Above 1200 Sq/FT Eastern Washington Workshop

[slodat]

I got a tension/compression tapping chuck with the Haas. It's a Japanese made Tecnara and it works great. I have a few collets and they have been rolling around in a Shaller bin. I realized I needed another size. That lead to some ebay best offer action. Now I need a better way to organize and store what will be a full set #6 through 1/2. Spent some time in Fusion..



Some time for the X1C to do its thing..



As I learn to model things, I try to add more detail when it makes sense. The pockets for these collets are a great example. Tray turned out great.



Continuing to work on getting the shop ready for new machine day. These will be the last for a while I'm thinking. The plasma table water bladder came apart with no fuss. I'm really happy with how well that has turned out. The plasma is up on dollies ready to move. I changed the oil in the mini truck today. Realized it's probably the last time the lift will have a vehicle on it. Strange how things have evolved in the shop. Been a wild ride for sure!

 

[MadeByMiller]

Autsin - I have everything it would take to make a tooling cart, should the need arise. I have some other ideas I can PM you about.

Tom hit all the points right on. I bought my Huot cart new because I like clean stuff and I never found a used one after looking for quite a while.

Yes, please message me here or on IG with whatever ideas you may have!

 

[nicholam77]

As I learn to model things, I try to add more detail when it makes sense. The pockets for these collets are a great example. Tray turned out great.

Wow that part turned out nice!!

 

[slodat]

It really did! After trying to place and remove the collets I decided to open up the dimensions on the pockets a little so things don't stick. This is the beauty of 3d printing. The new part is being made while I do other things. I can't recommend ironing enough. It's a completely different level of quality with the ironing on the top surfaces.

 

[GeddyT]

Does your new machine have rigid tapping?

 

[slodat]

Does your new machine have rigid tapping?

The Haas and the new machine (YMC Rebel 1) both have rigid tapping. I'm using the tension/compression head because I have it, and it is working really well. I'll also load up some taps in the ER16 collets. Just haven't tried the rigid tapping yet.

 

[slodat]

More prep work for new machine day today.



Lathe goes where the plasma is sitting. VMC where the plasma was (the right area of the photo.

A few things left tomorrow and I’m as ready as I’m going to get until the machines arrive. I ordered a water filter for my coolant. This is about as involved in coolant water treatment as I want to get. I think it will work well.



Looks like I’ll be running a water line to this part of the shop. I think a Freddy Micro+ coolant processor is on the short list. A buddy just got one. It makes cleaning out the coolant tank, filtering chips and such out of coolant, cleaning up spills, etc really easy. Not cheap, but I think worth it.

 

[GeddyT]

If you get a Freddy, I'll be awfully jealous. I used a cheap fluid transfer pump to a barrel.

 

[zanyad]

Some nice progress there.

Looks like I’ll be running a water line to this part of the shop. I think a Freddy Micro+ coolant processor is on the short list. A buddy just got one. It makes cleaning out the coolant tank, filtering chips and such out of coolant, cleaning up spills, etc really easy. Not cheap, but I think worth it.

Looked at it, seems slick. If you don't mind my asking, how much does one of those processors run?

 

[slodat]

The Micro+ is $3150 plus truck freight. The CEO of Freddy Products was on Within Tolerance last week or two. Between that and my buddy getting one, it is clear it’s a lifetime tool, and it makes maintaining the coolant and keeping the sump clean a much less ****** task and process. Coolant is expensive. I don’t want the shop to smell like **** either. I may have to wait, but it’s on the short list.

 

[slodat]

When I started looking for inspection stuff after getting the surface plate, I came across the Hermann Schmidt surface gage.



Clearly a very nice tool that would outlast me. Everything they make is of the highest quality. More searching for a good deal and I discovered this was actually made by Murkens Precision Tool. They sell direct for a significantly lower price. I sent an email, and they quickly answered my questions. If I understand correctly, Dave Jr. is making these. UPS just dropped this off:





Really nice tool that will be a pleasure every time I use it.

 

[MadeByMiller]

More prep work for new machine day today.



Lathe goes where the plasma is sitting. VMC where the plasma was (the right area of the photo.

A few things left tomorrow and I’m as ready as I’m going to get until the machines arrive. I ordered a water filter for my coolant. This is about as involved in coolant water treatment as I want to get. I think it will work well.



Looks like I’ll be running a water line to this part of the shop. I think a Freddy Micro+ coolant processor is on the short list. A buddy just got one. It makes cleaning out the coolant tank, filtering chips and such out of coolant, cleaning up spills, etc really easy. Not cheap, but I think worth it.

I assume your buddy is Joe from Random Fabrication? He's the customer I'm designing the tooling rack for by the way. Big moves (literally) happening at your place, exciting!

 

[slodat]

I assume your buddy is Joe from Random Fabrication? He's the customer I'm designing the tooling rack for by the way. Big moves (literally) happening at your place, exciting!

Busted! That's funny. Joe and I have been talking about.. pretty much anything and everything for some time.

I'm ready for the stuff to be here already. SO much work when a new machine arrives. In this case when moving a machine as well. Looks like I have what I need. Tomorrow will be fun when it's done.

 

[zanyad]

Good luck with the move today!

 

[rattle_snake]

...waiting for pics of new machine....

 

[rmack898]

The only thing I bought from Herman Schmidt was their edge finder. It’s hard to believe that such a simple tool could be made so much better than all the rest.

 

[slodat]

Mac - I agree. I bought the Murkens surface gage at least in part because the son is still making them, and the price wasn't much different than the price of a new Starrett. When it comes to the precision measuring and inspection tools, I will have them the rest of my life. Because of this I tend to be willing to invest in new and well-maintained used examples. Once I realize I need something, if a quick craigslist, ebay, etc search doesn't yield anything I just order it.

In other news.. new machine day was postponed to tomorrow. Fingers crossed. Today was really something else. I won't waste anyone's time with it here. Eye on the prize - both machines are supposed to make their way here tomorrow, one at a time.

 

[GeddyT]

Murkens? Aren't those pubic hair wigs?...

 

[slodat]

Off to a good start! Seller is on his way with the first machine. Now to move the plasma.

Waited to move the plasma to minimize rental costs on the telehandler. It has a LoJack. They charge by number of days it’s used. Even for short period of time. Pics to follow.

 

[Finallygotit]

I don’t want the shop to smell like **** either. I may have to wait, but it’s on the short list.

Every now and again we would walk into the shop after a weekend and there was this nasty-*** funk odor that hit you in the face. Time to find the culprit and go about the ever so lovely task of cleaning out the tank. I'm surprise we didn't contract some kind of fungus. Damn that was nasty! Today's coolants are soooooo much better that the stuff we used to have.

Good luck with the move and the new acquisitions!!!

 

[slodat]

A photo essay of the day..



Seller’s truck had a hard time. He made it here.



This is how the seller suggested lifting. We had a little drama when the forks crossed over. Big pucker moment. We set it on the dunnage and did a separate wrap of chain on each fork.



The driveway is a difficult obstacle. The 10k telehandler made quick work of it.





This has become my favorite shot.. watching the machine approach the door opening.



Lifting from above meant we had to set the machine down partially outside the building, reposition, and slide inside.



Once inside we rigged it off the dunnage and onto the skates. Once on the skates we had to rotate 90 degrees and then move into position. The 3 ton come along style hoist was perfect. I bought it after the lighter duty come along broke while trying to move the Pacemaker. It was so nice having the rigging equipment I bought after that day. We used the floor anchors and tugger for most of the movements.



Rigging is real work. Very physical with a serious mental component. My two buddies are ******* aces. We had a good day working together. One of the best ways to spend time together. I’m lucky to have them!



All told we had two solid hours of rigging the machine into this final position. Plenty of room where I *think* I’ll need it.



Wider angle view. Lathe is coming tomorrow. It goes straight inside the other door.

So much work to do. Grateful to have this machine in place.

 

[bugnut]

Nice work. Agree completely on the riggers, good ones are worth their weight, not so good, please leave the premises. I have learned much on how to move heavy stuff from the good ones.

 

[rmack898]

It scares me when I see things lifted with chains.
Glad ti see the machine in it's new home.

 

[jon72vega]

We had a used die cast machine purchased from an auction delivered to our factory recently.
The riggers had a bad day..... Good thing they have good insurance.
Die cast machine move-in by jon72vega, on Flickr
Die cast machine move-in by jon72vega, on Flickr
Die cast machine move-in by jon72vega, on Flickr

 

[slodat]

Mac- I was not a fan of the chain on the initial pick. As these things go, time and time again it has proven a moment for cool heads and consensus. We were able to get the load on the ground and adjust things. Some lessons learned on this one for sure.

These are my first machines over three tons. I have a few 3 ton machines. The additional 2,000 pounds is a different beast when it comes to moving and rigging. The Okuma is either 8k or 10k lbs. I’ve read different numbers in the docs I’ve found online. It has fork pockets. The rental company bought six foot forks finally. The last several times they’ve sent five foot when I’ve asked for six. That extra foot really helps moving these machines.

Jon- that’s no good. I think these are the biggest machines we will rig ourselves. The quotes I’ve received is $10k to get a machine from the trailer to the shop.

 

[Mr.zippy]

Not sure if it’s just me, but it looks like the seller didn’t have enough tow rig for that load?
Glad to see the new equipment in place safely!

 

[slodat]

Not sure if it’s just me, but it looks like the seller didn’t have enough tow rig for that load?
Glad to see the new equipment in place safely!

Honestly, I don't know if it is or not. I'm glad the machine is in place, too.

 

[GeddyT]

Jon- that’s no good. I think these are the biggest machines we will rig ourselves. The quotes I’ve received is $10k to get a machine from the trailer to the shop.

WHAT!? Does that include trucking from southern Argentina!? Would they have to forklift the machine over a pit of lava!? Is that pit of lava full of lava-proof giant sharks!?

The most frustrating part about buying my machine was getting rigging quotes. The local riggers are all so busy that none of them get back to you or quote absurd prices. Since I was auction shopping, it made it a big leap of faith when I couldn't get a rigging bid prior to the actual sale. It forced me to have to pass on anything that wasn't a crazy good deal, as I had to assume top dollar for rigging and shipping on top of the machine cost.

I ended up just doing some Google research, applied what I thought was fair inflation, and came up with a range of up to $1500 for a localish move. When I actually bought the machine, it was at an auction that had contracted with two local riggers, so I had no choice but to use one of the two. The first quoted me nearly $4000, the second was something sub-$3000. That's for a ~70 mile move of a 5-ton machine, paved driveway but steeper (had to unload in the neighbor's driveway and drive it down the shoulder with the forklift), and sliding it in a door that's to-the-inch the height of the machine.

Both quotes were painfully higher than I'd budgeted, but not $10K! Kudos to you for pulling that move off yourself. Totally the way to go if you have the tools and skills.

Excited to see the lathe!

 

[slodat]

Today is Okuma day!




As is typically the case with lathes, the weight is on the headstock end. The 6' forks on the telehandler were really nice. Pick went well.







The 10k telehandler was putting in some work when it got to the incline. It handled it like a champ!



Shot of the lathe approaching the door.



Lathe inside the shop on some dunnage. I'll rotate and get it into position this week.



Really clean for a 37 year old machine.



That's a LOT of vintage electronics. Here's hoping they give me another five years of reliable service!

All in all a great weekend. My body is pretty a little sore. I had to get the mill off the skates today. It's on its feet. Lots to do!

 

[slodat]

I kept forgetting to update my production parts and turn on ironing. I remembered and this is the result.



As far as I'm concerned, that is an incredible print. Really happy with the X1C!

 

[slodat]

WHAT!? Does that include trucking from southern Argentina!? Would they have to forklift the machine over a pit of lava!? Is that pit of lava full of lava-proof giant sharks!?

The most frustrating part about buying my machine was getting rigging quotes. The local riggers are all so busy that none of them get back to you or quote absurd prices. Since I was auction shopping, it made it a big leap of faith when I couldn't get a rigging bid prior to the actual sale. It forced me to have to pass on anything that wasn't a crazy good deal, as I had to assume top dollar for rigging and shipping on top of the machine cost.

I ended up just doing some Google research, applied what I thought was fair inflation, and came up with a range of up to $1500 for a localish move. When I actually bought the machine, it was at an auction that had contracted with two local riggers, so I had no choice but to use one of the two. The first quoted me nearly $4000, the second was something sub-$3000. That's for a ~70 mile move of a 5-ton machine, paved driveway but steeper (had to unload in the neighbor's driveway and drive it down the shoulder with the forklift), and sliding it in a door that's to-the-inch the height of the machine.

Both quotes were painfully higher than I'd budgeted, but not $10K! Kudos to you for pulling that move off yourself. Totally the way to go if you have the tools and skills.

Excited to see the lathe!

I feel like it's the penalty for living in a small town. They have to truck their equipment here, bonding, insurance, etc. I'm happy with the way 8-10,000 pounds went today. The thing with the VMC's is they are physically huge. The lathe weighs more, but was less volume. It felt a lot easier. Not sure why. Maybe because we were tired from yesterday. I would be fine with $3k. I'll have about $2400 in the telehandler rental because of the second day. None of this is cheap.

 

[Jayman17]

You are really making big changes to your shop in the last several months! Fun to watch from where I’m sitting. Good luck to you as head in a new direction.

 

[SW50th]

Those pics of the heavy machines approaching your door reminded me of something

 

[slodat]

Each step up in the industrial machine hierarchy is a new level of tooling, work holding, speed, power, rigidity, etc. I ran the Acra 16x40 today to modify a few bolts. It's the first time I've used the lathe in a while. My muscle memory is tuned to the Pacemaker. It was wild how small and underpowered the Acra felt, compared to the "smaller" 14x30, but 15HP Pacemaker. Meaning the Acra is no slouch, and a quite capable lathe. Well.. the Okuma is a step up from the Pacemaker in some aspects. Definitely in the overall weight category. The Okuma has a 7.5HP continuous, 10HP 30 minute rated spindle motor. Anyway..

The last couple days haven't felt very productive, yet I've worked in the shop the whole day both days. The Okuma is now in place and down on the leveling feet.



The coolant tank hose (pump suction) is old. It kinked when I tried to route it through the base casting. Ordered a replacement. This means the coolant tank can't be assembled until the new hose is installed. Back to the lathe tooling. CNC lathes use hydraulics for the chuck, turret operation, tailstock, and I'm sure other stuff on bigger machines. The hydraulic chuck is pretty sweet. The lathe came with the industry standard Kitagawa hydraulic 3 jaw, and a very nice Kitagawa collet chuck.



I need a set of jaw nuts, and a set of jaws for this chuck. I'm pretty sure I'll be ordering stepped hard jaws for it. This is similar to what you'd see on manual lathe chuck jaws. In this case that's about $500. Nothing on a CNC lathe is "cheap". There are inexpensive import options, but I've read enough of the problems that I'll stay away for this particular part.



This is the collet chuck - B42 index. I believe the largest collet size is 1-5/8.



The deal included 42 collets. Really sweet setup.

The DNC Pro arrived.



This is a slick little device. The fact that it has wireless is enough to make it edge out the Calmotion. Being half the price makes it a slam dunk. It has magnets on the back, so it takes zero minutes to install. I will be ordering another so the Okuma and the VMC both have one.



File transfer is drag and drop via Windows explorer. Easy peasy. I need to get the serial cables sorted out for both machines, and this should be good to go.

I got the plasma table water bladder setup reassembled. I used an inexpensive drill powered transfer pump to put the fluid back in the tanks from the temporary containers. I'm still blown away at how well the water table bladder system works. It's an enormous quality of life improvement.

 

[Chrisb62]

I'm pretty sure I'll be ordering stepped hard jaws for it

We have a few HAAS at work and the soft jaws have excellent repeatability, both steel and aluminum versions. Not sure what your plans are for usage so not sure if that helps you or not.

 

[zanyad]

I need a set of jaw nuts, and a set of jaws for this chuck.

You can also make the jaw nuts, you certainly have both the machines and the capability! I'd recommend longer T-nuts with two threaded holes to match your top jaws' hole spacing. Makes things much easier.

I'm pretty sure I'll be ordering stepped hard jaws for it.

As @Chrisb62 mentioned, soft jaws are a tried and true option.

Another one is to get a set of soft jaws and mill them for serrated grippers. The serrations on the chuck master jaws allow you to adjust for different stock diameters, and the grippers will bite into your stock to hold very securely. I've made a set of top jaws with two square gripper pads in line perpendicular to the chuck face on each, and with a step/taper on the face of the jaws for tooling clearance. Worked very well when running bar stock through the spindle. I marked both master and top jaws for the sizes of stock we ran regularly. That made changeovers super easy.

I never did run this style of jaw with material larger than the spindle through hole though. The angled grippers seem like they'd be a good solution for that, mounted to a set of soft jaws as above.

 

[slodat]

We have a few HAAS at work and the soft jaws have excellent repeatability, both steel and aluminum versions. Not sure what your plans are for usage so not sure if that helps you or not.

I will be holding material for OP1. Based on what I have read, hard jaws sound like a good way to go. This is my first hydraulic chuck. I welcome input. My thinking is one set of hard jaws vs. 6 sets of soft jaws for the different diameter material I work with.

 

[slodat]

You can also make the jaw nuts, you certainly have both the machines and the capability! I'd recommend longer T-nuts with two threaded holes to match your top jaws' hole spacing. Makes things much easier.


As @Chrisb62 mentioned, soft jaws are a tried and true option.

Another one is to get a set of soft jaws and mill them for serrated grippers. The serrations on the chuck master jaws allow you to adjust for different stock diameters, and the grippers will bite into your stock to hold very securely. I've made a set of top jaws with two square gripper pads in line perpendicular to the chuck face on each, and with a step/taper on the face of the jaws for tooling clearance. Worked very well when running bar stock through the spindle. I marked both master and top jaws for the sizes of stock we ran regularly. That made changeovers super easy.

I never did run this style of jaw with material larger than the spindle through hole though. The angled grippers seem like they'd be a good solution for that, mounted to a set of soft jaws as above.

I was planning on buying the jaw nuts as a time saving exercise. I have plenty to do. The jaw nuts I was looking at are two holes, like you described.

I'd love to see photos of the jaws you are describing. For the life of me I can't picture it.

 

[zanyad]

I'd love to see photos of the jaws you are describing. For the life of me I can't picture it.

No photos, maybe a quick sketch will suffice? The 1x1 gripper pads go in the slot, held in by one screw each.

 

[zanyad]

BTW who the f--- decided non-square graph paper is a good idea???