Mini Mill: Converting the Lead Screws to NOT Insane Thread Pitch

[@spasticjackson9578]

fantastic video... not too much, not too little. Fun little mills on the cheap, thanks for sharing !

[@fredfarnackle5455]

Congratulations on a very clear and well explained video, too many people can't say anything without a whole heap of um's and ah's and some godawful background music or a crappy microphone.

[@bloop6812]

Regarding the wrong parts issue "Trust but Verify" good presentation Thanks

[@alfonse4595]

Nice! I always wanted to do this swap. The goofy dial numbers really bother me. 0.0625 is not metric though. It is 1/16 inch per turn. Still totally annoying for trying to work in thousandths.

[@tomt9543]

Annoying, yes! But I’m a tight ass, so here’s my fix: Get a notepad and write down 1) 62.5 2) 125 3) 187.5 etc.. Right on up to 1.500. When I have a long travel between points, I just find the next lowest number on the chart and turn the crank that number of times, then move the remaining amount to hit your mark! It’s a really quick (and cheap!!) way to simplify the 1/16” per revolution graduated rings!

[@Teklectic]

@@tomt9543 That is a very good idea, I'm going to adopt that for my mill too, I have the same issue with the dials and the same aversion to spending money 😁

[@tomt9543]

@@Teklectic It’s served me well! Glad you can use it!

[@garyh4458]

62.5 is just fine. It's 1/16th of an inch.

[@joansparky4439]

yeah, the dial should have been in 1/1024th (64 dial markers on the circumference)

[@HunterNapier]

THANK YOU. The instructions in my kit claimed that it turns the wheel by .625" (NOT THE .0625" I SUSPECTED) per revolution.. NO WAY is it .625" per revolution like the instructions and them claim. I have been fighting eastwood on this trying to get some clarification. Buying this kit now as well because its really tough to figure out how to convert all this on the fly when you're on a workpiece. Still, I'm about to add the DRO I got for this anyway, just was trying to knock out some work Ive needed before that cause its a little bit of a project.

[@philoso377]

Nice presentation. Love that fast forward at the right time. Camera angle perfect. Keep it up. Thank you.

[@eburdick48]

Yeah, the 62.5 mils per turn is a pain, but so is the lead screw backlash. I use one of these with a highschool robotics team, and ended up writing a program to get the coordinates right, which works fine, but I ended up adding a DRO, which doesn't care what the pitch of the screws are.

[@YoshimoshiGarage]

I definitely need to add a DRO

[@robc8468]

All manual mills even brand new Bridgeports have lead screw backlash. So better CNC mills use expensive ball type leadscrews to minimize the issue.

[@dennisyoung4631]

Yes, need this setup for my own *Non-Sunken Mill.*

[@cuinoz3569]

Excellent video was fun to watch. After reading the comments I don’t see any benefit. Was hoping it would help with back lash and see it doesn’t. I’m installing the stainless igaging dros now. The backlash may still be a problem even having the dro’s. One thing is for sure your mill base is clean and well lubed.

[@YoshimoshiGarage]

The primary benefit is that it's easy to count distance. If you need to move anything further than 1 rotation of the hand wheel, the original screws make it a real pain to determine exactly how far to turn. You have to move 0.050, then reset the scale on every rotation, or you have to set up an indicator. It's definitely better than the original for usability, but not nearly as nice as a DRO. It doesn't (and wasn't expected to) do anything for backlash.

[@JETHO321]

They're not metric lead screws. They were 16tpi and the new ones are 20tpi. I just did this same conversion and then realized i wasted money when I always set indicators on the x and y anyhow.

[@YoshimoshiGarage]

If I could go back in time, I'd save the money and put it toward a 2-axis DRO. Even with the better graduations, the lash is still a pain.

[@winandd8649]

Weird that the Z axis is already imperial? So is there also a conversion kit to make the Z axis metric ?

[@pnuemagger]

I mean, it’s just a 1/16th per turn, no? It’s not that big of a deal to run longer cuts… just go to the next lowest teenth plus the remainder. IMO, the backlash is a bigger actual problem - solved by a DRO kit.

[@YoshimoshiGarage]

A DRO is definitely a recommended item.

[@mudgem3742]

Cant really blame them for giving you what you ordered. I don't want company's giving me what they think I need rather than what I ordered. (maybe you owned another lathe or are ordering for a friend...

[@damnimcooltom1]

I like how you slipped a "don't overtighten" warning right in at the end. How smooth does it feel now, compared to before you tore it apart?

[@YoshimoshiGarage]

The table is definitely smoother, but those graduated dials were terrible.

[@damnimcooltom1]

Like, hard to read, or what?

[@YoshimoshiGarage]

If you wanted to move the table any more than 0.060" and measure the move you had to move in steps and keep resetting the hand wheel, which just isn't usable.

[@luks9203]

@@YoshimoshiGarage do you have a link for the mill? The only mills i can find are those with the tower attached to a tilt able disk.

[@YoshimoshiGarage]

@@luks9203 This is the one in my videos. littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=4962&category=1387807683

[@gangleweed]

I have a mill that has Imperial dials and just fitted a DRO.......everything is Metric now.

[@mike0rr]

I recently bought the mini mill form Little Machine Shop myself and it cane with the same 62.5 graduated dial as I presume most of their American mills do. But I actually prefer to use metric after years of using it on my 3D printer and robotics projects. To swap it over to metric, does someone need to buy the metric conversion kit, or can you just but metric graduated dials and swap them out for the Standards that they come with? Since its already metric right? Great video by the way. If I do have to buy the entire metric kit this will be very handy for me.

[@joansparky4439]

get a DRO for it instead and forget about the dials..

[@mike0rr]

@@joansparky4439 I should have lol. But now I think I might wanna CNC it.

[@joansparky4439]

@@mike0rr just pers preference.. but by the time one has adopted a manual mill like that for CNC he'd also have built a similar and more practical CNC-mill right next to it from scratch - a moving gantry on elevated rails like the big ones they can walk into, just on a workbench. Keeps swarf to a minimum and the manual mill around for when it's needed.

[@mike0rr]

@@joansparky4439 it's nice to have both. Idk what I will do. Just moved mine to a new garage so no telling what way the wind will blow for me next lol.

[@joansparky4439]

@@mike0rr I just stumbled over the vid looking for info on a "similar" BF16V I ordered to replace my 16yo 3/4hp press drill with that got long in the tooth and would require a lot of work to bring back up to speed.

[@ArcAiN6]

so.. i've seen a couple of your videos now, and i just want to point out that those are NOT woodruff keys. In this case, you are pulling what is called a "standard feather key" A woodruff key is a half-disk type of key. There are several different types of keys, and nomenclature is important if you're attempting to teach people things. It's a good idea to know the different types of keys by name, especially if needing to order or make keys for different circumstances. There are differences between each type, and each type serve a best use situation. Terms to know: Peg Feather Key, Double-Headed, Feather key with fixing, Standard feather key, Woodruff Key, Square Key / Rectangle Key, Flat Saddle Key, Hollow Saddle Key, Tangent Key, Round / Circular Key, Parallel Sunk Keys.... There's a reason there are so many different types. Knowing these reasons will help you, and those you teach understand the differences, and how to apply them to future projects.

[@YoshimoshiGarage]

Fair criticism

[@Pushyhog]

link kit please!

[@YoshimoshiGarage]

Added the link in the description

[@tires2burn]

Its always easier the second time.

[@joansparky4439]

16TPI is not a metric LS.. metric would be some even metric pitch like 1mm, 2mm or 3mm - *NOT 1.5875mm*

[@adkinsfabricationandthenso3488]

That is exactly what I said😂😂😂😂😂

[@dennisbjones]

And to think all this would have been unnecessary if Seig had been serious about the metric lead screw and had put on some metric graduated scales on the handwheels. I mean,,,,,,, eventually you Americans are going to join the rest of the globe aren't you? ;)

[@YoshimoshiGarage]

As long as it has a sensible, divisible scale per rotation I'd be fine with it. Make it 10mm per rotation or whatever, but having to account for some odd fraction makes doing any travel more than one turn of the screw basically impossible.

[@dennisbjones]

@@YoshimoshiGarage That's what I mean. Metric leadscrew should have metric dial.

[@1SmokedTurkey1]

@@YoshimoshiGarage My lathe's saddle is like this. I do math in my head while turning lol super annoying

[@pirminkogleck4056]

even the metric wheel dial is absolutley stupid, instead mm steps, it shows steps from one to 80 ( wich is 2mm one revolution ) i am sick of doing the math always!

[@dannyhughes8187]

Really..

[@nickatronic1721]

take out metric, put in "standard" - and call the first one "insane". to me, an insignificant individual from the rest of the really normal world, that sounds funny, but beware, it's 2022 out there and you might be categorically wrong and making the world three small steps worse right now XD

[@YoshimoshiGarage]

No, the insanity isn't metric v. imperial - I'm fine with metric. What's insane is that a single turn of the screw isn't a measurement easily and roundly divisible by 25, 50 or 100. If it had been metric and one turn was 50 or 100mm I would have left it alone. If all of the drawings and parts I work with are in imperial measurements, having imperial tools makes more sense - even if "the rest of the world" uses metric. For the record, a majority of my CAD and additive work is done in metric but the metal suppliers here sell imperial material. I'm not going to be able to change that - after all I'm just an insignificant individual.

[@nickatronic1721]

oh, same as with my machine :D the 1.5mm gradient was so sick.. will never understand what the chinese were thinking :D as you say, one revolution has to be a whole unit, be it metric or imperial, otherwise it gets really tiring. XD these chinese people should have just asked us hobby machinists beforehand haha :D but I'm quite satisfied with the little machine.. quite useful for its size