Now what?
- Thread starter john coloccia
- Start date
CNC goodies? Those make me happy when they show up around here.
Assemble that monster and let us know how it went. :thumbup:
Just a Hightower lathe.
I hope to get through at least a tip install by the end of the week. So far, I've just been fiddling with it, seeing how it all works, what everything does, etc. I think I have a couple of tweaks to make before I do any real work.
Looks like you are going to be busy. Surely you will be needing more ferrule material soon. :wink:
JUST a Hightower lathe?
If you don't like it, the Brown truck stops at my shop too!!!!
If you don't like it, the Brown truck stops at my shop too!!!!
Now what?
Get busy, you have a whole industry to resurrect
Get busy, you have a whole industry to resurrect
First tip and ferrule on an old cue. Not perfect by any means, but I did some experimenting and answered one of my old questions from a few months ago: How do you burnish the sides of a Triangle tip?
The answer? StewMac Swirl Remover.....
And so, the synergy between guitar building and cue building begins.
This is definitely a learning experience. I'm getting a ton of deflection, especially on the tips. I'm thinking I need to really sharpen all of these tools, and maybe reset my cutter heights. I have them dead center, or the tiniest hair above center....that's how I set metal tools. Maybe I need to go just the tiniest bit below center just to make absolutely sure they can't possibly rub. Anyhow, that's for tomorrow...
The answer? StewMac Swirl Remover.....
And so, the synergy between guitar building and cue building begins.
This is definitely a learning experience. I'm getting a ton of deflection, especially on the tips. I'm thinking I need to really sharpen all of these tools, and maybe reset my cutter heights. I have them dead center, or the tiniest hair above center....that's how I set metal tools. Maybe I need to go just the tiniest bit below center just to make absolutely sure they can't possibly rub. Anyhow, that's for tomorrow...
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First tip and ferrule on an old cue. Not perfect by any means, but I did some experimenting and answered one of my old questions from a few months ago: How do you burnish the sides of a Triangle tip?
The answer? StewMac Swirl Remover.....
And so, the synergy between guitar building and cue building begins.
This is definitely a learning experience. I'm getting a ton of deflection, especially on the tips. I'm thinking I need to really sharpen all of these tools, and maybe reset my cutter heights. I have them dead center, or the tiniest hair above center....that's how I set metal tools. Maybe I need to go just the tiniest bit below center just to make absolutely sure they can't possibly rub. Anyhow, that's for tomorrow...
As with metal lathes, have your work as close to the chuck as possible. If your cutting tools are dull or sticking out much from the tool holder, so they will flex, you will get problems with deflection.
Do you trim the tip flush with your cutting tools or do you use a razor blade?
I tried a fresh utility blade, but got a lot of chatter. I probably need to angle it more to lower the effective cutting angle. I ended up going as close as I dare with a cutting tool, and then lightly sanded it the final couple of thousandths. I think I'll spend the rest of the week just sharpening, setting up, and getting the tip installs right. I'm guessing if I get it to the point that I can cut leather accurately and cleanly, everything else should fall in line.
I also re-bored the front and rear chuck this morning and got the total indicated runout under .002" on both chucks, so I'm pretty happy with that. It's probably better than that, actually, because I'm sure it didn't chuck my .5" rod perfectly. I didn't make any attempt to tap it straight...just stick it in, clamp down and measure. That's pretty damn good for a lightweight scroll chuck!
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Use a 5 inch planer knife for cutting tips flush. Something mounted on the toolpost, like a piece of round or square stock, is helpful in keeping the blade steady.
The flat side of the knife rides harmlessly on the ferrule and cuts perfect every time. The learning curve is pretty short and they are much safer than a regular razor blade.
I also back the shaft up with my hand to avoid deflection.
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=388303&page=2
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Interestingly enough, I just got a set of planer knives sharpened. Maybe I'll give them a try when I pick them up.
Thanks for all the help, guys! I'm going to spend some time getting trying out all the advice here, and I'll see what I can get to work for me.
Thanks for all the help, guys! I'm going to spend some time getting trying out all the advice here, and I'll see what I can get to work for me.
Could you explain what you mean by "back the shaft up with my hand to avoid deflection"?
Hey, does anyone have any hints for securing it to my bench? The bench isn't dead flat, and the board it's bolted to isn't dead flat. Can I just assume that the bed has yanked the board however it needs to go, and then just shim the board so it doesn't rock? I don't have a 6' long surface plate here eek so I wouldn't know how else to do it other than just assume it's OK.
Thanks!
eek so I wouldn't know how else to do it other than just assume it's OK.Thanks!
Are you suggesting remounting it from the plywood to something else? I've actually considered the but I want to let it be for the time being. If I did that, I would probably just grab a piece of 80/20 or something like that, and then I'd bring it down to my machine shop and shim the bed perfect using their huge surface plate. Honestly, I don't want to do that much too it right now because it's really more than fine, but I also don't want to make it worse when I attach it to the bench.
I'm having fun shimming, tweaking and making small little modifications here and there. I really like this machine. It's very easy to work with. You can tell it was designed by someone that actually has a clue just what the heck he's doing. I've worked with a lot equipment over the years, and it's not common.