tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38829676179516090902024-03-16T02:23:50.590-07:00The wandering axemanThe axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-86599737089609260962017-05-22T01:48:00.000-07:002017-05-22T01:54:01.832-07:00Scientific history under threat by modern intellectualsI have been trying to find a way to breach the subject of historical revisionism for a while. I have many discussions on YouTube where claims are made about logic, science and rational thought that are completely incorrect yet touted as fact.<br />
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If I was to ask most people how the modern scientific revolution began most people would give me a blank look. We in the west, including Europe owe a great deal to this amazing era and as such it deserves some attention. Now lets go through some of the key names and events that led to the enlightenment and the scientific revolution.<br />
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<b>The birth of rationalism</b><br />
Rene Descartes was born in 1596 and was a philosopher, mathematician and a scientist who would become a key figure in the inspiration of Newton himself. He introduced the concept of the Cartesian coordinate system and wrote the standard in philosophy called "Meditations on First Philosophy" which is still taught in philosophy departments today.<br />
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Of note was his work on rationalism - innate ideas, reason and deduction - the first half of the scientific method as it were. Interestingly, his work in developing his philosophy on rationalism would play an important role in the enlightenment and inspire many scientists and philosophers who would go on to develop entire fields of science. Many came to realize that we could think our way to truth and that by emphasizing the mind over the senses we could push the limits of what could be known through reason alone.<br />
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<b>Empiricism and the scientific revolution</b><br />
Francis Bacon (1561-1626) is a name most people have not heard. In a nutshell, he is the genius who came up with the first version of the scientific method as a tool of clearing away idols and false ideas in order to get to the truth.<br />
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Bacon played a key role in skepticism. Bacon was a fan of empirical evidence as he stated that, “the human understanding is like a false mirror,
which, receiving rays irregularly, distorts and discolors the nature of things by
mingling its own nature with it.” <br />
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<b>Isaac Newton <span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">(1643 - 1727)</span></span></b><br />
Newton's book Principia Mathematica is still considered to be a work of absolute genius. It was a description of the mechanistic principles seen in nature through the use of mathematics. For the first time, we could understand the world through with proof through mathematics.<br />
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We came to the realization for the first time that we and the universe itself was not random but rather governed by very intricate, rational mathematical laws. This concept is taken for granted today, but back then it provided brilliant minds evidence that the universe is indeed consistent and because of this, we can discover how nature works. This would go on to have enormous impact in the fields of biology, medicine and chemistry. This is why Newton is considered the father of modern science.<br />
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<b>The Protestant Reformation</b><br />
The Catholic Church used to have a monopoly on truth and was unwilling to bend - even in the light of evidence. The Protestant Reformation started by Martin Luther and continued by John Calvin caused the split of many churches from the Catholic Church and resulted in a friendlier climate for science to blossom.<br />
The development of the printing press in 1451 by Johannes Gutenberg was revolutionary in that it allowed the rapid printing of books through movable type printing, the first book being the Gutenberg Bible.<br />
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This tool became instrumental in the printing and distribution of the Bible in people's native language. Before this, the Bible was only to be found in handwritten form in Latin. Only Catholic priests spoke Latin and so the remainder of the population remained in ignorance towards the will of God and the understanding of the written word. So grave was this threat to the monopoly of the Catholic Church that hundreds were gruesomely executed to try halt the Bible's advance throughout Europe. This of course failed and once people saw the corruption of the Catholic Church in light of a Bible they could understand, they became outspoken and the result was the Protestant Reformation. By 1482 there were 100 printing presses in Western Europe and by 1500 there were 40,000 editions of the Bible and the Greek classics with over 1,000,000 copies in print. This had a massive impact on the advancement of knowledge and we would not be where we are today without both Gutenberg's press and the Reformation it helped start.<br />
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<b>The explosion of science</b><br />
There was a remarkable explosion in science which began in Europe. Below you will find just a tiny list of notable names in science, many who were instrumental in developing entire branches of science:<br />
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<ul style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%0A%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20version%3D%221.1%22%20width%3D%225%22%20height%3D%2213%22%3E%0A%3Ccircle%20cx%3D%222.5%22%20cy%3D%229.5%22%20r%3D%222.5%22%20fill%3D%22%2300528c%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A"); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_of_Cusa" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Nicholas of Cusa">Nicholas of Cusa</a> (1401–1464)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Brunfels" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Otto Brunfels">Otto Brunfels</a> (1488–1534)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Turner_(naturalist)" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="William Turner (naturalist)">William Turner</a> (c.1508–1568)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignazio_Danti" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Ignazio Danti">Ignazio Danti</a> (1536–1586)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Bacon" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Francis Bacon">Francis Bacon</a> (1561–1626)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Galileo Galilei">Galileo Galilei</a> (1564 –1642) <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-15" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurentius_Paulinus_Gothus" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Laurentius Paulinus Gothus">Laurentius Gothus</a> (1565–1646)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-16" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Gassendi" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Pierre Gassendi">Pierre Gassendi</a> (1592–1655)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-17" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Maria_Schyrleus_of_Rheita" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Anton Maria Schyrleus of Rheita">Anton Maria of Rheita</a> (1597–1660)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaise_Pascal" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Blaise Pascal">Blaise Pascal</a> (1623–1662)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Steno" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Nicolas Steno">Nicolas Steno</a> (1638–1686)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-22" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Barrow" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Isaac Barrow">Isaac Barrow</a> (1630–1677)</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Caramuel_y_Lobkowitz" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz">Juan Lobkowitz</a> (1606–1682)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-24" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Ward_(bishop)" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Seth Ward (bishop)">Seth Ward</a> (1617–1689)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-25" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Boyle" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Robert Boyle">Robert Boyle</a> (1627–1691)</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Isaac Newton">Isaac Newton</a> (1643-1727)</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Kepler" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Johannes Kepler">Johannes Kepler</a> (1571-1630)</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ray" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="John Ray">John Ray</a> (1627–1705)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-29" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottfried_Leibniz" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Gottfried Leibniz">Gottfried Leibniz</a> (1646–1716)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-30" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hales" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Stephen Hales">Stephen Hales</a> (1677–1761)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-31" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firmin_Abauzit" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Firmin Abauzit">Firmin Abauzit</a> (1679–1767)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-32" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emanuel_Swedenborg" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Emanuel Swedenborg">Emanuel Swedenborg</a> (1688–1772)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-34" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albrecht_von_Haller" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Albrecht von Haller">Albrecht von Haller</a> (1708–1777)</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonhard_Euler" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Leonhard Euler">Leonhard Euler</a> (1707–1783)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-36" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_Lavoisier" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Antoine Lavoisier">Antoine Lavoisier</a> (1743–1794)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-37" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Boerhaave" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Herman Boerhaave">Herman Boerhaave</a> (1668–1789)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-38" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Michell" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="John Michell">John Michell</a> (1724–1793)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-book_40-0" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Gaetana_Agnesi" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Maria Gaetana Agnesi">Maria Gaetana Agnesi</a> (1718–1799)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-41" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Linnaeus" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Carl Linnaeus">Carl Linnaeus</a> (1707-1778)</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Priestley" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Joseph Priestley">Joseph Priestley</a> (1733–1804)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-42" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Milner" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Isaac Milner">Isaac Milner</a> (1750–1820)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-43" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Vince" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Samuel Vince">Samuel Vince</a> (1749–1821)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-44" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Cuvier" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Georges Cuvier">Georges Cuvier</a> (1769–1832)</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandro_Volta" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Alessandro Volta">Alessandro Volta</a> (1745–1827)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-45" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_Marie_Ampere" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Andre Marie Ampere">Andre Marie Ampere</a> (1775–1836)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-46" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olinthus_Gregory" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Olinthus Gregory">Olinthus Gregory</a> (1774–1841)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-47" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Abercrombie_(physician)" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="John Abercrombie (physician)">John Abercrombie</a> (1780–1844)</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Anning" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Mary Anning">Mary Anning</a> (1799–1847)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-49" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kirby_(entomologist)" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="William Kirby (entomologist)">William Kirby</a> (1759–1850)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-51" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Buckland" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="William Buckland">William Buckland</a> (1784–1856)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-52" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Hall_(physiologist)" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Marshall Hall (physiologist)">Marshall Hall</a> (1790–1857)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-53" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lars_Levi_L%C3%A6stadius" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Lars Levi Læstadius">Lars Levi Læstadius</a> (1800–1861)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-54" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Hitchcock" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Edward Hitchcock">Edward Hitchcock</a> (1793–1864)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-56" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Silliman" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Benjamin Silliman">Benjamin Silliman</a> (1779–1864)</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernhard_Riemann" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Bernhard Riemann">Bernhard Riemann</a> (1826–1866)</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Whewell" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="William Whewell">William Whewell</a> (1794–1866)</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Faraday" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Michael Faraday">Michael Faraday</a> (1791–1867)</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_David_Forbes" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="James David Forbes">James David Forbes</a> (1809–1868)</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Babbage" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Charles Babbage">Charles Babbage</a> (1791–1871)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-66" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Sedgwick" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Adam Sedgwick">Adam Sedgwick</a> (1785–1873)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-67" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Chevallier" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Temple Chevallier">Temple Chevallier</a> (1794–1873)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-68" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bachman" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="John Bachman">John Bachman</a> (1790–1874)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-69" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Main" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Robert Main">Robert Main</a> (1808–1878)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-70" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Clerk_Maxwell" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="James Clerk Maxwell">James Clerk Maxwell</a> (1831–1879)</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bovell" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="James Bovell">James Bovell</a> (1817–1880)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-74" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Pritchard" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Andrew Pritchard">Andrew Pritchard</a> (1804–1882)</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregor_Mendel" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Gregor Mendel">Gregor Mendel</a> (1822–1884)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-76" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Hertz" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Heinrich Hertz">Heinrich Hertz</a> (1857–1894)</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Henry_Gosse" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Philip Henry Gosse">Philip Henry Gosse</a> (1810–1888)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-77" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asa_Gray" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Asa Gray">Asa Gray</a> (1810–1888)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-78" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Tenison_Woods" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Julian Tenison Woods">Julian Tenison Woods</a> (1832–1889)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-79" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Dwight_Dana" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="James Dwight Dana">James Dwight Dana</a> (1813–1895)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-80" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Prescott_Joule" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="James Prescott Joule">James Prescott Joule</a> (1818–1889)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-81" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_William_Dawson" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="John William Dawson">John William Dawson</a> (1820–1899)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-82" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armand_David" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Armand David">Armand David</a> (1826–1900)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-83" style="font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"></sup></li>
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<b>Have you noticed?</b><br />
The names above come from this page on Wikipedia:<br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christians_in_science_and_technology#Before_the_eighteenth_century" target="_blank">Scientists</a><br />
That's right. They were ALL Christians. Even those earlier in this blog post. The enlightenment was the result of Christian thinkers who were the result of the Protestant Reformation and the climate this created for science.<br />
When I visit any Christian channel on YouTube, it is bombarded with comments from members of the atheist community who have somehow claimed logic and critical thinking as the mark of an atheist. The reality is that not a single atheist discovered anything of note during the scientific revolution. The entire movement was the sole consequence of Christians and their faith in God and the Bible.<br />
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So critical was this belief in God that even Newton said, 'Opposition to godliness is atheism in profession and idolatry in practice. Atheism is so senseless and odious to mankind that it never had many professors'<br />
But how can this be? Newton is arguably one of the greatest minds that ever lived yet he had this to say about atheism? Maybe this is just a fluke though. What did other notables have to say about science and God?<br />
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"I believe that the more thoroughly science is studied, the further does it take us from anything comparable to atheism." - Lord William Kelvin<br />
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"Both religion and science require a belief in God. For believers, God is in the beginning, and for physicists He is at the end of all considerations... To the former He is the foundation, to the latter, the crown of the edifice of every generalized world view." - Max Planck<br />
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"The best data we have (concerning the Big Bang) are exactly what I would have predicted, had I nothing to go on but the five books of Moses, the Psalms, the Bible as a whole." - Arno Penzias<br />
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"To know the mighty works of God, to comprehend His wisdom and majesty and power; to appreciate, in degree, the wonderful workings of His laws, surely all this must be a pleasing and acceptable mode of worship to the Most High, to whom ignorance cannot be more grateful than knowledge." - Nicolas Copernicus<br />
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You see, the names on the list were not just labelled as Christians - they were devoted Christians and devout in their adhesion to God's Word. Their faith did not cripple their ability to understand the world around them - it was the very driving force and inspiration for why they studied the world and came to their findings. We turn a blind eye to this in modern society as it's a very inconvenient fact that modern educational institutions refuse to accept.<br />
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<b>Standing on the shoulders of giants</b><br />
The new atheist seeks to elevate and inflate the role of atheism in critical thought yet historically this "prerequisite" for critical thought does not even register as a blip in scientific history. When the point is raised that science as we know it is the result of Christians EXCLUSIVELY, this is written off as a mere coincidence or the argument of "the church was mean to Galileo" is thrown around.<br />
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Unfortunately, you cannot separate the faith of the founders of science from their brilliance as they themselves are quoted as giving God the credit for their inspiration. In fact, it's because they knew God through his Word and his orderly nature that they expected to find order and laws in nature. This flies in the face of every other religion where the god(s) were fallible and whimsical and inconsistent. In fact if one were to take atheism to it's logical conclusion then there is absolutely no reason why we should observe consistency in nature at all.<br />
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So how can we stand on the shoulders of giants yet completely ignore the very foundation on which those giants stand? Because when it all boils down to it, we are not as logical and critical as we like to think. We like to claim the discoveries yet refuse to acknowledge how these discoveries came about as it upsets our world view and calls the very fabric of our reality into question. There is no conflict between faith and science - merely conflict between atheism and the faith that started and stands with science.<br />
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This is why in order to continue the new atheist argument, history itself must be changed as when we really understand how we got here, atheism makes less and less sense.<br />
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I would urge you to watch this excellent debate between David Wood and Michael Shermer which covers this beautifully.<br />
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<br />The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-15061995828256565732015-10-13T00:35:00.000-07:002015-10-13T14:05:02.278-07:00Planned Parenthood Selling Bodyparts of ChildrenIt was a conscious decision of mine to avoid polarizing and political topics on my blog. My opinion was that life is serious enough without adding to it in my blog, however in the last week and with a great deal of thought, I have decided to write about one of the most difficult topics out there. Abortion.<br />
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I would urge that you read this whole blog post. You may want to skip the videos due to their extremely disturbing nature, but please bear with me as this subject deserves some critical thought. I have spent a great deal of time chewing this over and believe that we need to visit this topic as rational, critical thinking people to give it the thought it deserves.<br />
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It probably comes as no suprise to the more discerning readers that there has been a flood of activity around this topic with the recent videos exposing planned parenthood and the body-part trafficing of the organization:<br />
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What has shocked me most about this is how cool and calm these people are talking about the sale of body parts of the unborn, not unlike serial killers or mass murderers who demonstrate that they have no conscience. As Stalin was rumored to have said, "A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic." They have stopped thinking about who they are eliminating in order to make their profits and not considering the carnage they leave in their wake.<br />
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<u><b>The process of killing the conscience with semantics and definitions</b></u><br />
I don't know which side of this debate you are on. All I can give you is my experience and apply some logic to this argument. As a firefighter, my job was to preserve life, born or unborn. This was often done at great personal risk both to myself and the brave men I worked with. We worked with a conviction that all human life had value and if that life happened to be unborn, then it was even more helpless and this brought on a sense of urgency that was rarely found in any other emergency we attended. I have witnessed people willing to run into a burning house to save their precious children who were considered lost and with no hope of survival, yet these parents were willing to risk pain, permanent injury and likely death for the chance to save a child who was most likely dead or so seriosuly damaged they had no chance of a "quality life" as so many people put it.<br />
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On one hand as firfighters and EMT's we are told that life, even unborn if priceless and of infinate value, on the other hand as regualr citizens we are told that choice trumps life and in fact that a fetus isn't even alive. I mean, if you knew that what was growing in the womb was actually a living human being, could you carry out this type of procedure?<br />
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So how do organizations like planned parenthood define life? Well, when asked when life begins, Cecile Richards, the President of Planned
Parenthood Action Fund said, “It’s not something that I feel is
really part of this conversation…every woman needs to make their own
decision.”<br />
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How is this not part of the conversation? If life has already begun when they carry out this procedure, wouldn't that be murder? If it has not begun, then why do they need to sever the head from the body, stab the face with a scalpel or cut through the spinal cord to stop the heart beating and the unborn from moving if it is already dead?<br />
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You see, it's far easier to convince people that abortion is morally defensible if you avoid this conversation altogether and focus on the choice of the woman.<br />
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<u><b>An uncomfortable parallel</b></u><br />
For many young people these days, the regimes of Pol Pot, Mao and Stalin are nothing more than forgotten history. Yet these regimes put no value on the weak, the old, the infirm and the unborn. It was not strange for evil men like Hitler or Stalin to insist that inferior genetic examples like those with down syndrome, gypsies, Jews or the old were eliminated. In fact, definitions were provided by the state and it's scientists in most cases to ensure people could rationalize that they were not dealing with actual humans, but rather something inferior, something of no value. This allowed Hitler to kill millions, and Stalin tens of millions, perfectly legally of course.<br />
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But surely their argument is justified? Because at the end of the day, they were protecting their entire national community from genetic inferiority and poor health and those they disposed of from a poor quality of life. This is a much more noble cause than the free choice of just one pregnant teenager afterall. So why on earth did we execute these Nazis at the Nuremburg trial for carrying out something so noble, so valiant and something entirely legal if we apply the same standards applied to abortion? Why were their actions seen as morally reprehensable, and yet those actions of planned parenthood and similar organizations are seen as just offering someone freedom? Maybe it is because we have swept all this under the carpet, ignoring logic and moral consistancy, and rather focus on the virtues of abortion and the need for choice. This video makes the comparison perfectly:<br />
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The argument often used is that these fetuses provide life saving material and as such, the disposal of these unborn children is somewhat justified.<br />
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<u><b>Inconsistent definitions</b></u><br />
At this point, the argument for what defines life is usually brought up again. I mean, if science does not define a fetus as alive, then why should we feel guilty about allowing thousands of unborn, non-living clumps of tissue to be crushed, torn apart and sold?<br />
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Science is quite hypocritical on this issue. With all the recent activity with the exploration of Mars, scientists are looking for signs of life on the planet. NASA would be thrilled to find microbes in order to prove life exists on Mars:<br />
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<a href="http://mars.nasa.gov/programmissions/science/goal1/" target="_blank">Nasa and life on Mars</a><br />
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So Microbes are considered life, yet a fetus at up to the age of 24 weeks is not. I would urge you to click the below link to see images of fetuses aborted at 24 weeks, not for some sick, twisted reason, but because someone owes it to these kids who's parents have been duped into thinking they are not alive, have been aborted and afterwards sold as nothing more than meat:<br />
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<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=24+week+fetus&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMIucvC0fG-yAIVRYkaCh3BAwGn&biw=1280&bih=649#tbm=isch&q=24+week+fetus+abortion&imgrc=_" target="_blank">24 week old fetus</a><br />
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<u><b>Science and State, the standard for moral bankruptcy</b></u><br />
So here we are at a moral crossroads. Do we choose science and the state to decide for us what is morally right, or do we use logic and the premise that all human life is intrinsically valuable? If you may have noticed, I have left choice out of this argument completely, because I don't believe that morality should be swayed by the rights of the strong to choose over the weak.<br />
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Throughout my career I have chosen employment that has saved, educated and built up those around me. I have worked in special needs classrooms and have conducted physical therapy on children physically deformed, many of who were adopted and loved as much as one could possibly be loved. They led full lives and were valuable not just to their parents, but also to people like myself who learned that life is richer giving to those who don't have, and protecting those who can't protect themselves.<br />
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I would urge all who read this to think critically about this issue and ask themselves, "At what age is it ok to kill a toddler?" If you find this question disturbing, then you cannot morally justify the killing of a fetus that can just as easily be proven to be a living, human child just waiting to be born.<br />
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<u><b>Where do we go from here?</b></u><br />
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<i>The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.</i></div>
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Who will speak for those who have no voice? Who will tell these young mothers that have been convinced that they are just removing a clump of cells that there is hope and help available?<br />
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If none of what I have written has disturbed you or pricked your heart, then you need to do some soul searching. At what point did we become so cold and morally bankrupt that we ever bought into this pack of lies, that killing the weak and helpless for any reason, no matter how noble we may think it is is morally justified? How is this justifiable now that we know that their tiny bodies are being sold by those touting the virtues of abortion?<br />
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I would urge you to look into this issue deeper and to start asking the questions most people don't. You may find that it may cause some heated discussion, but you may also find that you may save the lives of those who nobody was willing to fight for.<br />
<br />The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-40282521480728237672015-08-25T14:35:00.001-07:002015-08-25T14:43:56.957-07:00Making a shipping container into a workshopWe recently sold our house and I was left with the dilemma of organizing a new workshop. We didn't want to buy a place as the oil prices are looking pretty shaky so this limited our options regarding a permanent garage solution since both my wife and I work in the oil industry.<br />
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My wife made the suggestion of using a container as a workshop and at first I wasn't sure about the idea. The more I thought about it the more the idea grew on me. The only problem was that in order to have the workshop usable and stable enough for the machines it had to be insulated and heated. This meant a great deal of work would have to be done.<br />
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<b>Buying a container</b><br />
In Norway we are limited regarding the choice of container suppliers. We decided on a company as their price was OK and delivery was cheap as the container was found locally. What should have been an easy process turned out to be a complete farce. The company representative would not call back, didn't communicate regarding delivery, the delivery was late, the driver dumped the container in the yard in the wrong spot and not on the concrete blocks prepared for the container, then we were issued a bill for the container and delivery that was 20% above the agreed the price. Once we provided our correspondence as evidence of the agreed price and paid the bill, the sales guy went on sick leave and then we started getting hassled by another sales representative and needed to spend hours resolving debt collector letters for a bill we had paid.<br />
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But that's history.<br />
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The container in the yard: <br />
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<b>Planning</b></div>
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When undertaking a project like this, you really need to have a good plan regarding how you will utilize the space. If you don't spend time working through the floor plan and your storage solutions, then you will have a difficult time later. I made several plans early in the project:</div>
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Plan 1:</div>
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<a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af244/samthedog/20%20foot%20container%20metal%20shop/Optimized-WP_20150514_21_59_45_Pro_zpscagyg3qr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af244/samthedog/20%20foot%20container%20metal%20shop/Optimized-WP_20150514_21_59_45_Pro_zpscagyg3qr.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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Plan 2:</div>
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Final floor plan:<br />
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<a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af244/samthedog/20%20foot%20container%20metal%20shop/Optimized-WP_20150809_21_11_20_Pro_zpsgdnc8jvv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af244/samthedog/20%20foot%20container%20metal%20shop/Optimized-WP_20150809_21_11_20_Pro_zpsgdnc8jvv.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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Planning the floor space allows you to start figuring out the electrical layout, what type of materials you want to use and probably most importantly, what you need to get rid of. In such a tight space, you need to be brutally honest about what you will use and will have to purge a great deal of "rainy day" equipment and materials.<br />
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<b>Materials for insulating a shipping container</b><br />
Since the floor space is so limited, I didn't have the luxury of selecting thick insulation. Instead I opted for 50mm styrofoam plates for the ceiling, and 20mm thick panels for the walls. I also opted to use 9mm thick plywood for the walls as it would allow me to fasten items to the walls.<br />
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I managed to pick up the ceiling insulation quite cheap as it was used. Fortunately, I had exactly enough for the ceiling:<br />
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The idea behind the workshop was to make it transportable, meaning that I had to have a means of fastening the machines to the floor. I opted to add an extra layer of waterproof ply 21mm thick to the floor that would allow me to install enough recessed pan fittings into the floor to hold the machines in place.<br />
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<b>The journey begins in ernest</b><br />
I started to pick up all the materials and get ready for the installation of the floor.<br />
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I had also decided on the installation of a rolling bridge crane since the workspace would be tight. I didn't want to try edge heavy objects past my vintage machines so when I found some H beams that were 100mm x 100mm, I jumped at them and stored them away for the time being.<br />
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For this project, glue was a critical item. In order to maintain the shipping certification of the container, no holes could be made in the container meaning that other than the floor, I was not able to screw into the container. I needed to make sure the glue was sufficiently strong so opted for a solution for the walls that would have vertical and horizontal support. This required me to rip down the studs for the walls so I needed to pick up my combination machine as the 3 hp motor would make short work of the hundreds of meters needed for the walls and the ceilings. I just needed to install the floor first as the machine is very heavy and I needed the manual pallet jack to move it about...<br />
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While I was working on the floor solution, I came across some Lister metal
cabinets from the old SAS service department here in Norway. I bought
them for a good price so in the downtime when I couldn't work on the
container, I worked on repainting and straightening out the cabinets as
they would be a huge space saver in the workshop. My final floor plan
was then made based on the purchase of these cabinets and a work
trolley that would be my new work desk:<br />
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I was trying to complete this project on quite a tight budget so these cabinets and trolley were purchased at a very reduced price. They allowed me to increase my storage capacity significantly so I thought they were worth the investment. Inbetween planning and fetching materials, I worked on freshening up the cabinets:<br />
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After the slight detour and distraction with the cabinets, I installed the floor and started on the walls.<br />
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My yard was really looking like a construction zone at this point.<br />
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I had chosen to glue in the walls studs, then glue on wooden skirting boards. I wanted to have access to the tie-downs so I made sure to leave them exposed. When I glued the styrofoam onto the walls, I temporarily removed some cut-outs as I didn't have the correct sized holes saw:<br />
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At this point I realized that pre-painting would be wise so I selected my colour scheme and bought the paint I needed. I opted for loight grey for the walls and for the same colour blue as the cabinet drawers for the horizontal wooden supports.<br />
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<b>The container is not a precision item</b><br />
It may suprise you but containers are not built to the finest tolerances. If you choose to undertake this kind of project, make sure you have access to an electric planer. This will help you get the walls somewhat straight. I spent some time prepainting the wall panels and the horizontal supports as it didn't matter if I got blue paint onto the styrofoam insulation as it would be covered by the ply panels:<br />
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At this point I had also picked up my larger hole saw and was able to cut out the tie-downs to allow better access:<br />
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I was very fortunate as I had the help of some very good friends with the painting, sheeting the walls and general installation. They also helped me with the floor and without this father and son team, I would not have been able to complete this project:<br />
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<b>The ceiling and crane rails</b><br />
I got to a point where I was not able to go further with insulating the walls or ceiling as I needed to install the crane rails. For this I needed to cut the H beams and weld them, attach brackets and then weld the completed rails to the corner members of the container. I needed my metal bandsaw for this so I had to drive back to my old garage and pick it up. My neighbour Kato was nice enough to lend me some 3 phase power for the saw and in no time we had the materials cut and container ready with the attachment points ground and ready for welding:<br />
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My landlord who is a welder by trade came and did the welding for me one afternoon and with Kato, Oreste, Nathan, Frank (my landlord) and I, we installed the rails:<br />
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The crane will only be lifting 150kg so this setup is plenty strong enough to support it. I had also purchased an electric chain winch and trolley for a really good price early in the project so I was pretty keen to see this come together:<br />
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<b>Let there be light! </b><br />
With the rails up, I was able to finish sheeting up the walls and the roof, and was able to install some basic power. I had to drill some ventilation holes to allow the air to circulate and I also painted the rails with zink primer.<br />
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With power installed I was then able to continue working on the container inside even when the weather was terrible. We had a bad summer so there was rain on and off the whole time and I was having to work under a tent with the ply as it would warp when wet. I began installing tool boards and purchased a construction site breaker box in preperation for the installation of the rotary phase converter.<br />
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<b>Unlimited power!!!!</b><br />
At this point in the project I made the decision to install a rotary phase converter. I needed 3 phase and despite Kato being the nicest guy in the world and wanting to help me, I wanted to have my own power on and would eventually have to do this anyway. My friend Bjorn made a rotary phase converter with a 4 kW motor and we
organized a trade. I needed to build a cabinet and house it properly.<br />
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While I waited for Bjorn to bring the RPC to work, I installed the rest of the power points and cabling with my friend Pete. He is an electrician by trade and a perfectionist so we speak the same language. I think his work speaks for itself:<br />
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At this point Bjorn showed up with the goods so I got to making the cabinet.<br />
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I will be prettying up the cabinet a little more but for the time being it is sound proofed and has vent holes to prevent overheating. I need to revise the cooling solution as it runs a little hot when on for extended periods but I am pretty sure I have a simple solution to the problem.<br />
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It's the small things...<br />
With the RPC installed and working, I wanted to start organizing the rest of the container. I put up my main tool board and began positioning the cabinets and tool trolley in their final position. I had also been working on cleaning up my small parts storage as I had to remove the sticky labels and there were about 400 to remove.<br />
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I installed the laptop bracket and had a laptop donated by a colleague at work. I still needed to cut some bench tops and drawer inserts from the excess plywood I had laying around.<br />
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I installed a white board to allow me to make sketches and do basic design work in the workshop. <br />
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I also got around to repairing the emergency stop on the drill press which had been missing since I bought it a couple of years ago.</div>
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<b>Would you keep it down?</b><br />
In such a confined space, noise can be a real problem. I have a really nice compressor (an Italian SIP) however it is a single cylinder unit and makes an awful racket when running. I happened to find a nice dental compressor for a very reasonable price and picked it up. It needed some TLC and a couple items made but once I had cleaned her up and added some new bits, I was able to install it and have shop air available.<br />
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<b>Dealing with the big items </b><br />
Now that I was nearing completion of the biggest things in the workshop, I needed to start moving some of my bigger items in. I had a milling machine cabinet that weighed a ton and was in pretty sad shape. I needed to have this straightened out and painted before setting it in place. I also needed to mount it on wheels. I picked it up on a Monday afternoon and the following Tuesday was such good weather, I cashed in some flextime in order to get it painted and installed.<br />
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The bottom of the cabinet had a frown caused by someone lifting it with a forklift while fully loaded. I needed to disassemble it, straighten it out and remove the dents and contact cement used to adhere the rubber matt to the top of the container.<br />
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This literally took the whole day. 2 coats of paint later and this was the result:<br />
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The doors now closed properly and it was far more stable than before. I also cut new drawer inserts from the 9mm plywood left over from the walls as the originals were 24 mm thick and used up far too much drawer space.<br />
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While I was working on the cabinet, I kept thinking about all the brackets I needed to make and how I would go about getting them bent to shape. I regularly check the Norwegian version of Craigslist and came across an ad for a finger brake. It looked a little rough but it was Danish made and the price was right:<br />
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It would handle up to 18 guage metal and was small enough to be able to fit into the workshop so I picked it up and gave her a bit of a clean. It turned out to be in far better shape than I expected and the majority of the marks were where some grub had stubbed out his cigarettes on the machine. A cotton cloth and some Jif later and this little beauty was looking good. These sheet benders are VERY expensive to buy normally and had it not looked sad, It would have sold for far more than I paid for it.<br />
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With the finger brake I could make supports for the cabinet which allowed me to remove stretched metal and then brace it up with specially made brackets. This made the cabinet far stronger and more stable.<br />
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I had arranged to pick up my lathe, mill and bandsaw with my friend Bjorn on the weekend. He would bring a trailer, straps, a chain hoist and a wooden frame so we could lift the lathe onto a pallet, and I would bring the high lift pallet jack and another trailer.<br />
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With the wooden frame we were able to get the lathe loaded onto a pallet and then we used the pallet jack to load the machines onto the trailers.<br />
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I had arranged with Frank to have a tractor waiting for us, so when we arrived he rang Per and we began unloading and getting things into the workshop.<br />
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We took it slow and steady and supported the machines by hand as the tractor moved them off the trailers and into the container at a snail's pace. Both Frank and Per didn't think everything would fit but we got everything in with centermeters to spare!<br />
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The final result (nearly)<br />
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So as you can see, I am nearly done. I still have to make the crane, move the lathe off the pallet and get some shelves and accessories mounted on the walls. I also need to make some rolling bases for the bandsaw and combination machine, and make a deck on which I can roll the woodworking machines onto. I will continue to chip away at this and slowly organize the drawers and cabinets so that I can start to find items again.<br />
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This has been a project that has taken 5 weeks so far. If the weather holds out I expect that I will be done completely in about 4 more weeks since I am now off the summer break and need to squeeze everything into afternoons and weekends.<br />
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I hope you enjoyed this journey and stay tuned for more updates.<br />
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<br />The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-87057706082627707072014-12-26T07:42:00.002-08:002014-12-27T02:25:10.732-08:00Selecting and buying a metal milling machine for the hobbyistAs with my post <a href="http://wanderingaxeman.blogspot.no/2014/09/selecting-and-buying-metal-lathe.html" target="_blank">Selecting and buying a metal lathe</a>, this post is designed to make life a little easier for the hobbyist wanting to purchase a metal milling machine. I am by no means an expert in this subject but over the years of researching machining and going through the ins and outs to select a machine for my shop have come across points worth considering. I have borrowed pictures from all over and have done so under fair use as I do not generate any income from this work and it is purely educational in nature. <u><i>This article does not cover how to measure wear in a milling machine which should absolutely be considered when purchasing a mill.</i></u><br />
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So why would anyone want a milling machine? If you like keeping your tools and machines for years and enjoy using old machines that are obsolete, then you really should consider a mill. The milling machine is able to remove material in 3 axis and is therefore invaluable for machining components and spare parts. For obsolete machines that will need occasional repairs, a mill is a crucial piece of equipment. When paired with a lathe, there is not much that can't be machined or repaired. <b>In this post, I will only be focusing on manual milling machines, <u>NOT</u> CNC.</b><br />
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<u><b>Parts of a mill and capacity</b></u><br />
Before continuing, it's important for us to learn the names of the parts of mill, and understand how capacity is measured. The image below will be used as a reference:<br />
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For the head of the mill, the below image offers more detail:<br />
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It is worth mentioning at this point that the above images are of a particular style of mill that copies the Bridgeport mill. It has a knee that raises the table. There are also mills that have a head that can be dropped and raised which eliminates the need for a knee. An example of this mill style is below:<br />
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Instead of the knee moving the table up and down along a set of dovetails, the head instead is moved up and down following a set of dovetails. There are positives and negatives to each style which we will go into detail later.<br />
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In addition to the knee, there are also horizontal mills which differ somewhat to universal or vertical milling machines. In general horizontal millers are used when you really need to hog a lot of material from a workpiece and they particularly excell at cutting grooves.<br />
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In some cases you can have your cake and eat it too as there are milling machines that can be converted from vertical to horizontal such as with the fantastic Schaublin 52 and the Abene VHF 3.<br />
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With some milling machines, the table does not move in the y axis as the head is designed to accomodate y axis movement. This is the case with the Deckel FP2 as the head slides along dovetails to accomodate y axis movement:<br />
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<i><b>Capacity</b></i><br />
People often refer to the milling machine's table size when referring to the capacity such as 9 x 40, 8 x 22 etc. In this case, the table is measured in inches. This however only tells half the story as you still need to consider the clearance from the table to the column, and the table to the spindle. This will provide you with a 3 dimensional measurement of what will fit on the mill's table. To complicate this even further, you then need to consider the range of movement of the table in the x and y and z axis (see image below):<br />
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This is critical as it needs to be considered if you want to machine the full surface of a work piece without resetting it on the table.<br />
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I constantly give the following advice to those looking for machine, however people tend to ignore it. <b>Buy a milling machine that will have a similar capacity to your lathe so it will contribute to a complimentary workshop</b>. You really don't want to be limited by the capacity of any one machine in your workshop. <br />
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<i><b>Spindle type</b></i><br />
Although not strictly a capacity feature, the spindle taper type does limit your work envelope to an extent. If you need to change tools you may need to remove and replace tools. An R8 machine taper is longer than a 30INT for example, therefore will require more room to change which may mean having to tilt the head or removing the job from the table or vice. Examples of different spindle taper types below:<br />
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By the image you can see that length varies considerably between the various taper types. As can be expected, the more stout a spindle is, the more rigid it is. For example, ISO 40 is much more rigid than R8, however it may be more difficult to get tooling so you need to weigh up the availability, rigidity and clearance arguments when purchasing a machine.<br />
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<u><b>Desirable milling machine features for a hobby machinist</b></u><br />
<b><i>Rigidity </i></b><br />
There are many features that I believe are critical to a milling machine however as hobbyists we tend to overlook repeatability and rigidity. Rigidity is extremely important and the heavier the work you plan on doing, the more rigid you want your machine to be.<br />
So what contributes to rigidity? The thickness of the materials in the column, the thickness of the table and the surface area of any mating surfaces all contribute to a stable machine. For example, my Jungner VF600 will be less rigid than a Deckel FP2 due to the union between the head and the column and the leverage that this union is subjected to:<br />
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Jungner:<br />
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Deckel:<br />
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This would mean that on a well designed machine, we would expect to see lower horsepower motors on less rigid machines in order to reduce stress, flex and vibration. This is the case when we compare the Deckel FP2 3 HP motor powering the spindle to the Jungner with a .75 HP motor.<br />
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As a general rule, you want the castings to be as thick as possible and any unions to have as much surface area as possible.You also want your machine to be as heavy as possible to dampen vibration and resonance.<br />
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Another feature to aid in the rigidity is the use of tapered spindle bearings. On many of the older machines spindle bearings were of the regular non tapered design paired with a thrust bearing. This meant that even a slight amount of wear would show itself in the finish. As the price of tapered bearings started to go down, more and more machines featured them as they could sustain large radial forces and act as good thrust bearings at the same time, while still being adjustable to take up any wear.<br />
Unlike a drill, a mill often sufferes high thrust forces in the z axis in both directions plus axial forces, the abilityof the tapered roller bearings to tolerate these forces meant sustained precision over time. Anyone who has ever had an end mill pull out of a collet can attest to the forces acting on the spindle of a mill. For this reason, tapered roller bearings are pointed in towards each when supporting the mill's spindle:<br />
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<b><i>Repeatability</i></b><br />
The tolerances of a machine and the ability to lock the table and spindle all contribute to the repeatability of a machine. Since stability will also contribute to the stiffness of the column, table and head, it will also factor into the ability to make accurate passes repeatedly. Many of the European machines claimed tolerances of 5 microns or better - claims rarely made by far East manufacturers as this accuracy requires a great deal of time and cost to achieve. This can be remedied with some scraping and many have bought cheape Chinese machines and with some minor adjustments turn out very accurate work.<br />
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The backlash on the various axis of the mill will also need to be considered and accounted for in order to maintain repeatability. A digital readout helps to eliminate errors due to backlash however a DRO is not a necessity. One of the first things you should learn as a budding machinist is taking up back lash to eliminate cumulative errors. <br />
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<i><b>Automatic feeds</b></i><br />
Since a milling machine is often used to make surfaces flat and square to each other, automatic feeds are very useful as they help you to achieve a superior finish. They also mean you don't have to stand there cranking handles the whole time you are machining a large surface. Most of the smaller and cheaper machines have automatic feed in one axis, usually the x axis. If you plan on doing a lot of boring, then automatic downfeed is a very useful feature as it will allow you to achieve an excellent finish when boring.<br />
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There are various systems for automatic feeding along the x axis however in principle they function the same. The only real difference is how the speed is adjusted. Some milling machines have a motor coupled to a gearbox:<br />
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Others have pots that adjust the speed of the electric motor without the need of a gearbox:<br />
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Some machines utilize a central motor and feed shafts to drive table movements. This is the case on the lovely little Crouzet FC-100:<br />
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On larger machines, rapid table traverse is very useful to cut down machining times when you are just cutting in one direction. This is often the case if you are trying to avoid climb milling.<br />
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<b>Rapid traverse for knee type milling machines is a very useful feature to have.</b> Cranking the handle repeatedly to raise and lower the knee gets tiring and on long jobs, will leave you with tired arms and a sore wrist. <br />
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<i><b>Quill</b></i><br />
For those who struggle with space, having a milling machine with a quill means it can double up as a drill press. This is a very useful feature as it allows you to drill very precise holes that you can then enlarge with a boring head. Machines without a quill will require the whole head or knee to be moved in order to bore a hole which is far less convenient than a quill. The other advantage is that if you have automatic downfeed, you can do very heavy drilling operations without having to stand there for extended periods pulling on the quill handle.<br />
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<i><b>Head tilt</b></i><br />
The ability to tilt and "nod" the head of a machine makes it more flexible for complex milling jobs. Many machines have the tilting function but far fewer can nod the head. Some of the Bridgeport models have this feature and although it is infrequently needed, it can be a life saver and save having to set up your job repeatedly:<br />
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As a potential mill owner you need to keep in mind that everytime you mess with tilt or nod, you will need to tram your mill's head again.<br />
Tramming is when you set the head to be at exactly 90 degrees to the y and x axis. Failure to tram the head will leave you with a range of issues ranging from poor finishes to work that is cut at any angle other than that you are shooting for.<br />
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<i><b>Column type</b></i><br />
Since we are breaching the topic of tramming, it is worth talking about the column types found on milling machines. Many of the far East machines are built to a budget and feature a round column:<br />
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This column type can be a challenge to tram and keep trammed if it lacks a keyway. Under heavy cuts it is often the case that the head will move relative to column, throwing out the tram. To remedy this, many manufacturers are now starting to make their mills with square columns or with dovetails like the Sieg X3:<br />
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This tends to be more of an issue with the smaller machines, usually bench top milling machines. However, I do have to emphasize that <u><b>any mill is better than no mill at all</b></u>. If you don't have a choice, get what you can then upgrade later. <br />
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<i><b>Power</b></i><br />
The power rating of the motor only tells a part of the story with milling machines. The power of the motor is calculated as the toque multiplied by the rotational speed of the axis. If you will be taking heavy cuts with large cutters, then you want high torque and lower speeds. Often, a good gearbox with a wide range of speeds or the same with pulleys is more important than the power of the motor.<br />
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So what speed range should you be looking for? I think a useful range should include an rpm below 100 for threading and large drilling, to around 2000 for smaller end mills. <br />
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This however is less important if you have a 3 phase machine as with a
VFD you can slow down or speed up the motor by adjusting the incomping
electrical frequency - this however comes at a loss of torque. <br />
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So this poses a question. What is better, belts or gears? I really don't think it matters too much with regards to reliability of the machine. There are some pros and cons of each type of head. Gears can handle higher torque but can be noisy. Belts can slip at higher torque but this is also an insurance policy as a slipping belt is nowhere near as big a problem as a gear that is destroyed by too much torque. I personally like belts because I have a small workshop and like machines to be quiter. Belts are also cheap to replace and require no maintenance.<br />
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Some milling machines have stepless variable speed heads. This is a feature found on the Bridgeport and means that speeds can be adjusted on the fly. This is usually achieved via a set of cone pulleys that expand and contract to adjust the speed:<br />
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It's very handy and I can attest to it's usefulness as my Chipmaster lathe has this feature.<br />
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<i><b>3 phase motor </b></i><br />
With the relative cheap price of variable frequency drives, 3 phase motors are no longer the headache they once were. If you come across a good machine that is 3 phase, don't be put off. As long as your home circuit can handle the current requirements, then all you need is a VFD. The advantage of a 3 phase motor is that it will often have reverse and will operate much smoother than a single phase motor.<br />
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<i><b>Lubrication</b></i><br />
On the more expensive machines, you will often see one-shot lubrication included as standard. This feature allows you to pump a plunger and distribute oil to all the necessary oiling points around the mill quickly and efficiently. <br />
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Although not a necessity, it is a useful feature when you consider that many milling machines have at least a half dozen oiling points. A poor lubrication regime is death to machine tools and as a general rule, your machines should be dripping oil. Too many people are penny poor and pound rich when it comes to lubrication. <b>Oil is the cheapest thing you can buy that will ensure a long service life for your machine.</b> Don't try to economize on using oil for your machine! Use the recommended oil and be careful of synthetic oils that contain sulfur. Sulfur will bond to yellow metals like bronze and rather than the sulfur breaking away under use, it will actually remove the foundation metal, erroding away the metal.<br />
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<i><b>Handwheels</b></i><br />
A nice feature is to have handwheels<i><b> </b></i>at each end of the table. This is quite handy when you want to avoid getting hit by hot chips or to observe a cut in progress. <br />
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<i><b>Micrometer dials</b></i><br />
This is redundant if you have a DRO or plan to install one but large, clear micrometer dials are a big plus on a mill. I don't have a DRO and only use the dials so I appreciate the large, satin chromed dials on my milling machine.<br />
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<i><b>Coolant system</b></i><br />
If you plan on doing serious machining work on your mill then you should consider using coolant. It extends the life of your cutters and contributes to a better finish. The lack of a coolant system is not a deal breaker as it can be added as an aftermarket item however it is nice to have. There are different types of systems.<br />
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Flood coolant:<br />
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Fog coolant:<br />
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There are advantages to both types however for many home shop hobbyists coolant is extra hassle and mess. I fall into this category and as such do not have coolant on my lathe, mill or bandsaw.<br />
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<u><b>Useful accessories for a milling machine</b></u><br />
Often when you are buying a machine you have the usual box or two of odds and ends that follow. Don't overlook the inclusion of these accessories since buying them seperately quickly comes to a large, difficult-to-justify figure. So here is a list of accessories that I think are very nice to get with your mill.<br />
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<b><i>Collets and collet chuck</i></b><br />
No matter what mill you buy, you will likely end up needing a collet chuck and collets. Collets allow you to accurately clamp cutters and accessories of differing sizes just by changing out a collet. If you are looking at an older machine or a machine with an obscure spindle taper, this accessory can mean the difference between purchasing the machine and walking away. Most modern spindle tapers utilize ER collets such as the ER32 collet:<br />
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<b><i>Drill chucks</i></b><br />
Good quality drill chucks like Albrecht and Rohm cost a great deal of money. Always check to see if these are included as they are an extremely handy accessory, especially if your mill has a quill.<br />
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A good German drill chuck is a thing of pure excellence, not to be compared with a cheap Chinese copy.<br />
<b><i> </i></b><br />
<b><i> Rotary table</i></b><br />
In my opinion a rotary table is a must have accessory for a milling machine. It allows you to clamp your workpiece then rotate accurately in order to drill holes, enlarge hole, cut arced slots etc. It opens up the possibilities significantly for your mill.<br />
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Just be aware that when considering tooling and work holding for your mill, the lower profile accessories are often better as they don't interfere with tool changing or capacity as much. As with the example above, many rotary tables can be used flat or stood up at 90 degrees to function as a dividing head with the inclusion of a chuck or tailstock. Regardless of how you plan to use the dividing head, having the full range of dividing plates and the tailstock will open your options. The dividing plates are useful as they have different hole counts that help you calculate angles quickly and when used with a dividing head allow you to cut gears.<br />
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Rotary table / dividing head:<br />
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Dividing plates:<br />
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Tailstock:<br />
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In use for cutting gears on a flywheel:<br />
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<b><i>Dividing head</i></b><br />
Rotary tables and dividing heads are often one and the same thing. By adding a chuck to a rotary table you can have a dividing head. This is the case with a dividing head I have recently ordered:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CGXHIX2wXaI/VJ1zVhOU4ZI/AAAAAAAAA8E/is4Pop1CulM/s1600/dividing%2Bhead%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CGXHIX2wXaI/VJ1zVhOU4ZI/AAAAAAAAA8E/is4Pop1CulM/s1600/dividing%2Bhead%2B3.jpg" height="320" width="238" /></a></div>
Here you can see that it would function as a rotary table as well, allowing work to be clamped using T nuts.<br />
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There are however dedicated dividing heads and these often allow you to adjust the angle of the work and it's rotation but are not well suited as a rotary table given their high profile:<br />
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<i><b>Digital read out</b></i><br />
In this day and age of new fangled digital gizmos, you can't look past a digital read out or DRO as they are known. A DRO is basically a digital representation of the position of your spindle. Many DROs have additional functions that allow you to calculate hole spacings or arcs. They eliminate the need to read the dials and also help eliminate errors due to backlash. They elso make life easier for those of us who's eyesight is not what it used to be:<br />
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There are 2 main types of scale used along the axis to establish the measurement. Glass scales are the older technology and are more prone to errors from wear and coolant however are generally cheaper. Magnetic scales are more reliable and their size can be adjusted just by cutting them shorter however they are more expensive.<br />
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As is often the case with used machines, not everything works as it should. Be aware that on older DRO units that you may not be able to find replacement scales as the plugs or communication protocol may have changed over time.<br />
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<i><b>Dial test and dial indicators</b></i><br />
Measuring tools are an essential part of machining and without them, even a man on a galloping horse will notice the poor fit and finish of your work. Necessary for tramming your mill and your vice, they are absolutely essential and if you can find a mill with the measuring equipment included, then this is definately a deal sweetener:<br />
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There are many different brands but some good ones are Somet, Mitutoyo, Starret and Noga. There is also a lot of specialized measuring equipment you can buy however dial indicators and dial test indicators are essential.<br />
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Vice<br />
The milling vice is the go-to work holding for the milling machine. There are several versions of the milling vice. You have the precision milling vice:<br />
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The hydraulic milling vice that provides higher clamping forces through a hyraulic compression unit often in the handle:<br />
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Then there is the screw type vice that relies on the acme screw for it's clamping pressure:<br />
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<i><b>Oil cans and pumps</b></i><br />
Something I like to see with every machine I purchase are the oiling accessories. Be wary of machines that don't have the equipment at hand or have oiling points painted over or filled with grime. There are a range of different oil fittings like zerk:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uYmjIqkmPkA/VJ19TfdZzCI/AAAAAAAAA9Y/7-b9cxBReAk/s1600/zerk.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uYmjIqkmPkA/VJ19TfdZzCI/AAAAAAAAA9Y/7-b9cxBReAk/s1600/zerk.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Ball oil fittings:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dif7-a69IzA/VBijPD-P-TI/AAAAAAAAA2Q/QF2H0DOzLPA/s1600/lathe%2Bcarriage%2Blube.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dif7-a69IzA/VBijPD-P-TI/AAAAAAAAA2Q/QF2H0DOzLPA/s1600/lathe%2Bcarriage%2Blube.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Of course having a large box of endmills, parallels, indexable tooling and universal boring heads is also nice but this equipment is usually not sold on as it is often kept by the seller or bought early by family friends. If you are lucky enough to get a lathe with everything included then you are luckier than I have been.<br />
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Well that is about all I have the energy to write on the topic of selecting a milling machine for the hobbyist. I hope you found this useful and I wish you all the best in purchasing your new machine!<br />
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<br />The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-25018711827506134732014-09-16T14:59:00.000-07:002014-09-16T15:13:18.891-07:00Selecting and buying a metal latheI know this topic has been done to death in many of the online forums but I figured it may be worth writing a blog post on this so you don't have to be a member of a forum to access the info. This post assumes you know a little about lathes but will still cover some of the basics.<br />
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First of all, why would you want a lathe? A lathe is a useful tool for material removal when trying to make an object cylindrical, threaded, or even spherical when using a ball turning attachment. They can be used to wind springs or even for polishing items. Lathes prove their usefulness when you need a part that is no longer manufactured or you need to create a component that is a special order item that is expensive. This is why many people who restore old machines and vehicles have them.<br />
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<b><u>Parts of a lathe and it's capacity</u></b><br />
Before we get into this, lets first have a look at the various parts of a lathe.<br />
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Most lathes follow the same general layout. They have the headstock at one end, and the tailstock at the other with a carriage in between that slides on the bed. Now if you look at the tailstock in the image above, you will see it has a pointy tip piece - called a centre )see picture below of a tailstock with a centre).<br />
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This is removable and a similar piece can be inserted into the spindle when the chuck is removed. This distance is called the "distance between centres" and gives you the longitudinal capacity of the lathe. Now the distance from the centre of the spindle to the bed is called the lathe's "swing".<br />
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The swing measurement is different depending on if you have an American machine or European.<br />
For example an American machine would be described as:<br />
10 x 20 - meaning that it can turn a 10 inch <b><i>diameter</i></b> by 20 inches long piece<br />
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The identical machine described by the English convention would be described as:<br />
5 x 20 - meaning it can turn a 5 inch <i><b>radius</b></i> by 20 inches long piece<br />
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The capacity of the machine is a main consideration as it dictates the work envelope you can handle. There are a number of other points that dictate the type of work you can do like:<br />
<ul>
<li>Spindle hole diameter - the hole diameter through the headstock</li>
<li>Horse power of the machine - power to take deep cuts and turn tough materials</li>
<li>Ability to thread - metric, inch or both</li>
<li>Speed range of the machine - the ability to use carbide and achieve smooth finishes</li>
<li>Rigidity - how rigid and heavy the machine is that allows deep cuts</li>
</ul>
The capacity needs to be carefully considered by deciding what type of work you will be doing. <b>If in doubt, buy a slightly larger lathe than you think you need.</b> <br />
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</ul>
<u><b>Desirable lathe features for a hobby machinist</b></u><br />
I am a member of several machinist forums and this question comes up a lot. The features of the machine after the size will dictate how efficient it will be to use the machine. When we talk about the features of the lathe, we are usually referring to time saving features that reduce the amount of work the operator needs to do.<br />
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<i>Leadscrew</i><br />
A lathe without a leadscrew is not able to turn threads and is therefore limited in it's usefullness to a hobbyist. If you will only have 1 lathe, buy one with a leadscrew. <br />
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<i>Quick change gearbox</i><br />
The quick change gearbox or QCGB as it is often abbreviated is really a must on a hobby machine in my opinion. The gearbox allows you to change the speed of the leadscrew in relation to the workpiece in the chuck, meaning you can quickly change the feedrate of the tool - allowing you to get finer finishes and also cut different pitches. Even with a QCGB, you may still need change gears to have flexability in the number of different pitches you can cut. If the lathe requires change gears these will be located on the opposite side of the lathe from the tailstock:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aM__Nogq2Y4/U_JLX8ysl8I/AAAAAAAAAzM/jzGd38VncwY/s1600/Colchester%2BChipmaster%2BChange%2BGears%2Band%2BClutch.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aM__Nogq2Y4/U_JLX8ysl8I/AAAAAAAAAzM/jzGd38VncwY/s1600/Colchester%2BChipmaster%2BChange%2BGears%2Band%2BClutch.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
These can be hard to find or even obsolete as is the case with my Chipmaster above so do some research before you buy a certain machine that is missing the change gear set.<br />
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<i>Back gear</i><br />
On older lathes a back gear is an assembly that allows the lathe to be run very slowly with greatly increased torque. This is a useful addition for threading into blind holes or to a shoulder. It is also very useful for turning large diameter pieces as at low rpm the linear speed of the workpiece will match the linear speed of a small piece spun at substantially higher rpm. Newer lathes may not have a back gear as this assembly may be in a seperate gear case or within the headstock gearing.<br />
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<i>Automatic cross feed</i><br />
Since I have assumed that you should only consider a lathe with a leadscrew, this means that you are guaranteed automatic slide feeding (refer to the below diagram for this part)<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QCv_TpCfIXY/U_JKibVfpFI/AAAAAAAAAzE/er72t95ghNw/s1600/turning%2Band%2Bfacing.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QCv_TpCfIXY/U_JKibVfpFI/AAAAAAAAAzE/er72t95ghNw/s1600/turning%2Band%2Bfacing.png" height="320" width="262" /></a></div>
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You should also try to get a machine with automatic cross feed as this simplifies parting and facing operations. Automated feeding and facing will give you a nice uniform finish with little effort like this:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RoTl8sCzGxw/U_JMjsF4pLI/AAAAAAAAAzY/zTC4lb_40MQ/s1600/facing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RoTl8sCzGxw/U_JMjsF4pLI/AAAAAAAAAzY/zTC4lb_40MQ/s1600/facing.jpg" /></a></div>
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<i>Quick change toolpost</i><br />
When using the lathe it will be likely that you will need to change tools in order to complete your project. The tools need to be lined up with the center line of the spindle in order to avoid chatter:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T2wx9KVyvqM/U_JOpzoaCXI/AAAAAAAAAzk/yQLEtXkpDhY/s1600/chatter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T2wx9KVyvqM/U_JOpzoaCXI/AAAAAAAAAzk/yQLEtXkpDhY/s1600/chatter.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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or leaving nubs or nipples:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fcnrtWydLEM/U_JO6VplQgI/AAAAAAAAAzs/f_aVq8bceiI/s1600/tool%2Bheight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fcnrtWydLEM/U_JO6VplQgI/AAAAAAAAAzs/f_aVq8bceiI/s1600/tool%2Bheight.jpg" height="287" width="320" /></a></div>
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There are different types of quick change tool posts but all of them allow you to quickly change out tools with preloaded toolholders that return to the correct height setting each time they are attached to the post. A QCTP is a very desirable piece of equipment but can be added afterwards. They usually replace the following types of tool posts:<br />
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Lantern type - found on old machines <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IgtbII-0SjE/U_JVdfD3HmI/AAAAAAAAAz8/QrivYkZ_vvQ/s1600/lantern%2Btool%2Bpost.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IgtbII-0SjE/U_JVdfD3HmI/AAAAAAAAAz8/QrivYkZ_vvQ/s1600/lantern%2Btool%2Bpost.jpg" height="308" width="320" /></a></div>
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Turret type - found on old or cheap new machines<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-48GqOUF4TMs/U_JVdbVaj7I/AAAAAAAAA0A/9X4QHUHsQDQ/s1600/turret%2Bpost.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-48GqOUF4TMs/U_JVdbVaj7I/AAAAAAAAA0A/9X4QHUHsQDQ/s1600/turret%2Bpost.jpg" height="231" width="320" /></a></div>
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There are different types of quick change tool posts and below are the most common types:<br />
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Dickson type<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KSI5O5slPbQ/U_JV2h5U1HI/AAAAAAAAA0M/9y_qBEECMck/s1600/Colchester%2BChipmaster%2BDickson%2BQuick%2BChange%2BTool%2BPost.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KSI5O5slPbQ/U_JV2h5U1HI/AAAAAAAAA0M/9y_qBEECMck/s1600/Colchester%2BChipmaster%2BDickson%2BQuick%2BChange%2BTool%2BPost.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1gPD4vMD_H4/U_JV-pGo5vI/AAAAAAAAA0U/3sRqrH6kAjg/s1600/ToolPost002b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1gPD4vMD_H4/U_JV-pGo5vI/AAAAAAAAA0U/3sRqrH6kAjg/s1600/ToolPost002b.jpg" height="231" width="320" /></a></div>
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Aloris type<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yLHyE9WsJYU/U_JWVRKtNbI/AAAAAAAAA0c/iN9h4gC_yUY/s1600/aloris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yLHyE9WsJYU/U_JWVRKtNbI/AAAAAAAAA0c/iN9h4gC_yUY/s1600/aloris.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
Multifix type <br />
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The quick change toolpost is one of - if not <u>the</u> biggest time saving piece of equipment you can get for your lathe. Try and find a lathe with the toolpost and extra holders as these can be expensive or even obsolete in some cases.<br />
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<i>Camlock spindle</i><br />
A camlock spindle is a spindle with an atatchment system that does not require the chuck to be threaded onto the spindle. This means that the chuck cannot spin free when the lathe is run in reverse. It uses a bayonet fitting that engages in the spindle where the cam lock is turned with the chuck key to secure the chuck onto the spindle:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tJ7P-3ak9Ec/U_JXmjYn7DI/AAAAAAAAA0s/-7MD6gR-EVY/s1600/camlock%2Bspindle%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tJ7P-3ak9Ec/U_JXmjYn7DI/AAAAAAAAA0s/-7MD6gR-EVY/s1600/camlock%2Bspindle%2B1.jpg" height="318" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uR7xL3gUJzg/U_JX3ztj5wI/AAAAAAAAA0w/YTJ_m99UQNU/s1600/camlock%2Bspindle%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uR7xL3gUJzg/U_JX3ztj5wI/AAAAAAAAA0w/YTJ_m99UQNU/s1600/camlock%2Bspindle%2B2.jpg" height="204" width="320" /></a></div>
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Although not absolutely critical, this is a very desirable feature as it allows you to safely operate the machine at high speeds in reverse and also change from 3 jaw chuck to 4 jaw and to collets very quickly. Just be aware though, <b>obscure and rare spindle tapers and mounting types are often very expensive</b>.<br />
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<i>Digital read out</i><br />
The ability to digitally read the measurements from a screen makes life much easier - especially for the novice. It helps eliminate errors due to backlash (wear in leadscrews and nuts that can cause measurement errors if not compensated for). These are manufactured by a variety of companies and not all are created equal, however all look quite similar:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qDZt0RNIZn0/U_OFywuIc7I/AAAAAAAAA1M/SAafPsmdDrM/s1600/dro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qDZt0RNIZn0/U_OFywuIc7I/AAAAAAAAA1M/SAafPsmdDrM/s1600/dro.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Spindle brake and clutch</i><br />
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A spindle brake allows you to bring the spindle to a halt quite quickly. This is very useful when you are turning something heavy as the inertia will keep the chuck spinning for minutes. A clutch is also a great feature as it allows you to keep the motor running and still stop the spindle, change gears etc. This also means that for those with an electrical circuit that is on the weak side, you can limit the in-rush current strain on the circuit by having the lathe running and still be able to start other machines. Reducing the number of stops and starts on the motor increaes it's life span too. I never thought these features would be useful until I bought my Colchester Chipmaster. Now I wonder how I lived without it.<br />
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Most clutches are engaged using a leaver, either on the apron or on the headstock;<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hS_pfiThY0U/VBiZMBTvCuI/AAAAAAAAA1c/6oxaHFjxAHI/s1600/lathe%2Bclutch%2Bon%2Bapron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hS_pfiThY0U/VBiZMBTvCuI/AAAAAAAAA1c/6oxaHFjxAHI/s1600/lathe%2Bclutch%2Bon%2Bapron.jpg" height="223" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tpom7FnKQI0/VBiZVGK_JWI/AAAAAAAAA1k/VymtLFot4cE/s1600/lathe%2Bclutch%2Bheadstock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tpom7FnKQI0/VBiZVGK_JWI/AAAAAAAAA1k/VymtLFot4cE/s1600/lathe%2Bclutch%2Bheadstock.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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With the machines that have the clutch on the headstock, the same leaver usually engages the brake as well. If the brake is mechanical rather than electro-magnetic, the headstock leaver type is obviously weaker than a foot operated brake like the example below:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-910A7kIWKeA/VBibBpt5j0I/AAAAAAAAA1s/MMMSbRS2vS4/s1600/foot%2Bbrake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-910A7kIWKeA/VBibBpt5j0I/AAAAAAAAA1s/MMMSbRS2vS4/s1600/foot%2Bbrake.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is why foot brakes are often seen on industrial machines.<br />
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<u><b>Lathe lubrication systems</b></u><br />
<i>Lubrication to the headstock bearings</i><br />
I believe that at this point it is important to mention lubrication for the lathe. Many of the older lathes had splash lubricated headstock bearings. This means that as the gears rotate, oil sticks to the teeth and is flung about the headstock, circulating the oil and thereby oiling all the parts within the headstock. See below:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GIOE6vxs9yA/VBizYa6pG5I/AAAAAAAAA3g/ltKjry9qY0M/s1600/splash%2Blubrication.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GIOE6vxs9yA/VBizYa6pG5I/AAAAAAAAA3g/ltKjry9qY0M/s1600/splash%2Blubrication.jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
This type of lubrication has some limits. First of all, the oil has to be thin enough that it can circulate throughout the headstock, reaching the headstock bearings and flowing out before overheating. It also means that the oil is not actively filtered - resulting in a higher particle count and reduced bearing life. It also means that if the oil level falls below the bottom gear's tooth level, there will be no lubrication. So what is the solution? An oil pump.<br />
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Oil pumps allow the oil to be circulated and actively filtered. It also allows the oil to be injected exactly where needed. If you can't tell if the lathe you are looking at has an oil pump system, remove the headstock cover and take a peek inside. The hoses are a dead give away:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xx39XRTagzY/VBifolQatMI/AAAAAAAAA18/Qbz4hfLBnJg/s1600/oil%2Bpump%2Bheadstock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xx39XRTagzY/VBifolQatMI/AAAAAAAAA18/Qbz4hfLBnJg/s1600/oil%2Bpump%2Bheadstock.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
The 3 clear plastic pipes are the oil lubrication lines. Most older lathes still rely on splash lubrication for the gears though as there is little need to direct oil onto the gears that can lubricate themselves simply by rotating through oil.</div>
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Some older machines such the South Bend Heavy 10 have a system that uses oil cups. These cups are topped up with oil regularly, and the oil is wicked to where it is needed through felt wicks. This lubrication system is often seen on machines that use oilite bronze headstock bushes:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lflRr5Jh4r0/VBijD_n3BOI/AAAAAAAAA2E/14CZ0ltlDDg/s1600/oil%2Bcups.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lflRr5Jh4r0/VBijD_n3BOI/AAAAAAAAA2E/14CZ0ltlDDg/s1600/oil%2Bcups.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Lubrication to the carriage</i><br />
A lathe starts to wear the second you begin using it. The easier it is to keep contact surfaces oiled, the more likely it is that they will be oiled and the less wear the lathe will experience. On many lathes, oil lubrication to the leadscrews and ways is manual. The presence of oil ports indicates that the machine requires an oil can or pump to inject oil through to the surfaces:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Dif7-a69IzA/VBijPD-P-TI/AAAAAAAAA2M/vc2mN5UiwAE/s1600/lathe%2Bcarriage%2Blube.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Dif7-a69IzA/VBijPD-P-TI/AAAAAAAAA2M/vc2mN5UiwAE/s1600/lathe%2Bcarriage%2Blube.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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These are often small and quite easy to miss. They are also prone to getting blocket or painted over on older machines. Do NOT ignore oil ports. Take the time to clean them and make a habit of oiling them every time you use your machine if you want to maintain it's accuracy as long as possible.<br />
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Alternatively, some lathes have built in oil pumps on the carriage. The Colchester Triumph 2000 for example has a piston that once pushed a few times, oils the ways and lead screws simultaneously. It is conveniently located near the cross slide wheel so there is no excuse for not keeping things well lubed:<br />
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There are after market options available such as One Shot. This system requires you to install and connect the plumbing but is worth the effort if you tend to be slack with oiling and maintenance:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HQ1Wy-1N0TE/VBikrXE4XXI/AAAAAAAAA2c/HNzk7lq0LKI/s1600/one%2Bshot%2Boiler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HQ1Wy-1N0TE/VBikrXE4XXI/AAAAAAAAA2c/HNzk7lq0LKI/s1600/one%2Bshot%2Boiler.jpg" height="224" width="320" /></a></div>
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<u><b>Lathe bed profiles</b></u><br />
Lathe beds come in a variety of profiles. Most that I have seen are the typical v type where the carriage rides in one v, while the tailstock rides in the other:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A2z8WPTB2cs/VBilp0TNZvI/AAAAAAAAA2k/9UL-3dRHppQ/s1600/Colchester%2BChipmaster%2Bend%2Bview.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A2z8WPTB2cs/VBilp0TNZvI/AAAAAAAAA2k/9UL-3dRHppQ/s1600/Colchester%2BChipmaster%2Bend%2Bview.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Some lathes such as the Weiler Primus have flat ways:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iIB_C-26e58/VBimYcVVoiI/AAAAAAAAA2s/W2DGLwMtMjY/s1600/weiler%2Bprimus%2Bways.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iIB_C-26e58/VBimYcVVoiI/AAAAAAAAA2s/W2DGLwMtMjY/s1600/weiler%2Bprimus%2Bways.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Some other lathes have a round bed with a key that keeps the carriage aligned:<br />
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Dual round bars:<br />
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... and even solid dovetail such as on the wonderful Hardinge HLVH:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LhOq7gMnq88/VBio2td1uYI/AAAAAAAAA3E/OlHp0X_7BjI/s1600/hlvh%2Bbed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LhOq7gMnq88/VBio2td1uYI/AAAAAAAAA3E/OlHp0X_7BjI/s1600/hlvh%2Bbed.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
Whichever type of bed the lathe has, the accuracy and surface finish of your work will depend to a large degree on the bed's rigidity. As a general rule, the more solid, heavy and wider the bed and ways, the better. A second general rule, the ways should be as wide or wider apart than the distance from the center of the ways to the spindle. The Rosenfors below takes this to the extreme:<br />
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It's also VERY desirable to get a lathe with hardened ways. This means that the bed has either been flame or induction hardened resulting in reduced surface wear when compared to non hardened ways.<br />
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<u><b>Old versus new lathes</b></u><br />
This discussion comes up all the time on the various forums. Some prefer old while others like the features found in newer lathes.<br />
My opinion is that there are nice old lathes out there but you need to be patient and know where to look. I personally like old European machines as they have a feel and quality of finish not found in Chinese machines today.<br />
That said, <i><b>any</b></i> lathe is better than no lathe when you need to manufacture something. This article gives a good example of what an old beater can do:<br />
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<a href="http://www.mermac.com/klunker2.html" target="_blank">In (modest) praise of clunkers</a><br />
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One very important thing to consider when buying an old or used machine are the safety features. <b>Old machines are often lacking an emergency shut-off and brake</b>. This can be remedied with a VFD for a 3 phase machine.<br />
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Before you buy a lathe, I would urge you to take the time and learn how to test the accuracy of the machine. If in doubt, make friends with a machine rebuilder or decent machinist and bring them along with you.<br />
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Many machines also have quirks that are specific to the particular make. Things to check are:<br />
<ul>
<li>Run-out</li>
<li>Leadscrew backlash and wear</li>
<li>Bed wear</li>
<li>Bearing noise</li>
<li>Electrical system</li>
<li>Clutch and spindle brake</li>
<li>Spindle taper surface (damage may make the chuck / collets run out)</li>
<li>Headstock oil pump (if the oil pump is not working - this may indicate worn bearings)</li>
</ul>
It is also prudent to do research on the lathe you are looking to buy. Tony Griffith's site is a fantastic resource and you should familiarize yourself with it:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.lathes.co.uk/page21.html" target="_blank">http://www.lathes.co.uk</a><br />
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There are also a number of fourms where knowledgable people hang out. One that I haunt is the hobby machinist forum:<br />
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<a href="http://www.hobby-machinist.com/forum.php?tabid=11" target="_blank">hobby-machinist</a><br />
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This forum is the friendliest I have found for beginners and is a great resource for those starting out. <br />
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When all is said and done, you need to do the homework for yourself when purchasing a machine. Take opinions for what they are worth and don't leave finding a suitable machine to luck. Work out the capacity, features and budget and then start scouring the used and new market.<br />
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Good luck in your lathe shopping and I hope you found this blog article helpful.<br />
<br /></div>
The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-60177055196561533512014-08-17T12:37:00.000-07:002014-08-18T22:06:33.802-07:00Stenbergs KLE Kombimaskin - combination machineI have really been struggling with space in my little workshop. It's 32.5 square meters and it contains a metal and woodworking shop. I have only recently bought all the machines I thought I would need to have a fairly complete general purpose woodworking shop and discovered I had little room to work: <br />
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I had to go back and reconsider my options.<br />
<br />
If you want to prepare your own materials and get them to size and usable finish, you need a few machines. These are:<br />
<ol>
<li>Table saw</li>
<li>Band saw</li>
<li>Planer and thicknesser (or jointer thicknesser)</li>
<li>Spindle moulder</li>
</ol>
Now I had all these machines seperately but I had no room to move so I started to sell them off in order to fund a combination machine.<br />
<br />
<b>Stenbergs KLE as a viable option</b><br />
It's no secret I like older European machines. They are built with a simplicity and robustness that means you have years of faithful service if you do your part and keep them oiled and rust free. Yes, older machines need some extra attention but they were built to carry out a job and were made before the advertising departments were bigger than the engineering and manufacturing departments. I started scouring the internet and came across a Swedish made Stenbergs 300 KLE - a machine I have been patiently waiting for. Stenbergs was a branch of the Swedish Jonsered Construction and Manufacturing AB company - also known for building very heavy duty woodworking machines. From the ad. I could see that the machine was in good shape:<br />
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The machine is a 5 function beast with table saw, planer thicknesser, spindle moulder and a tennoning attachment. This meant that the only other piece of seperate machinery I would need would be my bandsaw (which I am upgrading so more to follow about that...).<br />
<br />
<b>Why a Stenbergs KLE Kombimaskin? (Swedish for combination machine)</b><br />
When working with wood, it is often the case that you need to work with long pieces. Many combination machines have a large footprint due to the large size of the table saw table. The Stenbergs 300 (as it is also known) utilizes the jointer thicknesser table as the table saw table and also part of the spindle moulder table. This means it is quite narrow in comparison to other machines and therefore takes up less floorspace in the workshop - only slightly larger than a standard euro pallet:<br />
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This is a compromise as it means ripping large sheets is difficult. I can however build a removable extension which will help me with this - which as it happens was an optional extra that the owner of my machine did not purchase.<br />
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<b>Cast iron everywhere</b><br />
This machine is heavy. It is solid and utilizes cast iron for all working surfaces. It weighs in at 480 kg so it's not a lightweight. I like this in a machine as it means less vibration and increased stability. For example, the fence weighs close to 20kg and when locked, cannot be budged:<br />
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<b>Rudimentary controls</b><br />
The KLE (previously versions known as the Stenbergs KLA, KLC and afterwards KLJ) was the smallest of the industrial machines Stenbergs made. As such, it was designed to be tough and solid, which it is. It does not have the dials and measurement tapes and dials of more modern machines but it is not anything that can't be fixed without a ruler or height guage. For example, the table saw lift mechanism:<br />
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This is also the case with the tennoning attachment:<br />
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And also the case with the spindle moulder:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9EUpMk_hggQ/U_D9ql9p8RI/AAAAAAAAAxY/YP_BXXXpRBQ/s1600/Optimized-WP_20140817_002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9EUpMk_hggQ/U_D9ql9p8RI/AAAAAAAAAxY/YP_BXXXpRBQ/s1600/Optimized-WP_20140817_002.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
The jointer thicknesser has a measurement tape and leadscrew to adjust the thicknesser which is good. This is where precision is the most important in my opinion as boards even a millimitre out of plane will stand out:<br />
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The controls on the front of the machine are just steel levers and handles, simple but effective:<br />
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<b>Time for the belt... </b><br />
The machine requires belt changes to provide power to the various tools. This is accomodated through a main drive wheel that also contains a clutch that provides drive to the infeed and outfeed roller of the thicknesser, and also houses the manual brake:<br />
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Dust ports are simple in design and consist of a sliding valve that either opens or closes the port. Simple but effective:<br />
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<b>Safety</b><br />
The safety guards are very well made and robust. The arms that hold them in place are spring assisted and have zerk fittings at each pivot point to allow oiling. All bearing surfaces are made of cast bronze:<br />
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<b>Compromises</b><br />
Of course there are compromises with all combination machines. Here is a list of some compromises with this machine I have had to make:<br />
<ol>
<li>Less space than stand alone machines</li>
<li>Dependence on a single motor</li>
<li>Belt changes required</li>
<li>Spartan controls and measurements </li>
<li>2 blade cutter head on planer thicknesser</li>
<li>Non tilting saw blade and spindle moulder spindle</li>
</ol>
<b>Advantages</b><br />
So here are some advantages to this machine:<br />
<ol>
<li>Robust and stable - industrial quality</li>
<li>Simple to fix</li>
<li>Small footprint for 5 machines</li>
<li>Powerful motor at 3HP, 3 phase motor</li>
<li>No electronics other than the on/off switch</li>
<li>Narrow shape allows easier storage along a wall</li>
<li>Simple to use</li>
<li>Industry standard blades, cutters and attachments</li>
</ol>
I have a large dining table I need to make so I am really keen to see how this machine will go. I will be creating a rolling base for it to increase it's base in order to make it more stable and easier to move around. I really can't wait to try the beast out and see how it does. I will also post some parts lists for the KLC and KLJ. I have not been able to find any for the KLE at this point.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R1RYrIFcLNM/U_EEMhvGcwI/AAAAAAAAAyg/l1GijIpX3Xo/s1600/Optimized-WP_20140817_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R1RYrIFcLNM/U_EEMhvGcwI/AAAAAAAAAyg/l1GijIpX3Xo/s1600/Optimized-WP_20140817_001.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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I hope you enjoyed the read on an interesting and quite unique machine. I have attached the parts manuals for the Stenberg KLC and Stenberg KLJ combination machines. I do not have the manual for the KLE but it is nearly identical to the KLJ.
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<br />The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-78236799509631026502014-01-25T11:04:00.000-08:002014-01-25T11:04:34.294-08:00Toro Powermax HD 1028 OXE Snowblower Test / ReviewFirst of all I would like to say a thank you to those who have been following my blog. I am not the most prolific blogger but I am trying to make up for that by writing things worth reading.<br />
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Now lets get on with the topic today; Snow blowers.<br />
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I had been struggling with an older 8 horsepower snow blower for a while. It lasted me about 5 years but was heavy, hard to manoeuvre and was also a little difficult to start. It also had an annoying habit of blocking up with snow and ice, requiring shutting down and digging out compacted slush from the chute.<br />
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<strong>Features</strong><br />
This snow blower has a long list of extra features one could be forgiven for classifying as hype<br />
<ol>
<li>electric start</li>
<li>quick control joystick chute</li>
<li>power max anti clogging system</li>
<li>power steering</li>
<li>locking control handles</li>
<li>overhead valve 4 stroke engine</li>
</ol>
Check out Toro's website for the full list:<br />
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<a href="http://www.toro.com/en-us/Homeowner/Snow-Blowers/Two-Stage/Pages/Model.aspx?pid=Power-Max-HD-1028-OXE-38674" target="_blank">Toro's website</a><br />
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I initially thought these features were just the marketing department having a laugh and trying to squeeze more from silly consumers. After I spoke to a few people with this machine, I kept hearing the same comments, like "easy to start and steer", and "never clogs up".<br />
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I decided that my friends seemed reliable enough so I bought myself the Toro HD 1028 OXE.<br />
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So how do these features stack up? Pretty darn good. The snow blower is extremely easy to steer around obstacles thanks to triggers that disengage the drive to the corresponding wheel:<br />
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The triggers are located under the handles and therefore require gloves in order to operate. This seems a little technical but you get the hang of it quite quickly. The lever on the top right is to engage the auger, the left is for driving the wheels. When you depress the right lever, then the left, you can let go of the left lever and it will stay in as you move, allowing you to adjust the throw of the snow blower with the joystick:</div>
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This makes it very easy to throw the snow exactly where you want it. Of course all this is for naught if you can't start it, and for that there is a mains powered starter motor:</div>
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This means that there is no battery to maintain. To be honest though, I have not used the electric start as it has started first pull every time. 3 pushes of the primer, add the choke and turn the throttle to max and you just need to pull the handle.<br />
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So how does the Toro HD 1028 OXE handle heavy, wet snow? Very well. The heavy snow gets recirculated here:<br />
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This means that if there is too much for the chute to handle, the auger mashes it up again and throws it out when the chute has enough capacity to handle it. This feature is sheer brilliance. I have not been able to bog down this snow blower yet. This feature has allowed me to throw snow that is heavy quite easily:<br />
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So there you have it, a review of the Toro HD 1028 OXE. I have hit my share of gravel with it and the plastic shows no sign of cracking or falling apart. The snow does not stick to the chute and the joystick moves the chute with ease. I am very happy with this machine and would recommend it to anyone who needs to throw snow some serious distance (14.7 meters) and needs to manoeuvre around obstacles.<br />
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Stay safe this winter and drive carefully on those slippery roads. The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-5151728355224373142013-10-07T13:01:00.001-07:002013-10-07T13:01:49.368-07:00Woohoo, we made 100 000 hits!!This is to all the visitors and readers that have stumbled onto my blog..<br />
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We have made 100 000 hits. Truth be told probably 49% of those were me checking for spelling mistakes on my posts but hey, at least I can't take the majority of the credit.<br />
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Time has gone by and things have changed over the years. I have moved a little from the bushcraft and axe theme and have focussed more on my machining and repairing. I also enjoy doing reviews so this is to those always trying to get free advertising into my comments section...<br />
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<strong><em>Send me a sample to review and I will happily do an honest review. Just don't expect me to lie if it's poop, or expect it back if it's not.</em></strong><br />
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I would like to thank those people who have stayed reading the wandering axeman blog for the years it has been running. The following is especially to those longsuffering subscribers:<br />
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I know I have been slack at times but hey, I have been making a concerted effort to provide some sort of quality reading. I have the opinion that if I have nothing to write about, I write nothing. That's the difference between blogging and Facebook (which I don't do because quite frankly, I don't care about "liking" the fact that someone won dancing with the fattest loser while impressing the iron X factor).<br />
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So here we are, I believe that breaking 100k views is a big step and I have not fallen to temptation and allowed advertising on this blog. This to me is a good sign and makes me believe that you don't have to write offensive material or sell your soul for a few pennies in order to attract readers. <br />
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Now to round out this celebratory post, I am giving each of you readers an official seal of awesomeness. <br />
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Thanks again and to quote Ron Burgundy, "Stay Classy!"<br />
The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-44661097658345757162013-09-22T12:04:00.003-07:002013-09-22T12:04:54.180-07:00MIG Welder for the Workshop.... Finally!I have had a MIG welder on my wish list for a long time. I can't justify buying one new since I am unsure how often I will use one. As anyone also following my blog knows, I really am not a fan of Chinese tools so that was a nail in the coffin as well.<br />
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I sold a dividing head and a rotary table a few weeks ago to a nice gent who mentioned he had some tools and equipment he was looking to get rid of. He mentioned some diamond cup wheels which would be perfect for my <a href="http://wanderingaxeman.blogspot.no/2013/07/my-new-thorns-t2-tool-cutter-and.html" target="_blank">Thörns T2</a> tool and cutter grinder.<br />
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I stopped into his place today and walked away with this haul here:<br />
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I ended up with a heap of sandpaper, stainless grinding disks, 2 small 3 phase motors, 2 diamond grinding cups, a grinding wheel and a MIG welder. I bought more than I really needed but I couldn't pass up a Swedish made MIG welder:<br />
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It even came with the instruction books. I didn't buy the gas bottle since I will use gassless MIG welding wire. The diamond cup are really what I wanted and they will be ready to go when I have the grinder up and running:<br />
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So I'm a happy camper today. It's been a productive weekend!<br />
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Stay safe.<br />
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The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-26704294669319915072013-09-22T11:51:00.000-07:002013-09-22T11:51:02.330-07:00Sealing Gaps in Garage Doors for WinterFor those of us that use a car garage as a workshop, warmth is important over the winter months. Cold machines like to break, and cold oil does not like to lubricate things. I am also slow to start on cold days so I want a workshop that remains a little warm over winter without costing the earth.<br />
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I have insulated the garage already, but have had issues with closing gaps between the garage doors and the wall. This renders all the insulation redundant since the heat can just seep out. I had initially closed the gaps between the roller doors and garage with rubber strips. These were strips used under doors to block drafts. They worked OK but the problem has been they catch and then tear.<br />
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As you can see from the picture, I have a brush at the top to seal the gap, but the rubber has been catching in the door and causing it to stop. It has also damaged the rubber and torn big chunks out. The solution has been to install brushes instead. They don't catch, they stay flexible and are quite effective at sealing in the heat. I couldn't get the largest size as they only had 2 so I went with large brushes up top, and shorter on the bottom half:<br />
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It looks a little odd and I will probably change this later. On the other door the gap was smaller so I could use the smaller size which was fortunate as I only had 2 large brushes.<br />
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This is a cheap solution to sealing garage door gaps. If you try it, close the door before you install them and just push the brush up flush with the door. Don't force the brushes too hard against the door though as this will cause increased resistance which will cause the door to automatically stop. The brushes are flexible which means that when you fasten the first 2 screws, you can bend it to the shape of the garage door.<br />
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So there you have it, to seal gaps between garage doors and the door frame, you can use door brushes. Like Ned Stark said, "Winter is coming!"<br />
The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-34139334315412520472013-09-22T11:38:00.003-07:002013-09-22T11:38:49.946-07:00Jungner VF600 DownfeedI have been getting more time using the machines and was a little frustrated with the power downfeed on my Junger VF600 metal mill. When I bought it the machine was covered in gummed up oil and sawdust. This meant that many of the functions it had were tough to engage since knobs need to be turned or pushed in / out and the oil / sawdust was acting like glue. The downfeed is useful to get a consistent finish when using something like a boring head so I want it functioning as I have a couple projects that need some boring done.<br />
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The power downfeed required me disassembling the unit:<br />
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The unit comes out to reveal this:<br />
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This is a latch system to engage a cog which turns the downfeed screw. In the picture you can see a phenolic / tufnol button. This was in constant contact with a cam and was quite worn. I machined up a bronze button that will be in use until I can get some tufnol rod. The machining didn't take long since I was able to take 1.5mm at a time on the lathe:<br />
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There really is no substitute for rigidity and horsepower on a lathe. So now the machine is back together with the new button installed. I just have to get to the clutch on the unit to tighten it up and I am done. I'm saving that for another day as just need to use the machine at the moment.<br />
The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-81047093340655592702013-09-18T11:53:00.003-07:002013-09-18T11:53:52.694-07:00The Horizontal Metal Bandsaw for the Hobby MachinistI have a pretty decent collection of metal working machines now. I have a drill press,, metal mill, lathe, surface and tool grinder, belt grinder, bench grinder, drill bit grinder and a metal bandsaw. The metal bandsaw was the last machine I purchased and to be honest I don't know why I waited so long.<br />
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The truth about machining is that it is just a process of material removal. Anything that makes this process easier and allows you the ability of rapidly reducing the size of you material is a huge plus. Hacksaws and files do this in a manual fashion, the horizontal metal bandsaw, mill and lathe allow you to do this with higher speed while still maintaining precision.<br />
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The horizontal metal bandsaw opens up your options with regards to stock choice. For example you can cut an axle down and use the metal for your projects or just store the metal for a rainy day. You would not consider this if you had to cut the material by hand (believe me, I used to use a 6" grinder and a hacksaw). This is the reason why the Chinese / Taiwanese 4" x 6" metal bandsaw have skyrocketed in popularity. For the price these machines cost, I can't blame people for buying them - but I often wonder what the trade-off is in hours to get them to perform.<br />
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So what is it that you need to look for in a horizontal metal bandsaw for hobby use? I am no expert but this was my list:<br />
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<ol>
<li>Useful capacity</li>
<li>The ability to cut angles by moving the saw armature, not the stock</li>
<li>Ability to use coolant</li>
<li>A solid vice</li>
<li>A powerful motor</li>
<li>Rigidity</li>
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So why is capacity no. 1? Because the larger the capacity, the more options you have for cutting down stock that may be too big for others - increasing your selection of materials for low cost or no cost.<br />
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The ability to move the armature to cut angles means the saw can be placed against a wall with the stock clamped and there is no need to move the saw. Saws that require you to move the stock need to moved from walls as the stock bumps into them when cutting angles. <br />
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The option to use coolant means extra life for your saw blades. You may choose not to use it, but if you are doing repeated cuts in a hard material, this option will really shine through in the cut quality and life of the blade.<br />
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A solid vice is a must-have feature in my books. A quick action vice is an even bigger bonus but many cheaper machines do not have this feature. A solid vice allows you to grip awkward shaped objects tightly and prevents the stock from rolling in the jaws and damaging your blade. This especially necessary if you have course toothed blades and a strong motor.<br />
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The powerful motor means you can cut through tough materials without bogging the saw down. It also allows the machine to run cooler and therefore extends the life of the machine. I have seen many photos of smoking metal bandsaws because the motor was cheap garbage with overly-generous horsepower ratings. Unfortunately, if you buy Asian you are often rolling the dice as to wether the ratings are true.<br />
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I know many people don't care too much about rigidity in a saw but for me this was important. The larger the capacity of the saw, the more rigid you want it. Rigidity allows you tension the saw blade enough to keep it tracking straight. With flimsy saws, the more you tighten, the more you alter the shape of the frame, making a square cut difficult to achieve. Woodworkers are more used to this issue with wood bandsaws but metal bandsaws also suffer from tracking issues if the saw is not rigid. Many saws provide you with a means of adjusting the blade guides which goes some way in fixing tracking issues, but these are no substitute for adjustability AND rigidity.<br />
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So are horizontal metal bandsaws with auto down-feed worth it? The answer is yes, providing the makers don't compromise on the other features I mentioned. When you are using a metal bandsaw for hobby use, it is not often that you will need to cut pieces of metal at the saw's maximum capacity. For my saw, I can cut a 50mm metal bar in about a minute. I don't believe that the auto feature will save me enough time to make up for other features that I would prefer to have. The other problem I see with automating certain functions is that people don't pay due care and attention to what is going on since they assume the machine will function properly 100% of the time. If by chance the blade starts tracking incorrectly due to low blade tension, then before you know it you have cut a slot into your vice because you were not present.<br />
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If you do decide to buy a horizontal metal bandsaw, do yourself a favour and buy a decent bi-metal blade. The blades that come with most machines (except for expensive European or Western machines) are garbage. The difference between a cheap blade and a quality blade are night and day. If I bought an Asian machine, the very first thing I would do before running it is to throw the unused cheap blade in the rubbish and install a decent blade by a reputable name like Starrett or Lenox. You should also keep a small oil bottle handy with cutting oil. This will make your bandsaw blades live a longer, happier life. Good luck bandsawing!<br />
The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-25809127105590296132013-09-15T13:27:00.001-07:002013-09-26T15:13:37.526-07:00Colchester Chipmaster ReviewThe review of this Colchester Chipmaster lathe took 49 years to write. My Chipmaster was made in 1964 and seems to be a bit of a rare machine. All the part numbers match and confirm that it is indeed a 64 model, and a metric Chipmaster from this year is a rare beast indeed. I figured that now I have used it for a few projects, I am qualified enough to write a review for anyone looking at a Chipmaster.<br />
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Here she is:<br />
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This is Colchester Chipmaster Continental, meaning it is metric. The specs are as follows:<br />
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Swing over bed: 5.75" (146 mm)<br />
Distance between centres: 20" (508 mm)<br />
Bore diameter: 1 5/16" (35mm)<br />
Speed range: 35 - 3000 rpm<br />
Weight: 550 kg<br />
Power: 3 HP<br />
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<strong>Starting at the Tailstock</strong><br />
I guess the best way to review a machine is start at one end and move through to the other. I'll start with the tailstock and the very end.<br />
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As you can see, the tail stock is very heavily constructed. Mine has both metric and inch graduations. The dial is very large in diameter and is satin chrome finished like all the dials on the Colchester Chipmaster. There are 2 levers, one to lock the tailstock quill, the other to lock the tailstock to the bed.<br />
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As is evident from the picture above, the bed is very wide given the modest capacity of the lathe. It is very stable and the tailstock is no exception. The lathe features several lubrication points for the ways on the carriage, unfortunately there are none on the tail stock.<br />
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<strong>The Colchester Chipmaster Bed</strong><br />
An exceptional feature of the Colchester Chipmaster is it's bed. Extremely rigid and well thought out, it really is the crown jewel of the lathe. It features hardened ways and eleptical holes that allow the swarf to fall through to the rear of the machine.<br />
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This feature makes cleaning the machine a snap as there is even a hole directly below the chuck.<br />
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A quick brush pushes the swarf to the chute and to the back of the machine.<br />
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<strong>The Colchester Chipmaster Carriage and Apron</strong><br />
The carriage of the Chipmaster seems strange to many due to the carriage hand wheel location. On most lathes, this wheel is set up so that it is operated by the left hand. On the Chipmaster it is the opposite.<br />
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To be honest, I have found this to be quite convenient and have had no issue with it at all. Eagled eyed readers will notice that this machine does not have a thread dial indicator. The Chipmaster Continental does not have an indicator, and it is expected that you will use the machine's reverse to keep the leadscrew half nuts engaged when threading. <br />
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Between the two hand wheels on the apron is the feed shaft lever, used for longitudinal and cross feeding. To the left of that is the lever controlling the half nuts for the lead screw. The fact there is a lead screw and separate feed shaft makes this machine a lathe capable of heavy work while still saving precision for when it's needed.<br />
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The carriage is locked via a nut at the top of the carriage, located next to the carriage's oil bath filling hole.<br />
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A permanent lever would be ideal here however given the low clearance with the compound slide it would be hard to do right. I leave a spanner on it permanently. You can also see the oiling point for the ways. The cross feed and compound slide have generous dials and are extremely easy to read.<br />
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The longitudinal feed and cross feed are a combined unit located on the front of the apron. They are combined into a knob that is slid into position. The first notch in is for cross feed, 2 notches in is for longitudinal feed.<br />
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Atop the compound slide is the quick change tool post. On my machine I had the Dickson style. It is very decent quality and rigid. I have taken some deep cuts with it and have had not had any problems.<br />
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On many Colchester Chipmasters the way wipers are long past their due date. You can make Chipmaster way wipers easily by cutting 4mm neoprene or any other oil resistant rubber to size. I used a bandsaw and razor to cut mine. I made a template for them so I never have to measure again, just transfer the outline onto the rubber and cut away. You can see by the picture below that the fit is tight:<br />
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A useful extra is the carriage stop. This needs to be used with caution though as on occasions the carriage has pushed the stop and I have come close to crashing the machine. The standard stop has 6 different settings and is useful for work that is repetitious.<br />
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<strong>Colchester Chipmaster Headstock</strong><br />
There is not really a lot to be said about the headstock. It features Gamet precision tapered roller bearings and has a spindle size of 35mm - quite generous really.<br />
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The headstock is attached via 4 Allen head bolts. I initially thought this was flimsy but the finishes I have obtained from the machine have proven me wrong. The chuck is attached via a D1 - 3 cam lock. This ensures that the chuck stays on when you spool the machine up to 3000 rpm. Just check that all lugs are tight before testing it out or risk a 4 kg missile tear through the garage, your neighbour's house and the farmer's prize cow... 2 km away.<br />
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The headstock is where the beauty of the machine's design shines through. It's a terrible state that modern design has evolved into the monstrosity it is today. The 60's is where it was at. The art deco style of the machine make it as nice to look at as it is to use.<br />
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The headstock features 2 levers on the front. The lever on the right is the clutch lever, and the lever on the left is the belt / gear selector. The lever at the back is for the electrical box - right is forward, middle is off, and left is reverse. You will also find the headstock oil filler at the back.<br />
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For the low rpm, high torque applications, the gears are engaged by lifting the leaver up. When this leaver is engaged, beware!!! There is 3HP turning that spindle. A man can resist about 1/10th of a HP so it will easily tear your arm from it's socket if you are silly enough to use the machine with a ring or watch. When the cover is open you will also find the gearbox oil filler.<br />
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<strong>Colchester Chipmaster Continental Gearbox</strong><br />
The continental has a different gearbox arrangement than the imperial model. It features a joystick design with 6 different positions.<br />
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The joystick is the lever on the bottom right. The lever above it is for the carriage direction and the lever to the left above the oil sight glass is to allow more options for threads / feeds. There are a large number of threads available if you have the change wheels. I was lucky enough to have received a complete set with the machine.<br />
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The charts for feeds and threading have been included below:<br />
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I have found the arrangement of the controls to be quite intuitive and easy to understand. With the A, B, C lever, belt and gear head lever and the joystick, you have a combination of 44 threads and feed speeds available with the 28, 68 and 48 tooth change wheels.<br />
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<strong>Colchester Chipmaster Speed Wheel</strong><br />
The Chipmaster features a Kopp variator, a device that allows stepless speed changes on the fly. It is purely mechanical and is a marvellous invention really. Many Chipmaster has noisy variators because people didn't want to spend the extra time or money to either top up the oil, or purchase the right oil from the get-go.<br />
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Below you can see that the machine had the Swedish translation of "slow" and "fast" put on it from factory. Quite impressive really considering it was built in 64.<br />
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The speed wheel controls the variator via planetary wheels and by pulling the handle out while the machine is running and rotating left or right, the wheel will indicate what rpms you are running at. This system is very easy to use and is quite useful when you are whittling away a large diameter piece. As you reduce the diameter you can increase the rpm - the same applies to parting stock.<br />
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Upon opening the door, it is evident that the machine features the newer variator and bracket. This is quite strange as the clutch lever is from the old design. The variator is NOT sealed. If you over fill it like I did, oil will pour out of the output shaft and onto your garage floor, hence the drip pan in the photo.<br />
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You can see that the variator bracket is isolated via rubber mounts and that the gearbox is belt driven from the variator. This combination greatly reduces vibration and improves the surface finish by a number of magnitude.<br />
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<strong>Colchester Chipmaster Change Gears and Clutch</strong><br />
The Chipmaster was made as a toolroom lathe. Despite the norm of tool room lathes weighing at least 1000 kg, this lathe had the rigidity and speed range to handle both heavy and delicate work. The change wheels allowed the machine's capability while keeping it's weight down as a comparable gearbox lathe able to do the same would push it's weight into the Monarch territory.<br />
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Upon opening the cover a micro switch cuts out the magnetic power switch. You quickly notice the Matrix clutch that allows you to engage and disengage the spindle - making metric threading possible.<br />
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This by the way, is a feature every serious hobby machinist needs to experience. Once you have used a lathe with a clutch, it is very hard to go back.<br />
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You will also notice in the above photo that there is a belt that allows the spindle to be run directly from a the clutch, which is run via 2 vee belts from the variator. For speeds over 350 rpm, the belt is engaged, while the gears are disengaged. This allows you to attain the extremely smooth finishes the Chipmaster is famous for.<br />
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From the end view you can also appreciate just how large the spindle diameter is.<br />
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<strong>Colchester Chipmaster Cabinet</strong><br />
The Chipmaster has some storage, but don't expect to be overwhelmed. The cabint at the front can be removed and actually allows easy access to key parts of the variator and motor.<br />
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<strong>Colchester Chipmaster Art Deco Design</strong><br />
Upon closing the gear cover, you are left with this view:<br />
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The Chipmaster may not be a Monarch, but it is a beautiful machine. If you have the chance to buy one that is not worn out, do it. I paid more than I wanted to but have not regretted it one bit. It is as functional as it is beautiful and really is a great machine to run. If you are looking for more info on oils, then look here:<br />
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<a href="http://wanderingaxeman.blogspot.no/2013/03/colchester-chipmaster-oils-instruction.html" target="_blank">Which oil for Colchester Chipmaster?</a><br />
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For information on the Chipmaster:<br />
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<a href="http://www.lathes.co.uk/chipmaster/" target="_blank">Chipmaster Info at Tony's Site</a><br />
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And now for one last picture...<br />
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BEAUTIFUL!!! Well that is the end of this novel. I hope you enjoyed it and if you are looking at buying a Chipmaster or are a fellow owner, drop me a line.<br />
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Stay safe.<br />
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The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-12331115797079366122013-09-15T04:09:00.004-07:002013-09-15T06:53:33.687-07:00The metal bandsaw - Macc Special 215 Horizontal Metal BandsawI have been collecting metal and materials to use for a while now but was having issues cutting them to size. I bought a used Wurth bandsaw that was a little too small for what I wanted to cut. I kept contemplating a larger saw but couldn't bring myself to buy a Chinese machine. Since moving to Norway I have been trying my hardest to create a workshop of quality European machines and to buy Chinese at this point would be a bitter pill.<br />
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Patience is rewarded as I was checking a website similar to Craig's List in Norway called Finn and I came across an Italian made metal bandsaw, the Macc Special 215. The pictures in the add were quite bad but I Googled the name and came up with pictures of a fairly decent looking bandsaw. Macc seem to make industrial machines and seem to have a pretty good reputation. From the pictures I could see that it would need some repairs but given the 5000 NOK price tag ($850 USD), it was a fifth of the price when new. I told the seller I would take it.<br />
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The saw was quite filthy and I could see it needed a little TLC. The vice handle was missing and the electrical control box bracket was bent up. The blade tension handle was also broken and I could see the dried remains of the cutting / cooling fluid all over the saw. I could safely assume that the blade guide bearings would also need work as they would have had their share of metal filings and coolant in them. This was the state of the machine:<br />
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I added some wheels while I had it on it's side on the trailer so I could roll it around the workshop easier. Once I had it in the workshop I started to clean it up so I could see what needed attention.<br />
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<strong>The list of repairs to the Macc Special 215</strong><br />
<ol>
<li>Guide bearings - one needed to be unseized and new bearings needed to be ordered</li>
<li>Clean the grease out of the vice and use 68 weight hydraulic oil instead</li>
<li>Remove rust and use a linseed rust preventer on metal surfaces</li>
<li>Remove electrical box bracket, straighten and repaint</li>
<li>Make new vice handle</li>
</ol>
I should probably have made a new blade tension handle but I figured I could wait for that since it still worked. <br />
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Making a new vice handle<br />
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The problem I had with making a new handle is that I didn't have an old handle to use as a guide. I have never seen this type of handle so it took a while to figure out how it should operate. I had some spare pieces of steel I had been saving so I used them since they had the right bends and the right dimensions. I also had a bolt I figured would make a decent handle.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-50AriNAEwhk/UjWSXkboE8I/AAAAAAAAAlw/16PkomrKQpo/s1600/Optimized-P9130028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-50AriNAEwhk/UjWSXkboE8I/AAAAAAAAAlw/16PkomrKQpo/s320/Optimized-P9130028.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is what I had to work from:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pqz5As1ueZU/UjWSpQR0tkI/AAAAAAAAAl4/c6AnUK-wwvY/s1600/Missing+Macc+Special+215+Handle.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pqz5As1ueZU/UjWSpQR0tkI/AAAAAAAAAl4/c6AnUK-wwvY/s320/Missing+Macc+Special+215+Handle.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I made the part on the end so that I could temporarily use it as a handle. It screws into the vice's lead screw and allows you to open or close the vice. I cut the material for the body of the handle to size with the saw and chucked it up in the lathe to true it both with regards to it's outside and inside diameter.<br />
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At this point it's worth mentioning how much I appreciate my little Colchester Chipmaster. I will be writing a review as I have what I believe to be one of the best small lathes ever made and have found it to be a fantastic machine for the hobby machinist.<br />
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Anyway, once I had turned the handle body to size, I milled a groove in order to recess the handle into the body. I drilled and tapped 3 holes - 1 to add a grub screw to tighten the handle on to the vice lead screw shank, and 2 to hold the arm onto the handle body. I also drilled a hole and counter bored it to fit an allen head screw that would fasten the handle to the lead screw.<br />
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I turned down the bolt and with 2 nuts I clamped it to the handle arm. We have had the communication technicians here laying fibre optic cables and they left some plastic conduit offcuts laying around. I used that for the rotating sleeve of the handle. It looks like a Franken-handle but it works very well and is one thing to cross off the list. Now the saw is perfectly functional, clean and has had all the bearings un-seized. My new bearings came in the mail today so I will change them all out this week. The finished result, a Happy Macc Special 215 horizontal metal bandsaw!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AoTObS9bLZU/UjWVLad77lI/AAAAAAAAAmU/kYR84hv8PeI/s1600/Macc+Special+215+Bandsaw.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AoTObS9bLZU/UjWVLad77lI/AAAAAAAAAmU/kYR84hv8PeI/s320/Macc+Special+215+Bandsaw.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Now I'm off to play in the workshop! Take care.<br />
The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-22052441182916357582013-07-31T14:25:00.002-07:002013-07-31T14:25:26.065-07:00My new junkyard dogI had decided that a security system is ok, but having a killer dog is even better. I discussed this with my wife and she didn't seem to mind the idea. I spoke to a friend of ours who breeds dogs and did the deal and brought home the Mexican Wolf.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2ITqvVSYBFo/Ufl_Ac8MN7I/AAAAAAAAAkw/H3H8udy27zE/s1600/Optimized-P7310002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2ITqvVSYBFo/Ufl_Ac8MN7I/AAAAAAAAAkw/H3H8udy27zE/s320/Optimized-P7310002.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
In the above picture he looks enormous. Lets add something for scale shall we?<br />
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He is very alert and despite his tiny stature, he has a heart of a lion crammed into that scrawny little chest of his. To top it off he loves the kids so it's a tick in every box. Scooter has become one of the family and does his best to keep kidnappers away from the children when he's not guarding the workshop.<br />
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The great part of having a micro dog is that his "bombs" are so tiny they blow away in the wind. Brilliant!<br />
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Stay safe.<br />
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The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-54940235732053504082013-07-30T10:05:00.001-07:002015-04-21T14:49:36.580-07:00My new Thörns T2 tool cutter and surface grinderI have gotten my lathe to a point where I am happy to use it. I have finally made way wipers for the Colchester Chipmaster and they work very well. I am also getting my garage to a point where I am happy with it and the amount of space I have. So when my friend from Denmark messaged me with a proposal to buy his Thörns T2, I couldn't refuse.<br />
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I have known Erik for about 18 months and in that time we have talked about our Colchester Chipmasters and solutions to various problems we have had. Erik is a fellow machine nut like myself and I knew that when he said, "the machine is a quality piece of equipment", I knew he was telling the truth. Having experience with other Swedish machines, I knew this grinder would not disappoint!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vzWil0nKo30/Uffvx7PqcWI/AAAAAAAAAj4/nI10fNOaBug/s1600/Optimized-P7303113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vzWil0nKo30/Uffvx7PqcWI/AAAAAAAAAj4/nI10fNOaBug/s640/Optimized-P7303113.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the front</td></tr>
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We agreed on the time and place, which was Ystad in Sweden. This meant Erik had to take the ferry from Denmark and I drove from Norway. We met at 21:30 and started the procedure of moving the 550 kg beast from his horse trailer to my dinky little trailer. Although I had reinforced the floor, it was not sufficient and my trailer began to sag under the weight. Playing it safe I left the machine and trailer chocked up and strapped down at the local petrol station and proceeded to a camping ground where I set up the tent and mattresses for my kids and I. By the time I hit the hay it was 02:00.<br />
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At a more reasonable hour I packed everything up and fed the kids. Arriving at the petrol station I was relieved to see the machine and the trailer were still there. With some assistance I backed up the car to the tow hitch and made my way at a snails pace to the local hardware store to borrow a forklift and buy some 22mm plywood board.<br />
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XL Bygg in Ystad has the nicest guys around as they were very friendly and only to happy to help me secure everything in a safer manner. Once the trailer was reinforced they loaded the machine back on with a forklift and I was off. After breakfast, then a swim with the kids at the beach, we left for the 700 km trip home. This took us 12 hours with toilet stops and dinner / play time at IKEA.<br />
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The trip was reasonably uneventful except for some pillock expecting me to pull over on an unsupported shoulder on a mountain side so he could get home in time to watch Ugly Betty. He tailgated me for 15 km then when he was able to, he overtook me on a blind turn while honking and waving the one-fingered salute. I smiled and gave him a friendly wave, hoping not to see him kill anyone unfortunate enough to be coming the other way around the turn. He was driving a BMW. SUV.<br />
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This machine will be a work in progress as it needs some attention. The majority of work is cosmetic and I hope to get a good jump on it in the next week or so. I am in no rush so I will take it easy since there is a lot of body work and electrics to change to 220 volt 3 phase. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0hQl-63BcGM/UffvzleF6BI/AAAAAAAAAkE/7dOZm-6M5I4/s1600/Optimized-P7303110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0hQl-63BcGM/UffvzleF6BI/AAAAAAAAAkE/7dOZm-6M5I4/s640/Optimized-P7303110.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the back - with dual controls visible</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cTGVnvsj_dE/Uffvya2pHJI/AAAAAAAAAj0/g43UU62TRUg/s1600/Optimized-P7303114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cTGVnvsj_dE/Uffvya2pHJI/AAAAAAAAAj0/g43UU62TRUg/s400/Optimized-P7303114.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The table has built in protractors and is able to pivot </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I bought a lot of flanges so I should have no problem getting wheels to fit</td></tr>
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The machine needs some work but that is half of the fun. Thanks again to Erik who did me an excellent deal on the machine. Stay tuned for work-in-progress updates as I chip away at this new project.<br />
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Stay safe.<br />
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The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-64548904062050110632013-03-25T12:39:00.000-07:002013-03-25T12:45:09.284-07:00Colchester Chipmaster Oils, Instruction Manual and Handy InfoWell it's been a while since I have posted. Work has been crazy since I have taken on a new role meaning little time in the garage and more time on the laptop late in the evening. Despite this, I have been doing my best to compile as much useful info regarding the Colchester Chipmaster as possible and putting it in one convenient location to save you - the savvy machinist - precious time.<br />
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Before we start, I want to clarify that I have used info from the Yahoo Colchester group (called <span class="ygrp-pname">ColchesterLathe-User)</span> and various other sources from the net. All I have done is tried to put it all in one location for Chipmaster owners.<br />
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<b>Which Oil for Colchester Chipmaster? An answer using Shell's catalogues. </b><br />
Since buying my Colchester Chipmaster lathe, I have had the good fortune of needing to track down the appropriate oils that the lathe requires. According to the instruction manual that I have attached to this blog entry, the lathe requires the following oils:<br />
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Headstock: Shell Tellus Oil 15<br />
Gearbox: Shell Tellus Oil 33<br />
Variator: Shell Vitrea Oil 21<br />
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The naming conventions for Shell oils have changed a number of times. I have attached the appropriate documentd for you to follow the name changes yourself in the "Oils" section of this post. To save you the time though, I have done the work for you below:<br />
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Shell Tellus 15 -> Shell Morlina 10 -> <b>Shell Morlina S2 BL 10</b><br />
( First use the attached Shell document, then follow this link on page 18:<br />
<a href="http://www.ooes.no/filestore/Dummy_graphics/Artikkelbilder/ShellSmremidlerDesember2011OOES.pdf" target="_blank">Shell lubricants document in Norwegian</a> )<br />
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Shell Tellus 33 -> Shell Tellus 68 -> <b>Shell Tellus S2 M 68</b><br />
(First use the Shell document , then follow the link to page 20<br />
<a href="http://www.ooes.no/filestore/Dummy_graphics/Artikkelbilder/ShellSmremidlerDesember2011OOES.pdf" target="_blank">Shell lubricants document in Norwegian</a> )<br />
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Shell Vitrea 21 -> Shell Vitrea 22 / Shell Process Oil PB 33 -> <b>Shell Morlina S2 BL 10</b><br />
(First use the Shell document , then follow the link to page 18<br />
<a href="http://www.ooes.no/filestore/Dummy_graphics/Artikkelbilder/ShellSmremidlerDesember2011OOES.pdf" target="_blank">Shell lubricants document in Norwegian</a> )<br />
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From this you can see that the headstock and variator oil is now the same oil from Shell. This is also consistent with what Allspeed UK say who are the manufacturers of Kopp variators: <a href="http://www.allspeeds.co.uk/wp-content/files_mf/whichoilshouldiuse79.pdf" target="_blank">Kopp Variator Oil</a><br />
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<b>How Old is my Colchester Chipmaster?</b><br />
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This question comes up a lot and luckily, I have provided the following chart for you to check the age of your Chipmaster:<br />
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<b>How do I Change Voltage From 440 to 230 3 Phase?</b><br />
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This diagram says it all really. If you have any issues, contact me as I have a hand drawn diagram that is more a representation of the actual wiring on the motor and shows the physical placement of the connections.<br />
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<b>Online Colchester Chipmaster Manual</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/132286866/Chipmaster-Manual-1-of-6" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Chipmaster Manual 1 of 6 on Scribd">Chipmaster Manual 1 of 6</a> by <a href="http://www.scribd.com/wanderingaxeman" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View wanderingaxeman's profile on Scribd">wanderingaxeman</a></div>
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<iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.706208425720621" data-auto-height="false" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_89057" scrolling="no" src="http://www.scribd.com/embeds/132286866/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-25y0nr9dqen4221tfydp" width="100%"></iframe>
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<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/132286897/Chipmaster-Manual-2-of-6" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Chipmaster Manual 2 of 6 on Scribd">Chipmaster Manual 2 of 6</a> by <a href="http://www.scribd.com/wanderingaxeman" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View wanderingaxeman's profile on Scribd">wanderingaxeman</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/132286915/Chipmaster-Manual-3-of-6" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Chipmaster Manual 3 of 6 on Scribd">Chipmaster Manual 3 of 6</a> by <a href="http://www.scribd.com/wanderingaxeman" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View wanderingaxeman's profile on Scribd">wanderingaxeman</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/132286930/Chipmaster-Manual-4-of-6" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Chipmaster Manual 4 of 6 on Scribd">Chipmaster Manual 4 of 6</a> by <a href="http://www.scribd.com/wanderingaxeman" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View wanderingaxeman's profile on Scribd">wanderingaxeman</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/132286949/Chipmaster-Manual-5-of-6" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Chipmaster Manual 5 of 6 on Scribd">Chipmaster Manual 5 of 6</a> by <a href="http://www.scribd.com/wanderingaxeman" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View wanderingaxeman's profile on Scribd">wanderingaxeman</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/132286971/Chipmaster-Manual-6-of-6" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Chipmaster Manual 6 of 6 on Scribd">Chipmaster Manual 6 of 6</a> by <a href="http://www.scribd.com/wanderingaxeman" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View wanderingaxeman's profile on Scribd">wanderingaxeman</a></div>
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Shell Oil Reference Chart to be used with this link: <a href="http://www.ooes.no/filestore/Dummy_graphics/Artikkelbilder/ShellSmremidlerDesember2011OOES.pdf" target="_blank">Shell reference chart - in Norwegian but you get the gist...</a><br />
<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/132299968/Shell-Oil-Cross-Reference" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Shell Oil Cross Reference on Scribd">Shell Oil Cross Reference</a></div>
<iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="undefined" data-auto-height="false" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_16333" scrolling="no" src="http://www.scribd.com/embeds/132299968/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll" width="100%"></iframe>The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-77907440540057761272013-01-13T03:56:00.002-08:002013-02-09T21:57:27.904-08:00Ikea Råskog Hazet Tool Trolley, AKA: Poor Man's Hazet Trolley<u><b>Don't Hate Me, I Just Don't Like Them</b></u><br />
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I buy a lot of my tools used and I have a couple of guys I mainly buy from. I had the opportunity to buy 2 Hazet Tool Trolleys ( the 166 C)for $100 each. I couldn't bring myself to do it. I respect Hazet as a toolk compnay, but to me these things felt flimsy and rickety. On close inspection, the nylon sleeves used to tighten the tolerances were cracked and even if replaced, it seemed like the trolley's main purpose was to fold easily rather than be sturdy.<br />
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I have been working on the rewiring of my Colchester Chipmaster lathe for a while now and a common source of annoyance is the lack of a rolling tool cart. All tools and wiring end up in a heap and it makes a frustrating job even worse. I was tempted to go back to my tool suppliers and pick up a Hazet but resisted the urge. Fortunately, a couple of weeks ago I came across this:<br />
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<a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30216536/" target="_blank">Ikea Råskog</a><br />
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I inspected it closely and found that it was powder coated steel and given the bump, shake and kick test, was much more sturdy than the Hazet Tool Trolley. For 360 Norwegian Kroner or 65 USD (in the US they are only $49.99) brand spankin' new, I grabbed one immediately.<br />
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<u><b>Dimensions and Description of the Ikea Hazet Trolley</b></u><br />
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<div class="productsubheadline" id="assembledSize">
<b>Product dimensions</b></div>
<div class="texts" id="imperial" style="display: block;">
<i>Length: 13 3/4 "<br />Width: 17 3/4 "<br />Height: 30 3/4 "</i></div>
<i>
Length: 35 cm<br />Width: 45 cm<br />Height: 78 cm</i><br />
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<div class="productsubheadline" id="measurementHead">
<b>Product description</b></div>
<i>Steel, Epoxy powder coating</i><br />
The Ikea Poor Man's Hazet Tool Trolley ; Performance<br />
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I guess a Picture is worth a thousand words so here are a few;<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VZW4Ub_rAno/UPKa7vztMZI/AAAAAAAAAiU/Tp3mpye9KkA/s1600/poor+mans+hazet+trolley+2+%5B1024x768%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VZW4Ub_rAno/UPKa7vztMZI/AAAAAAAAAiU/Tp3mpye9KkA/s320/poor+mans+hazet+trolley+2+%5B1024x768%5D.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Now you may argue that this looks OK, but it's not able to fold up. That is correct, it won't pack down to a smaller size, but this is what makes it ideal for a person who will only be using this in their garage or workshop. I don't know many travelling mechanics and even fewer of the hobby variety. It's fixed design makes it rigid and very stable.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4nS7HSjj8rA/UPKa3-v7JNI/AAAAAAAAAhw/7hoEDwVOlu8/s1600/Ikea+Hazet+tool+trolley+casters+%255B1024x768%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4nS7HSjj8rA/UPKa3-v7JNI/AAAAAAAAAhw/7hoEDwVOlu8/s320/Ikea+Hazet+tool+trolley+casters+%255B1024x768%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The casters and the shelves are held fast with bolts and bracekts. Even after loading it up, it ddn't feel rickety in the least.<br />
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From the pictures you can see that the bottom of the shelf is made from mesh. This makes cleaning a snap as you just blow the rubbish through the shelves. I use a magnetic dish for all my screws and small odds and ends. The tray is of an ideal size since it won't allow you to over-load it with too much and risk making it top heavy.<br />
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<u><b>Tips for the Poor Man's Hazet Trolley</b></u><br />
<ol>
<li>If you are loading it up, place heavier items in the lower shelves to lower the centre of gravity</li>
<li>The castors are not of the highest quality. If you get grit in the exposed castor bearings, some rinsing with kerosene and a light oil will return them to working order.</li>
<li>If you require extra tool storgae, you can add a magnetic knife holder to the outside of the cart. This will allow you to stick commonly used tools to the outside making them easily accessable</li>
</ol>
<u><b>Positives VS Negatives</b></u><br />
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<b>Positives</b><br />
<ol>
<li>Price. It is seriously cheap</li>
<li>Sturdy</li>
<li>Materials. It is powder coated steel </li>
<li>Practical. The high walls of the shelves mean spray cans won't topple out</li>
<li>Easy to maintain. Powder coated steel and mesh means a blow out with compressed air and a wipe with a cloth and it's clean again</li>
<li>Few moving parts. Unlike the Hazet Tool Trolley, there are few needed replacable parts. No nylon to crack and replace or chains to break</li>
<li>Availability. You won't need to scour the earth to find one in new condition. Every Ikea has them in stock </li>
</ol>
<b>Negatives</b><br />
<ol>
<li>Exposed bearings on the casters can attract grit</li>
<li>Ikea is less cool than <i>Hazet </i></li>
<li>No pinstripes or speed holes, plus, turquoise is not a manly colour</li>
</ol>
<u><b>Conclusion</b></u><br />
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Given the combination of the positive points and the few negatives, the Ikea Råskog Hazet Trolley or Poor Man's Hazet Trolley is a viable substitute to the (IMHO) overpriced and slightly fragile Hazet Tool Trolley. Having used this in the last 2 weeks, I have taken little care of putting the spanners in gently and the powder coating has held up well. It's size and manouverability is ideal for a small hobby garage and it's usefullness is more than worth the small financial investment. I think this is one of the garage mechanic's best kept secrets and given Ikea's tendency to discontinue it's products after short runs, I would snap one up immediately if I could see a use for one. It will take you about a half hour to assemble if you follow the instructions, and despite their poor quality, the tools are provided for assembly. Just to stress how impressed I am, this is the <i><b>IDEAL DIY TOOL TROLLEY!</b></i><br />
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If you get one based on this review, drop me a comment to let me know what you think.<br />
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<br />The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-31513824184712171122012-12-04T13:22:00.000-08:002013-06-08T05:12:05.952-07:00Colchester Chipmaster Continental<b>Goodbye Emco, Hello Colchester </b><br />
I ended up selling my Maximat V10 which I refurbished so I was latheless. I was on holidays in Australia when I found a Colchester Chipmaster in Sweden. This to me was one of the "holy grail" lathes. The list of lathes I was looking for were:<br />
<ol>
<li>Emco Maximat V13</li>
<li>Weiler Primus</li>
<li>Weiler Matador </li>
<li>Colchester Chipmaster</li>
</ol>
The problem with the Emco and Colchester is that since they are no longer in production, finding examples that are not worn out is difficult. When I came across a Chipmaster advertised in Stockholm, I rang them and asked for details. The funny thing is that I waited for 2 weeks and watched it in case it sold. I experienced this with my lathe. It sat for sale for 2 weeks and then I was contacted by about 10 interested parties. Since it hadn't sold I rang from Oz and asked for a run down of it's condition. It seemed to be in good order so I asked them to hold it and assured them I would buy it providing it checked out as they described. I rang again when we were in Singapore on the way home and again when I arrived in Norway to make sure they knew I was serious.<br />
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The exchange rate from the Norwegian to Swedish Kroner was 1.21 so it was heavily in my favour. Arriving home from Australia on the Wednesday, I had organized to be in Stockholm on the Saturday to check out the lathe. The jetlag was not fun but I made the drive, staying over in Säffle to break up the trip since I didn't want to risk driving tired.<br />
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I arrived in Stockholm and checked out the lathe. It was actually in better condition than I thought, and came with a full set of change wheels, a travelling steady and 7 tool holders for the Dixon quick change tool post. With all things considered, it was an excellent price so I grabbed it. On the long trip home, it started to rain. This in itself wasn't a big problem since I wrapped the lathe in plastic after heavily oiling it. The issue was that the road had been salted previously and the fine spray kicked up by the wheels got into everything. I arrived home at 11:30 pm that night which made it a 18 hour round trip. As tired as I was, the metal was starting to discolour. I had to put a dry tarp over the lathe, and start spraying everything with WD40. After that I lightly went over the bare metal with OOOO steel wool and then oiled everything with engine oil. I then placed an oil heater under the tarp to heat the lathe and drive out the moisture. I ended up getting to bed at 1:30 the following morning. My driveway looked like a shanty town:<br />
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<b>Finally in the Garage </b><br />
I was itching to get the lathe off the trailer however our tenant had parked in front of the garage and I couldn't access it until morning. I needed to go over the entire lathe again. This time I could do it in the comfort of my garage. For a 48 year old Colchester Chipmaster, she was in suprisingly good condition.<br />
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<b>The Dilemma</b><br />
Now I have some issues to resolve with the lathe before I can use it. One is to change the electrical to 230 volt 3 phase. In order to do this I have to change the motor to Delta configuration, and swap out the magnetic switch and overload protection for a 230 volt unit. I have the unit but I am waiting on some engineers at work to give me the final go ahead on the configuration. The next issue is related to the lousy service in Norway. I have tried no less than 6 different places to find the required shell oild for the headstock, and variator. I have been told repeatedly by the people in these stores that, "the amount you need is so small, I will not bother to help you". Literally, this is what I have been told. Those that smiled and said that they would contact me, have not.<br />
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<b>Rearranging the Garage</b><br />
After moving the lathe in, I need to do a re-shuffle of the garage. I have gotten things fairly well sorted out now. I have not taken the lathe off the pallet yet though since it is much easier to move as it is.<br />
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So now things are in stasis until I can get the oil and magnetic switch wired in. If needs be I will have to order the oil from the UK, but I am avoiding that due to the cost. I have only needed to spend a little more than I sold the Emco Maximat for to buy the Chipmaster so I don't want to blow the budget now. I'll be sure to update the blog when I get things moving along.<br />
<br />The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-12286346914382186192012-10-16T07:25:00.002-07:002012-10-16T07:25:52.065-07:00Jungner VF-600 Milling Machine<b>The search began 10 years ago... </b><br />
As most are probably aware, I like older, manual type machines. I have a soft spot for European machines likely brought on by the rarity of them in my native Australia. I had been on the hunt for about 10 years for a small milling machine and initially was looking at the little Emco FB-2:<br />
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<a href="http://www.lathes.co.uk/emcomiller/" target="_blank">Emco FB-2 info</a><br />
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This was mainly brought on by the fact I had an Emco Maximat V-10 which I was very impressed with. Upon surfing the Norwegian equivelent of ebay, I came a cross an elderly gent selling a bigger lathe. I rang him but unfortunately he had sold the lathe by that stage. Jokingly I said, "what a shame you don't have a little milling machine". He replied, "funny you should say that, I forgot to include one in my add...". The rest as they say, is history.<br />
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<b>The Jungner VF-600 Milling machine</b><br />
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When I first purchased this machine, it was covered in sawdust and hardened oil. It had suffered it's share of careless operators, marring the table and cutting grooves into it's surface. I was not able to test the machine, but when rotating the motor by hand and going through the gears, I couldn't feel any damage. I took a gamble with it I know, but given the price and pile of extras I got, I didn't want to let it slip through my fingers.<br />
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Transportation home was difficult the first time. I had to dissassemble the 550 kg beast and load it into the car and onto the trailer piece by piece. It was a big job. When re-assembling it, I noticed the insulation on the wires was tacky and had the consistency of chewing gum. Not good. When I got it all re-assembled, it threw the breaker every time I tried to turn it on. At that point renovations started and I didn't have time to touch it for a further 2 1/2 years.<br />
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<b>Moving to Hvittingfoss</b><br />
Thank God for good friends. <br />
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I needed to move the mill 2 weeks ago and my good friend Jan Rune offered to help. He literally saved me a days work and I am floored by his generosity. Once in the garage, I was able to strip out all the wiring and start from scratch. I had to change everything since despite working after considerable electrical work, it was triggering my earth leakage system.<br />
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<b>Details</b><br />
As you can see, for a 3/4 HP motor, the machine is very heavily built and extremely rigid.<br />
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It has been designed with t-slots that accomodate stops. This is a very nice feature and helps avoid mistakes while milling.<br />
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This machine was designed as both a mill and a drill. It has a geared down-feed that allows for very heavy drilling. It also has both a handwheel, and a down-feed lever as found on a drill press. The head can also be engaged with a gear drive reduction allowing extra torque and reduced speeds for jobs where the belt drive would slip.The head also has the t-slot stops to ensure you don't bore to far.<br />
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The head can be tilted, raised and lowered via these hand cranks.<br />
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The controls for the machine are relatively simple, consisting of 2 switches on the front panel. These control forward and reverse of the spindle, and left to right of the table.<br />
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The table feed mechanism is a flange mounted motor with a small gearbox. The feed speeds seem adequate for a range of finishes.<br />
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Most of the knobs were missing when I bought the machine. At work, people tend to throw away old machinery with control knobs intact, so always unscrew these on the off chance I'll need them. It paid off in this case.<br />
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<b>Quality</b><br />
I love European machines because they seem to be built with a sense of pride rarely found in Far-East machines. This machine, although used still has minimal back-lash, and shows no rusting on the chrome parts. The dials are of a very generous size and are extremely easy to use and adjust<br />
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Even the motor is European made.<br />
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<b>A refurb project? </b><br />
It has been a long time in the making, but I finally have the machine up and running. Initially I was going to strip it, repaint it and repair the table. I don't know if I will do that now. I think I just want to use something before I take it to bits and try make it better. Despite the age, this old girl is still silky smooth and I really can't wait to use it.<br />
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<b>The instruction manual</b><br />
I have had the instruction manual translated from Swedish to English. I will upload it as soon as I have time to put the pictures with the text. Apparently, it appears that Jungner first wrote the manual in Cantonese, then translated it to Swedish, then to Dutch, then to German, Japanese, and then back to Swedish. My Swedish friend who translated it for me said that if a dictionary could vomit, it would probably be easier reading than the manual was.<br />
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Stay safe.The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-67389862178034452862012-07-18T09:36:00.001-07:002012-07-18T09:40:16.737-07:00Spam on The Wandering Axeman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have been going over comments of late and have had to remove some because of people linking their comments to their online stores or businesses. I don't mind doing this if I have an agreement with you, or, I review whatever it is your selling and it turns out that;<br />
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<li>You are a reputable businesses person with anti fraud measures in place</li>
<li>You don`t sell crappy stuff</li>
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If you would like me to review a product that you sell or make, by all means contact me and we can arrange something but please be aware that I will be truthful and honest. If it is poo, I will state that on my blog.<br />
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Under <u><b>NO</b></u> other circumstances will I allow people to link to their businesses / marketing sites.Considering that to date there have been over 43200 visitors to this site the temptation is there to break this simple set of guidelines. If that is the case I will simply mark the comment as <b>SPAM</b> and it will be removed and sent to the fiery depths to dwell with the motivations of politicians and lawyers.<br />
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It is my intent that if I link to anything on this site it is because it is worth buying or reading. I have never intended for this blog to be filled with people plugging their wares or websites.<br />
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If you would like me to show a link to your blog, contact me about it and I will check the content and either provide a link to it on the right of my articles, or politely decline. Stay safe and spam free.The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-19360866670240755382012-07-15T07:00:00.001-07:002012-07-15T13:22:36.192-07:00What Powertools for a Garage Workshop?I have covered what general handtools I think are necessary in a previous post:<br />
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<a href="http://wanderingaxeman.blogspot.no/2012/07/what-hand-tools-do-i-need.html" target="_blank">Which Handtools?</a><br />
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So I will move on to power tools now. For the most part, I have bought powertools more typical of building and renovating projects. These however are useful in any handyman / tinkerer's arsenal of tools so I will divide the tools up into <b><i>must-have</i></b> and <i><b>nice-to-have</b></i>.<br />
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<u><b>Must Have Powertools For the Workshop</b></u><br />
<b>Bench Grinder</b><br />
I think every workshop needs a bench grinder. This tool is useful for re-profiling pieces of steel, sharpening drill bits, lathe tools mower blades etc..<br />
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I have mine attached to a rolling trolley so I can roll it outside to avoid getting the abrasive dust in the garage which destroys bearings very quickly.<br />
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<b>Cordless Drill</b><br />
Sometimes you just want to drill a quick hole. This is where a cordless drill comes into the picture. They are useful for light work and usually come with 2 batteries so if one runs out of juice, you still have a spare. I don't run a lithium ion drill because in my opinion the cost wasn't worth it at the time.<br />
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Despite having a "cheaper" drill, I am very satisfied with it. It has run faultlessly for 7 years now and I have used it to mix grout etc... Buy a decent brand name cordless and you will be set for quite a few years.<br />
<b>Cordless impact driver</b><br />
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When the 10V lithium ion tools came out they were revolutionary. My brother had the ordinary 10V screwdriver and said it was brilliant. I was using my codless drill at the time to drive screws and it was having a hard time with long screws, often stripping the heads. I had it happen one too many times and decided an impact driver would remedy the problem. Despite the small battery size, this little Bosch 10.8 Volt driver has a huge amount of torque, able to driver long screws into wood. I can't comment on how it would perform on hardwoods, but on pine and other softwoods it outclasses the drill.<br />
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<b>Angle Grinder</b><br />
An angle grinder is useful because it cuts and grinds. With different disks, you have the versatility of a grinder, cutter, sander and polisher. I have used my little Makita for a wide range of tasks and it is my go-to tool for axe reprofiling.<br />
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<b>Corded Drill</b><br />
Why would you need a corded drill if you have a cordless? Because corded drills have a lot more power, don't need charging and are much more capable in tough materials. I have 3 corded drills. The first is my general or light duty drill.<br />
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This drill has a quick chuck and is lighter than most drills. I use this when I have a lot of drilling to do that is repetative. It won't wear me out since it is so small and light. The next drill is my medium duty drill.<br />
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This drill handles medium drilling and hammer drill tasks. It has more power, a heavier duty gearbox and also more wattage for more serious tasks. This kind of drill is expensive and you should only buy one if you really need it. If you do need this kind of drill and think it will see regular use, get a decent one right away. I am very happy with my metabo and would buy one again if this one fails. My last drill is used for heavy duty drilling and chipping tasks.<br />
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It is a Hitachi DH 24 PC3. It is a drill that uses SDS Plus tools and as such can handle much more torque. If I compare this with my metabo when drilling into concrete or stone, this Hitachi does the work in a 5th of the time. It will also function as a small jackhammer used for chipping duties such as removing tiles, concrete dregs dried on the floor etc.. I bought this Hitachi because I had the much larger DH 45MR and was so impressed with it's reliability and power. I have not been disappointed. <br />
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<b>Circular Saw</b><br />
Handsaws work, but who needs all that bother? When you are building a fence or a dog box, a circular saw will save you a great deal of time and effort. You don't need to go extravegant. I bought this one at a second-hand shop 8 years ago and it has been used to renovate 2 houses.<br />
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There are better saw available but this one works and I am used to it so I have not bothered to replace it. As a side note, make sure the saw you buy has enough power. This is especially important if you will be cutting hard wood or if your blades won't be changed so often. I would recommend at least 1000 Watts. Every power tool has this info on it:<br />
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New saws have a riving knife to stop kickback from occuring. These saws are unforgiving so make sure you have someone show you how to use it or else risk losing digits.<br />
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<b>Heat Gun</b><br />
A heat gun is a great little tool used for stripping paint, softening plastics, unfreezing pipes etc... I have used mine to soften linoleum before laying it down and stripping paint. They are effectively a hair dryer on steroids. I didn't spend much money on mine yet it haslasted years and despite being mistreated by a friend (who melted my compressor hose with it among a long list of other things he chose to rest it on), it still functions well.<br />
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<b>Soldering Iron</b><br />
This should be on anyone's list of power tools. This little tool will help you repair or make electronics, shrink heat-shrink or even burn your name into the kitchen table. When my washing machine stopped working, this $10 tool allowed me to melt the solder and remove the burned-out speed controller and solder in the 50 cent replacement. This saved me a $300 call out fee or a $1000 replacement machine. You can get fancy soldering irons but I just have a cheapie because it does not get used very often.<br />
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<b>Sander</b><br />
You should have at least 1 sander in your tool list. These save you a huge amount of time and effort and given their relatively low price, it isn't hard to get a few different types for differnt tasks.<br />
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I have a half sheet, a quarter sheet and a belt sander. The half sheet is used when I have a large surface that needs finish sanding. It covers a wider area than the quarter sheet. When I need to sand small areas and I have to be a little more carefull, I use the quarter sheet. If I need to remove large amounts of material, I use the belt sander. This bad boy will rip through paint and wood without mercy. This is used for rough work and care needs to be taken not to gouge the work. I bought the green "handyman" Bosch sander because unlike other brands, it is made in Switzerland which is renowned for producing excellent tools<br />
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<b>Hole Saws</b><br />
Although these are not power tools, they are used with drills and are a valuable accessory to have. I would consider these as necessary as a good set of wood drill bits. I have a Starret set which is HSS. These will cut through steel as well as wood and as such I don't have to be worried if I hit a nail with them as they will chew straight through it.<br />
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<u><b>Nice To Have Power Tools</b></u></div>
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Now that I have finished with what I consider to be essential tools, I will move onto the nice-to-haves.</div>
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<b>Air Compressor</b></div>
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This tool is so nice to have it is borderline compulsory in a handyman's kit. I have nail guns, rattle guns and air driven drills. They save trips to the petrol station if you have a flat and you can use an air-gun to blow dust out of your tools when you are finished with them </div>
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My compressor is 2HP direct drive unit. It has a water seperator so I can spray paint with it and it has 2 regulators in case I want to use 2 different air tools at once. When looking at a compressor, you need to decide how much air you will use and buy one with the appropriate tank size. Belt driven units generally last longer, but, they need higher current so if you will run it from a long extension lead, a direct drive will have less chance of triggering your circuit breaker.</div>
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<b>Router</b></div>
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Routers are nifty little things that are used for joinery or profiling the edges of wood. I have used mine to manufacture my own architraves and skirting boards so I didn't have to run back and forth to the hardware store. Mine is a Bosch GKF 600 and is pretty tiny. I bought the full kit which allows me to trim laminate or use stencils. I have been really happy with mine. </div>
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Make sure you buy a good set of router bits since it spins at 33,000 rpm. You don't want a piece of tungsten carbide flying off at that speed.<br />
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<b>Planer</b><br />
Sometimes you just need to shave a few mm from a piece of wood to make something fit. Sometimes you want a pice of wood to have that glassy finish. This is where the planer comes in. Instead of using abrasives to remove wood, it uses knives to shave a layer of wood away. I never realised how nice it is to have a planer before I bought mine. I used it alot for preparing rough stock or getting windows or doors to fit. It has been used to make door floor plates and furniture. I bought a mid range Bosch because it handled the depth of cut I needed.<br />
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<u><b>Saws</b></u><br />
<b>Sliding Compound Mitre Saw </b><br />
I have a lot of different saws. Each serves a different purpose. The most used of these is the sliding compound mitre saw.<br />
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I bought a Makita LS701 because the larger Bosch I had previously was too hard to manuever up stairwells. When I first moved to Norway I worked as a carpenter and it became back breaking. I replaced the Bosch with this lighter Makita and couldn't be more pleased. It is a very accurate saw, has great dust collection and the laser makes life much easier when trying to make accurate cuts. It will trench cut too which is a bonus. The relatively small blade size means that there is less wasted material and less dust. They are also cheaper to buy. I attached mine to a set of Bosch saw feet so it will attatch to my portable saw stand. <br />
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<b>Jigsaw</b><br />
A jigsaw allows you to cut curves due to the small thin blade it employs. A circular saw blade will catch if you try to turn the saw but a jigsaw will not. A good saw will have orbital cutting, variable speed, quick blade chang and tilt function. It may even have a built in light which is a huge bonus. I chose the Makita because it had all these features. I have been really happy with this saw and use it for installing floating laminate floors since a jigsaw blade is cheaper to replace than a circular saw blade (the laminate trashes blades!)<br />
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<b>Reciprocating Saw</b><br />
This saw is the Ivan Drago of hacksaws. It will outcut and outclass a hand hacksaw. I used mine for cutting out windows and door. It sliced through screws and nails and since it had a 4 way adjustable blade, it could cut very close to wall. I bought a DeWalt because it was manufactured in Germany where as the others were Chinese. I wanted a quality saw since my last experince (an Ozito Recip Saw), shook the freckles off my face.<br />
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<b>Fein Multi Master </b></div>
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This little guy is a saw that relies on an oscilating blade. I have used this tool when I have been faced with a job with poor access where I need to make the neatest cuts possible. This tool is in class of it's own. It comes with a vast array of attachments from scrapers to grout removers and is the best multi-use power tool I have ever used. It's not a tool you use everyday, but when you need it you are very glad you have it. </div>
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Since the patent ended for this saw, many companies have begun making copies including Bosch. There is an adapter available so you can use Bosch blades on the Fein:<br />
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<a href="http://www.axminster.co.uk/bosch-bosch-universal-adaptor-allows-fitting-to-other-multi-tool-brands-prod837071/" target="_blank">adapter</a><br />
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Why is this a big deal? Because the Fein blades are super expensive wheras the Bosch blades are not.<br />
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<b>Drill Press</b><br />
The drill press can handle heavier drilling than a hand held drill. It also has a table so that you can drill at 90 degrees. A good drill press will have a belt or gear system so that you can alter speeds. It will have a depth indicator and a depth stop to help you measure how far you have drilled. These can be expensive but are very useful tools to have. I bought a rusted up junker and fixed it. With a drill press, mass equals more rigididty and less viabration. Mine weighs about 60 Kg.<br />
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Once you have the press, get yourself a good vice or clamp set-up. I use a vice grip type with a T nut. It slides along the cut outs and locks work to the table. It's fast and convenient.<br />
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Well, I didn't intend on this post being so long and in honesty, I have used several hours putting this together so I hope you guys get some use from it. The tools you need are always dependent on what type of projects you undertake, but for a general handyman, this guide will be a good starting point. Stay safe.The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-29499732199098253342012-07-13T11:17:00.001-07:002012-07-13T11:34:29.420-07:00Online Machine ManualsI have taken an interest in tools that are no longer in production. This has meant going to great lengths to get the instruction manuals for these machines. I will continue to update this online manual section as I get more machines and their related manuals. The goal is to have an online reference so you good folks won't have to waste as much time as I did finding info on these machines. Enjoy.<br />
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<u><b>Emco Maximat V10 and V10P Online Manual </b></u><br />
<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/99998092/Emco-V10-Manual?secret_password=1nskjscf245w938moq15" style="-x-system-font: none; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px auto; text-decoration: underline;" title="View Emco V10 Manual on Scribd">Emco V10 Manual</a><iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.706697459584296" data-auto-height="true" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_3027" scrolling="no" src="http://www.scribd.com/embeds/99998092/content?start_page=1&view_mode=list&access_key=key-ajm5t9pgwqo3a9pthvx&secret_password=1nskjscf245w938moq15" width="100%"></iframe><br />
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<u><b>Emco Maximat V10 and V10P Parts List Online</b></u><br />
<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/99998481/Maximat-V10P-spareparts?secret_password=230maisfvvpnkq924zry" style="-x-system-font: none; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px auto; text-decoration: underline;" title="View Maximat_V10P_spareparts on Scribd">Maximat_V10P_spareparts</a><iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.704248366013072" data-auto-height="true" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_55812" scrolling="no" src="http://www.scribd.com/embeds/99998481/content?start_page=1&view_mode=list&access_key=key-166nbks815k3675hknqd&secret_password=230maisfvvpnkq924zry" width="100%"></iframe>
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<u><b>Inca 340 Bandsaw / Euro 260 Bandsaw Online Manual </b></u><br />
<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/99998853/Inca-340-Manual?secret_password=b2fz0exulg0tes2w0ok" style="-x-system-font: none; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px auto; text-decoration: underline;" title="View Inca 340 Manual on Scribd">Inca 340 Manual</a><iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.772727272727273" data-auto-height="true" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_84735" scrolling="no" src="http://www.scribd.com/embeds/99998853/content?start_page=1&view_mode=list&access_key=key-78wmckgoe7dtyw0ovv2&secret_password=b2fz0exulg0tes2w0ok" width="100%"></iframe>
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<u><b>Inca 510 Jointer Thicknesser Online Manual </b></u><br />
<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/99997049/510-343-190-01-Hobelmasch-Aut-190-01?secret_password=2bciijje4ks363vr5sii" style="-x-system-font: none; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px auto; text-decoration: underline;" title="View 510 343.190.01 Hobelmasch. Aut.190.01 on Scribd">510 343.190.01 Hobelmasch. Aut.190.01</a><iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="1.30212765957447" data-auto-height="true" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_98337" scrolling="no" src="http://www.scribd.com/embeds/99997049/content?start_page=1&view_mode=list&access_key=key-2348y4m73ml5dqiuhbmx&secret_password=2bciijje4ks363vr5sii" width="100%"></iframe>
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<u><b>The Inca Woodworking Machinery Handbook Online - How to use the Inca jointer planer </b></u><br />
<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/99998690/Using-the-Jointer-Planer?secret_password=ihuwmiymgqs9c5es51a" style="-x-system-font: none; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px auto; text-decoration: underline;" title="View Using the Jointer Planer on Scribd">Using the Jointer Planer</a><iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.630927835051546" data-auto-height="true" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_68414" scrolling="no" src="http://www.scribd.com/embeds/99998690/content?start_page=1&view_mode=list&access_key=key-epcnjz5lksfwt6cvc7t&secret_password=ihuwmiymgqs9c5es51a" width="100%"></iframe>The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-2644642763857773412012-07-13T06:18:00.001-07:002012-07-14T03:32:36.636-07:00What hand tools do I need?I was asked by a friend recently what tools I would recommend to a person just starting out with tinkering / repairing of mechanical equipment. I wasn't really prepared for this question because from a young age, I had always had tools around due to my dad being a builder and a diesel and petrol mechanic. In an effort to try answer his question, I will give a breakdown of what I have and give some justification for why this would be necessary. Please remeber, I have collected these tools over the last 17 years and many (if not most) I have bought second hand. <u><i><b>DO NOT USE CREDIT TO BUY TOOLS!!!</b></i></u> Be patient and check garage sales, ebay and cent sales. Deceased estates are also rich in tools. Avoid buying new if you can and give an old handtool new life!<br />
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<u><b>Work Bench</b></u><br />
This is probably the most important piece of equipment for the garage tinkerer. The workbench needs to be solid and must be able to withstand the weight of the projects and the wear and tear caused by dragging things over it's surface. My work bench has a steel covering so I can weld or solder on it without damaging it. It is also large enough to fit several projects at once. The addition of drawers and a shelf below are handy for items that would otherwise clutter the work surface.<br />
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Steel benches that have welded joints make much better tables than wooden benches in general. Wooden benches end up with play in the joints making them a rickety alternative to a steel bench.<br />
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<u><b>Bench Vise</b></u><br />
There are loads of cheap vices available now. They are Chinese variants of popular brands. For the most part though, the cheap knock-offs don't hold a candle to a decent quality vice. I have a Record No. 3 vice and recommend the Record vices. If you don't have a vice, do yourself a favor and buy a decent one first time.<br />
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You can find used vices at reasonable prices but check them carefully. The jaws should be parallel to each other and the screw should be smooth, free from dents and chips. The jaws are generally replaceable but given the cost of parts, unless you have machine tools to manufacture them hold off until a good one comes along.<br />
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<u><b>Lighting</b></u><br />
I can't recommend good lighting highly enough. It's depressing working in poor lighting and it ruins your eyesight. Do yourself a favor and get a good bench mounted lamp to light up your projects. I have 5 different Luxo lights and a flouro light attached to the bench. I also have a flouro light with magnifier which is used when working on small projects.<br />
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<u><b>Hand Tools</b></u><br />
Now we get down to the tools themselves. It's hard to recommend tools because the choice depends on the type of projects a person works on. I do general tinkering and mechanical / electric / metal work so I have a mix. The following picture will be used as the reference:<br />
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<ol>
<li>Pliers and snips. Get good quality first time. Cutters I recommend are Knippex and Bahco</li>
<li>Slotted Drivers. If you have an option have 2 sets. 1 for rough work, one for clean work</li>
<li>General cutting tools. I have an Olfal knife which has snapable and replaceable blades.</li>
<li>Steel ruler. This is absolutely necessary in every garage workshop. I have an adjustable block for repeatable measurements and scribing on sheet stock.</li>
<li>Cold chisels. These are often overlooked but are extremely useful for shearing bolts, unfreezing nuts etc... I have a variety of sizes and patterns. I tend to use Stahlwille chisels because their steel seems to last a long time under use.</li>
<li>Adjustable / slipjoint pliers. These are useful for general crimping, bending or holding tasks. I also have a Norwegian "Kongsberg" pipe wrench to the left of the pincers. </li>
<li>Philips head screwdrivers. I have 2 sets. This set is my PB Swiss quality set reserved for clean work.</li>
<li>Calipers. These are used for measuring the depth of holes, diameters and thickness. These are indispensable in a workshop. This is my rough set as I also have some digital Mitutoyo calipers that are used for more accurate measuring.</li>
<li>1/2" ratchet and breaker bar. These tools are compulsory in a workshop. In fact, the first tool set I ever bought was a Sidchrome socket set. What you pay for in a set is the ratcheting mechanism. If you go cheap, you will regret it due to the course teeth in the mechanism and the potential to break teeth or slip under load. Avoid the dollar store specials here and get a reputable brand. The two you see in the picture are Hazet (breaker bar) and Stahlwille (ratchet). These are my heavy-duty or rough use tools.</li>
<li>Misc flat blade drivers. These are my stubby and long flat bladed drivers. Theyare useful when trying to get at hard to reach screws. Spend some money on these to make sure you get good steel. Once the blades wear a little, they will cause cam-out making screws difficult to remove. Since these drivers are used for screws found in difficult places, don't compound the problem by using drivers that cam-out.</li>
<li>Philips head screwdrivers. This is my rough set.</li>
<li>Bolt cutters. These small bolt cutters are used to clip screws, nails and hard wire. They save my pliers from getting damaged since they are designed for heavy cutting.</li>
<li>12" Wrench. This gets used when I need to put serious torque onto a large bolt or nut.</li>
<li>Universal joint socket adapter. These are used for hard to reach nuts and bolts. They allow the socket to reach around corners in a sense, making life easier in general.</li>
<li>Magnetic bowl. If you don't have one,you need one. This will keep all your screws and small parts in one location and save you having to look for bits on the floor.</li>
<li>Micro screwdriver set. These are necessary for electronics and small mechanical components. I have reviewed these tools here: <a href="http://wanderingaxeman.blogspot.no/2012/03/pb-swiss-swiss-grip-screwdriver-set-and.html" target="_blank">PB Swiss screwdriver review</a> I also have a centre punch which is used for marking metal surfaces so drill bits can get purchase instead of skating on the surface.</li>
<li>6" Wrenches. These are handy if you are unsure what size a nut or bolt is. Adjustable and a handy size for general mechanical work.</li>
<li>Alan key / hex set. I have 2 sets, one in inch and one in metric. It is necessary to get good quality hex keys. Many times that is the difference between getting a rusted hex bolt out or snapping your key</li>
<li>Magnetizer / demagnetizer. <u><b>This tool needs to be in every tool kit! </b></u>Many times a magnetized screwdriver is a major annoyance, other times you wished the driver would just hold that difficult screw so you can get to that hard to reach spot without it falling off. This little gem will both magnetize drivers when needed. then de-magnetize when it isn't needed. They are only a couple bucks and are a must.</li>
</ol>
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<ol>
<li type="A"> Ratcheting Flex-head Wrenches. This is a stellar gift idea for any woman wanting to impress her hubby with her gift ideas. They are expensive, but make the perfect tool to convince the man to help assemble all that Ikea furniture. </li>
<li type="A">Specialized pliers. In this case they are pliers for removal and installation of circlips. These are not necessary but are handy to have. They are the kind of tool that you can buy as you need them.</li>
<li type="A">Small hacksaw. This little guy is useful for shortening screws, bolts and small metal things. It has fine teeth and causes less damage to parts than a larger hacksaw.</li>
<li type="A">Spanner set. For years I have used a Chinese spanner set that although was functional, was not a pleasure to use. It was made with sloppy tolerances and the metal was a little soft. I finally upgraded to a set of Stahlwille spanners and am very happy I did. I have all sizes from 19mm - 6mm and have a quarter inch just in case.</li>
<li type="A">Vice grips and aviation snips. Vice grips are necessary in any tool kit. They allow you to close the jaws and the mechnism holds them clamped onto the object. They are adjustable and extremely useful. Aviation snips are used for cutting sheet metal and are also a handy addition to a tool kit.</li>
<li type="A">PPE. This stands for Personal Protective Equipment. You should have eye, hearing and dust protection available at all times. Your health is not worth risking so these are one of the most important pieces of equipment.</li>
<li type="A">Stubby spanners. These are shorter than normal spanners and allow you to work in tighter spaces.</li>
<li type="A">1/2" Ratchet and extensions. These are my clean 1/2" tools when I am working on equipment that isn't greasy and dirty. These are kept in absolute pristine condition. They are made by Sidchrome.</li>
<li type="A">1/4" Ratchet and extensions. 1/4" ratchets are less robust but are much smaller than 1/2". They allow you to work in confined spaces and are very useful. I have a 1/4" driver as well for when I don't need the ratcheting feature.</li>
<li type="A">Misc tools. This magnetic strip is where I have the miscellaneous tools. I have my thread gages, open ended spanners, weird wrench, scriber, dividers and screwdriver / bandsaw vice handle. </li>
<li type="A">Sockets. A full metric set in both 1/2" and 1/4"</li>
<li type="A">Hacksaw. This saw will handle steel and is used for shortening bolts or removing metal stock when making tools.</li>
</ol>
<u><b>Hammer Time!</b></u><br />
Having the right hammer is vital and I have a wide selection of hammers for different tasks. In the the image below, you can see a claw hammer used for carpentry, a cross peen hammer, and a dead-blow hammer. The dead-blow hammer is filled with sand to avoid recoil when it strikes an object. This is especially useful for seating things in vices or tapping metal parts that have a tendency to "bounce" out.<br />
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The top hammer in the below picture is a small sledge hammer. This is a heavier hammer that packs a lot of whallop when swung. The next down is a soft face hammer used when I don't want damage to a surface. The final hammer is a rubber mallet which I use when I need to distribute force over a large area and I don't want to marr the surface.<br />
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<u><b>Metal Removal</b></u><br />
At some point in time you will need to drill or file. There are different tools required. First we'll talk drills. If you need to drill holes in sheet metal, do yourself a solid and get a step drill set. These make drilling sheet metal a breeze and prevent tearing or twisting of thin stock.<br />
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Files are esential. Get a set that covers round, rectangular and triangular profiles. These need to be looked after so don't just throw in a drawer together. Keep them rust free and maintained.<br />
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<u><b>Heat</b></u><br />
When metal parts seize and get stuck, heat makes life easier. Heating the parts and undoing them while hot will save hours of time. I use a self starting torch.<br />
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I bought this 4 years ago and I am still on the same gas bottle. It has seen a lot of use in various projects. <br />
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<u><b>Work Holding</b></u><br />
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It will be necessary at one point in time for you to clamp materials together or to the bench. Sometimes Vice-Grips are sufficient however most times the parts are too big. This is where the Irwin Quick Grip and the F clamp come into their element. The Irwin is fast to use and holds reasonably well. The F clamp is better suited where serious pressure is needed or you will be applying heat. I have a range of F clamp that spans 6 inch to 2 1/2 foot.<br />
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<u><b>Oil Can</b></u><br />
A good oil can is a useful item in the workshop. Oil is needed to un-seize things, stop rust or just lubricate joints. Cheap cans leak and have poor quality pumps. The can below is about 25 years old and still going strong. It pays to get quality.<br />
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So there you have it. This is a very basic run-down of the tools every tinkerer should have. If you find yourself asking, "what hand tools do I need?", then you can use this as a guide. Feel free to comment or ask any questions. This list was created with mechanical repairs in mind. I have not gone through carpentry tools and machining / grinding although I probably will at some point in the future. Stay safe.<br />
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</div>The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3882967617951609090.post-55503386499180585852012-07-07T03:58:00.001-07:002012-07-07T03:58:43.588-07:00Renovations Finally Complete!I had mentioned in the past how we were busy renovating. The house was built in the 50's by Norsk Hydro and at a quite poor standard when we bought it. The walls had been wall papered about 5 - 6 times leaving huge bulges and floor coverings were of various types and exceeded 7 different floor types in the top 2 floors alone.<br />
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Here is the house advertised online:<br />
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<a href="http://www.finn.no/finn/realestate/homes/viewimagewide?finnkode=35766412&reference=2012/6/vertical-2/28/2/357/664/12_1952974771.jpg" target="_blank">House Pics</a><br />
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Here are some previous pictures so you get an idea of the work we have put in:<br />
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Stairwell with me foreground and my brother Alex<br />
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Bathroom floor (note the multi wall papered walls)<br />
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Kitchen <br />
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Living / Dining Room <br />
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The bathroom with the cement sheets up<br />
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I tried to find other pictures but it seems like we avoided taking photos of the worst parts of the house. These give you the general idea though.<br />
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Now this saga is done, we just need to sell the house and we can start to enjoy this strange thing called "free time". Up until now I thought this was a symptom of people who have inherited large sums from obscure relatives or a result of those not understanding that credit debt is intended to be paid off. Regardless, I aim on catching up on the last 5 years of missed holidays, weekends and afternoons after work that we have spent renovating our house. If you see me parachute into your swimming pool or wrestle a crocodile at your local zoo, just know it's not early dementia, but rather me experimenting with "free time" and all the rash behaviour and injuries this strange phenomenon can result in. Stay safe.The axemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11583007696189987146noreply@blogger.com0