Hey Guys: For the newbie machinist and the old FARTS that need a refresher:

http://155.217.58.58/cgi-bin/atdl.dll/tc/9-524/toc.htm

 

That is an excellent source. Yes there is a lot of basic stuff but the nice thing is that a lot of people that may be contemplating setting up a hobby shop have never worked in a machine shop and learned the trade as an apprentice.
I had a machinist's handbook recommended to me once that I sure wish I remembered the name. It is nicknamed the "machinist bible" I think. It is the kind of book to just sit back and read a little every night. You pick up on ways of setting up and machining that may not be useful at the time but when you are staring at a part trying to figure out how to do it and you remember something you saw it can sure keep you productive.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...797714-8183058



bought one on ebay yesterday

Mike

 

By golly I do believe he's got it!!! Good job! I could not remember it for the life of me.
There is another book called "Mechanical Drawings" that has a lot of really good information. Just like this book there are a zillion revisions out there.
But you can pick up an older copy and still get almost all the info you will ever be able to use.
After all most of us will not have any $100,000 CNC equipment in our garage anyway. Most of the newer editions only changed areas related to newer equipment.

Thanks for the heads up on that Mike!

 

The one I got off Ebay is the 1950 edition ... all the really usefull info is the old formulas and rules of thumb that havn't changed since edition 1 so like you say the age of the book doen't really matter

This is the one I got off Ebay - I'm really happy with it for $20

 

Here is a real good write up on the proper way to make a 3 phase convertor for your garage. A machinist that does some work on the side showed me his setup and it works great. Be sure you understand how this works before you try it. http://www.metalwebnews.com/howto/ph-conv/ph-conv.html

 

I have MH #22, use it weekly at least at work

 

I picked up a big honk'n *** 25HP 3 phase motor to "try" to make a converotr with. The beetch weighs 284 lbs! It is a freaking monster. I bought it at a scrap yard and at least none of the leads are grounded to the chassis, but that is only the first test on whether it will work. If it does I will be able to run a metallizing rig!
Those take a lot of juice and they are always 3 phase. It will beat the **** out of leasing a shop.
I will take pictures of this project.

 

Killer link, thanks a ton

 

Which link? We have posted so many.

 

HF has the BIG 3 in one machine on sale for 999

 

Which one is it? Both of these are originally $1299

 

hold on...

 

Without looking at the specs they both look the same except for the size of the spindle on the mill coming out the top.

 

Getting that almost 300lb. motor out of the truck last night was hilarious. I pushed it off the tailgate. I have a little Nissan and I backed it to the curb so it only had about 6" to drop to the grass. It has a 1-1/2" diameter shaft on itso it is pretty tough. I let it land on it's side.

 

Engine hoist good

That's what I used to get the mill off the trailer and into the garage... now I need to find some time to really learn how to use it

Brian

 

Yes, I could have used the engine hoist like I did with the mill. But this thing is built like a damn boulder and I knew it wouldn't hurt it. When I post the pics you will see what I mean.

 

Here's pic of the little guy. I will wait until the weekend to hook it up. There is a lot of **** to be moved to get this close to my electrical panel in the garage.
Keep in mind guys that you can get some really good deals on better quality used equipment in 3 phase. Those of you that have been shopping already know this and probably walked away from a lot of equipment because it was 3 phase.
What I am thinking about doing since for smaller equipment I could get by with a smaller "idler" motor is to hook up about a 7hp as well and wire them to where one or the other could be fired up depending on how much power I needed at the time.
You can pick up good motors at the scrap yard where companies clean out and/or upgrade equipment.
My single phase machines are getting replaced by bigger and better
I will keep you guys updated.