swarfie said:

GarethBell said:

Don't worry about it :)

I saw a video on youtube once, of a guy running a treadle lathe. I reckoned he would have one huge leg, and would walk in circles everywhere haha.

As for cutting steel, I've been using my TiN coated HSS endmill (not the knackered one) and I've been taking .5mm cuts with it, I rigged up a very ugly misting system and it seemed to work alright, yesterday I really tightened the bolts on the column and I think that has helped somewhat.

I find it very hard to take cuts that are too big when the cutter ( of any type) is overloaded the belt slips. This is much better than before I moved to belts because it would just blow the fuse a rather irritating quirk. I must have bought 50 fuses give or take, since I've gone belt driven, I've not blown a single one.

I know what you mean about glaring design faults. The quill lock on my mill used to be an 8mm cap screw on the side, the instructions didn't mention it and for a long time I had no idea that you could lock it. I saw someone had on a website somewhere and made my own handle for it, I think not being able to lock it destroyed my quill feed resulting in having to make a new one.

Thanks for the compliment regarding complex projects. It is nice to feel that someone else thinks I've done an alright job :P

Gareth.

The welsh are said to have a similar Handicap(one leg longer than the other)as a result of walking on the hillsides….lol.I will be sad if this comment is taken as 'racist',I like the welsh,and besides,I come from an era when 'political correctness' was not a pain in the ass fact of life.That's my excuse,and I'm sticking to it!.lol.Your misting system sounds good,altho' a small brush works as well.Cutting fluid is good,it will help get a better finish.Here are a few reccomendation that may help:

Steel………..soluble oil.

hard Rubber…………..water.

Aluminium…………….kerosene(parafin)

Cast Iron,brass,copper and plastics,do not reccomend using a cutting fluid,so far as I know.Using a cutting fluid will help give a better finish,,and make cutting easier for the machine.Hope this is of help.

                                                                                             Tony.(Swarfie)

Concerning the slipping issue,automotive flat belts are the best.(I'm assuming you're using a 'V" belt)When you think about it,they do a lot of work,and don't slip.They have to drive the alternator,water pump,airconditioning unit,sometimes the fan all at the same time.This all adds up to a power requirement of around 15 hp,and they usually never slip.They can also be cut to a smaller width quite easily.the only disadvantage is that you'd have to make pulleys to suit.

                                                                           Tony. 

                                                                          

GarethBell said:

Hahah yeah PC is so irritating. I'm of the view that if you can't laugh at innocent jokes like that, then maybe you should live under a rock in the middle of nowhere. It is odd that freedom of speech only applies so long as it doesn't offend people. Jeez, you can't wrap people up in cotton wool.

Rant over.

I haven't got a v belt in the mill, I'm struggling to find one, I've got some 8mm "belt" from the same place I got the pulleys, effectively it is just 8mm rubber round strip that you heat both ends and join together, it works, but I think I'd get better torque with a proper V belt.

As for the misting system, I rigged up a tube which would drip slowly onto the nozzle of my small compressor gun, using two magnetic DTI holders, it worked well, blowing the chips away and covering the material and cutter with cutting fluid.

You said that soluble oil works well for steel, I'm using multispec cutting fluid, which is kind of lie burnt cooking oil, well it smells like that anyway it is like a viscous, brown colour it does seem to improve cutter performance.

Gareth.

Gareth,you can buy 'v' belt that is linked,each link has a kind of rivet in it,and each join together,I think they sell it by the foot,or by the link,not sure.If you can locate some of that,length won't be an issue,they sell it in the states I think,but I'm not sure where,I think they call it "Endless belt"or some such,it's standard 'V' belt size.Someone on the forum may know where.

cutting oil………..years ago,there was only the one type,soluble oil.it's a thick,brown oil;,and you dilute with water,usually half and half.When diluted,it looks just like milk.Normally,it takes a lot to 'emulsify' oil,but this stuf has been treated some way,and is not a problem.Today,there are other cutting fluids out there,but as I pinched a gallon of this stuff years ago and still have most of it left,I don't know how good they are.I also use it when I'm tapping something,works well………..

              Tony.