Making tools from scratch

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  • SPOOK331945

    Sharpshooter
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    Feb 7, 2018
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    Southern IN
    Made a few of my tools for work completely from scratch. Everything was done on manual machines no CNC junk here. Added a little of a personal touch to my indicator stand, don’t worry the primers are inert. This is 1 of 2 I
    made, made one for work and one for the house when I get my shop going.

    View attachment 63896
     
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    amboy49

    Master
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    Feb 1, 2013
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    central indiana
    Ok, I’ll admit I’m stoopid. I think you’re measuring something - and it has to do with shooting. What is the dial indicator indicating ?

    Is this a is a little bit Rube Goldfarb ? Honestly not trying to be snarky or critical - just demonstrating my ignorance.

    BTW, the craftsman ship IS amazing.
     

    SPOOK331945

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    It can be used for a number of things, height, surface finish, checking squareness list goes on really. Other than micrometers it is used very frequently by a Tool Maker. To check the height of something for example you would stack your "joe blocks" or "gauge blocks" to the dimension giving via. blue print. Put your indicator on the stack up and then "0" your indicator then simply run it across the surface on the part you wish to measure. That particular indicator is .00005" increments. Most standard ones are .001" or .0005".
     

    SPOOK331945

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    Feb 7, 2018
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    How did you measure flatness, perpendicularity, and parallelism to 10 millionths of an inch (.00001")?

    My mistake .00005".... looking at a print that was calling for that tolerancing where it wasn't needed when I typed this. It had me flustered to say the least. what we have is laser comp. and profilometer, CMM... We don't really use it in the shop because the engineers don't understand thermal expansion and that we need a temperature controlled environment if they want to hold that. 90% of the time we usually shoot for .0001". Anymore than that they're just being silly.
     

    ghuns

    Grandmaster
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    Nov 22, 2011
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    Nice work. I remember my apprentice days when making tools was more economically feasible than buying them. Angle plates, sine plates, a sine dresser for grinding wheels, etc. Great experience for learning what it takes to make something as accurate as you can.

    A word of advice; I used to think of CNC machines as "junk" too. That was in the early 90s and they mostly were. I now program CNC machines that are more accurate than me and a brand new Mitsui surface grinder ever were on our best day.

    IMHO, a strong foundation on manual machines is essential to be a good machinist/toolmaker, but if you want a long term career in cutting metal, learn everything you can about those junk CNCs too. They do work so you don't have to.;)
     

    SPOOK331945

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    We got a few here CNCs here Mazak, prototrak. Ive done some programing on them. I like the programming end of it just don't care for it when you hit the go button. Gets a little boring during run time. We do A LOT with WEDM and Sinker

    Nice work. I remember my apprentice days when making tools was more economically feasible than buying them. Angle plates, sine plates, a sine dresser for grinding wheels, etc. Great experience for learning what it takes to make something as accurate as you can.

    A word of advice; I used to think of CNC machines as "junk" too. That was in the early 90s and they mostly were. I now program CNC machines that are more accurate than me and a brand new Mitsui surface grinder ever were on our best day.

    IMHO, a strong foundation on manual machines is essential to be a good machinist/toolmaker, but if you want a long term career in cutting metal, learn everything you can about those junk CNCs too. They do work so you don't have to.;)
     

    ghuns

    Grandmaster
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    Nov 22, 2011
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    We got a few here CNCs here Mazak, prototrak. Ive done some programing on them. I like the programming end of it just don't care for it when you hit the go button. Gets a little boring during run time. We do A LOT with WEDM and Sinker

    Get a hold of one of these...

    [video=youtube;57XnzIOi-oU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57XnzIOi-oU[/video]

    It's never boring.;)

    EDMs are the worst. Even the newest, bestest, go fastest ones still remove metal at glacial speeds. The machine in the video isn't ours, but we have a similar one. The amount of EDM work it has gotten rid of around here is staggering.
     

    HoughMade

    Grandmaster
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    Oct 24, 2012
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    So now I'm feeling a little less proud of my makeshift bending brake fashioned from old bed rails, C clamps and a pipe wrench for leverage.
     

    ghuns

    Grandmaster
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    Nov 22, 2011
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    :laugh:

    I've destroyed a few vacuum form molds in my day with only three axis. I can only imagine what I could have damaged with two more.

    In my 5x experience, most crashes do far less damage to the work piece than they do to the machine.

    I've only caused one bad one. Sent a 1/2" ball end mill into a block of hardened steel at about 2000 inches/minute. Had to cut the tool holder off with a angle grinder because the force of the crash bent the grippers that held it in the spindle.
    It was a pretty bad day.:puke:
     

    olhorseman

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    Mar 11, 2013
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    Middle of nowhere NC
    I started programming when the machines were still NC and not CNC. No memory on the machines and all programs were created on punch tape. Every edit required a new tape to be made. Long programs such as cutting worm threads were the worst as those tapes were often hundreds of feet long.
     

    CountryBoy19

    Grandmaster
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    11   1   0
    Nov 10, 2008
    8,412
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    Bedford, IN
    We don't really use it in the shop because the engineers don't understand thermal expansion and that we need a temperature controlled environment if they want to hold that.
    You need some new engineers... with real educations... any engineer that has a real degree and passed on real class work knows and understands thermal expansion, likely better than a machinist does. Sincerely, an engineer with a real education (and quite the experience in machining as well)...

    Not completely discrediting your claims to accuracy, but .00005" is better than 99.9% of shops can work to. I'm skeptical that you actually hit those on parellelism & perpendicularity, but if you did, props to you because that is dang tough to do. Sincerely, a fellar that has a surface plate calibrated to .00005" and scrapes machine parts to that plate.

    IIRC, to print parts to a plate you need at least 2X accuracy of the part you're printing, so my parts should be ~.0001". Of course, printing is totally different from optical comparators and such.
     

    SPOOK331945

    Sharpshooter
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    Feb 7, 2018
    410
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    Southern IN
    You need some new engineers... with real educations... any engineer that has a real degree and passed on real class work knows and understands thermal expansion, likely better than a machinist does. Sincerely, an engineer with a real education (and quite the experience in machining as well)...

    Not completely discrediting your claims to accuracy, but .00005" is better than 99.9% of shops can work to. I'm skeptical that you actually hit those on parellelism & perpendicularity, but if you did, props to you because that is dang tough to do. Sincerely, a fellar that has a surface plate calibrated to .00005" and scrapes machine parts to that plate.

    IIRC, to print parts to a plate you need at least 2X accuracy of the part you're printing, so my parts should be ~.0001". Of course, printing is totally different from optical comparators and such.

    Scraping is a art, we have a Master Tool Maker at my shop that has done the same thing. Trying to learn that technique myself from him before he retires. Never said it was easy getting .00005". It took A LOT of time and patience, more less a test in myself to see if I could. I’m skeptical that you are a “real engineer” but most engineers check humility at the door and replace with arrogance once said degree is achieved so this adds up. Sincerely, UofL mechincal engineering Speed school alum. I’m always leery of attitudes like this in the work industry.
     
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