Author Topic: Oh, one of those “little” projects.  (Read 5007 times)

Offline Ye-Ole Steam Dude

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Oh, one of those “little” projects.
« on: July 10, 2018, 06:04:12 PM »
Hello everyone,

Several months ago I sold my Lathe and Mill and a little over two weeks ago I decided to clean up the shop and get it ready for the new machines that I have ordered. I figured it would take about half a day for the cleaning and to rearrange a few of the fixtures. Well that little project turned into 2-weeks of non-stop cleaning, relocating some wall mounted items, then spackling in the screw holes, requiring me to paint all the walls and literally moving every single item that was in the shop at least one time! Seems like every thing that I did created four more new projects, but now that it is completed it sure looks nice and so happy with the results.  I’m sure all of you have had a similar “little” project at one time.  :lolb:

Have a great day,
Thomas
Thomas

Offline 10KPete

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Re: Oh, one of those “little” projects.
« Reply #1 on: July 10, 2018, 08:35:14 PM »
That sounds like what I need to do!

Pics please!

Pete
Craftsman, Tinkerer, Curious Person.
Retired, finally!
SB 10K lathe, Benchmaster mill. And stuff.

Offline Ye-Ole Steam Dude

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Re: Oh, one of those “little” projects.
« Reply #2 on: July 10, 2018, 09:06:58 PM »
Hello Pete,

My Mill was shipped yesterday out of California so should be here by end of week. As soon as I can get it fully assembled and the DRO installed I will take some photos and share here.

The Lathe is supposed to be in transit (on the water) from the factory, so probably 3 more weeks before it gets to me.

Have a great day,
Thomas
Thomas

Offline Florian Eberhard

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Re: Oh, one of those “little” projects.
« Reply #3 on: July 10, 2018, 09:21:11 PM »
Hey Thomas

I am currently in the middle of  huge "project" like yours. I am right now getting a room ready for my new workshop - I want to move it from the old location closer to where I live at the moment.
And guess what happens all the time?
"Oh i should do this" and
"oh that would be very useful to have it done before I move in" even as
"I can't miss that opportunity" (which meant buying a flatbed milling machine that had been used for engraving and needs to be equipped with new axis drives aswell as a spindle)

But I am still looking forward to move in this year. Hopefully  ;D (the bad thing about good wheather is that it kind of always "distracts" me into outdoor activities)
I would be happy to have it all done in two weeks only to be honest  :-X :D

However - I am looking forward to some pictures too
Cheers Florian



Offline Ye-Ole Steam Dude

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Re: Oh, one of those “little” projects.
« Reply #4 on: July 10, 2018, 09:30:41 PM »
Hi Florian,

Well to be 100% honest I am not completely finished. I need to get the Mill in place before I make some "holders" for tools and then mount that. Once the Lathe is in place, I plan to make some shelves to accommodate various tools.

Hang in there, all the work now surely will pay off for you.

Have a great day,
Thomas
Thomas

Offline propforward

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Re: Oh, one of those “little” projects.
« Reply #5 on: July 11, 2018, 01:16:44 PM »
Would love to see pictures of the rearranged shoppe.

A complete reorganization like that can be very refreshing - get everything just "so" after having a lot of time to work in the space. I'm slightly concerned about getting in to this myself. I just pulled out the wall air conditioner unit in my shoppe, because I discovered it was leaking water during rain storms when the wind blew from a certain direction - but anyway having properly installed that again, I have some trim and finish work to do around it, and when I paint it - I just wonder if I'm going to have to paint the whole wall, which will mean pulling the whole workbench out, and then it all snowballs.

Oh well.

Fun!
Stuart

Forging ahead regardless.

Offline Ye-Ole Steam Dude

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Re: Oh, one of those “little” projects.
« Reply #6 on: July 11, 2018, 02:00:19 PM »
Hello propforward,

After all this work I can truthfully say it was more than worth the effort for many reasons. After I got started I drew to scale in AutoCAD my shop and then each piece of equipment/tables/ etc. that would be in place. I kept rearranging until I found what I thought to be the best overall layout. My shop is not big, it is 10-foot x 30-foot so I need to maximize what floor space I do have. I have upgraded the size on the Lathe and Mill that I ordered but with this new layout I actually have more room than before. The only thing that I did not get to do was repaint the floor, because of the required drying time for that paint. My Mill is scheduled to be delivered on the 17th of July and I just do not want to wait another week to start putting it together.

I would say, go for it, and make the upgrade to you shop.

I will take many photos when the Mill is in place and more after I receive the Lathe and post them here.

Good luck with your "little" project and have a great day,
Thomas
Thomas

Offline Ye-Ole Steam Dude

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Re: Oh, one of those “little” projects.
« Reply #7 on: July 20, 2018, 06:00:14 PM »
Hello everyone,

Received the Mill yesterday and got it out of the shipping crate. The next deal was how to raise almost 500 pounds up heigh enough to get the Stand and Chip Tray under it. My Crane was about 7-inches too short so I cut up a bunch of wood (see in photo) to block under it to get the required height. All went as smooth as silk with almost one-inch to spare. I have completed the clean up and run the Break-in procedure, my next project is to install the 3-axis DRO.

Have a great day,
Thomas
Thomas

Offline crueby

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Re: Oh, one of those “little” projects.
« Reply #8 on: July 20, 2018, 06:02:28 PM »
Nice!

Offline Ye-Ole Steam Dude

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Re: Oh, one of those “little” projects.
« Reply #9 on: July 20, 2018, 06:12:33 PM »
Thanks Chris,

It took me about half of the morning but I wanted to be very safe for two reasons: 1) I did not want to break any parts of my old body and 2) did not want to break any parts on the New machine.

After I get the DRO installed it can be moved to the permanent location. I want plenty of room to work all around it.

Have a great day,
Thomas
Thomas

Offline propforward

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Re: Oh, one of those “little” projects.
« Reply #10 on: July 20, 2018, 06:13:11 PM »
Very nice indeed - lovely, well organized shop!
Stuart

Forging ahead regardless.

Offline Ye-Ole Steam Dude

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Re: Oh, one of those “little” projects.
« Reply #11 on: July 20, 2018, 06:16:07 PM »
Hi propforward,

All the work in the last several weeks getting the shop ready for the Mill and the Lathe has now paid off. Hopefully I will get the Lathe within the next 2 to 3 weeks.

Thanks and have a great day,
Thomas
Thomas

Offline zeeprogrammer

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Re: Oh, one of those “little” projects.
« Reply #12 on: July 20, 2018, 06:21:08 PM »
Very nice! That's the same mill as I have but my stand doesn't have a drawer.

Where did you get it from? I got mine from Precision Mathews.
PM also sells a power drive for the X axis. Easy to install. I love it but it does require another 12" of space.

You may already know this...perhaps it will help others...

I've had problems with the gib lock levers and vise lever when running under power.
If the gib lock levers are high, the vise would hit them. I've since removed the levers and use an allen wrench to tighten them.
Also, the vise lever can hit the Y travel wheel. I've been getting in the habit of removing the lever after using it.

Without power, if you hit something, you can feel the resistance.

That's happened a few times in the Y travel with the gib lock levers that are located to the right and under the table.
I don't know what they're called, they are hinged to the lock rather than slip on like the others.
If not careful, they can either dig into the base or run up against the bolt(s) holding the mill to the stand.

Carl (aka Zee) Will sometimes respond to 'hey' but never 'hey you'.
"To work. To work."
Zee-Another Thread Trasher.

Offline Ye-Ole Steam Dude

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Re: Oh, one of those “little” projects.
« Reply #13 on: July 20, 2018, 06:33:00 PM »
Hello Zee,

This is not a PM machine, it is a Weiss VM32L and I purchased it from DRO PROS out of California. The stand is also a Weiss from DRO PROS and that draw is going to be very handy. Lots of tools I don't keep in the Chip Tray can now be stored in that draw.

I plan to center the Mill between the white table to the right and the wall to the left. This will give me plenty of extra space when the table is fully in one direction.

Have not had any problems with full travel on X or Y. The lock handles are clear of all items.

Thank you and have a great day,
Thomas
Thomas

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: Oh, one of those “little” projects.
« Reply #14 on: July 20, 2018, 07:05:28 PM »
Very nice Thomas! Always fun to have a new machine to play with.

Bill

 

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