Tennmike, a good trick i learned from my old man is to use a boring head in the tailstock indicated flat and a ball bearing as the center. That way you can offset the boring head and not the tailstock. I've gotten quite efficient with turning tapers between centers but I've always hated re-centering my tailstock.
I second the suggestion of taking a couple classes at a community college or tech school. I took 2 machine shop classes years ago I am certain I learned 100X more than my expectations.
I went down the rabbit hole this morning watching machining videos on YouTube.for about 4 hours. I realized I don't know a thing about this trade. Take anything I opine with a grain of salt. I've learned I'm either doing it wrong, didn't understand the basics, or there's a better way to do it.
Seriously. This stuff will humble you. One guy was cutting something with a tolerance of .0003" that we couldn't even lift to the lathe......
Mike
"Walking away seems to be a lost art form." N454casull
Wish I could find the video again about how16"50 gun barrels were made. Really interesting in that the barrel is an outer shell with an inner rifled liner. And after test firing the inner liner stretched out the muzzle end and had to have that 'extruded' liner machined off. Here's a series of videos y'all might like on making naval guns. Might surprise you at the tolerances they held back then. And those machine tools!!!
I went down the rabbit hole this morning watching machining videos on YouTube.for about 4 hours. I realized I don't know a thing about this trade. Take anything I opine with a grain of salt. I've learned I'm either doing it wrong, didn't understand the basics, or there's a better way to do it.
Seriously. This stuff will humble you. One guy was cutting something with a tolerance of .0003" that we couldn't even lift to the lathe......
Mike
It's amazing what can be done with old manual machines. The first time I watched a you tube video I was thinking to myself how the hell did that guy do that. They were machining a 6 ft. dia. solid round stock for something in a hydroelectric plant. Held it to .001 in 15 ft. The machine looked like it came over on the mayflower.
Refusing to conform to the left wing mantra of political correctness by insisting on telling the truth does not make you a loud mouth.
I was just catching up on this thread and seen a couple post about work holding. Imo that is one of the toughest skills to learn in the machining trades. I do remember one thing is that the longer you do this it does get a little easier but there*s also times you just have to stand back and scratch your head and your behind to figure it out. The milling machine was always easier for me to figure out but the lathe on the other hand gave me fits.
Refusing to conform to the left wing mantra of political correctness by insisting on telling the truth does not make you a loud mouth.
Regarding work holding, I've went through a few reams of printer paper doing sketches. Putting pencil to paper makes me think more linear as to how to do it. And putting what I see in my mind to paper helps me put it all together. Being a draftsman for a few years in a farm equipment company was one of the best things I used later on. Also helped in welding and putting the prototype machines together. You learn some interesting things doing that prototyping.
“I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that I don't know the answer” ― Douglas Adams
Replies
Seriously. This stuff will humble you. One guy was cutting something with a tolerance of .0003" that we couldn't even lift to the lathe......
Mike
N454casull
Here's a series of videos y'all might like on making naval guns. Might surprise you at the tolerances they held back then. And those machine tools!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3VFce7BDAg
― Douglas Adams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIMpRwAUI1I
― Douglas Adams
The milling machine was always easier for me to figure out but the lathe on the other hand gave me fits.
Mike
N454casull
― Douglas Adams