WORKSHOP TIPS

CLEANING HEADSTOCK MANDREL: Essential job if damage to the taper socket is to be avoided when inserting taper shanks. If your mandrel bore is 2MT then you'll find a 12-gauge (shotgun) bronze-bristle brush will fit it closely. A couple of push-throughs from the headstock end will clean the bore clean as a whistle!

PRECISION OILER: I have several 50ml plastic syringes fitted with blunt needles (16 gauge) and filled with different lubricating oils - they are great for putting oil just where you want it. They will squirt cutting oil where you want it when drilling deep holes, and with a larger bore needle you can use them for grease too - keeps messy black molybdenum grease off your hands. I even use a smaller one for applying marking blue paste (diluted with a little alcohol). Take a cotton bud with plastic stem (Q-Tip) and cut one bud off, fix the hollow stem onto the needle and the remaining cotton pad makes a great applicator. Replaced easily when it gets worn. Picture shows syringe oilers and blue applicator.

EASY BALL HANDLES: I've got a spherical turning attachment, but even so I looked at the possibility of using ball bearings to make ball handles. Problem is drilling the darn things. Grinding flats on them to get beneath the hard surface doesn't work, neither will a carbide drill put a hole in one. So, anneal them first. You need a good handful to start with (big enough bulk of metal to cool slowly) and get them bright red, allow to cool slowly. When cool you'll find you can drill and tap them OK. Picture shows ball bearing drilled and tapped 2 b.a.

BURNISHING: So, you've got your drilled and tapped balls but the surface is black and scaled. Best way of cleaning them up is to use a fine steel wire cup brush on your grinding spindle, add a little chrome cleaner paste (Autosol is good) and the finish will soon come back. Finish polishing with a mop if you want a shine.

MATERIALS STORAGE: Tight for space? Try using cut lengths of plastic drain pipe, 2-3 inch diameter for storage. They will conveniently stack together on a horizontal shelf (mine is under the lathe), materials can be grouped together and re-arranged quickly and easily. Cheaper and less hassle than purpose-built storage racks. Picture shows this type of storage.

D.T.I. MOUNTING: My rear tool post has a small fixed spindle 1/4" dia and 1/2" long projecting from the rear. The usual form of DTI mounting can be attached to this and swivelled backwards out of the way when not in use. I rarely need to remove the DTI from the machine saving setup time. I also have a dial-gauge fixed to a 3/8" bar of steel (drillied in-situ to garauntee centre height) which fits into a top-slide tool holder, handy for setting tapered work.

MYFORD SUPER 7 ZEROING DIALS: As delivered, these are impossibly tight. I defy anyone to set to zero without inadvertently moving the ball-handle. Solution: remove the handle and dial. Squeeze the spring washer a little in a vice to reduce the high friction. Re-assemble using a THIN plain steel washer against the zero ring, followed by the spring washer and ball-handle. During assembly use a little molybedenum grease between mating surfaces. Mine now turns sweetly but without any danger of slipping.

RUBBER MATS: As supplied by auto accessory shops (Halfords supply them) make fine non-slip work surfaces. I use one to protect my 18" x 12" surface plate , the fine bobbles underneath keeps the mat off the plate leaving the oil film in place. Cut sections are handy for protecting the lathe bed when removing chucks. From Alan Marshall These mats are also useful on the workshop floor as they collect swarf and stop it sticking to your shoes, they are easily cleaned, and pleasant to stand on - especially if the floor is concrete.

POOR MAN'S COLLET CHUCK: You already have one! in the form of your lathe tailstock drill chuck. You may not realise it but the run-out on good quality Jacobs chucks (there are other accurate makes) is only a few 10ths. Far better than most 3-jaw lathe chucks. I have several spare and often use one in the headstock mandrel for small diameter work (use a draw-bar for turning). Out of interest, a quick test showed my Jacobs 34B gives 0.8 thou TRO, Validus keyless chuck 0.6 thou, and an elderly Jacobs keyless 1.5 thou.

POWER SUPPLY: Check out your local radio spares shop for ex-eqipment PSUs (in the UK try Greenweld). I picked up a large capacity unit for 20 UKP some time ago, it will provide 5, -5, 12, -12 and 24V all in useful amperages. Run the low voltage wiring around the shop to provide power for low-voltage motors near your main machine tools.

A TOUCHING EXPERIENCE: How do you tell when (for example) an end mill is just touching the work? Well, try insulating the work in the first place by clamping card or plastic sheet between work/vice jaws, connect a powered 12V auto bulb from work to tool (or chuck, or even machine body), when the light comes on the tool has just touched the work. Easier with the continuity check on a multi-meter if you have one. No, don't bother telling me it doesn't work with wood...

FILE HANDLES: Made my needle file handles from 1/2" dural rod, drilled and Araldited on. Put a deep groove in near the end with a parting tool and they will hang nicely in a slotted piece of brass angle. Stops them getting lost.

CROSS DRILLING: To set up for accurately cross drilling bar stock, grip a length of the same diameter bar in the drill chuck, and with the drill vice 'floating', grip the end of the bar in the jaws (position the vice such that the drill can pass through a central hole in the vice). Clamp the vice in place and insert drill into chuck in place of bar, and the piece to be cross-drilled in the vice.

TAILSTOCK 'SETOVER': The problem with setting over the tailstock is the time it takes to re-set to zero. There are two ways round this, either make an adjustable 'setover centre' whereby a stub centre slides radially and can be clamped in place, or use a boring head with a 60 deg point in place of the boring tool - the graduated slide providing the setover. In either case, the angle of the radial slide must be set parallel with the top of the lathe bed.

SMALL HOLE GAUGES: You can make your own quite easily if you have a spherical turning attachment. Turn a nominal size ball (1/2" as an example) on the end of a length of silver steel, turn down the diameter behind the ball to about 5/16". Drill right through 3/16" and bore a 15 deg tapered hole in the end on the ball. Now cut 2 slots for half the length using a fine slitting saw. Turn up a cone-shaped wedge to fit, with a 3/16" x 40 threaded shank to fit the bore of the shaft, and use a knurled nut on the end to adjust the wedging action. The split ball can now be expanded inside the hole to be measured and the size of the bore checked with a micrometer. This is more accurate than using the inside jaws of your callipers.

BANDSAW MOD: Adjusting the vice on the generic type of metal-cutting bandsaw usually involves fishing around under the table with a pair of spanners. Replacing the supplied nuts and bolts with long T-bolts and captive nuts makes this job much easier. Picture shows the 2 T-bolts required.

MYFORD QC GEARBOX INDICATOR: The layshaft in the Myford QC gearbox revolves twice for each full turn of the leadscrew. You can make use of this by marking the large black end cap with 4 divisions, and a corresponding index mark on the gearbox case. Make one division bolder than the rest. Each division equals 1/64" logitudinal travel of the carriage.

QUICK SCALE VALVE HANDLES: Not really a workshop tip, but generally useful for modellers. Small valve handles can be made by bunching seven 1/8" dia x 3/32" bore brass tubes together, and silver soldering the lot. Make sure the gaps between the tubes are filled with the solder. You can then part off slices about 1/8" thick, thread the center hole, and presto - you have neat valve handles which look good and offer a good grip.

A BETTER COUNTERSINK: Annoyed by chattering countersinks? this home-made 2-flute design cuts cleanly and is quick to make. It's a bit more sophisticated than the D-bit type and can be used off-hand in your power drill. Click here for a more detailed description.

TOOLPOST GRINDING: You can use your angle grinder mounted on the top-slide for external grinding, a smaller die grinder -type tool can be used for internal grinding. Click here to read more about my experiments with these methods.

CHEAP PARALLELS : A good set of parallels is essential in the workshop for setting up work on the faceplate, boring table and machine vice. They are also very expensive. I have tripled the size of my collection by using 4" lengths of gauge plate simply cut to length in pairs. You may end up having to buy 18" lengths to start with but it's still far cheaper, and you have some left over for other jobs. The ground finish is accurate enough for most workshop use - far better than mild steel barstock anyway. It's a bit risky hardening them as they may warp so mine are left in the soft state. (from: Russell Horswood) Old auto wheel bearings, separated into inner and outer races also make fine parallels.

ANOTHER BANDSAW MOD: For cutting short ends, add a jacking bolt to the rear edge of the moving jaw. You can adust the bolt to support the overhanging jaw so the part is securly held without straining the vice.

BENCH VICE MOD: Insert a thrust bearing between handle and movable jaw, makes it much easier to tighten and release. It's so much easier you'll have to be careful not to strip the thread by over-tightening.

BANISH WOBBLY TAILSTOCK BARRELS: On the Myford Super 7 (and other lathes) the tailstock is prevented from rotating by an internal key. This key soon works loose in it's bore - even from new, allowing the tailstock to rotate a little. Very annoying when drilling brass as the drill 'grabs' the workpiece. Remove the key and drill and tap the end 4 BA, replace and put a hex socket bolt and washer in to pull it up tight. No more wobbles.

HOW TO REMOVE WORN BUSHES FROM BLIND HOLES: Just turn up a piece of steel a close fit in the bore, 2/3 fill the hole with machine oil, place the steel rod in the hole and thump it with a hammer. The bush will have no option but to be driven out. Use grease instead of oil to reduce splattering

STRAIGHT LETTER PUNCHING: Use the edge of a piece of embossing tape to line up the letter/number punches, just peal off the backing and stick where you want to do some stamping. (from hallford@alpha1.net).

MARKING 'BLUE': As a beginning home machinest, I don't always have what I need to do a job. I needed a substitute for layout ink to coat a piece of work to show scribe marks, and happened upon a black dry-erase marker that I use on a white-board in my shop. It worked great! It uses a very "hot" solvent that seems to mark well even on an oily piece of work, shows scribes well, and wipes off easily. (Perhaps too easily...). Ordinary black markers don't seem to work very well, even the permanent ones that use a solvent-based ink. But the dry-erase type are great. (from: Pete carss).

T-BOLTS FOR LATHE/MILLER: I have found that a good inexpensive substitute for the T bolt is the coach bolts as used in joinery. The bolts have a square section below the head and a size can be bought to suit the slot size. In most cases the head diameter is too large and two flats can be ground, filed or milled to suit the wide lower section of the T slot. Likewise the head thickness is, in most cases, thicker than requiredand can be reduced in the lathe to suit. These bolts can be purchased in various lengths from hardware shops and it is not difficult to find a length to suit ones needs. I have personally been using them for some time without any problems or expense. (from: Douglas Paton).

MORE ON ANNEALING BALL BEARINGS: 1. Heat to cherry red. 2. Drop into a container (small tin can) filled with Lime. Must cover bearing. 3. Allow to it to cool by it's self. With some of the latest ball bearings, you may have to repeat the process. (from: Phil Frost).

SIZING SCREWS: A real simple way to figure the major diamter of a machine screw without having to look it up in the machinery's handbook is to take the screw size in question and multiply by 13 abd add 60. (EXAMPLE FOR A 4-40 SCREW: 4 X 13 + 60 = 112 (.112)) (from: HALLFORD).

SIZING HOLES: When attempting to enlarge a reamed hole ( which left the hole still slightly smaller than prefered) in smaller workpieces on the milling machine I have found that using an end-mill sometimes works... if an even larger size is required perhaps .0002 - .0005 more .... a piece of cigarette paper can be placed on ONE SIDE of the mill cutter shank before replacing in the collet to create a "controlled runout". (from: Tony " Oren " Biondo).

FILING BUMPS OFF: First, say you have a section that's raised above the rest of the piece(possibly from having the toolbit set to low when facing), and you want to file it down without scoring the surrounding metal, take a peice of paper. Cut a hole in it the size of what you want to file down, then place it over the work while filing. Works pretty good, IMHO. I picked it up out of a clock repair book. (from: Paul Anderson).

SOFT JAWS: Very effective soft jaws can be made from the fibre faced aluminium angle strip used by commercial floor layers as 'non slip stair nosing'. You first scrounge some offcuts then cut away excess and fold the ends round at right angles to give a good fit on the vice jaws. truly excellent for holding softer workpieces without damage. just dont tell the floor layers I sent you!. (from: John Paton).

LIGHTING IN THE WORKSHOP: You can make your lighting in the workshop much more flexible if you attach curtain rail to the ceiling, and hang fluorescent tube unit(s) from curtain runner hooks on it. The power cable is hung in loops from curtain hooks on the rail (like the power cables on some gantry cranes). Make sure it is a rail suitable for heavy curtains - most are. (A light railway, you might say?)
Another useful dodge is to mount a pull cord light switch on the ceiling, and attach a long nylon cord (I use braided, as sold for hanging pictures) to the pull cord, stretching the long cord to hooks at high reach level on the wall at each end. You can then switch the light on from anywhere along the bench (or whatever). (My bench and lathe area is 15 feet long) (from: Tony Finn).

SHARPENING BANDSAW BLADES:
My blades usually break long before they get blunt, but sometimes I try to cut something that's a bit too hard and the teeth are quickly blunted. This usually means the blade is scrap, but there is a way of giving it a second life. You need a diamond hone and just press the face lightly against the tips of the teeth with the band running at top speed. Keep the hone moving a little side-side, keep it square, rest it against the vice jaw to stop it being pulled along, and don't press hard - just let it run smoothly across the tips of the teeth. A couple of minutes of this will put new cutting edges on the teeth and the blade will cut like new!

TURNING THIN STOCK: When tring to hold a thin round piece in a lathe. Pull out your six inch scale and a bar magnet. Place the magnet on the backside of the scale and the part on the other with the scale flush against the chuck. This will help keep the part from wobbling. (from: Jay Sims).

DEALING WITH CAST IRON DUST: Machining cast iron is filthy job - especially so because it's mostly machined dry and the dust gets everywhere, this dust is potentially damaging to your lathe's internals and bearings. A neat trick is to put a powerful magnet (salvaged from a scrap computer hard-disk or loudspeaker) into a plastic bag and attach this close to the cutting tool. Most of the chips and dust that are sprayed off the workpiece will be captured by the magnetic field. To clean? just take the whole lot to the rubbish container and remove the magnet from inside the bag - turn the latter inside-out in the process and drop it into the container.

CONTROLING SILVER SOLDER: To prevent silver solder from leaking to unwanted places on the part(s) to be soldered, before you begin use your acetylene torch and with no oxygen, run the flame along the part(s) leaving behind a sooty covering. Now wipe off the area(s) to be soldered. The excess solder will not stick to the soot.. (from: Jay Sims).

THROWAWAY FACEPLATE: If you've ever had a really bizarre-shaped piece that's impossible to mount on the faceplate, try going to a garage and scrounging a scrapped-out brake disc (it must be a ventilated disc - they're much more rigid). The centre boss is machined very accurately (you can't have an out-of-true brake disc!) so mounting on the lathe is quick and easy. It'll need facing because it's undoubtedly scored - that's why it was thrown out. The advantage is that you can drill holes all over it, cut chunks out or weld brackets or counterweights etc. to it, knowing that it cost nothing and there are more where that came from. (from: Peter Harris).

CHUCK STORAGE: Put some wooden dowels into a wooden framework attached to the wall, add holes to accept the chuck keys, makes a great storage rack for both chucks and changewheels.

CLEAN TEETH: Old toothbrushes are great general purpose cleaning aids, with the chuck jaws removed try pressing the brush against the scroll and turning the chuck key - this will clean out the crud from the scroll.

CROSS-DRILLING: This simple fixture is for use on the drill-press, it's useful for making cross-drilled holes in tube or rod materials. It's made from square section mild steel, one end turned round to form a shank suitable for your drill chuck, the other has a deep 'V' milled across the end from one corner to the other. To use, simply catch it in the drill chuck, then place the work in your drill vice and position it uderneath the fixture. Drop the spindle down and slide the vice/work until the work sits in the 'V', then clamp the vice up. Note that the corners of the fixture indicate the position of the drilled hole, and this can be aligned with a mark made on the workpiece.

MORE ON STORAGE: Adding a sheet of polythene to the front of your materials storage shelves prevents chips and general mess collecting. You can also use vetical strips (like a vertical blind) if the polythene is strong enough, this helps accessibility.

CLEAN TEETH II: If you use a standard toothbrush to get good results when cleaning - try using an electric toothbrush to get even better results. This works especially well on small parts, and if you use an 'orange terpene' solvent cleaner at the same time things will be even better. Need to get a fine polish on something ? - use toothpaste - especially the products designed for smokers (as these are quite 'coarse') (Niall Saunders, NJS Technical Services).

SCALE NUTS & BOLTS: For making scale nuts at bolts etc. anneal old bent and broken Allen keys and machine to your requirements these are easily gripped in a 3 jaw chuck and come in a variety of sizes. (From: Jim Kerins).

KNURLING LONG PIECES: A good trick is to use a straight knurl and then use a sharp threading tool to cut grooves at regular intervals across the knurled surface, this gives an unusual and pleasing square pattern.....
Have you tried knurling on the slowest speed with the finest thread pitch engaged on your slide? With lots of oil on an aluminium bar I can turn great looking footpegs for the motorbike with no break in the knurling pattern. (From: Mark Barrett).

If you have a quick tip like those above I would be pleased to add them to the list, together with your name. Just send to:-
chrisheapy@btinternet.com

Return to home page

CLEANING HEADSTOCK MANDREL:	Essential job if damage to the taper socket is to be avoided when inserting taper shanks. If your mandrel bore is 2MT then you'll find a 12-gauge (shotgun) bronze-bristle brush will fit it closely. A couple of push-throughs from the headstock end will clean the bore clean as a whistle!
PRECISION OILER:	I have several 50ml plastic syringes fitted with blunt needles (16 gauge) and filled with different lubricating oils - they are great for putting oil just where you want it. They will squirt cutting oil where you want it when drilling deep holes, and with a larger bore needle you can use them for grease too - keeps messy black molybdenum grease off your hands. I even use a smaller one for applying marking blue paste (diluted with a little alcohol). Take a cotton bud with plastic stem (Q-Tip) and cut one bud off, fix the hollow stem onto the needle and the remaining cotton pad makes a great applicator. Replaced easily when it gets worn. Picture shows syringe oilers and blue applicator.
EASY BALL HANDLES:	I've got a spherical turning attachment, but even so I looked at the possibility of using ball bearings to make ball handles. Problem is drilling the darn things. Grinding flats on them to get beneath the hard surface doesn't work, neither will a carbide drill put a hole in one. So, anneal them first. You need a good handful to start with (big enough bulk of metal to cool slowly) and get them bright red, allow to cool slowly. When cool you'll find you can drill and tap them OK. Picture shows ball bearing drilled and tapped 2 b.a.
BURNISHING:	So, you've got your drilled and tapped balls but the surface is black and scaled. Best way of cleaning them up is to use a fine steel wire cup brush on your grinding spindle, add a little chrome cleaner paste (Autosol is good) and the finish will soon come back. Finish polishing with a mop if you want a shine.
MATERIALS STORAGE:	Tight for space? Try using cut lengths of plastic drain pipe, 2-3 inch diameter for storage. They will conveniently stack together on a horizontal shelf (mine is under the lathe), materials can be grouped together and re-arranged quickly and easily. Cheaper and less hassle than purpose-built storage racks. Picture shows this type of storage.
D.T.I. MOUNTING:	My rear tool post has a small fixed spindle 1/4" dia and 1/2" long projecting from the rear. The usual form of DTI mounting can be attached to this and swivelled backwards out of the way when not in use. I rarely need to remove the DTI from the machine saving setup time. I also have a dial-gauge fixed to a 3/8" bar of steel (drillied in-situ to garauntee centre height) which fits into a top-slide tool holder, handy for setting tapered work.
MYFORD SUPER 7 ZEROING DIALS:	As delivered, these are impossibly tight. I defy anyone to set to zero without inadvertently moving the ball-handle. Solution: remove the handle and dial. Squeeze the spring washer a little in a vice to reduce the high friction. Re-assemble using a THIN plain steel washer against the zero ring, followed by the spring washer and ball-handle. During assembly use a little molybedenum grease between mating surfaces. Mine now turns sweetly but without any danger of slipping.
RUBBER MATS:	As supplied by auto accessory shops (Halfords supply them) make fine non-slip work surfaces. I use one to protect my 18" x 12" surface plate , the fine bobbles underneath keeps the mat off the plate leaving the oil film in place. Cut sections are handy for protecting the lathe bed when removing chucks. From Alan Marshall These mats are also useful on the workshop floor as they collect swarf and stop it sticking to your shoes, they are easily cleaned, and pleasant to stand on - especially if the floor is concrete.
POOR MAN'S COLLET CHUCK:	You already have one! in the form of your lathe tailstock drill chuck. You may not realise it but the run-out on good quality Jacobs chucks (there are other accurate makes) is only a few 10ths. Far better than most 3-jaw lathe chucks. I have several spare and often use one in the headstock mandrel for small diameter work (use a draw-bar for turning). Out of interest, a quick test showed my Jacobs 34B gives 0.8 thou TRO, Validus keyless chuck 0.6 thou, and an elderly Jacobs keyless 1.5 thou.
POWER SUPPLY:	Check out your local radio spares shop for ex-eqipment PSUs (in the UK try Greenweld). I picked up a large capacity unit for 20 UKP some time ago, it will provide 5, -5, 12, -12 and 24V all in useful amperages. Run the low voltage wiring around the shop to provide power for low-voltage motors near your main machine tools.
A TOUCHING EXPERIENCE:	How do you tell when (for example) an end mill is just touching the work? Well, try insulating the work in the first place by clamping card or plastic sheet between work/vice jaws, connect a powered 12V auto bulb from work to tool (or chuck, or even machine body), when the light comes on the tool has just touched the work. Easier with the continuity check on a multi-meter if you have one. No, don't bother telling me it doesn't work with wood...
FILE HANDLES:	Made my needle file handles from 1/2" dural rod, drilled and Araldited on. Put a deep groove in near the end with a parting tool and they will hang nicely in a slotted piece of brass angle. Stops them getting lost.
CROSS DRILLING:	To set up for accurately cross drilling bar stock, grip a length of the same diameter bar in the drill chuck, and with the drill vice 'floating', grip the end of the bar in the jaws (position the vice such that the drill can pass through a central hole in the vice). Clamp the vice in place and insert drill into chuck in place of bar, and the piece to be cross-drilled in the vice.
TAILSTOCK 'SETOVER':	The problem with setting over the tailstock is the time it takes to re-set to zero. There are two ways round this, either make an adjustable 'setover centre' whereby a stub centre slides radially and can be clamped in place, or use a boring head with a 60 deg point in place of the boring tool - the graduated slide providing the setover. In either case, the angle of the radial slide must be set parallel with the top of the lathe bed.
SMALL HOLE GAUGES:	You can make your own quite easily if you have a spherical turning attachment. Turn a nominal size ball (1/2" as an example) on the end of a length of silver steel, turn down the diameter behind the ball to about 5/16". Drill right through 3/16" and bore a 15 deg tapered hole in the end on the ball. Now cut 2 slots for half the length using a fine slitting saw. Turn up a cone-shaped wedge to fit, with a 3/16" x 40 threaded shank to fit the bore of the shaft, and use a knurled nut on the end to adjust the wedging action. The split ball can now be expanded inside the hole to be measured and the size of the bore checked with a micrometer. This is more accurate than using the inside jaws of your callipers.
BANDSAW MOD:	Adjusting the vice on the generic type of metal-cutting bandsaw usually involves fishing around under the table with a pair of spanners. Replacing the supplied nuts and bolts with long T-bolts and captive nuts makes this job much easier. Picture shows the 2 T-bolts required.
MYFORD QC GEARBOX INDICATOR:	The layshaft in the Myford QC gearbox revolves twice for each full turn of the leadscrew. You can make use of this by marking the large black end cap with 4 divisions, and a corresponding index mark on the gearbox case. Make one division bolder than the rest. Each division equals 1/64" logitudinal travel of the carriage.
QUICK SCALE VALVE HANDLES:	Not really a workshop tip, but generally useful for modellers. Small valve handles can be made by bunching seven 1/8" dia x 3/32" bore brass tubes together, and silver soldering the lot. Make sure the gaps between the tubes are filled with the solder. You can then part off slices about 1/8" thick, thread the center hole, and presto - you have neat valve handles which look good and offer a good grip.
A BETTER COUNTERSINK:	Annoyed by chattering countersinks? this home-made 2-flute design cuts cleanly and is quick to make. It's a bit more sophisticated than the D-bit type and can be used off-hand in your power drill. Click here for a more detailed description.
TOOLPOST GRINDING:	You can use your angle grinder mounted on the top-slide for external grinding, a smaller die grinder -type tool can be used for internal grinding. Click here to read more about my experiments with these methods.
CHEAP PARALLELS	: A good set of parallels is essential in the workshop for setting up work on the faceplate, boring table and machine vice. They are also very expensive. I have tripled the size of my collection by using 4" lengths of gauge plate simply cut to length in pairs. You may end up having to buy 18" lengths to start with but it's still far cheaper, and you have some left over for other jobs. The ground finish is accurate enough for most workshop use - far better than mild steel barstock anyway. It's a bit risky hardening them as they may warp so mine are left in the soft state. (from: Russell Horswood) Old auto wheel bearings, separated into inner and outer races also make fine parallels.
ANOTHER BANDSAW MOD:	For cutting short ends, add a jacking bolt to the rear edge of the moving jaw. You can adust the bolt to support the overhanging jaw so the part is securly held without straining the vice.
BENCH VICE MOD:	Insert a thrust bearing between handle and movable jaw, makes it much easier to tighten and release. It's so much easier you'll have to be careful not to strip the thread by over-tightening.
BANISH WOBBLY TAILSTOCK BARRELS:	On the Myford Super 7 (and other lathes) the tailstock is prevented from rotating by an internal key. This key soon works loose in it's bore - even from new, allowing the tailstock to rotate a little. Very annoying when drilling brass as the drill 'grabs' the workpiece. Remove the key and drill and tap the end 4 BA, replace and put a hex socket bolt and washer in to pull it up tight. No more wobbles.
HOW TO REMOVE WORN BUSHES FROM BLIND HOLES:	Just turn up a piece of steel a close fit in the bore, 2/3 fill the hole with machine oil, place the steel rod in the hole and thump it with a hammer. The bush will have no option but to be driven out. Use grease instead of oil to reduce splattering
STRAIGHT LETTER PUNCHING:	Use the edge of a piece of embossing tape to line up the letter/number punches, just peal off the backing and stick where you want to do some stamping. (from hallford@alpha1.net).
MARKING 'BLUE':	As a beginning home machinest, I don't always have what I need to do a job. I needed a substitute for layout ink to coat a piece of work to show scribe marks, and happened upon a black dry-erase marker that I use on a white-board in my shop. It worked great! It uses a very "hot" solvent that seems to mark well even on an oily piece of work, shows scribes well, and wipes off easily. (Perhaps too easily...). Ordinary black markers don't seem to work very well, even the permanent ones that use a solvent-based ink. But the dry-erase type are great. (from: Pete carss).
T-BOLTS FOR LATHE/MILLER:	I have found that a good inexpensive substitute for the T bolt is the coach bolts as used in joinery. The bolts have a square section below the head and a size can be bought to suit the slot size. In most cases the head diameter is too large and two flats can be ground, filed or milled to suit the wide lower section of the T slot. Likewise the head thickness is, in most cases, thicker than requiredand can be reduced in the lathe to suit. These bolts can be purchased in various lengths from hardware shops and it is not difficult to find a length to suit ones needs. I have personally been using them for some time without any problems or expense. (from: Douglas Paton).
MORE ON ANNEALING BALL BEARINGS:	1. Heat to cherry red. 2. Drop into a container (small tin can) filled with Lime. Must cover bearing. 3. Allow to it to cool by it's self. With some of the latest ball bearings, you may have to repeat the process. (from: Phil Frost).
SIZING SCREWS:	A real simple way to figure the major diamter of a machine screw without having to look it up in the machinery's handbook is to take the screw size in question and multiply by 13 abd add 60. (EXAMPLE FOR A 4-40 SCREW: 4 X 13 + 60 = 112 (.112)) (from: HALLFORD).
SIZING HOLES:	When attempting to enlarge a reamed hole ( which left the hole still slightly smaller than prefered) in smaller workpieces on the milling machine I have found that using an end-mill sometimes works... if an even larger size is required perhaps .0002 - .0005 more .... a piece of cigarette paper can be placed on ONE SIDE of the mill cutter shank before replacing in the collet to create a "controlled runout". (from: Tony " Oren " Biondo).
FILING BUMPS OFF:	First, say you have a section that's raised above the rest of the piece(possibly from having the toolbit set to low when facing), and you want to file it down without scoring the surrounding metal, take a peice of paper. Cut a hole in it the size of what you want to file down, then place it over the work while filing. Works pretty good, IMHO. I picked it up out of a clock repair book. (from: Paul Anderson).
SOFT JAWS:	Very effective soft jaws can be made from the fibre faced aluminium angle strip used by commercial floor layers as 'non slip stair nosing'. You first scrounge some offcuts then cut away excess and fold the ends round at right angles to give a good fit on the vice jaws. truly excellent for holding softer workpieces without damage. just dont tell the floor layers I sent you!. (from: John Paton).
LIGHTING IN THE WORKSHOP:	You can make your lighting in the workshop much more flexible if you attach curtain rail to the ceiling, and hang fluorescent tube unit(s) from curtain runner hooks on it. The power cable is hung in loops from curtain hooks on the rail (like the power cables on some gantry cranes). Make sure it is a rail suitable for heavy curtains - most are. (A light railway, you might say?) Another useful dodge is to mount a pull cord light switch on the ceiling, and attach a long nylon cord (I use braided, as sold for hanging pictures) to the pull cord, stretching the long cord to hooks at high reach level on the wall at each end. You can then switch the light on from anywhere along the bench (or whatever). (My bench and lathe area is 15 feet long) (from: Tony Finn).
SHARPENING BANDSAW BLADES:	My blades usually break long before they get blunt, but sometimes I try to cut something that's a bit too hard and the teeth are quickly blunted. This usually means the blade is scrap, but there is a way of giving it a second life. You need a diamond hone and just press the face lightly against the tips of the teeth with the band running at top speed. Keep the hone moving a little side-side, keep it square, rest it against the vice jaw to stop it being pulled along, and don't press hard - just let it run smoothly across the tips of the teeth. A couple of minutes of this will put new cutting edges on the teeth and the blade will cut like new!
TURNING THIN STOCK:	When tring to hold a thin round piece in a lathe. Pull out your six inch scale and a bar magnet. Place the magnet on the backside of the scale and the part on the other with the scale flush against the chuck. This will help keep the part from wobbling. (from: Jay Sims).
DEALING WITH CAST IRON DUST:	Machining cast iron is filthy job - especially so because it's mostly machined dry and the dust gets everywhere, this dust is potentially damaging to your lathe's internals and bearings. A neat trick is to put a powerful magnet (salvaged from a scrap computer hard-disk or loudspeaker) into a plastic bag and attach this close to the cutting tool. Most of the chips and dust that are sprayed off the workpiece will be captured by the magnetic field. To clean? just take the whole lot to the rubbish container and remove the magnet from inside the bag - turn the latter inside-out in the process and drop it into the container.
CONTROLING SILVER SOLDER:	To prevent silver solder from leaking to unwanted places on the part(s) to be soldered, before you begin use your acetylene torch and with no oxygen, run the flame along the part(s) leaving behind a sooty covering. Now wipe off the area(s) to be soldered. The excess solder will not stick to the soot.. (from: Jay Sims).
THROWAWAY FACEPLATE:	If you've ever had a really bizarre-shaped piece that's impossible to mount on the faceplate, try going to a garage and scrounging a scrapped-out brake disc (it must be a ventilated disc - they're much more rigid). The centre boss is machined very accurately (you can't have an out-of-true brake disc!) so mounting on the lathe is quick and easy. It'll need facing because it's undoubtedly scored - that's why it was thrown out. The advantage is that you can drill holes all over it, cut chunks out or weld brackets or counterweights etc. to it, knowing that it cost nothing and there are more where that came from. (from: Peter Harris).
CHUCK STORAGE:	Put some wooden dowels into a wooden framework attached to the wall, add holes to accept the chuck keys, makes a great storage rack for both chucks and changewheels.
CLEAN TEETH:	Old toothbrushes are great general purpose cleaning aids, with the chuck jaws removed try pressing the brush against the scroll and turning the chuck key - this will clean out the crud from the scroll.
CROSS-DRILLING:	This simple fixture is for use on the drill-press, it's useful for making cross-drilled holes in tube or rod materials. It's made from square section mild steel, one end turned round to form a shank suitable for your drill chuck, the other has a deep 'V' milled across the end from one corner to the other. To use, simply catch it in the drill chuck, then place the work in your drill vice and position it uderneath the fixture. Drop the spindle down and slide the vice/work until the work sits in the 'V', then clamp the vice up. Note that the corners of the fixture indicate the position of the drilled hole, and this can be aligned with a mark made on the workpiece.
MORE ON STORAGE:	Adding a sheet of polythene to the front of your materials storage shelves prevents chips and general mess collecting. You can also use vetical strips (like a vertical blind) if the polythene is strong enough, this helps accessibility.
CLEAN TEETH II:	If you use a standard toothbrush to get good results when cleaning - try using an electric toothbrush to get even better results. This works especially well on small parts, and if you use an 'orange terpene' solvent cleaner at the same time things will be even better. Need to get a fine polish on something ? - use toothpaste - especially the products designed for smokers (as these are quite 'coarse') (Niall Saunders, NJS Technical Services).
SCALE NUTS & BOLTS:	For making scale nuts at bolts etc. anneal old bent and broken Allen keys and machine to your requirements these are easily gripped in a 3 jaw chuck and come in a variety of sizes. (From: Jim Kerins).
KNURLING LONG PIECES:	A good trick is to use a straight knurl and then use a sharp threading tool to cut grooves at regular intervals across the knurled surface, this gives an unusual and pleasing square pattern..... Have you tried knurling on the slowest speed with the finest thread pitch engaged on your slide? With lots of oil on an aluminium bar I can turn great looking footpegs for the motorbike with no break in the knurling pattern. (From: Mark Barrett).

WORKSHOP TIPS

If you have a quick tip like those above I would be pleased to add them to the list, together with your name. Just send to:- chrisheapy@btinternet.com

Return to home page

If you have a quick tip like those above I would be pleased to add them to the list, together with your name. Just send to:-
chrisheapy@btinternet.com