Search results

I agree with Mike that your chance of getting a decent gear-head machine at that sort of price are close to zero. I wonder though if you really need one though? My floor standing belt-driven JET has 16 speeds ranging from 170-3000 rpm, but 95% of the time it runs at around 1200 which seems OK...

Thanks for further replies. I was reluctant to grab the bit in a vice as it was (by my standards) quite expensive, and no chance of using wedges or a puller as it is a 1/4" straight bit . Anyhow, I soaked overnight in 3-in-1 (thinnest oil I had to hand), still stuck, so I followed phil.p ' s...

An ancient POF 500A -green, but it's served me well. I like it because it's light and manoeuvrable. I'll try the various strategies suggested tomorrow. Thanks for replies, Rob

I've not changed the bit on my little Bosch router for a year or more - I've only been using it for making grooves so have just left the appropriate bit in place. But today I wanted to change it and found the collet is stuck fast in the spindle, and obviously the bit stuck fast in the collet...

+another for Ian at Tuffsaws - when I emailed him about blades for an old Burgess I'd bought he replied pretty much by return with detailed recommendations. I think he must maintain a database, maybe he'll have come across your saw before. Rob.

For metalworking the round column mills you are looking at have the disadvantage that they lose registration when the head is lifted or lowered. If that's a concern it might be worth looking at dovetail column machines (eg Warco's WM18) as well. These machines also have the 'advantage' of...

Spend more on wood than tools next year! In my first foray into woodworking I've come to the belated conclusion that for what I want to do (DIY house restoration) pretty much everything can be done as well or better with hand tools. If you're not in a hurry. Many thanks to all all on this...

Can't see why the slot in the Veritas jig (if this is what you mean) couldn't just be opened up to accommodate a 40mm wheel? Come to that, why is it even necessary for the rest to straddle the wheel? I use my grinder mainly for shaping metalworking tools so maybe I'm missing something. You...

I doubt that you'll get a definitive answer as to the relative quality of the Sealey and Record offerings. My experience with machines in this price bracket (ie better than the real cheapo Silverline type stuff, but not in the trade/pro/industrial range) is that the variations between individual...

Yes, polishing on a drill press works fine. The kit I use came from The Polishing Shop where there is quite a lot of polishing info too. Another place to look for a grinding / polishing machine would be here . Not tried them, but looks good value. Robin

I have a Clarke 6" bench grinder (Machine Mart) - not in the same class as say a Creusen, but it's well balanced, runs smoothly and does the job. However, personally I wouldn't use a bench grinder for reprofiling chisels etc as it all too easy to overheat the blade and lose the temper. I...

Thanks for replies. Since i 'upgraded' my laptop to Win 10 it won't talk to my phone, so I can't post a pic, which would make things clearer. So I'll try to explain as best I can in words what I want to do, in more detail than my original post. The door in question will lead from the sitting...

I want to make a bookcase about 6 feet high, 3 wide and 10 inches deep. That's straightforward enough, but the trouble is I want to hang the thing on hinges so it pivots on the front left-hand side making in effect an inward (looking at the bookcase) swinging door. Think secret passages! A...

I spent some time a while ago trying to make a very similar adaptor for a friend's lathe - I couldn't make it work pretty much for the reasons dickm gives. It's doable if both the 3/4x 16tpi on the lathe nose and the 20x1.5 on the chuck have registers which you can measure accurately. Screw...

I want to cut some profiles which involve maybe 5-6mm radius turns. According to the manual for my Record 350S, the minimum blade width for the machine is 1/4 inch / 6mm. Looking at the Tuffsaws site, I probably need a 3mm blade to make such tight curves. I can see that I might have to bodge...

Arf! If anyone's actually interested in the maths... 6 ways to attach 3 wires to 3 terminals, columns are the terminals, numbers the wires: 1 2 3 3 1 2 2 3 1 1 3 2 2 1 3 3 2 1 Observant readers will have noticed that the members of each group of three are are related by cyclic permutation...

They both look nice, and (at the mo) well priced too. I'd agree that a vertical mill is more versatile - in theory you can do the same things, slower or faster, on either. It comes down to what you do most. It's difficult to know what machinery you need unless you have a a cut and dried plan...

Encouraging - I'm in the market for a bigger mill myself, so quite interested to see how this goes. I did get an as new Nilfisk M-class industrial extractor off eBay for £100 once because the guy had listed it under domestic vacs, so there are bargains out there to be had if you're lucky...

Almost worth it for the Mitutoyo DRO's - but it looks like quite a project! Perhaps not what the OP's after if wanting to acquire basic machining techniques. It's said that at a Fleadh the All Ireland flute championship was won by a guy who, on discovering his instrument was broken, hollowed out...

Although, as has been pointed out, many wonderful things have been done with a lathe and a vertical slide, I suspect that was more out of necessity than choice. Having a dedicated mill makes life so much easier! Go for it I'd say. I wouldn't be too worried about getting a heavy machine into...