Making a Graduating Tool - Hemingway Kits

Here I build a graduating tool using plans and materials from Hemingway Kits.
All of the measurements on the plans are in imperial units, which provided quite a challenge, as all my tools and machines are metric. This wasn't obvious when I bought the kit, but I guess it's standard in the model engineering world.
The plans themselves were nicely printed out on A3 paper with well-written instructions. The instructions don't assume that you have a milling machine, so the project can be completed with just a lathe and a milling attachment.
All of the provided stock was nicely packaged but is actually at (or slightly below) dimension, leaving no spare material to clean up the sides. I thought about adjusting the plans to allow for cleaning up the sides, but I had enough of a headache converting to metric! Additionally, this could have caused problems since there isn't much room for error in certain areas.
The finished project feels sturdy and functions well.
Some of the tools I use and would recommend:
Starrett Edge Finder: amzn.to/3wLbqRp
Dykem Layout Fluid: amzn.to/3Tp2Xw1
Starrett Hacksaw Blades: amzn.to/3PdsbuW
CT-90 Cutting and Tapping Fluid: amzn.to/49TH4uo
Eclipse Scriber: amzn.to/4c6Ck6w
STA-BIL Rust and Corrosion Inhibitor: amzn.to/3wFSbIJ
Dremel 3000 Rotary Tool: amzn.to/3Pa3gIH
Trend Digital Level Box: amzn.to/49Z0dee
Sealey Imperial Hex Key Set: amzn.to/3wJFvRd
ElectroCookie Solderable Breadboard: amzn.to/4a1Dez5
Mitutoyo MIT103-129 Micrometer: amzn.to/3wDB9ei
Mitutoyo 103-130 Micrometer: amzn.to/3V4lEGr
Engineer Solder Sucker: amzn.to/438RFiT
3M Silicone Face Mask: amzn.to/3SYOLbu
Irwin Hacksaw Blades: amzn.to/3TpLOlK
Irwin Metal Hacksaw: amzn.to/3V6SvKI
Starrett 117D Centre Punch: amzn.to/3V6hRIG
Big Gator Tools V-Drill Guide: amzn.to/3Tq6hXP
Faithfull Engineers Square: amzn.to/48Jt05p
Milwaukee Set of Drill Bits: amzn.to/48O9uVo

[@danielroberts9147]

Best graduating tool video ive seen all week ❤

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Glad you liked it!

[@paulwomack5866]

That's rather a small pool to be top of!

[@tireballastserviceofflorid7771]

I had a good friend who got one of the first Chinese built mill/lathe combo. It was graduated in metric. Since he was a master machinest he redid the dials. You honestly couldn't tell at all. And he used that machine to do the work. Said it took him about a week. Stunning workmanship. He also built scale rc aircraft. We need to encourage more people to be craftspeople. Definitely a dying art.

[@paulbfields8284]

Nice to watch someone that I can actually refer to as a fellow tool maker and machinist…you appear to know what you’re doing. Keep having fun because this is a JOY to be able to do in this life… it’s a gift well earned. Btw… I’m 67 and still work full time in a Tool Room, mill, lathe, surface grinders..I intend to keep working like this till the Good Lord decides it’s time. I would consider myself Blessed to take my last breath while taking my last finish pass on any of those three tools.. preferably the lathe but I’m not picky.

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Many thanks for the kind words Paul!

[@WILFRED1184]

Amazing work. I used to be a fan of horror films but nowadays if I want a good scare I just watch people tapping small holes. Glad you didn't break any taps. 👍

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Thanks! Nothing like the thrill of tapping tiny holes in something that's taken hours to make!

[@lenroddis5933]

@@PaulsGarageProjects Especially blind holes. For example, 34 7BA bolt holes for the top and bottom covers for the low and intermediate pressure cylinders casting on my Stuart Triple Expansion engine. Plus of course those for the steam chest, drain cocks etc.

[@sharkbaitsurfer]

It just makes me nervous also

[@joakimjohansson5223]

One way to take the tedium out of converting inch fractions to metric is to use a nice functionality in Excel. By formatting cells in a column to "fraction", you can then type e.g. 1 1/4 in the cell, which would then be internally stored as 1.25. You then just multiply that "imperial" column by 25.4 to get a new "metric" column, without little risk of error. The metric column can also be formatted to round off to two or three decimals to reflect your machining precision. Having the fraction format in the cell helps when proofreading the list. A cheat sheet with all common inch fractions can also be created this way.

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Thanks for the tip! I did print out a cheat sheet to help with this, but still found it quite a pain. I think I'd redraw the plans in metric next time.

[@Bapate-rh9be]

Another nice way is: Convert everything into the metric system and work with that in general instead.

[@andrewdolinskiatcarpathian]

What a great build. Beautifully filmed and engaging throughout. Thank you for sharing. 👏👏👍😀

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Thank you kindly!

[@ollysworkshop]

That looks great, and appears to move really smoothly. Nice one. I love the rotary table bit at the end of these!

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Thanks Olly, it's been a challenging but fun project. Imperial being the challenging part! I'll be sticking with the goofy rotary table thing!

[@improviseddiy]

A beautifully crafted tool. Great work Paul! It has quite a lot of parts to make to spec.

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Many thanks!

[@sharkbaitsurfer]

You made that look easy. Lovely tool and excellent results

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Thank you very much!

[@ma-lakshmifabricator7549]

Overall, this is a highly informative and enjoyable video for anyone interested in engineering. It showcases your talent and expertise while providing valuable insights and inspiration to fellow enthusiasts. Keep up the great work, and I look forward to watching more of your content in the future 👍👍👍

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Many thanks for the kind words!

[@stevenhintz5508]

That’s a lot of work for a scriber. I just turn a threading tool sideways in the tool post to scribe using the carriage and stops for different length lines

[@sundeepborade6359]

😂😂😂That manly scream at 3:00.

[@mattymcsplatty5440]

Beautiful, gorgeous work mate. Very under-subbed channel in my opinion. New to your channel and its the first time Ive seen you in my feed.(Yes I subscribed😁) Surprising since I subbed to many machining and fabricating channels. Good luck with your channels growth.

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Thank you very much!

[@raydejong4020]

Very nice work on a very useful project. I look forward to making one as i am presently working on completing a milling machine (Lewis Machine casting) that someone started over 70 years ago and a number of graduated collars are required. thanks again

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Sounds great!

[@martinhertsius9282]

Nice as usual. You deserve at least 100k followers, seriously!

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Maybe one day!

[@eugene4154]

Very creative fella, well done mate

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Many thanks!

[@pauldoyley8354]

Nice work, and very engaging filming. Thank you.

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Many thanks!

[@badger44]

great project Paul, I think one of these is needed for my project, I agree with you on the material thing, its a bit sparse on the sizes in the kits, I suppose it`s all down to costing but still 5mm or so on lengths and getting the diameter at least just above size would be nice.👍

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Thanks! Since I built it I've fly cut all the faces that I found to be non-critical dimension wise. The plans are geared towards people with just a lathe, so that may be why?

[@piet8803]

Wow!

[@joaolucasvieira2979]

Another great machining channel to subscribe to! Love the content keep at it mate !

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Much appreciated!

[@MattysWorkshop]

Brilliant job

[@badjuju6563]

Would have liked to see it being used. Be nice if the plans were in metric not cubits or rods though ;-)

[@craigtate5930]

Fantastic build

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Thanks!

[@SamGlasser]

Nice thing about this video is it shows you the tools you would need to complete the kit. Lathe, Drill press and Mill. They don't tell you that at the website.

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

The instructions tell you how to make it with a lathe with a milling attachment and a drill press. I wouldn't fancy taking it on without a milling machine though!

[@adamdabrowski931]

I absolutelly love it!

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Thanks 👍

[@nortonp240]

A work of Art !

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Thanks!

[@drrtalexander]

I may have missed this, but how do you precisely control the inerval between the marks? It appeared to me that the interval (angle) between the marks was accomplished by manually rotating the chuck. Am I missing something??

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

I forgot to put it in the video, but I have a protractor I can fit in the rear of the spindle bore 👍

[@ophirb25]

Nice work 👍

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@AdamMaszynotwor]

Dobra robota BRAWO!

[@smudgemo]

Nice work.

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Thanks!

[@DiegoMasid13]

Nice work!

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Thanks!

[@Dagonius.]

Not bad Paul! Keep it up.

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Thanks!

[@rickpalechuk4411]

Very cool Cheers

[@zacharyschaafsma2523]

i love it

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Many thanks!

[@isverque74]

Esse profissional nós chamamos de FERRAMENTEIRO.

[@dima-giryakov9663]

интересный механизм

[@randydewees7338]

I've made many graduated wheels with a simple indexing rotary table and a grave (broken end mill donor) in the mill spindle. I've also done it with the lathe carriage feed and a stop. Is there a reason to make this contraption besides killing time?

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

I wanted to try one of their less expensive kits, before taking on one of the bigger, more challenging ones. I have a few projects on the list that require graduated dials, so this seemed like a good fit.

[@randydewees7338]

I get the kit making part. On my wheels, stamping the numbers evenly required the making of a little jig that indexed and had a drop hammer.@@PaulsGarageProjects

[@Samaga1]

Hello. In the 04:24 What happens to the tip of the drill bit? seems to move strangely . (I have no mechanical knowledge) sorry for my English. beautiful work 👍

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Ahh, that's not a drill bit but an edge finder. Used to find the edges of the part I'm working on. When it kicks out I know it's about 3mm from the edge of the part. From there I can use the DRO to drill holes and stuff!

[@Samaga1]

Thank you very much for explaining it to me👍

[@harlech2]

Very nice!

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Thanks!

[@RustyInventions-wz6ir]

Nice job

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Thanks!

[@marcio.roberto.torneiro4897]

gig muito interessante pra fazer anel graduado ,,🇧🇷

[@snaplash]

How did you space the graduations so evenly by just turning the chuck buy hand?

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Good question! I forgot to put it in the video, but I have a protractor I can fit in the other end of the spindle bore.

[@charlieromeo7663]

Thanks, I was wondering the same thing. It may be interesting to build a holding fixture so this could be used on a milling machine and the graduations could be clocked with a 5C spin indexer, thereby eliminating any variability? Very well shot video. Cheers from Florida’s Space Coast.

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

That's an interesting idea! Might be a way of using it with my rotary table. I've also thought about fixing the rotary table to the lathe somehow - might be easier to get things lined up.

[@stingable]

How did you index the lathe chuck ?

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

I've got a protractor I can mount in the rear of the spindle bore 👍

[@stingable]

@@PaulsGarageProjects Wow , Hope i could get a chance to see that in future videos , Thanks

[@GnosisMan50]

How are you indexing the chuck?

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

For testing I just have a protractor I can mount in the back of the spindle bore.

[@SELG88]

i like your lathe, it does not sound crazy loud, what is it?

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

It's a lovely Boxford BUD Mark 3, made in the late 1970s I believe.

[@SELG88]

@@PaulsGarageProjects awesome.

[@ersetzbar.]

how does this help me pass exams?

[@_MadFox]

Симпатичное приспособление. Хотя мне проще сделать то же самое граверным резцом на фрезерном станке без вращения шпинделя станка и подачей стола станка, а заготовку закрепить в делительном приспособлении.

[@bazookamoose7224]

But not on an spindexer or indexer? Sounds super… inaccurate?

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

A future project is to make an indexer for the lathe, or possibly a mount for my rotary table. I just used a protractor in the rear of the spindle bore to test it out.

[@Tensquaremetreworkshop]

An interesting project, but I do not understand; you have both mill and rotary table- why not graduate with that? Indeed, using a powered engraving tool will give better marks.

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

I wanted to try one of their less expensive kits, before taking on one of the bigger, more challenging ones.

[@Tensquaremetreworkshop]

@@PaulsGarageProjects Ahh, good move.

[@aden3279]

Nice job, but please stop breathing into the mic

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Thanks for the heads up, couldn't hear that problem through my speakers 👍

[@nortonp240]

@@PaulsGarageProjects me neither on my potato speakers

[@stumccabe]

Why don't you speak - it's offputting just reading sub-titles?

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Thanks for the feedback 👍

[@emailformosa]

*New Subscriber* This is why KZbin exists. I really enjoyed this. But, I’m having trouble telling in the video, it looks to me like the final edge of the marks is very slightly inconsistent. Is it caused by variation in when the final chip breaks away? Is it possible to start the cut from the interior and pull the chip to the end of the part? I come with humility, this is top tier content. Would you make it more ridged if you did it again? Do I need to see an optometrist?

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Thank you very much! I think using a lathe tool to clean it up at the end deformed the marks a bit. I now use some emery cloth instead, which leaves the marks nice and straight. I use this method in my recent tool and cutter grinder build 👍