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I am thinking of replacing my drill press with one of the small "mill drill" machines, probably a Grizzly G0463.

Anyone out there have any comments or suggestions? Of course I would like to go with a bigger unit but space in my shop just won't allow a larger, more substantial unit for now.

Thanks in advance.

Mark

I've never run one of those(at least not that I recall anyway), but from talking to people who have and have also run full size industrial machines....they are severely lacking. I have run similar machines and I was far from impressed. They're generally not rigid enough for good milling. If you do buy one, pay attention to what the spindle taper is. R8 is probably the most common and will be the cheapest to buy for in the long run. You'll also want to make sure the head will tilt to the side and forward/back. If it only tilts one way, you may not be able to get it properly aligned when you need to make precision cuts or true holes. If it doesn't tilt at all, you're stuck with working around the alignment issue which will take a lot more time, effort, and skill. One other potential pitfall is how the spindle height above the table is adjusted. Some of the mini mills raise and lower the entire head assembly and have no means of maintaining precise alignment while doing so.

For what it's worth, there have been some "baby" knee type mills produced. I've only seen one baby bridgeport in person and it was quite a bit smaller than the larger and more common 9"x49" model.
 
Almos NOS Sawzall

In my opinion, there is only one great recip saw, Millwaukee Sawzall. One of the last electric power tools still made in America too unfortunately. I have 3, a 13 amp Super Sawzall, newer model, plastic case quick release cord, a 1987 sawzall, metal case, quick realease in like new shape and now this one. I bought it for $60 from the original owner who used it once. The shoe doesnt have a scratch on it! It works great has all the orignial paperwork and parts. I think this one is an '85.
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This is one of the more used tools in my shop. It is a Grizzly 10" wet grinder. I have almost all of the sharpening attachments, and it does a wonderful job. I did have to true-up the stone a bit when i got it, but other than that I have had no problems at all out of it. I do a lot of butchering knives, hand planes and planer knives on it and I have not found anything else that will give you this good of an edge in such a short amount of time.
 
Im offering a big old machine lathe. its for sale in my school shop, it has a mitutoyo digital gauge setup on it, and it is supposedly working. comes with an arrayment of parts, 3 jaw and 4 jaw chuck, its big, I can email pics, and im pretty sure it is in working condition, I dont have any way of verifying if it works or not, i think it has been disconnected from the wiring somewhere. Its a Zubal and looks like this unit here.

http://www.fvstore.com/i/33/Zubal-14x52-inch-Metal-Lathe-plus-extras-p165976.jpg

shoot me an offer and we can get it out of the shop. LOL YOU LOAD. PM me and we can talk. Not being very bad stickler on the price.
 
UPDATE ON THE ABOVE. New tool rest and a bunch of attachments for it, it runs, all speeds, and forward and reverse, it should be a solid machine for anyone!

If you want to know how to fix, it, ill tell you one hint, it took a flip of a breaker and a new fuse....DUH! Can you tell i work better with gasoline powered machines?
 
Thermoplastic Molding Beads

This is pretty cool stuff for prototyping, making small parts, molding, etc. Comes as white plastic beads that turn clear in hot (140*F/60*C) water - you can then mold it with your hands, and let it cool, or immerse in cold water. Hardens to a smooth, dense, slick plastic. Not brittle, like some other molding materials.

It's a thermoplastic, so you can re-melt it if desired, but it is not suitable for high temperature applications/exposure.

I first found it as dental molding material many years ago (expensive), but recently have seen it available through several art supply vendors, as well as eBay. ***Local RadioShacks are clearing out some of their packages (17 ounces/500 grams) for about $7.50, so I visited several of those stores today.***

Also sold under the following names:
U Mold (Radio Shack)
ShapeLock
Friendly Plastic
Polymorph
InstaMorph
PolyMold
TAK Hydroplastic
(dental grade)

Philbert (no, not a name brand for this stuff, but I can be quite impressionable)

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I wanted to mount a drill chuck on a bench motor, so that I could use small wire wheels etc., that have a post/mandrel, instead of holding them in an electric drill.

I had a 1/2" chuck salvaged from a dead, garage sale drill. It uses a 3/8-24 thread.

First, I had to find out that 'arbor shaft' ('or shaft arbor') is what the adaptors are called. Tried a whole bunch of other, plausible terms till I found something close in Google images.

Then, I could not find a 3/8-24 thread arbor shaft that mounted on a 1/2" diameter motor shaft (Grainger seemed to have lots that fit other diameters, and 2 hardware stores looked at me like I was from another planet?).

Finally tried a local home center, which, for some reason, had Jacobs 1/2" chucks with 1/2-20 threads on clearance for $8. Cheaper than the arbor shafts I was looking for!

Threaded it into a older one I had, and voilà!

Philbert

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Homelite410 (mike) made the below tool for me. Stainless steel CNCed dual clutch and flywheel puller. Specifically designed for Dolmar 123-133-143-153 saws in mind. The only thing that was MIA was a way to hold it still while applying pressure. Simple fix was to make Shaun drill the outer edge in 3 spots to 9/32" or 17/64" (I think??) so that I can cut the threads off a 1/4" bolt for handle. This thing is amazing!!! Can even think what I would so without it working on my Dolmar's!!!!

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1404133540.775780.jpg

Also note that I have 2x center "push" bolts (black to left in pic). They are hex head which is nice to use an allen wrench in for less slippage of a socket wrench. I have 2 b/c some of the dolmar cranks have a tendency to crack and break then ends of the crank snout... bad bad bad deal if you do that. So the non-tapered bolt is for pushing the end of the dolmar cranks.

The green bolts (to lower right) are used for pulling the flywheels.

The little (M6- I think?) bolts to upper right are used for the pressed on clutches.
 
Porter Cable Router Recall

Bought a large Porter Cable router many years ago. Got an e-mail today stating that there is a recall, because the handles on the base are not electrically insulated, and could lead to a shock. They are sending replacement bases.

Router.jpg

Here is the kicker: the email came from Amazon.com, where I bought the router from. Have not received any notice from Porter-Cable, the manufacturer, even though I am one of those guys that typically mail back those warranty cards, just in case of things like this.

Anyway, cudos to Amazon, and if you have or know of someone with a similar router (they were pretty popular), look into the recall at:
http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2014/Porter-Cable-Fixed-Base-Production-Routers-Recalled/

Philbert
 
I like these blades for pruning with a reciprocating saw (Sawzall), so I was happy to find some at a Black & Decker outlet store a while back. Went to use one today, and could not get it to seat right - kept getting thrown from the saw. Stared at it; compared the tang to several other Milwaukee blades; tried grinding/buffing down tiny differences; etc.

Finally realized that the teeth (top blade) extended too far toward the tang. The tooth was too hard to file, do I cut it off with a Dremel tool (bottom blade). Now I know why they were in the outlet store! Fixed the others.

Philbert

Recip Blade.jpg
 
Looks like I am the only one buying tools...

Did my Friday afternoon rounds of the pawn shops, I have come to know the owner of the one closest to my house. I have gotten great deals on a couple of saws and a like new Echo hedge trimmer from him in addition to some tools.

Picked up this lot for $20, a Craftsman 1/4" socket set, 6 Craftsman combination wrenches and 2 Craftsman pliers. The new in box ratchet and socket swivels are Stanley. The ratchet is neat in that it also works by twisting the handle.

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