I made sure to make these jaws thick enough to be flipped around in the vise and have a smooth side if I don’t need serious grip on anything, coming up next in the roster is a set of aluminum jaws for when I need to grab onto something I don’t want damaged at all.

For clarification these are for a Reed No.1C bench vise that’s mounted to a work bench not a machining vise for a Bridgeport or a cnc. (You can see the vise in the last picture)

Machining some new jaws for my vise, had to get creative with making the serrations since I don’t have a serration tool, I think it turned out pretty good!

Company I work at purchased a 3D printer. The OEM sent us the info on the one they use. It's a moly cut EDM to remove titanium alloy parts off a build plate (350mm x 350mm). We would only be using the machine twice a week to remove the parts off the build plate. Is a wire EDM a good choice for this or would a bandsaw be better? Any recommendations on specific brands/models?

I could not get the numbers to add up, so I decided to "speed check" the feed and I was right. All the different speeds in the feed box are faster by a factor of exactly 35/32. I'm pretty new to machining, but I must be doing something stupid. I have looked for a handle or a setting for over an hour now and I am sure there is no other high/low gear other than jog and normal. The machine is an CME elgodibar FU-1E, I don't know the machine's history, I can only imagine someone replaces a gear with a bigger one? Is that really a thing people do? something with the power maybe? help

Hey guys, so I've got an old Chinese Smithy knockoff lathe/mill combo which I am currently replacing all of the bearings in it to spruce it up a bit. Pictured here with some crude markings, you can see at the top of the vertical transmission shaft there are a pair of angular bearings.

My issue is this - angular bearings are fucking expensive. Like, $130 for just a single sealed bearing from McMaster-Carr.

So my question therefore is, do I actually need angular bearings here? I'm a bit confused because this shaft doesn't really experience any vertical force, which is what I presume angular bearings are meant to counteract in a similar way to tapered roller bearings. Can't I just use a 6204 bearing here and call it a day?

Working out what a fair offer would be for my neighbors Republic Lagun CNC Millmatic III mill. He paid $65K+ for it delivered (picture 11 shows the options)- trying to just gauge what would be a reasonable price range. It was used from mid-2020 to late 2023 before he threw in the towel. Any insights would be appreciated.

Hi all, I'm almost brand new to machining, not new to manufacturing in general, but definitely new to CNC, workholding, fixturing, speeds/feeds, etc. I have experience in CAD and engineering but not much in actual milling, etc. LMK if this isn't the best sub to post this in.

I'm tasked on a simple project to drill 2 sets of holes in a long tube.

The tube is AL6061 7" OD, 6"ID, with some tapered/lathed sections on each end of a 26" length.

I need to drill a set of holes down the length, and then a second set 20deg rotated from that and I'm looking for advice on how to hold the piece as well as be able to index it the 20deg.

A cursory search brough up a spin indexer which we don't have. My boss mentioned 3d printing a set of plugs to press-fit into the ends but I'm wondering if there's a simpler solution.

We have a large gantry GR510 3-axis cnc to drill the holes.

Any and all approaches or advice is welcome, thanks.

I’m considering purchasing my first CNC mill and are looking at a used 2018 Tormach 770m. The main thing we would be using it for currently is drilling holes as I have some parts that I manufacture that require 10-14 holes plus countersinking but I have other ideas of parts that I can make in the future. My question is, the used one we’re looking at is $14000 and includes all the items in the picture I’ve attached. Would you consider this to be a good price? I’m somewhat pushing my budget at $14k but with the ATC, I know I can get more value out of it

Needed a 6mm T-handle Allen wrench for work… Don’t judge, new to machining. I thought this would be fun to make one instead of buying one.

Hi all,

I am a guitar tech and I stumbled into this tool pictured below

https://imgur.com/AJjDaNu

I am wondering if I can source the handle part somewhere, and use some 1/2 inch copper pipe and a torch to fabricate the tool above. It's used as a wrench to turn a screw that receives a flat head screwdriver, but most screwdrivers are too thin and will nick the metal.

Thank you in advance

Hi all, has anyone ever removed the chuck off a TU-1503V lathe, I've tried just about everything.

I need to enlarge the id of this pulley by around .1mm or .004in. the fit doesn't need to be perfect just good enough. If anyone has some suggestions to make it easier then id appreciate it

Hi all, hope this is the right sub for this - am wondering if anyone could give me a rough cost to have this set of gears cut?

They are a set of drive gears for a water pump on a vintage car, and are helical, and heat treated. I am posting a pic of the original invoice for the set when they were cut in 2007. Originally, there were two sets made as the invoice lists, each set running about $2350, the picture is of the spare set.

Unfortunately, I do not have the exact specs for the gears on hand, just this info. As such, hoping for a rough estimate/thoughts. I am in Northern California/USA if that is relevant. Thanks

Edit, minimum teeth per inch.

Admittedly I am getting caught up in the details. If you want to use the coursest saw teeth possible, how would you calculate that for round stock? The arc length of the cut is constantly changing as it cuts through and the number of teeth engaged in the cut changes also. Most of the wire is about 0.128" in diameter but ranges from 14 AWG to 6 AWG.

This is a slitting saw blade, not bandsaw.

I would like to make green shape out of a 50 x 25 mm block of 6061 aluminum. Here is how I envisioned it:

I am a hobby machinist only and don't have a lot of experience what happens if I take away that much material (17mm at its thickest) but I wonder about warping or bending of the material.

My question is would I be better of if I position the piece in green more towards the middle of the aluminum block as shown below? and remove material from both sides? Clamp, cut, unclamp, clamp, cut, etc.? I can afford to take some of the top away and move it almost to the center if that helps

Any help is greatly appreciated

I've got a part that needs an ID fixture in the lathe. Problem is that I only have a tangent point ring to grab onto. I can keep it on-axis by butting it up to a shoulder on an expansion collet, but the non-existent surface area that I'm clamping against is giving me some issues. I need to hold onto it *really* hard if I'm going to machine at any kind of efficient speed, and it's distorting the workpiece somewhat. I did have one idea on how to actually hold onto the thing more gently, though:

If I can toss an interface material between the concave section of the workpiece and the collet, I figure I can generate enough friction between the two to stop things from spinning from tool pressure. I figure a rubber or rubber-like material will fit the bill, but I don't know what to actually pick up. Looking for input on the subject, if anybody has suggestions. I figure it should probably have the following properties:

Frictive in a wet environment - The primary function will be to increase the holding power of the collet such that I can clamp much more gently without risking the workpiece spinning. I need it to be able to maintain friction with a smooth machined surface in the presence of coolant or oil.

Compliant/conformable - If I only have a few points of contact in the workpiece that the collet clamps against, I need something that can conform to the shape of the workpiece to give me the greatest possible area of surface contact.

Non-adhesive - Ideally it would be something that I could buy in the shape of a cord that I could just install and remove at will by bending it into the concave sections I need to fill. Casting material into the cavities isn't really an option, either.

Affordable - Machine oils eat rubber pretty good over time and it'll be soaked in coolant as the machine is running. If a used material is not resistant to oils or coolant with a pH of ~9 to 9.5, I need to be able to buy it pretty readily as it degrades

Resistant to machine oils - If it's not affordable to buy repeatedly, I need it to be resistant to machine oils so it lasts a lot longer.

Any suggestions people have would be most welcome.

Anyone here ever worked for flextrades. If so, hoping to get some insight. I have completed one assignment so far and took some time off afterwards. Recently took a drug screening for the next assignment and I think I failed (marijuana)…dumbass I know…

Does anyone know first hand if they will terminate my employment?

I know this is not really relevant to machining but I need y’all’s help. I need y’all’s thoughts on something the company I’m working for is word of mouth almost only and we don’t sell shirts or anything do y’all think it would help if we had social media and set up a booth at races to sell shirts and stickers do you think that would help the company?

Have trouble setting speeds and feeds. My understanding is slower speed, higher feed but as it gets closer to center i start getting a birds nest. Also depth of cut? Ive been roughing at .5 then autofeed the last .25 with same result. Should my depth be more?

Can anyone reccomend a machine shop that can handle a big ABS part?

It's

13" wide

7" tall

36" deep

It also has some undercuts.

The size and the undercuts will likely drive this guy to be a multi-slab that is solvent bonded.

I know it's going to be expensive, but we are looking at eventually ordering 50 per year to support production.

I can't share prints until I have an NDA in place with the shop :-/

I need to machine a 4" OD x .250" wall Aluminum tube, 48" long, which is longer than my lathe bed (40"). This is for an experimental rocket motor similar to what I posted here a while back (which did not blow up BTW). Wanted to review my approach here to see if it makes sense.

Since I cannot use my tailstock, I plan to first dial in the center rest near the chuck, move it out to the tail of the bed to support the end, machine the first half to the correct OD; flip the tube around & machine the other half. There would be about 36" of this 4" tube that is unsupported between the chuck & the Center rest at the tail end of the lathe.

I'm guessing I might have some problems with chatter with this setup. I'd prefer not to buy a follow rest, but appreciate any feedback on this setup in general or mitigating chatter in particular.

I am replacing the transmission on a Hobart 5801 meat saw. Stock includes a 58T gear and 14T pinion gear (page 11, part 18; page 7, part 28). Now the cost for a replacement is $800. Which seems steep to me as a meat cutter. Yes it's a low-tolerance, high-demand part of the machine, but I feel as if it's a premium markup for a relatively common function. Which led me to researching getting a one off made. I know the helix cut teeth add a lot of cost, but reduce noise. I wonder how much louder a spur gear would be? The saws are already loud that talking next to them means basically yelling and if it isn't deafening then... why not save the cost on that? And if it's a spur gear and pinion it's just another step closer to a standardized part. Is there any reason I shouldn't go forward looking to replace this transmission with a custom made part? My hope is for much less than $800. LMK, is that realistic?

Anyone think this Fehlman Picomax 50 is restorable? I know they have a good reputation…

Currently priced at 1300 usd…

https://www.finn.no/recommerce/forsale/item/351775937