Bridgeport for Beginners!

Now here is a well deserved Shiner! Needle scaler, the best 30bucks you will ever spend removing paint and bondo from cast iron!

 

They are fun little work horses in the right situation.

 

SO wtf do you do when you screw up and realize whacking up a block this size isn't easy for the average Jason?


Ya get medieval on it!


Then while working it, its important to remember to lock the quill or this happens. DOH! Valuable lesson on this one. I had the speed cranked up on the feed. I used this technique on the back of the blocks that mount on the knee. In my mind, some added texture gave it some bite on the knee. Thinking back, that might not have been the best idea. Oh well, it's done now.




Installing the Z scale requires you to think about 9 steps into the future. My left arm now matches the size of my right arm.



Dialing it in is fun! Cranking that knee up and down about 20times. I got it within 1 thou on the edge here and on the face it's within 3thou. On my first attempt, the face was out 40thou! Turns out the shape of the knee is not parallel with the dove tail on the column. The knee is actually fatter on the bottom. So, I cut the face of the bottom mount and still had clearance for my screws in the slot.



Marking the holes for the reader head block to the mill was a head scratcher. I got lucky and nailed it.
I did find the only flat place on the column for mounting it. This located the scale a little further forward than I originally wanted, but it's not a factor really. Turns out, I needed every bit of this length.



Things I learned, making a block truly square on all 6 sides requires you to start with a much bigger block!
Use QUALITY taps. After spending the bucks, I never had a single dorked up hole or busted tap. No swiss cheese mill on my watch!
The bottom of the scale clears the casting by 3/8" and leaves me plenty of room for the cover if I choose to install it. Yes I know it sticks out above the top of the Y (but not past the dove tail on the column ) looking at it, you would think it screws my travel. That's when you remember the X scale is on the back of the table and I can't crank it that far in anyways! I still need to machine a block to prevent that from happening and mount it to the table.

This is mid travel. When the knee is all the way down, I have half an inch on this end from crashing the reader into the end. Bottom line,the Z scale needs to be much longer than you would think at first glance.



Oh... AND LOCK THE QUILL!

 

Jason:

Here's a couple more items to add to your " Oh...AND LOCK THE QUILL!" list:
Be sure your collets and bits are spotlessly clean when assembling them.
Be sure the collet nut/collet drawbar is TIGHT!

Amazingly BAD things happen when the bit starts to walk out of the collet chuck.

Don

 

Good tips Don. I had my edge finder start to drop while I was staring at it!

I'd rather learn from others instead of learning on my own.

 

Here’s another trade secret tip. If you have an end mill in and you find it pulling out or pushing up in the Collett, take it out blacken up the shank with black magic marker and put it back in the Collett. (But, always make sure you have it tight first.) this tends to happen most often with three-quarter inch end mills.

 

Is it the thickness of the black ink that takes up the space???

 

This is looking awesome Jason! I thought you had a rusty bandsaw to cut your material from a previous post? Looks like you went at that stock with an angle grinder? I with I had the space for a BP.
Robert

 

lol... I havent mounted that little saw yet to a table. So I walked down to my neighbor with the block and we were able to make one cut on his saw. Trouble is the vise on it couldnt really clamp it well. So I angle grinded it with a small disc from both sides. Whatever works.

Covers installed! Almost time to rip it apart.

 

No it does not really take up any space. The alcohol dries off fast and just leaves a thin film that is really dry and no longer slippery. The HSS cylindrical ground shank inside of an internal ground Collett, sometimes slips when taking heavy cuts.

By the way I’m a little bit jealous with that back rubber guard. Now you just need a front rubber guard.

 

It's just some rubber sheeting I hung up to divert some of the mess. I stuck a small piece on the front too. It helps for now, but I want a better solution.

 

Jason
This is a minor tip you probably already know. When securing something in the vice that is not as tall as the vice. Do not try to just place it in the vice protruding above the jaws. Place a parallel under the part to lift it to just above the jaws. This will help keep everything parallel and act as a post to help transmit vibration to the machine. If you do not already have one. Pickup a copy of the machinist hand book. I like the older printings the best. They are cheaper and often better bound. The feed speed on a mill cutter is critical to a good finish. I noticed on your fly cut of the aluminum. The feed speed was way to high if you were wanting a smooth finish. If you want the grain finish it is OK to feed at the faster feeds. Some will argue this but I have found tool steel to be superior over carbide on aluminum. The tool steel is a bit harder to get use to in the beginning because you have to grind the tool profile. While you can spend just about anything you want on a tool grinder. For tool steel blanks, a simple bench grinder with an angle table will work great.
I have one of the old cast iron belt driven table saws with the motor mounted underneath that I have been eyeing lately with the thoughts of using that for a grinder for sharpening lath and boring bar tools. In my opinion it is not worth sharpening a worn or mill cuter with the exception of possibly the very large and expensive ones. You lose diameter and it makes it a lot mor work when trying to get a cut of a certain width.
Unfortunately I noticed on my mill the other day that the head power down feed did not want to engage. A feature I can not do without. Another thing to be put on the to-do list, fix it.
The DRO install looks great. A top notch job. You are to be commended on that one!
Joe

 

Thanks Joe for the great advice! I bought a cheap set of parallels from the hazardfart and I gotta say, they are pretty nice for the money. I used your trick to lift up my parts in the vice and I'm getting the hang of how tight the vice actually should be. At first I was whacking the handle with my rubber mallet. I learned that's wrong as I was getting a lot of jaw lift. This old BP vise is pretty tired and I might need to look for something a little tighter. Just dropping 7bills on a kurt would send my wife into orbit at this point. I had heard HSS is better for aluminum, but I only had that carbide thing for my flycutter and it was given to me by my neighbor. I can see I'll have to learn how to grind some HSS. Remember, I'm the guy that believes the expensive model drill doctor is worth the money. I have a delta wet grinder from my dad. Time to dig it out I guess... I'll go on the hunt for that machinist handbook. I bet that sucker can put me to sleep in 10mins flat.

 

It could put you to sleep in 10 minutes, 20 minutes after you wake up first thing in the morning. 2482 pages. It is a reference book it’s not a book to read front to back.

 

got one on watch on fleabay. thanks.

Found this old jewel in dads toolbox from 1953. Pretty cool stuff in it.

 

I've found that book (Machinery's Handbook) to be like a machine in itself, meaning, the best way to learn how to use it is by using it. Open it up, read the introductory stuff, scan the contents (it's all you can really do), and then force yourself to use it. It's awkward at first, but with practice it becomes easier and its value begins to increase. Don't use it and it becomes harder to use, and then starts collecting dust while you "wing it" and proceed to f up your work and tooling. Ask me how I know. New ones are stupid expensive and the information I tend to need hasn't changed in 20 years, most of it for 100 years, so an older one in good condition will work fine.
Great work Jason.

Pete

 

Anyone know how easy this thing should move up and down in its bore? I know it has something to do with dis engaging the vertical feed....

 

These are two great reference books too.

 

The machine-heads on the metal working forums could tell you.

So when you get that thing set up, you need to make an engine or something.
Don't just make a nice lawn ornament out of it.

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