Recent content by ewe0006

I like the reusable stem & ferrule fittings, like these: http://www.dultmeier.com/products/0.691.692/498. You can get them from MSC or McMaster-Carr. Solid connection, never had a single issue after using thousands of them. Not that this really addresses OP's question, but they make sizes...

I know what you mean... I spent two years squaring up blocks as a tool and die-makers apprentice. 12 hours a day face-milling 420 and 440 stainless, piling blue-hot chips 18" deep around the shop, and wearing long sleeves and leather gloves on hot Texas summer days. It takes some dedication!

Depends on the circumstances, but basically any high-end cutting tools for CNC machines are not going to be cheap. For us, it was cheaper than a broaching machine, and less headaches than subcontracting the work. There's really not a lot to the mechanics, just good bearings that can stand up...

You're close... Conventional broaching pushes a form tool straight into/through the workpiece. Rotary broaching, done on a lathe, angles the tool about 1 degree off the centerline of the workpiece. The broach is allowed to spin freely, and is pushed into the workpiece. As the workpiece...

I guess it would make more sense if I prefaced that by saying, in order to pay the bills, I work for an aerospace company where I program CNC lathes and mills using CATIA, Esprit and G-Zero, CMMs (fancy measuring machines) with PC-DMIS, and develop front-ends for all of these applications using...

Absolutely at some level, I guess I'm more thinking about how, like the software and the methodologies... I would definitely love to see how that part of it is done. Doing a Google search of "nissin tube bender" yields the Popular Science article Mesmerizing Tube Bender Looks Like It's Pooping...

Watching that video makes me curious... Do you need a CNC programmer for it? In any case, that thing is sweet, and I want one!

Like A_Pmech said, temperature is serious stuff in metrology. When the guys come out to calibrate the CMMs at my work (aerospace shop), they ship their standards SEVERAL DAYS ahead so they can soak and stabilize at the proper temperature. About the cheapest way to check that diameter yourself...

Lab Safety and Supply (LSS.com) has a lot of choices. I bought two identical pairs of steel frame safety glasses from them, one for work and one for the range. I think they were about $12 a pair. Edit: I bought the MCR Safety brand, "Barbwire" model. They're $13.10 each for the clear lenses...

MSC sells Durham storage drawers that are the same thing as the one on the right in the first picture (page 3134 if anyone is interested). $107.06 for a four drawer rack, and about $40 for each box for a total of about $270. Not cheap at all.

Fowler is not the cheapest of Chinese ****; they're charging you a $10-20 premium to have the Fowler name screen-printed on the cheapest of Chinese ****. That makes it less so cheap... :)

Sounds like a set screw. They tend to need the less common sizes, like the 1229/6050" key that wasn't included in my set... :eyecrazy:

I've never used a Kafer tool of any kind. However, the guys at Long Island Indicator are knowledgeable and honest, and won't hesitate to tell you when something they're paid to sell is junk you shouldn't buy.

Free tools? Sign me up! I know my advice is probably more helpful for someone looking for a trade tool to use day in and day out, but I like to buy the best for the job, no matter how seldom it may be. As far as metrology, almost everything I have is of Swiss origin (inherited from my Dutch...

I used to work in a tool and die shop, and now for a company that makes part for landing gear. I'm not a professional machinist, but this is my take on test indicators from what I've seen over the years: Mitutoyo (Japan) - High quality, reasonable price. My department has a .0005 and a .0001...