by Don Wiederhold Have you ever parted off a small bushing and have it fly into your chip pan and then spent the next 10 minutes looking for it? While it may serve to remind you to clean the chip pan more often, sifting through a bunch of oily, sharp swarf is not an enjoyable [...]
by Don Wiederhold I’ve seen many versions of carriage stops and I’m not going into detail on how to build one, as the many versions on different lathes require a clamping method to fit your specific lathe. However, I do have some features for you to consider when you make your own stop for your [...]
by Howie Grunert If you are anything like me, you have a Digital Read Out (DRO) on your milling machine; here is a trick you may not be aware of that you can use the DRO for. Most DROs have a function called “Bolt Hole Pattern,” where you can assign a center point for a [...]
by Howie Grunert If you need to turn a disk, especially a thin one that cannot be clamped in the lathe’s chuck, then read on. You will need to make a simple fixture first. Start out with a cylinder of about Ø1-1/2” and about 1-1/2” long; dimensions are not incredibly important. Face one side of [...]
by R.G. Sparber I get one of three reactions from people who see this new drill table format. Some say they hate it, some ask why I bothered, and some really like it. The basic idea was to be able to start with a needed hole diameter and use it to find the closest number, [...]
by Steve Jasik I bought some M3 disposable razors some time ago and removed the blades from them for one of my projects. I could not quite bear the idea of simply tossing the handles, so I took a good look around the shop and thought they just might work with my Swiss pattern files. [...]
