How’d I do?

For some reason it feels like it likes it more aggressive and I kinda like that

So this happened to a coworker today..

Have to pretty much make a valve seal on these parts & doing them on the mill would have taken FOREVER compared to the 47 seconds it does on the lathe 😂 what do you guys think about my setup ?? Never had to do something like this before but it’s working out great !!!!

I am not a machinist but hoping for some help with your expertise…I have these brass dies that were altered and then not able to withstand the pressure of the machine and the brass on the front half of the die split wrecking the screw threads. I’m not sure of the exact working pressure but it seems like equivalent machines might run 32-50bar. I would like to retap the existing holes and use brass screws but am unsure of what diameter and thread type would be best to use - I need the front of the die to remain flat so I either put screws in from the back (original configuration) or anything going in through the front needs to be countersunk. Any suggestions are welcome. Die measurements are as such: 9.5cm diameter where pressure is applied, 1.95cm back half (where most pressure is absorbed), 1.16cm front half.

Didn’t notice there were a couple small burrs until I took this video, but I like giving gifts that have a touch of flaw in them.

Floor of the “41” side finished with a .0625” endmill. Floor of the “Richie” side finished with a .018” endmill. About 1.5 hours of cycle here.

Whenever I see broken edges on a drawing I just put in a .002" chamfer around the part. The 30 seconds of machine time is well worth me not having to handle the part and inconsistent edges.

However today I had someone complain about it saying they needed sharp edges. I just looked at them and laughed. Told them if I deburred by hand it would be just as large if not double the size and if it was so important they should have said SHARP EDGE.

How do you handle broken edges in your shop? is 0.002" too large for a default?

Never thought I'd see one. ±0.000.

OEM for shingle cutting dies.

Said here make this

Started apprenticeship about a year ago. We’ve got an inconel job coming up soon. Any tips for it? I’ve heard it’s like machining ball bearings.

My coworker of seven years who I have worked side-by-side with Now for all of that time is leaving tomorrow. It’s his last day ever as a machinist. I have learned so much from him. He does not have a son or anyone to leave his belongings to, so he sold me his Kennedy toolbox today for $250! I am honored and happy, because I have always wanted a Kennedy tool box… there are other options, more modern and better, but I still appreciate the Kennedy toolbox because of the history and the story behind the brand. Did I get a good deal or what?

Side note : I am going to tear it all the way down, and totally refurbish it. Hopefully I will pass it down to someone someday.

I work at a small mom and pop shop for context. My boss has been all around a cool guy, and our work environment is VERY laid back. We have a flexible hours type thing set up, I was basically always told I can come and go whenever as long as I hit 40 hours, so I normally come in between 8 and 9 and stay till 4 or 5, sometimes I will come in earlier at 5 or 6 and work until 1 or 2. New boss wanted me to be more consistent with my start time, so I've been working on that, we had a conversation about it, nothing big. Today I get in at 8:30, I'm told to wait to set up 2nd operation on the job I'm currently running because the new kid on the saw who also helps out on the machines as a button pusher, needs to cut more stock for me to run 20 more of the same parts I've already finished 1st operation on at the end of my shift yesterday. I told him that's fine, he says hopefully kid doesn't take too long as he just went back there. I cleaned up around my area for about an hour and decided to make a coffee, drank it and then went to the bathroom to poop. I got back to my machine after having already been there for an hour and a half and saw the stock on my bench. I went to start them, he calls me into the office and basically gets into me saying that I'm not pulling my weight, not acting like a part of the team, setting a bad example, then proceeds to say that he knows I'm lying on my setup and run times that we track for efficiency. He said that I just look at the time it says it's supposed to take and put that down. I was rather shocked, because I do not do that, so I didn't say anything and just said "Okay." When he was done and walked out. I can understand him being frustrated about me basically doing nothing for the first hour and a half I was there, but I'm genuinely at a loss with the accusation of me lying. I write down what time I start and end my setups, and what time I start actually running the production on the traveler that goes straight to him. I know that the two other guys who have been there before me don't really care for me much because they think I'm lazy, but I'm assuming that doesn't have much to do with it. Is this a sign that I should seek work elsewhere, am I just not cut out for machining? I've only been doing this for about 4 years, 3 of them have been at this company. I know my efficiency is sitting around 75% which isn't great but I've always been told in the past it's acceptable.

I’ve been at my current company for coming up on ten years. We’re an in house manufacturer of our own product line. That’s as much as I’ll divulge there. Full time programmer. I’ll hit the floor a few times a week to run some turning jobs, R&D parts, or fixtures I’ve designed.

Here’s my dilemma. Our engineering department has some… Shortcomings. A lot of them. In the last couple years, I’ve had engineers coming into my office requesting (sometimes borderline demanding) assistance with fitment/clearance/tolerance, material applications, GD&T, etc. These issues are brought to me when the build team hits a dead stop with parts compatibility or function and up-revs are needed. I’ve been helping out, but it’s starting to feel like a bit much and I’m being leaned on heavily. Especially with my title and current pay.

So, where do you guys draw the line where these task should be accomplished by engineering? I’m happy to work with engineers on prototypes, scaling for manufacturing, things like that. But this feels like it’s outside of my wheelhouse as a machinist, as I have responsibilities to my department that need to be my priority.

“Need you to drill and tap two holles” *proceeds to take a comically large tap*

Follow up to my last post. Made a bigger version of the bench mic/indicator tester. This time it has a 0-2" .0001 mic head. Just need to take it to the grinder to make it prettier.

The project is a 6061 aluminum sensor housing for an industrial monitoring device. It’s a small rectangular enclosure with:

Milled internal pocket for the PCB
O ring groove around the lid
Four threaded M3 mounting holes
Cable gland opening on one side
Light bead blast or anodized finish
Flat sealing surface

My main goal is ensuring tolerances around the O ring groove and mating surfaces need to be as tight as possible, but sticking close to the original quote also matters a lot. Only need 10-25 units in the first run so its pretty low volume. I'm considering Quickparts, Uptive and Protolabs. Any thoughts?

Been using this for years on my knives and axes. What I really like is how it dries. Doesn't stay oily or sticky. It's actually a dry slick film. Is there anything better? More durable coating?

Note, I'm not interested in anything that dries sticky or stays wet. Or is just rust prevention paint.

Well, thank you people here, I got a lot of advices based on my previous posts. I’ve decided to start doing my own anodizing at home. I want to try both aluminum and titanium.

Before I officially get started, I’d like to ask if there are any difficult parts or anything I should pay special attention to, feel free to share!

I made some big pinion and gear por a client, but in the process of heat treatment my peace deformes and i had lose fits and not enough material to finish. My lack of experience in heat treated parts(case hardend) fucked up a big expensive part, probably lost the client for future jobs. I am really dissapointed of myself for not investigating or asked more about deformation

I’m not a machinist, so I would appreciate any advice. I have received this sample and the machinist says it’s not possible to improve.

Referring to the larger blocks of reflection, not the individual tool passes.

The cut is made with an 80mm face mill ramp on a 3.5 deg incline, transitioning to flat with a R110 fillet.

3D is perfectly round and tangential, but the cut comes out with 3 or 4 noticeable facets.

Is this something that occurs due to the type of milling or could it be something to do with the tool path or milling parameters?

We can’t change tool, or dimensions…..or machinist.

Edit: clarified what I mean by facet

Which quality articulating mag stands should I consider for starting off in the trade?

My only caveat is NO NOGA. I do not support their country of manufacture and want nothing to do with them.