Making Replacement Track Idler Shafts For The Dragline Crane - Manual Machining

[@donteeple6124]

Josh, Now this was the type of machining video that 98% of the viewers want. Up close, personal, everything expertly explained and very professionally done. No hype, no BS, whether a newbie or an old hand....this was one to make sure to watch. Keep it up, good things come to those that wait. Don

[@TopperMachineLLC]

@donteeple6124 thanks. I haven't had much lately to film that was involved like this one.

[@CothranMike]

@@TopperMachineLLC it is the simple, bread and butter jobs that pay the bills.

[@jetegtmeier71]

Best of luck with your family Conner, many times there is nothing more important/ caring/ forgiving/ and understanding. It took me a lot to learn that lesson but it will NEVER be forgotten, again best of luck Conner

[@jackdawg4579]

Strewth! I was drilling a 5mm hole yesterday, i was only going 20mm deep and managed to break the drill bit! Then I broke my 6mm tap shortly after trying to tap another hole. Watching you run that tiny drill bit that deep is making my skin crawl!

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Lol, it could always go bad. And usually does

[@kevinlott9626]

The best thing about drilling numerous holes is feeling I get when the last one is done.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Exactly 💯 spot on.

[@joell439]

Can’t thank you enough Josh for capturing what it sounds like just before the bit breaks. 😳 Very helpful 👍👍👍👍👍

[@BrucePierson]

There's a very high possibility that so many old machines have gone to scrap because the right person was not on hand to save them. In this case, you were the right person to save this drag line crane. Great seeing it being renovated (I won't say restored, because you aren't bring it back to new showroom condition). It will live on in much better condition than when you got it.

[@robertfish6617]

Best wishes to Connor. I hope we get to meet him on a future video. His training from you will take him far.

[@joell439]

Yep, drilling holes can get very tedious…… at least you have that ultra-sweet set up for drilling them. 👍👍😎👍👍

[@frankerceg4349]

Thank you Josh!

[@fredygump5578]

This is the first time I've seen someone using one of these drill presses. I'm impressed. Maybe it isn't fun, but it could be a lot less fun with a small pedestal drill press!

[@TopperMachineLLC]

I have a few videos of the radial drill in use. Check them out. The other way to drill these would be in the lathe.

[@TheWrena440]

Yep. Good luck Connor!

[@jimmyboles3409]

Each person is different and do things the way they feel comfortable doing it that’s what’s makes the world go around A person shouldn’t have to explain why they do what they do in a shop to anyone if it works for them period! Thanks for sharing Josh

[@petegraham1458]

Best wishes to Conner and I hope the family issues are resolved. It will be nice to see the improvements to the drag line.

[@bostedtap8399]

May I wish Connor a good life. Great setup on the radial drill for repetition work. Thanks for sharing.

[@jackdawg4579]

Sad to see Connor gone, but hopefully what ever branch of the forces he is heading off to - puts your start in the machinery area you gave him to good use and put him in a machine shop to learn the trade.

[@johnnyholland8765]

Used to run a Cincinatti mill just like that one when I worked for Boeing company. Really good sturdy accurate machine. My anti backlash wasn't too good on it so I always conventional milled when possible. I think it had a cat50 spindle? Been so long I can't remember. Did a lot of wheel cutter setups on arbors with it too.

[@AaronEngineering]

Nice one Josh 👍. Good to see you getting it done mate. Cheers, Aaron.

[@alanm3438]

Good to see you. In 1984 I was in basic training during November. Thanks for the video. Step by step, you will get the crane done. I hope the crane will serve you well. I am glad that you are preserving this piece of history. The toy crane is great.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Someone had to save it. Might as well have been me.

[@alanm3438]

@@TopperMachineLLC You are the best!!!!!!

[@candyjanusch3716]

its magical how the anchor lube always gets set down with the label always facing the camera.... kinda reminds me of waynes world and the product placement montage

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Interesting. Good stuff that it keeps facing the camera

[@markvoluckas4571]

Glad to see Josh making a bit off a few sponsorships, nothing wrong with that he still makes great content. It's not like abom where he made his whole channel into an infomercial

[@ellieprice363]

@@markvoluckas4571Abom has been making videos for many years. Although free to his viewers it has grown into a profitable business for him and his wife. I wish him the best as his channel continues to educate and grow in many different directions.

[@jerrywhite5770]

Pretty cool using the little Dragline to help move parts

[@BrucePierson]

I'm sure Connor would have loved to have done this job. Very unfortunate that circumstances prevented him doing it. Wishing him the best for his future.

[@TodaysProject-hc9mk]

Great day for a video.

[@ddblairco]

thank you

[@timf6916]

Good job.

[@mrfarmall-vk4gw]

They look really nice👍👍

[@olcanoli1901]

Bro! This is like watching myself at work!

[@TopperMachineLLC]

@olcanoli1901 so you do things wrong too? Lol. That's what all the internet experts tell me.

[@seldendaniel8819]

It looks like fun!

[@mrricky3816]

Thanks!

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Thank you!

[@hacc220able]

Connor was a good one - hope he can come back some time. Good video and thanks for sharing

[@Frank-Thoresen]

The young ones have the life ahead of them and it's impossible to know the path they will take. Not many move back to their home town if there is economic hardship there. Very sad though. We have the trend in my country Norway.

[@erik_dk842]

@@Frank-Thoresen Ingen bekymringer, jeres oliefond kan sagtens forsørge en million flere afrikanere og arabere

[@hacc220able]

@@Frank-Thoresen Some farsighted people in my Tennessee hometown a few years ago took definitive and progressive actions to turn a farming community into an industrial powerhouse by bringing in light and moderately heavy industries for the expressed purpose of providing meaningful and high paying jobs for their children and grandchildren. It worked and the kids are staying in their hometowns and working locally. We just need to make a change in political parties in this country and get away from the shortsighted and sometimes anti-American Democratic party and elect politicians that anticipate the future and take bold actions now to save our industrial base across the country. We as a nation are running out of time is this change is not made now.

[@CothranMike]

@@hacc220able I beg to differ with you. Which party moved all our heavy industry off shore, shortsighted Republican owners not wishing to clean up their act or even the places they fouled.

[@Impuritan1]

@@CothranMikeClinton signed NAFTA into law on January 1st, 1994 and 700k jobs got moved to Mexico and the Bureau of Labor Statistics says 4.3 million have been lost because of it. Not only that, it forced employees to have to accept lower wages. And for the record, personal net worth went up 16% under the previous administration’s first three years and .7% (that’s a point 7 btw, not 7) under the current one. So if you’re going to beg him to differ, beg a little harder.

[@anthonyrivers8395]

Going live for a couple of pins would be amazing 😊. A full day KZbin-a-thon 😅

[@RalfyCustoms]

Best wishes Connor Nice one Josh, bet you were glad to step away from the radial drill 😊 Beautiful old thing that, thanks for sharing buddy, hope you're all keeping well

[@TopperMachineLLC]

As much as I don't like drilling holes, the radial sure is a nice machine.

[@Xris-FJ1200]

What a magic little plastic dragline you made ... Xris

[@TopperMachineLLC]

I bought that. Amazingly someone decided to make awesome scale models.

[@Xris-FJ1200]

@@TopperMachineLLC Jokes aside, why not try to fit sealed bearings ? Maybe there is not enough metal in each wheel ? Yours sincerely Xris (french xris ...)

[@ellieprice363]

I like how you’re never afraid to try something new. Bridgeport head on a planer, ATF fluid for cooling and lubricating and deep hole drilling in 1045. The object should always be to keep improving processes until they’re as good as possible under the circumstances.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

@ellieprice363 if they say it can't be done, I will find a way.

[@ellieprice363]

@@TopperMachineLLC I’m the same way. In the tool & die shop where I worked they gave the “impossible“ jobs to me.

[@jimc4731]

Tip: Make your setup for long operations so you are able to do something else while the machine is doing its work Then the run time is irrelevant. I come from a production shop background, many machines running without an operator present during the machining cycle. JIM ❤

[@brandonwalker272]

The blood of machine coolant looks good.

[@alan-sk7ky]

Yeah, deep drilling holes. 3/8 water galleries in injection mould bolsters. 30-40 cm was a shallow one deep ones might go 75cm. i'm really glad I moved on to the drawing office as my training cycle progressed.

[@GardenTractorBoy]

This was great to watch, I can relate to projects like this. It is good to see the magic chuck in action, I have still not seen one for sale over here. The new vice jaws are cool

[@TheUncleRuckus]

Great video as always Josh 👍👍

[@TheDayzman]

Acutualy drilling deep holes is one of my favorite jobs.. xD I got a Raboma 12UH1600 at work that got refurbished a few jears ago so its realy smooth and the clamping is tight. My least favorite is drilling multi step holes on the mill with a lot of tool changes and tight tolarance and gdt positioning.. just a simple hole is no problem at all.

[@edwardwright7329]

10:30 I kind of like drilling holes (delta drill press in wood). I would be in hog heaven running one of those Carlton hogs🤠

[@jamesbonnema1041]

Your oil is running nice!

[@TopperMachineLLC]

@jamesbonnema1041 it sure is. I wish it was a little better though. Someday I'll tear into it.

[@ypaulbrown]

Love all your content Josh….best wishes from Orlando…Paul

[@bdove7939]

Drilling holes. I agree.

[@GeorgeBracht]

Nice Job 👍 Only thing I dislike more than drilling holes is reaming them for taper pins next. Luckily taper pins are not to common anymore

[@kenshoemaker]

I'm curious why you didn't decide to weld the low spots and machine the shafts to size.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

It would take more work and time to get it perfect than to start over. Not to mention the base metal impurities and trying to weld that up. Do it right the first time, that sometimes means making new.

[@SuperJaXXas]

Drilling is definitely my least favorite activity after glorious sanding.............😁 Hooah Conor!

[@Harry-ll2xm]

Why didn’t you put a stop on both ends ?

[@KW-ei3pi]

Great job. Choosing materials is difficult for me due to lack of experience. Was the choice of 1045 for the shafts to cut costs on a machine that won't see a lot of service now? If it was a customers modern machine, what material would you have chosen? Thanks

[@george-b3i-d2d]

new shafts?? that will buff out!😁

[@mongoose388]

Your toy crane looks like something you'd see on Chip's restoration channel.

[@leedale4008]

If Abom had that chuck it would be the Precision wobble 500.

[@seamusbolton215]

I love these videos on machining parts for the old drag line With so many bars to do, If I had a vertical bandsaw and the bars clamped down well, I wonder could you saw out most of the material and just mill away a small remainder ?

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Band saw would be much slower than how I did it in the follow-up video, coming out Wednesday.

[@alandawson2813]

Yeehaaa, another instalment. From kiwi land.

[@skwerlz]

Least favorite - supervising the automatic saw. Drilling is near the top of the list though, right behind paperwork.

[@joestill3106]

What are you running for coolant/cutting oil on the the Cincinnati there Josh?

[@zedostenso3069]

Any work possible from the ship maintains in Duluth or Superior? Zed

[@jimhunt5259]

sweeping up the mess. 🙃

[@matthewmeuleman9872]

Mine is cleaning up arfter uthers in my shop

[@horsebee1]

Why did you do the drilling in a separate operation? Would it not have been easer and quicker to do the drilling on the lathe while you had the pins set up for cutting to length and center drilling.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

No, Way Slower in the lathe. And, the radial has flood coolant that the lathe does not. Imagine cranking the tailstock in and out hundreds of times just to clear chips. The radial is a simple flick of the wrist and retract.

[@everettparkin9795]

Do you think that by rough cutting the flats in the band saw first that you could have saved some milling time?

[@TopperMachineLLC]

No, band saw would be way slower.

[@ramirocortez6392]

👍👍

[@StuartsShed]

"Can I Make New Ones"? I should bloody hope so, I'd be seriously disappointed if these were beyond you. 🙂 Looking forward to the revised milling process. Nice touch with the toy crane.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Lol. Yeah, if I couldn't make these, I really should just quit and sell the shop.

[@claygormish4884]

Looked at the snap jaw website. Pricey but good looking products. What do you think of their angle jaw?

[@TopperMachineLLC]

@claygormish4884 I don't have one yet, bit it's on my list to buy.

[@SandroCaya]

Great content, as always! Just a quick off-topic question: I have a SafePal wallet with USDT, and I have the seed phrase. (alarm fetch churn bridge exercise tape speak race clerk couch crater letter). How should I go about transferring them to Binance?

[@TopperMachineLLC]

I have no idea what you're talking about.

[@SepticWhelk]

Leave the climb milling stuff to the CNC boys !

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Since the machine was designed to climb mill, it was worth trying. It worked, but not well enough to do it all the time.

[@CothranMike]

@@TopperMachineLLC sounds like you need to adjust the fitting screw/nut which allows the machine to climb cut, but you are right, it is made to do that very thing. For a while with maintainence, and adjustment and repair, for the life of the rest of the machine.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

@CothranMike I need to pull the table and go through it someday. Or not and just keep working. Lol

[@hmh-jv6rn]

I love the way you use your hand as a hammer! You'll regret it in the future

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Sure will. Bad habits are hard to break.

[@tsmartin]

I was noticing that too and saying "OUCH" every time. The old timer that mentored me told me to never use your hands as a hammer. And I haven't and I don't.

[@johnmcanulty7341]

After you have the track driver finished you will need to observe the local speed limits?

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Lol. It's a high speed machine.

[@TheJohndeere466]

I have a gisholt turret lathe I would sell cheap. It would do all that drilling and you could just rotate the turret and keep going. I forget what size the spindle is but those shafts would fit through the spindle.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

I had a warner swasey that I sold in the last couple years. Not having work for it, forced the decision to sell. The few customers I had that utilized the machine, closed up permanently, and I wasn't able to find replacement work for it. So, it had to go.

[@prototype3a]

I Am Extremely Happy With How This Is Going !! btw, what make/model is your little forklift ?

[@TopperMachineLLC]

It's a Clark. I think it's a carloader or clipper. I never did find a definite model.

[@wizardind3203]

a 4 jaw in the lathe for the flats if you can handle the radios

[@TopperMachineLLC]

That would have been way more work than milling.

[@Rigoknow]

👍

[@stephenbridges2791]

Those pins were really worn. I guess I forgot how much from the first time you showed them. There's no telling how many years they were in there. Quite awhile, I bet.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Guessing they were original. 1950s

[@maddiec.3212]

Josh, any advice on purchasing a radial arm drill press? I have been looking at the 3x9’s but they most only go down to 145rpm and .006 feed which seems a little fast for big drilling and coarse for a good finish on boring. I found a 4x11 with 75rpm and .004 feed, but it weighs 10k and I won’t be able to move it around the shop. Is bigger better? Is the slower speed necessary? How about feeds? Any advice would be great, thanks.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Alot of it comes down to brands. Some don't go slow enough. Some do. Slower speeds are definitely necessary, so don't skimp out there. Moving any radial can be extremely dangerous. They are top heavy. Lower the arm all the way and lock. Add a strap for good measure so it can't swing. Avoid brands that don't exist anymore. Cincinnati Bickford makes a great drill, but you can't get parts. I have a Carlton, and would buy another if I needed. Parts are available for them through Lucas Precision.

[@Dalbayob69]

Funny how you mentioned drilling being the worst job. My 16y old son started his welder/fabricator apprenticeship in September. This week he spent 4 days drilling holes in aluminium brackets on pillar drill. He must have done thousands of them and he said that made him change his mind about this profession 🤣🤣 he does enjoy welding though. He was told in college that his welds on first week were better than some of the 2nd year apprentices welds.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Yup, drilling sucks

[@jrmintz1]

Fascinating stuff. I'm guessing you're unhappy because it's taking too long per piece? I'll wait for the follow-up to find out.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Yes. I got it dialed in for the follow-up. Under 5 minutes to do both ends.

[@olcanoli1901]

Plunge the radius first then mill to blend.

[@olcanoli1901]

And I would drill two grease holes at the wear areas, unless I'm missing something.

[@TalRohan]

ooh you just freed up some time didnt you The first end looked pretty good to me but the way the chips are mounting up would bother me on the second end...so what I wonder was bothering you?? (yes I'll check out the follow up) sad to see connor go but good luck dude ...hope it goes the way you want it to.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Time was my biggest issue, and noise/chatter. Got it dialed in for the follow-up

[@TalRohan]

@@TopperMachineLLC oooh lovely I'll turn up the sound and compare them side by side just because my brain will be happier if I do lol

[@markledford4420]

Idk seems like welding and roughing is the option I woulda picked

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Would have been more work than it's worth.

[@jetegtmeier71]

after frilling the cross path for the grease I would think you would want to run your long drill down the other path just in case when you punched through to the long hole you didn't leave a flake barely attached until it breaks free in the grease stream and gets pumped into a bearing. Than again I'm not a machinist nut trying to make sense ?!?!?!

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Good point. Usually air does the job.

[@smudgemo]

I hate parting off, though tapping small holes might be worse.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Parting can definitely suck. Rigidity is key.

[@oggydogg4147]

And still no CNC in sight. My kind of video 👌

[@willgallatin2802]

Only one thing worse than drilling uncountable holes is cleaning out the chip pan on the lathe after a big run for 440 stainless.

[@MrNeverseeme]

Its to bad that Conner was laid off, hopefully he learned a valuable skill with Professor Topper.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

@MrNeverseeme he wasn't laid off, he left for the national guard.

[@W8iHav2P]

Not sure if you realized but your johnson was showing at 0:45

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Lol. It's pretty nice, isn't it. Lol

[@marcsummerlott3965]

Weld them up and machine em down.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Some things aren't worth repairing. UT was faster and cheaper to make new.

[@wizardind3203]

the jaws are hard and don't grip well, a thin alum or brass may help

[@tsmartin]

I would have relocated the stop to the other side so the cutting forces would be pushing into it rather than away from it. I think I would have also just clamped the parts directly to the table using a tee slot as a "V" so the work would be supported on its full length. They don't appear to be parts requiring a high precision anyway. Not saying he did anything wrong ... just presenting another way to do the job.

[@olcanoli1901]

I only don't like a job if I have to deal with someone else's mess. But I deal.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

@olcanoli1901 I don't mind someone else's mess. It just proves their incompetence, and has gotten me some great customers.

[@billdoodson4232]

Looking at that job I can understand why the youngster decided he had family issues. It's the sort of thing you just cannot look forward to doing. A repetitive pain in the proverbial, but you just need to get on with it. Another one of those character forming jobs.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

They went way better than I had expected. With the slab milling changes in the follow-up video, I had them under 15 minutes each, complete part.

[@ellieprice363]

I rather believe Conner would see that job as a challenge, not an excuse to skip out of a job that needs to be done. Machine shop jobs are not all quick and easy and clean.

[@billdoodson4232]

@ellieprice363 It was tongue in cheek, with regards to Connor.

[@tonyn3123]

What do I prefer not to do in the shop? I'll drill holes all day if you'll clean up at the end of the day. LOL Thanks.

[@janethuffman9500]

Great video. Using your hand as a hammer will bite you later in life.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Bad habits are hard to break.

[@CothranMike]

@@TopperMachineLLC Yup, got a Dupuytren's Contracture from doing that myself. It originated in the exact spot on the palm of my hand that I used for that motion to tighten a vise. Right at the base of the third finger on my right hand. Usual causes do not apply to me. No one in my family had this at any age, my diabetes, type 2, is well controlled, I don't drink or smoke cigars or cigarettes, l don't have seizures -so no meds to cause it, and I am not nutrient deficient. It is not debilitating as I caught it early and massage the area well and force the contracture to not bend the finger more than a little, around 1/8 inch, a bit more than 3 4mm for our metric friends. All in all I see no problem with any sleight of hand I perform, I stopped playing guitar, oh, 30 years ago, but, it would not interfere with my fingerpicking or strumming that I can see.

[@garyh4458]

I'd hate to pay someone for their time to make all of those. Good work, though.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

@@garyh4458 they went way faster than I expected. Once I changed up my slab milling operation, they were under 15 minutes total part

[@garyh4458]

@@TopperMachineLLC Not bad at all. Thanks for replying!

[@jamesbonnema1041]

I thought it was a good plan, maybe a little slow, but idk

[@TopperMachineLLC]

They came out great, except for the flat milling on the first few. Stay tuned for the follow-up video

[@CothranMike]

@@TopperMachineLLC Looking forward to it, love to see your solutions, they are top notch.

[@silverbullet7434]

Ever run a big turret lathe for months on end ??? That I got to hate you work every Muscle ten hrs a day.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Funny, I actually miss running turret lathes. So cool to set up and run all those operations in one chucking.

[@SHADOW.GGG-]

shaking its bollox off

[@tippydog4436]

Gee you need a new pair of pants,, LOL just kidding

[@bruceterhune3400]

You were climb milling. Maybe that could be the reason you weren't happy with how it was cutting.

[@TopperMachineLLC]

The machine is capable of climb milling, just that the functionality wasn't working as good as it should.

[@bruceterhune3400]

Climb milling is rarely if ever recommended. My point is that a better outcome is achieved when conventional milling.

[@Rustinox]

My least favorite job is everything manual, like hand filing and hacksawing or sanding... It's just primitive.

[@danmenes3143]

Tapping holes is worse than drilling them

[@danhoag373]

Drilling holes? Nope CLEAN UP!!

[@TopperMachineLLC]

Clean up sucks too, but at least you feel like you accomplished something.

[@2696kyle]

My least favorite job in the shop is grinding!