/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Beginner Machinist No.345436]

I know a few of you here do some machinist work. What are you guys working on and what are some future projects you wish to do?

Right know im working on a T-Tap handle. I have the main body completed. I was thinking of altering the design a bit. Instead of having a press fir for the handle i was considering a slip fit with a fixed ball on one and and one that screws off on the other end. That way if i have a little bit more maneuverability and more leverage by sticking the handle all the way to one end.

My ultimate goal is to acquire a mill and a lathe then just build the rest of the machinist tools i need. If i want to make precision surfaces ill need a good grinder as well.

So post your current or dream projects you are working on.

[Beginner Machinist No.345438]

Here is the drawing i was working with. I found it in an e-book that was originally printed back in the 50's.

[Anonymous No.345446]

>>345436

i'm about to start on the "turntable" for a music project i've been developing. I've been using an actual record turntable for the cardboard-and-tape stage of prototyping (to get the software to work) but just today i got the motor and steel to make a purpose-built servo turntable. i'll post pics "soon".

turntable speed will be slaved to Ableton master BPM via MIDI or OSC. This is a steel, arduino, processing, Ableton project...

[Anonymous No.345460]

possibly a dumb question;
how do you machine stuff *without* a mill or a lathe?

I learned how to use both in babby college class but didnt go anywhere with it and id probably lose my fingers if I tried using either one again... but yeah.

I've always wanted to build my own shift knob for my car.

[Beginner Machinist No.345463]

>>345460
Well I dont have my own mill or lathe. Im currently in technical college learning metal working. There are plenty of ways to machine without your traditional mill or lathe, water jet, EDM, automated grinding, and plasma cutting are just a few.

[Anonymous No.345493]

i'm in the middle of an adjustable master cylinder brace for my car. right now when you hard brake the firewall flexes and i want more positive feedback to my brake modulation. no pics though since it's at the shop.

pic is semi-related

[Anonymous No.345514]

>>345436
So you want to buy tools so you can make tools to use to make others tools.

[The Machinist No.345523]

>>345460
Vice, files, hacksaw and a drill press.

[Anonymous No.345573]

It seems to me metal working is usually on the outer edges of what is possible for the DIYer. Its dangerous for the novice and expensive to get equipment. I would think it would be hard to learn welding or machining completely on your own without any sort of formal training.

[Anonynous No.345581]

>>345573
Machining isn't that bad, although it is certainly expensive.

I've taught myself both how to weld and how to machine (to a very competent level). There are a lot of books and the internet generally has enough information to teach anything if you have the time and motivation.

Pretty much every hobby has the potential to become horrifically expensive depending on how you approach things. I know a who who works with clay as a hobby and he is building a 10' x 10' kiln just because he has the money.


The easiest way to learn is just say fuck it, choose a project, and finish it. At every step use the internet or whatever to figure out what you need to do and keep trying until it works. You are going to fry, break or destroy a lot of stuff but its the fastest way to learn IMO.

[Anonymous No.346075]

>>345436
OP: Make tools you cannot not easily afford or find (really old designs)
That's a nice tap handle and all, but jeez, they're a dime a dozen.

[Anonymous No.346077]

>>346075
PS: while you're at it, make sure you centerdrill the handle end of the tap handle. That way you can use it with a live center in a drill press or milling machine.

[Beginner Machinist No.346098]

>>346077
>>346075
Mainly doing it to hone my skills. For instance, with this project this was the first time i ever used a mill saw, but that is ultimately my plan is to make tools i cant buy on the cheap once i consider myself competent. For the 3/16" internal groove i had to grind a piece of HSS to do the trick because i didnt have a boring bar that could. I dont have a lot of grinding experience so it took me about an hour to grind it down and i burned both my thumbs in the process. I've found flea markets are a virtual gold mine when it comes to machinist tools. I found some old starret 1" and 2" mics for $5.

Good eye on the center drill for the end. I had already put it in even though the blue print doesn't call for it.

[Beginner Machinist No.346542]

I made some more progress on the tap handle. I had some difficulty making the internal 10 degree angle. It was the last operation i had to do to finish it and i did it wrong and had to start over with a new piece. When i started over i had trouble just getting it down to size because I didnt check the insert in my cutting tool and wound up scrapping that piece too. The third time i actually got it correct. Im pretty pleased with the knurl i made. Its not one of my strong suits. All that's left is to make the handle.

Also i was in a rush when i left for the shop and didnt check to see what my shirt was made out of and a hot chip melted into my shirt. Thats what i get for not wearing natural fibers.

[Anonymous No.346824]

>>346542
Is that your cats nose?

[Beginner Machinist No.347177]

>>346824
Yea he is a frisky guy
I wasnt able to get into the shop today but i did draw up some plans for what i want to do for the handle. I decided on going with a slip fit instead of the original design of a press fit. In the top of the stem im going to drill and tap a place for a set screw so if i don't want the handle to move i can do so. Ill more than likely mill a flat in the middle of the handle for the set screw.

[Anonymous No.347196]

Hey OP, maybe you can help me. I tried to modify a tap handle for 8/32 taps so it could hold a skinnier 6/32 tap. I widened the four long slots running down the sides of the jaws so the jaw would close tighter. that worked out OK, but the nut wont squeeze the jaws as tight as they can go. I just need a tiny bit more. How do I modify the nut? (I'm an electronics/programmer guy and mechanics just eludes me)

[Beginner Machinist No.347230]

>>347196
Well this type of tap handle is really only supposed to close around .015". And the difference between 1/4 taps shanks and 3/16 tap shanks is .063". Widening the slit even more would just weaken it. The only thing i could recommend is to take a thin sheet of brass and wrap it around the shank of your tap like a shim until it is big enough for the handle to close around. Modifying the nut itself will not solve anything, the only thing that would work would be to make the opening of the nut smaller. Making it bigger is very simple, making it smaller would be a nightmare.

[Anonymous No.347312]

I really want to build a lathe relieving attachment.

This guy knows whats up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ8kyC_bpHs

[Anonymous No.347332]

4 stage progression die that I designed and manually machined. I made the punch on the right hand side with an EDM machine though.

[Anonymous No.347343]

>>347230

most tap handles have two sets of "square" inside -- the larger one at the outside end, and a smaller one deeper inside specifically for small taps.

[Anonymous No.347387]

>>347332
That looks great. What does it do?

[Anonymous No.347389]

>>347343
What does that have to do with anything? If the guys tap is too small for the handle its too small. It doesn't matter what "most taps" have at that point.

[Beginner Machinist No.347398]

>>347389

I understand what he is saying. I wasn't thinking about drilling a smaller hole deeper into the nut. Which would work. Just need to be careful how deep the tap goes into the nut itself so it doesnt cover up any of your cutting edges.

[Anonymous No.347425]

> thin sheet of brass and wrap it around the shank of your tap like a shim

Thx, but that's no good. I've already tried shims made from all kind of materials, and they all end up slipping unless I'm tapping a soft material like acrylic.

[Beginner Machinist No.347526]

>>347398
Just realized what i typed, you could drill a smaller whole deeper into the stem not the nut.

[Beginner Machinist No.347662]

>>347425
This really shouldn't be happening if you correctly shim it with brass. Are you using the correct tap drill size?

The forumla is O.D. - pitch= size. So if you had a 1/4 20 thread the tap drill would be .25 -(1/20)= .200. The closest common drill size then would be a number 7 drill (.2010)

[Anonymous No.347668]

>>347425
>and they all end up slipping
Taps only center on the shank. They are driven by the square ends

Just get a smaller tap handle

Or make a square hub with a square hole in it << most likely not happening unless you know how to broach.

[Anonymous No.347685]

>>347425
Seems strange. What kind of tap are you using, taper, plug, or bottom? Always start taping with a taper tap then move onto a plug tap. If its a blind hole then finish it off with a bottom tap. Tapping is considered an art in most machinist circles.

[Anonymous No.347820]

>>347387
It makes a small angle bracket with two holes that are in line and a 90 Degree bend with a small form in the bend for strength. The tolerances on this project were +/- .0002. Again I manually machined the whole project.

[Anonymous No.349441]

>>347177
And here is the finished product. Overall im pleased with how well it turned out.

[Anonymous No.349450]

>>349441
I also went and put a set screw on top and mill d a flat into the handle if i ever need to lock it down.

[Anonymous No.350242]

>>349441
Pretty good, about how long have you been machining?

[Beginner Machinist No.350283]

>>350242
Well i started this class back in september. So roughly 3 months i would say. I have really enjoyed it. Next semester im doing welding, I hope i enjoy it as much as I do machining. The one downside i can see to the welding course is i dont think I'll be making many things i would consider useful. From my understanding i may make one or two finished products but most of it will be focused on technique. So it will involve welding 2 or 3 different pieces of steel or aluminum together in different ways and not say making a stool for instance. I'll be in the class for 40 hours a week for 23 weeks so by the end of it ill have the basics down.