F head sizes, but other than the VHU-36 all of them are far too large and heavy for any mill with an R8 taper. Hopefully a bit of this might help at some point with your search for a B&F head.

[@pgs8597]

G’day Presso, “what could go wrong “, “you could hit the mill vice mate!” unless you set a stop, I was waiting for a crash, sorry. I laughed when the chuck was too big, recalling how many times I’ve had the same problem. Bracket and light looks good. Cheers, Peter

[@Preso58]

I really should have removed the vice and I haven't gotten around to making any hard stops for the mill table yet. There is such a long list of jobs still waiting to be done for the Bridgeport. I do like the light however. Regards, Mark

[@joshdrexler8773]

The time to think about machining castings is while designing the mold pattern. This was not a precision application. But had it been, I would have added three small bumps of about 1 mm to the flat base. Being small bumps they can be readily manipulated by hand sanding to create an adjustable reference plane. Sand by dragging a few passes across wet or dry paper glued to the surface plate, or a lapping plate for even greater accuracy. When the tops of the bumps have been leveled to a common plane a slight pressure to one side or the other will tilt that plane to suit. With a reference firmly established on the bottom, other faces can be addressed. Finally, with other good surfaces in place, one of them can be used to machine off the three small bumps. But it all begins with the pattern.

[@davidiansykes]

nice job if you want i could try and take drawings of the other bit of the right angle drive that fits on the ram

[@SeanBZA]

Boring bar now a fly cutter, nice solution, though you missed out with those thin edges to simply go in the Y axis with the cutter and fly cut them off with the final operation. But that holder looks like it was original with the machine, along with the light. Nice work there, and an exact fit as well into the casting. You might want to make a thin brass or steel washer though, to put between that Belleville washer and the aluminium, so that it does not chew up the casting with time.

[@peterpjj7380]

Hi MARK , We had these lights on our lathes years ago and they were 32 volt

[@stevecallachor]

32 volt was a common non lethal standard common in factories, electric trains and farms. The bulbs were available until quite recently at most ironmongery , such as Nock & Kirby. From memory they has a full sized bayonet fitting, but that could be questioned. Stavros

[@Preso58]

I still have the original die cast transformer housing and it was fitted with a 32 volt transformer and a bayonet fitting for the bulb. The bulb was blown when I got it and I couldn't find any 32 volt replacement bulbs so I retrofitted a 12 volt transformer and used a 12 volt compact fluorescent bulb but it was very dim compared to the LED spotlight. The transformer was also bulky and power hungry. I know people will criticise me for using a 240V bulb but I have an earth leakage circuit breaker on my workshop power supply and it is no more dangerous than, say, smashing a bulb in your house with a ladder. Probably less so in fact since you aren't likely to be hanging onto the lamp when it gets broken. Regards, Mark

[@oldschoolengineer58]

very illuminating!

[@blfstk1]

Good Show Mate...as per normal. Whooee! I almost missed this one. I am no longer getting notifications for some reason. Missing a Presso vid would be a tragedy.

[@MarkSeve]

Very nice.

[@peterw8690]

Nice job

[@dimtt2]

You could also have used a flycutter for this operation without having to measure anything provided you know the distance of your angle plate to the hole center. Using the dro move the spindle the value of your radius (23mm in your occasion) away from the angle plate face, mount your flycutter and set the bit so that it barely touches the face of the angle plate when rotated (use paper shim,rolling cigarette paper, metal shim, sharpie mark, whatever for this touch off). And you are set, proceed to your facing operation up to the location of the hole. The same technique can be used with the boring head as well. I picked up this technique from one of Tom Lipton's old videos

[@bulletproofpepper2]

Did you see blonde hacks steam engine build ? Thanks for sharing.

[@Preso58]

Sam, yes I am following the Blondihacks build on the steam engine. I admire her for making a bespoke cutter and I am thinking that using a long boring bar on cast iron might introduce a lot of chatter so the little stubby tool she used was probably the best option. Regards, Mark

[@douro20]

Adcock-Shipley...that means it's a "Britishport"...does it have English dials or metric?

[@paulwomack5866]

When making machined models from castings, normal practice says to fixture it up with clamps and blocks, and machine your first surface, then use that as a reference for further measurement/holding. In the case of this part, machining the bottom flat as a first step would have simplified later steps, although I appreciate that the finished part does NOT require a flat base in this instance.

[@Preso58]

Paul, that back face had to be anything but flat and I knew it was never going to fit accurately against the rounded casting of the ram. However, if it had been a bit easier to fixture I would have machined it so it fitted more accurately against the angle plate. I could detect some chatter as I was spot facing the casting and I can only assume it was coming from the casting not seating well despite the two screws holding it down. Regards, Mark

[@nixie2462]

Overthinking it a bit, what would happen if you cast the surface of the machine, made a copy, and then coated that with copper to use it to EDM the aluminium piece? (overcomplicating, of course, just asking if it would ultimately work)

[@Preso58]

Well, first I'd need an EDM. I'd love to have one but it's way over my budget. I once saw a guy using a FARO arm to map a car body. It was like science fiction to me at the time. Just after I retired from teaching the guys at work bought a small desktop 3D scanner. With one of those you could scan the surface of the ram including the mounting holes for reference and then make a point cloud so the back of the casting could be milled on the CNC to be a pretty good match. Regards, Mark

[@leathermanTK55]

Hey Mark nice work mate. Just be very aware that the work light is 230v and if anything fly's off the machine and hits the bulb it could expose you or the machine frame to 230v. The modern machines that are coming out now have low voltage (24V AC) lights to minimize that. Just saying be careful. Does your light have a "LEXAN" Cover? If not you could easily make one. Cheers TK

[@Preso58]

I do have some Lexan in 6mm thickness but without drilling holes in the rim of the shade there wouldn't be an easy way of attaching it. I do have an earth leakage circuit breaker on my workshop power supply and it protect against most faults. Having said that, I am always wary of carrying aluminium ladders around in the house. For a long time we were too poor to afford light shades and we mostly had bare bulbs in batten holders. Breaking one of those suckers while hanging onto an aluminium ladder would be fairly exciting if not deadly. Regards, Mark

[@leathermanTK55]

Hey Mark. Just watched the other addendum. awesome. Back to the light. Yes its always a danger when using a metal ladder and the only real way that I know of minimizing that is to install an RCD protection breaker on your switchboard. They are the best and quickest way of shutting down when a fault (or you across the mains) is occurring within a micro second. Maybe even getting one wired in would be a good idea for the workshop power supply at least. Did you consider changing the glass on the light for some LEXAN ? Cheers

[@MatthewTinker-au-pont-blanc]

Set caliper at head diameter, zero, measure, no calculation!

[@MarkATrombley]

I just measure from the left side of the one to the left side of the other (outside of one to the inside of the other).

[@MatthewTinker-au-pont-blanc]

@@MarkATrombley Try my method, it's easier with digital calipers!

[@CreaseysWorkshop]

Another reason why I love digital calipers!

[@rocket_rod67]

I use Matthew’s method all the time. Works a treat

[@Preso58]

Matthew, I was a bit lost with your comment but having read the replies to your comment I have now worked it out. Yes' that's a much simpler method. Only works for digital calipers though. For ages at the school where I worked we only had dial calipers or verniers (very nears). I still have a lovely Mitutoyo vernier caliper which was the very first measuring tool I bought with my own money. It has dual metric and imperial scales and it hasn't seen the light of day for nearly 30 years! Regards, Mark

[@gregfeneis609]

10:00 Did you make that surface plate? It's a beauty

[@OllieVK]

I still woulda put those bolting faces up on parallel blocks in the vice and taken a skim off the back anyway... Next investment... DRO on the mill. Also, use CRC or metho when machining ally, especially 601.

[@Preso58]

Oliver, I was a bit wary of trying to mill the back of the bracket. It was a really awkward thing to hold in the vice given how deep it was and the lack of parallel surfaces. I am part way through fitting a DRO to the mill. I decided to use iGaging capacitive scales and they are now working but the LCD displays are sort of loose for the moment. I have ordered a TouchDRO bluetooth adaptor so I can use an Android tablet as the DRO display. Some people have told me I'm a fool for not using glass scales but I am a bit of a nerd and I like the graphical display that the TouchDRO system uses. Regards, Mark

[@protator]

Finally someone who doesn't torture drills by retracting every two seconds.

[@Pest789]

Yeah, wouldn't want your drill to cool off and not have any chips to recut...

[@richardbradley961]

HI MARK, NICE WORK WELL DONE. WHEN ARE YOU GEOING TO PUT THE SLAVE MOTOR IN AN OTHER ROOM? . REGARDS RICHARD.

[@Preso58]

Richard, it's a noisy sucker isn't it. I wish I had another room to put it in. I am starting to think I need to make a sort of rolling cabinet with an insulated enclosure underneath for the motor. The RPC itself needs ventilation but the motor could easily be located within an isolated space. It's sort of on the to do list but it's a long list. Regards. Mark

[@richardbradley961]

@@Preso58 HI MARK, THANK YOU FOR THE REPLY, JUST A SIMPLE BOX WITH SOME SOUND DEDNING FOAM SHOULD DO. REGARDS RRICHAD

[@Preso58]

@@richardbradley961 I had a look at the problem today. I am thinking I can make a steel frame and put the box of electronics up higher and leave a space underneath for the motor. I found some foam insulation board at the hardware store and I can make a baffle at one end to allow some cooling air to circulate. The whole contraption can be high enough to include a few drawers or shelves too.

[@richardbradley961]

@@Preso58 HI MARK , SOUNDS GOOD TO ME. REGARDS RICHARD. p.s. I WILL LOOK FORWARD TO NOT HEARING IT !!

[@fixitmakeit]

to quote AvE "she`s a bonny and a beauty ".

[@_bodgie]

The light looks like it was there from the get-go.

[@stevecallachor]

When I was a student at tafe you got your arse kicked if you used the surface plate as an anvil!!! I searched for an enamel (animal) paint the colour of your mill, I found a colourbond spray can, Pale Eucalyptus, which was spot on. I needed to match a QUALOS Lathe, made in Melbourne in 1954. While I was at tech the mills were Bridgeport with the Adcock Shipley badge. They didn't look as grand as yours though!! stavros

[@Preso58]

We had a couple of small surface plates at the secondary school where I used to teach. I went back there a while ago and asked to borrow one before I purchased my own and found that the kids had put centre punch marks all over it! 😬 Regards, Mark

[@ShainAndrews]

Stick some sandpaper on the mill head, then work your cast piece up and down for a matched fit.

[@Preso58]

But I might scratch the lovely new paint! Regards, Mark

[@rodfrey]

It's a rare non-Canadian who pronounces "Saskatchewan" correctly. I hereby bestow honorary Canuckitstanosity, which entitles you to never pay for beer when west of Winnipeg and east of Canmore.

[@johnmcnamara3719]

Hi Mark from Melbourne OZ Firstly I love the paint finish you have achieved in your mill. Below is a link to a powerpoint presentation I made a while back That deals with using filled epoxy as a bearing material. And yes the lathe mentioned is still running well after 9 years of home shop use. It will also solve the problem of mating your light bracket to the mill. (Make sure you tape a polythene film onto the painted side first or your bracket will be stuck firmly to the mill) epoxy will not stick to polythene. Create a dam around the edge with Plasticine or similar. You don't need metal powder and special epoxy for your bracket application, any epoxy and some sort of non reactive mineral powder to thicken it will suffice. I have given a list of suppliers. make sure you grease the screws well that you use to hold the bracket in position. www.mediafire.com/file/6z6o6044rhf0m1s/file If you are concerned about opening the file just google "epoxy bearing material and method" you will find it at several well known forums. Regards John

[@weldmachine]

Hey John. Sounds like a great idea. It,s a little late in Melbourne now but will definitely come back and watch your Powerpoint Presentation. Thanks for the link. Peter.

[@Preso58]

What about Selleys "Knead It" I have used that before and it is a metal filled two part epoxy. I have patched up castings before powder coating as it withstands the 200C oven temperature quite well. It is quite doughy too so it wouldn't run. I have downloaded the PPT and I'll check it out. Thanks, Mark

[@weldmachine]

@@Preso58 Selleys Knead It. Would work well enough to. I never thought of using this product. Should have thought of that for some of my powder coating work. Would have saved me plenty of time in preparation.

[@johnmcnamara3719]

@@Preso58 Agree Mark knead able epoxy would do. As I have plenty of metal powder in stock I tend to roll my own. For a good bond give the base a rough sand. with say 80 grit for a good bond, I have done a lot of experimentation with Epoxy in the home shop. Below is a link to a project I am working on. It is time I got back to it. Been very busy with work. www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=139042

[@Preso58]

@@johnmcnamara3719 John. I just read through your Powerpoint on the cast epoxy and metal powder method and I have decided I will take your advice and do away with the cork gasket on my light bracket. I have some frisket film which is a low tack vinyl film used by air brush artists. I will use that to prevent the epoxy sticking to the painted ram. I also read through your build thread on the CNC mill. I have a keen interest in epoxy granite and I used that method to make my little CNC milling machine more rigid. I filled the column and the base with it and it made a significant difference to the rigidity. I did the same on my drill press. Building an entire machine out of the same material would be challenging but in my view way better than aluminium extrusions. One day I will have a go at something similar myself. I was interested in the little drill press rig you made up to drill the holes for the linear rail. We had several of those cheap attachments at school and we ended up throwing them out and now I wish I had kept one. I want to drill a pattern of holes in my welding bench and it seems the ideal way to keep the hole pitch correct. I must look out for an unwanted unit on the side of the road! Thanks again, Regards, Mark

[@sheph7ceo799]

Good work. Nice looking and functioning bracket. Am I seeing that the “tab” length doesn’t allow for full upward rotation of the light? Or is that just the view angle of the video? Given your casting experience and expertise I shouldn’t be surprised that the machining revealed no porosity in the part. And I agree that is a really nice looking light.

[@Preso58]

You are correct about the limited movement. The 20mm threaded shank of the first joint was originally fitted vertically. Turning it on it's side means that some of the joints cannot be fully articulated. In hindsight I should have just replicated the original orientation. It would have been equally easy to cast and to machine but I fell into the trap of being influenced by the original cast iron bracket that came with the machine. The way it is now is fine but I got lazy and didn't mock up the design. There is a lot to be said for creating a mockup. I am now 3D printing in PETG filament and it is way stronger than ABS and PLA. I could have bolted two different designs to the mill and actually used them for a while before committing to one design. I must say I was very pleasantly surprised when I milled into the casting. It machines beautifully and I couldn't detect any porosity at all. I am sure it is there but it will be microscopic. I must thank my mentor, Martin for shaming me into buying decent quality ingots for my castings. Regards, Mark

[@jessefoulk]

Reminds me of Arthur C Clarke lookalike

[@johncoxhead8706]

If you measure the head of the bolt like you did and then Zero your caliper then measure the total distance between the heads you will have a more accurate measurement without any maths involved

[@almostanengineer]

Nooooooo, you put it with the round ones 😫

[@mikemraz8569]

I had to quit watching it was to challenging 😩

[@ikeurb]

Nice work as always. Love your channel! KF6KUR on Instagram

[@ikeurb]

The table covers/trays are a nice addition.

[@bigbob1699]

.

[@bigbob1699]

illumination is like sex , more is better.

[@jdmccorful]

I love your sense of humor, and you do good work.