My first use of a lathe to make something useful :)

[Brendon M]

Hello Jim, thank you

We do have a mill but it is of the CNC variety. No manual mill, unfortunately.

I can model stuff in 3D, but most of the projects I have in mind are simple and CNC would be overkill, so I don't use it.

This might be a great excuse to purchase my own mill

[zeeprogrammer]

All I can say is 
You are going down a well traveled path.

"muck"...loved that. Haven't heard it in ages.

I used to use it. Makes me wonder where you are.

[Jayville]

Brendonm you can buy all the brass that you want at George White in Clayton...last time I was their they let me behind counter..talk about a kid in a lolly shop.and they will cut to any size....clem....tasmania

[Brendon M]

"muck"...loved that. Haven't heard it in ages.

I used to use it. Makes me wonder where you are.

Thanks Carl, I am in Melbourne, Australia. Now that you mention it, I have only just noticed how close it to a certain other expletive

Brendonm you can buy all the brass that you want at George White in Clayton...

Thank you for the tip

[b.lindsey]

Watch out there Brendon, you know this can be very addicting!! Nice work on the scriber 

Bill

[Brendon M]

Hello again,

My next adventure in machining was another repair job. This time my lawn mower - the rod which connects the front and rear axels for height control has a pin which uses a circlip to hold everything together. This pin has eroded overtime and the circlip essentially falls off. So I decided to make a new pin.



I once again used a bit of scrap mild steel. I am quickly learning that I really need to think about the order of machining operations and not just "wing it", since I parted off without realising I had nothing left to chuck to finish the job 

Here is the pin in action. I made the groove for the circlip too big, I suspect there'll be a "Mark II" in the near future, once I learn how to grind my own tool bits.


Of course, you fix one problem, and another presents itself. D'oh! 

[mcostello]

You are getting the idea. If You make something that saves "THE HOUSE" some money just be sure to show it around a bit. It makes it easier to buy (the inevitable) next tool. You have been bitten and are getting addicted, enjoy the ride.

[b.lindsey]

Nice fix !!  Maybe you should think about making a whole new mower, or at least a new set of tires for that one

Bill

[PStechPaul]

Wow! Blew a wheel off that mower, eh? How fast were you going when that happened?

http://www.meaforensic.com/wheel-separation-investigation-metallurgical-expert-mark-bailey-mea-forensic

Bearing failure?

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Maeaht5vEBM" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Maeaht5vEBM</a>

[Brendon M]

Haha, only walking pace, I swear

Nothing too serious, just the circlip that holds the wheel onto the axel came off. I'll repack the bearings with grease and put the wheel back on.

Nice fix !!  Maybe you should think about making a whole new mower, or at least a new set of tires for that one

Bill

That could be an interesting project (edit: making a new set of wheels)

[Robert Hornby]

Good work Brendon, I get a good deal of satisfaction from 'fixing' things. Now you have access to the machines, the world is your oyster.
Robert

[ShopShoe]

"Wow! Blew a wheel off that mower, eh? How fast were you going when that happened?"

Unfortunately, all too common nowadays. Wheels attached with cheap hardware. Lost one off my (new) snowblower in the middle of a blizzzard last winter.  Had to sieve snow to find the attaching hardware as all the stores were closed due to the blizzard and too darn cold to work in the unhearted garage to come up with an alternative. The wheels on my grand-daughter's doll buggy were held on with better fasteners (He grumbles).

ShopShoe

[Brendon M]

Hello ShopShoe, the mower hasn't done too bad, I've had it for about 6 years, and I'm the second owner. It was already old when it was given to me.

While I'm here, I thought I'd show this practice run to grind a lathe tool bit, specifically one intended for cutting brass.


It's a piece of unknown 1/2 inch steel from Bunnings which I paid way too much for, but I was eager to do some practice grinding.

I've purchased some actual HSS tool blanks, and will purchase a bench grinder as well (CCHS only has a belt/disc sander).

I have indeed been bitten.

By the way, this thread is becoming a bit more like a learning journal, I can start a different thread elsewhere if that would be more appropriate.

[Flyboy Jim]

Good work on the toolbit Brendon.  That's a skill I have yet to start working on, even though I have some blank toolbits and a grinder. 

Jim

[PStechPaul]

A grinder is arguably the first and most important machine tool to acquire. Even if you just have hand tools, you will want to sharpen drill bits, axes, chisels, mower blades, etc. Lathe bit sharpening can be a challenging and rewarding project. I have found that pictures and videos are not quite adequate to explain all the details, but are good starting points. It is rewarding to try a few variations of grinding to get a good "feel" for what works well and what does not. I bought an odd lot of perhaps 30 assorted lathe bits that have been sharpened to various profiles for special purposes, and I have used some of them mostly as-is, or with minor modification. It was only about $20 for the lot, so I don't much worry about mistakes.