Tools, Glorious Tools! #4 - Setting Up A Home Machine Shop: Where Do I Start?

G'day Dan, I have a SIEG X2 (a 2nd hand that I rarely use, other than as a drill press), and an SIEG SX3 - Cheers :)

Clickspring

GDay Chris, Curious of the model of the two milling machines you use.

Dan Sanford

I agree. Very good. Thank you.

Dan Sanford

I don’t have any experience with it, but generally I’m not a fan of combo tools. I usually find that there’s a compromise somewhere that ends up making me wish I’d just gone with the stand alone machines. Also, for hand grinding HSS I use both the coarse and fine wheels almost every day, so taking it on and off would probably be a bit of a pain - Cheers :)

Clickspring

Very good. Thanks for reply. I did not realize your saw was that large. Do yo have any thoughts or opinion on the optional multitool attatchment for the grinder you sent me?

Dan Sanford

Hello mate, the band saw is this one: https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/B009 and the grinder is one very similar to this one: https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/G160 - Cheers :)

Clickspring

Gday Chris, I am pretty familiar with the lathes and mills you use. I am curious as to what brand/model bandsaw and grinder you are using.

Dan Sanford

Ha ha! Terrific to hear it went well mate :)

Clickspring

Gday Chris, DRO installed after much head scratching about mounting, levelling n position of the display. Have done pcd, radius and angled line just to play, got to say well impressed with the way it does most of the work. Guess I will now have to actually make something, your low profile clamp system me thinks. More tool vids please Chees G :)

Graeme Brumfitt

Hello mate - apologies for the delayed response, I kept forgetting to measure my DRO scales whenever I went out to the shop. The scales fitted to my SX3 are as follows: X: 500mm, Y: 300mm and Z: 500mm The DRO is a SINO SDS6-3V, no problems to report so far, it does the job well - Cheers :)

Clickspring

Gday Chris, I'm getting myself a Easson DRO for the mill Sieg SX3, I've found a nice one but am unsure as to the size of the scales, the website for the mill says that X is 360mm (nearest scale 400mm) Y is 145mm (150mm) and 380mm for the Z (400mm) measured mine @ 320mm? Whether to go for optical or magnetic, leaning towards optical. May I ask what size and type your scales are? Best regards G :)

Graeme Brumfitt

Hello mate, I have one of these: <a href="https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/B003" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/B003</a> - its a horizontal saw but can be used vertically with a small table for relatively limited cuts - Cheers :)

Clickspring

Hi Chris, like you there are many of us that have limited space. So we have a lot to learn from you. At this instance, may I ask which band saw you decided to go for? I assume it is relatively small...(?)

Markos Skoulatos

Woo hoo :)

Clickspring

Sherline Lathe, Mill and a retiring-clockmaker-load of accessories arrive in the post some time today. Uh oh...!

Ross Goodley

Terrific to hear that mate - so much fun to be had getting the shop set up :)

Clickspring

Gday Chris, Ordered my Sieg SX3 yesterday, arrives on Tuesday :) from £450/500 to a SX3 think that budget has been well blown haha. So wanted the lathe first but the one I wanted was not in stock :( just waiting on an email to tell me they are back in. Cheers G

Graeme Brumfitt

Awesome, so pleased :)

Clickspring

Just bought my first lathe (my first machine shop tool). South bend 9a. Waiting on the video before seriously looking for a mill.

Ouroboros Armory

Hey Lindsay, my understanding is that Swiss made Grobet and Vallorbe are essentially the same thing, but to be sure I buy all of my files from these guys because I have confirmed that they sell only Swiss made in their needle file range: <a href="http://www.artcotools.com/grobet-needle-files/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://www.artcotools.com/grobet-needle-files/</a> The cuts you require will depend on the sort of work you plan to do, but a number 2 cut is a good all purpose stock removal cut and the profile I get the most use from is the tri-cut, followed by square. I get stones from the same place (India and Arkansas). Again the sizes are going to depend on what you want to do, but a small triangular in each stone is a good place to start and will be useful no matter what you're doing: <a href="http://www.artcotools.com/norton-india-stones/-" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://www.artcotools.com/norton-india-stones/-</a> <a href="http://www.artcotools.com/norton-arkansas-stones/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://www.artcotools.com/norton-arkansas-stones/</a> - Cheers :)

Clickspring

Hey Chris, I'm looking to get some files and stones are Vallorbe files OK? and should I get a set of cut 1 and cut 2? and what stones would be good to start with?

Hey Chris, yes I plan to cover the new Weiss lathe in the next TGT :)

Clickspring

Hi Chris, I'm sure you can tell there is much consternation when it comes to tool acquisitions. I found an old blog of yours and you had mentioned placing an order for a Weiss rebranded lathe. I'm assuming you've since taken delivery? Was it worth the upgrade? Will that be covered in the next TGT? Thanks for all the info you provide.

Hey Blake - I'll cover this in the next TGT :)

Clickspring

Hi Chris - I was wondering which dimension to pay attention to when considering the size of a lathe for the purpose of turning large diameter, but relatively flat work-pieces like clock faces and gears. Is it the swing-over-bed that ends up dictating the largest face or the smaller swing-over-carriage? I'm thinking of the type of parts you have been turning on super glue arbors. Am looking to pick up a home lathe for pen and clock making and want to be sure I can accomplish the size clocks I'd be hoping to acheive. Many thanks for all of your work!

Blake Johnson

Hey Russell, I'm so pleased you're enjoying the vids mate! Re the chips: Where practical I keep the brass scraps for casting, the rest all go off to chip heaven :)

Clickspring

Hey Chris! I really appreciate the content. I end up watching all your episodes many times each. I was wondering what you do with all the chips formed from your turning and milling work? Thanks!

Russell Reckman

Terrific Dan, so pleased that its of help to you - Yes on the countersink prior to tapping. If you see me not do it, you can assume that I was being lazy that day :)

Clickspring

My apologies your video explained the reasoning for the Morse Taper spindle. The video is useful for my shop is the same size as yours.

Dan Sanford

Hello Mr. Chris First off what is the proper spelling of your name?Second, I looked into the Sieg SX3 mill. It offeres two choices in spindles R8 and Morse Taper. Could you briefly explain how you made your choice? Third would you consider countersinking before tapping? That is what I do and it prevents creating a new burr on first thread. Thank you very much Dan Sanford

Dan Sanford

"Psient becomes internalized as a conscripted effete observer with no real input" - Only if Psient so chooses. The limits of the platform/medium need not have any bearing at all on the actions or intent of the observer, and Psients role as contributor need not lead to effete observation, but rather to expressly invited engagement :)

Clickspring

Chris: And this is on me I admit . . . having been generalized to 'pahtron' for a few months and then watching an attempted exploitation, i SUBMIT this observation as an educated scholar. You (Chris) have become quasi strategic when acting out the handiwork limited-liability-version of survivalist intellectual. In that Chris is relegating my human role of contributor(?) to a reified psychology of bourgeoisie. That is to say (TITS) a subtle dimension of 'pay for see me say' ism masks the contrived collusion of a usurping contingent negative reinforcement. Psient becomes internalized as a conscripted effete observer with no real input. The scientific fact is; institutionalization of reward has no merit when masquerading as humanist intent. Large business uses the same techniques when instantiating extinction through learned stupidity. I apologize if seemingly obtrusive along the way to establishing what 'contributing' inures. Don't get the meaning in what I am writing? Do you really wish to understand or only to mine my retirement money? Take a break from sacramental behaving in your peace and read After Virtue. Might be harder to get than this commentary on your work

Psient

Hey Bryce, the issue is that the dust from the grinding wheel would settle on the ways of the lathe and slowly abrade it, thus ruining its working surfaces. The best way I have found to make it work is to consider the bench grinder to be portable. If you mount it on a small melamine board with rubber feet, you can take it outside for use whenever you need it. The outside area can be just about any space you have available - carport, balcony, driveway etc It doesn't even need to be under cover if the weather is clear, just somewhere where the dust you're generating can settle without issue. Once you're finished for the day, store the tool inside as required. Cheers :)

Clickspring

Hi Chris, you mentioned your bench grinder should not be in the same area as the lathe to ensure the dust won't get onto the lathe bed. Can you expand more on why this is an issue, and if there is a way to make it work? I have a small work area in our basement and don't have much of a suitable secondary work area. Thanks!

Bryce Williams

Hey Doug, I guess it will depend on what you're going to make, but I would imagine that a belt sander/linisher would be good to have from the outset for your finishing work - I have a little 1" Delta Rockwell, and its worth its weight in gold for all those jobs where you want to quickly get in and take metal off freehand - Cheers :)

Clickspring

Chris, I'm interested in a slightly different angle, but one you're familiar with so I figured I'd start here. What I'd like to do is get more into the smithing and forging side of things, so most of what I'll need a machine shop for is finish work, especially starting out. Any ideas on what you'd recommend starting out with? Like, a lathe isn't liable to be quite as important, since a lot of what I'm looking at is ornamental stuff, like spiraling rectangular stock for decorative pieces. Thanks, Doug

Doug Hendrickson

Hey Matthew - the short list from 5:25 is a good place to start - Cheers :)

Clickspring

Awesome I'll check it out :)

Clickspring

Hey Chris! Me again I've just sent off payment for a Sieg SX3L Vertical Mill - and I know that you will cover this topic later on one of the TGTs, however, if you have time, could you pass along a quick rough and dirty outline of some basic tools I will require for the mill? Thanks in advance!

Matthew Thomas

Thanks Chris. This is a great overview of the first big tools to buy in the shop. I just published a podcast talking about some of the smaller essential items for machining, jewellery making, and watchmaking. We didn't talk about any of the big items like this video, but we did go into specifics on some critical tools. Http://offhours.show/ep6

Silver Hand Studios

Awesome Adam, be sure to post a few pics from time to time showing how things are developing :)

Clickspring

Great video, I am just starting up my own shop. I've done a blacksmith and metal foundry course at TAFE and want to use my skills. I'm actually going to make a lathe. I'm using DAVID J. GINGERY book to start with and then modify it to make it more what I am after. I want to see how much of a shop I can make starting with a furnace and some aluminum.

Adam

Yes agreed, I will cover it in detail - cheers mate :)

Clickspring

Thanks Chris, great collection of videos you have here. I'm looking forward to you covering the lathes in more detail. I'm especially interested in your thoughts on the relative merits of the different sizes available. They are a significant purchase for a hobby, so versatility is a must.

Mark Dymond

Thanks very much Jeff :) I'm going to cover my start in machining in a later TGT on "First Projects", but it had a whole lot to do with watching this chap: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/mrpete222" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/user/mrpete222</a>

Clickspring

Excellent as usual, Chris. You are a true artist, and work like a seasoned craftsman. What was it like when you first started machining and clock making? How long did it take you to get to the point where you started the series? What was your first exposure to the craft? Thanks

Hey Paul - I have both the SX2 and SX3 mill drills, although the SX2 mill doesn't get a lot of use. I picked it up as part of a 2nd hand deal on the green lathe and a bunch of other gear. I use it occasionally as a drill press, but I use the SX3 for just about all milling and drilling. I keep the SX2 on the off chance that I might want to CNC it one day. Will do on the books and mods, I will work both into future TGT's - Cheers :)

Clickspring

You have some interesting books and DVDs. A general purpose review of many of them would be handy. Paul

Paul Devey

I noticed that you modified your sign bar. What else have you had to mod to enhance or meet your needs?

Paul Devey

Do you have a mill dedicated to drilling or do you use a general purpose mill.

Paul Devey

Awesome mate!

Clickspring

Yes!! Future vid :)

Clickspring

Terrific, cheers Giovanni :)

Clickspring

Oh man only slightly too late on this video. I just ordered my Lathe and Mill two days ago. Should be arriving before the weekend! Took a long time to save up the money and alot of research into what to get. At least this video confirms that it seems I got most of the right stuff haha! Love your work Chris.

You forgot the vacuum!

will definitely remember this video when i move and start getting my own shop together in the next year or so! loved the video, as always.

Giovanni Viscardi

Cheers Mike!

Clickspring

Completely agree Dean. Its the little things that really add up - Sometimes the initial time investment can seem like a lot, but then years later you're still getting the benefit from that little improvement, and you don't even think about the few hours that went into making it :)

Clickspring

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Emma :)

Clickspring

Cheers Ben :)

Clickspring

Hey Tim, closest hobby metals supplier to you would probably be Wayne from ME Supplies in Melbourne (www.mesupplies.com.au) For files, I get mine from here: <a href="http://www.artcotools.com/grobet-needle-files/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://www.artcotools.com/grobet-needle-files/</a>

Clickspring

Great stuff as always, Chris!

Mike Michelizzi

the best "tool" I ever made in the shop for the shop was a fixture plate for my machinists vice. Now aligning the vice to the mill table with repeatable position and alignment takes less than 2 seconds. It makes the mill a much more useful machine now that I don't have to spend a long time setting up each job.

Dean Neumann

hardly worth the comment. but give gazeleys clock and watch escapements a miss. its not particularly well regarded,

Emmas Spareroom Machineshop

Oh wow. I thought your shop was way bigger! Just one more sign of how great of a machinist but also videographer you are.

Great video Chris, I was just thinking about files and reamers the other day. Do you have a preferred shop to get tools and raw stock? I live on King Island so dropping into a local tool shop it kinda hard. I was thinking building your wedge vice might be a good place to start.

Tim bennett

So true!! Cheers Paul :)

Clickspring

I bought a starrett square the other day. A LeeValley would be just as good but oh my, sometimes a better quality tools makes you think you can do better work. Great series. Paul

Paul Devey

Hey Ralph, do you mean a way to determine the temper state of sheet brass etc without knowing its production history? If so, then nothing springs to mind, other than the pro hardness testing gear - Its generally a case of simply buying stock of a known temper state, eg "full hard" or "1/2 hard" engravers brass, and then not annealing it if the work hardening characteristic is to be retained - Cheers :)

Clickspring

Great advice Charles - thank you

Clickspring

Yes the files can really add up!

Clickspring

Awesome Lucus!

Clickspring

Chris, Is there a non-destructive test for brass, to see if it has been hardened ?

Ralph McCoy

Nice video Chris. I've found it especially helpful to attend home shop machinist/ model engineering shows and seek out the folks building the kinds of things one wants to build and asking them how they did it. You'll often find out which books/ tools to buy before others and generally have a good time.

Charles Morrill

Great video Chris! So, in my Locksmith business, I own a Grobet Swiss Pippin file, 6 inches long in fine cut. I about died when I purchased it, only $80 (US).... But Grobet makes some terrific tools!

Adam Ackels

Over the past year I have made a pretty decent home machine shop. I work mostly with aluminum so I can actually use a normal chop saw for cutting the raw stock instead of a band saw. I also substituted a belt sander for the grinder. I find it easier to get the lathe geometry right using a belt sander. Just added a TIG welder to my shop!

Lucus Landers

Ha ha! Thank you Marty :)

Clickspring

Yup, same thing in my part of the world :)

Clickspring

Cheers Ryan :)

Clickspring

Cheers John :)

Clickspring

Awesomeness in the full sense of awesome....

Marty Jones

Excellent, can't wait for the next one, I'm intending to buy a lathe in the very near future :) Probably end up being an Optimum (import) because good second hand "industrial"/old lathes (South Bend/Atlas/Myford et. al.) are like hen's teeth here :(

Jrandom Bob

Thanks for another great video! Only a few more years before I graduate, get a job, and can finally start my shop! Shoutout to TOT for his great HSS grinding video too!

Ryan Das

Chris, it is an absolute pleasure watching your videos. It's funny, I used to work in a machine shop a long time a ago for a little while, but don't even have a lathe. (don't tell AvE, but I work on dead tree carcasses, and I do have a wood lathe as well as a complete wood shop) But I watch all the youtube guys, and one day would love to set up a small shop. So thanks for doing this and keep it up.

Yes! Its so interesting flicking through the postwar model engineering mags, that predated the introduction of the cheap benchtop mills. It was just automatically assumed that everyone had a lathe with a vertical slide - so all of the set up pics from the mags show lathe cross slide milling. Some of the setups were ingenious, especially for the larger loco projects - Cheers mate:)

Clickspring

At the very least, I'll do a separate one for selecting a lathe, and another on selecting a mill - But of course happy to cover whatever is requested - Cheers :)

Clickspring

Great video, Chris do you plan to do a video dedicated to each major tool or just the mill?

Robert

Awesome Richard - That's what I call bootstrapping a shop!

Clickspring

What you said makes a lot of sense for the novice, but as an experienced machinist, my home shop is very different. Like your space, it is very very small, (smaller than your shop since I store my Harley Davidson in there too), so setting up my shop, my first machine was a small CNC Milling machine and a small bench drill press. I then MADE a pair of milling vises, hold down clamps, a power hacksaw, bench grinder, end mill sharpener, and a die filer using the CNC Mill and drill press.

Well be awake for 11 hours and a did good

Ralph McCoy

Will do Ralph, I'll roll it into the one I plan to do on materials - cheers :)

Clickspring

Sir, this tubal cain is someone else. found out 2-3 weeks ago on mr pete 222

Ralph McCoy

Chris, later maybe a video on material choices. Like do you have to use hardened brass on all gears, as you know it is pricey. I am talking about the build not tooling, One each ??? Ralph

Ralph McCoy

Great stuff as always btw Chris :)

Would love some input on getting a good quality "1st" lathe that wont break the bank?. the Chinese Mini lathe imports look dodgy.. and i have no idea what to look for in a second hand lathe to asses quality. any recommendations?

Grobet files and Norton abrasives stones i believe :)

Hey Stu, I have mostly cuts 2, 4, 6 and a couple of 8. The lengths vary but are mostly 5 to 7 inch OAL including the handle - Cheers :)

Clickspring

mrpete222 wrote a book? Haha great stuff Chris!

Robert Sindorf

YAY, a new video. Now I have the need to buy something. What are the names of the files and stones you recommend?

Paul Busby

Useful stuff, thanks Chris! What lengths and cuts of needle files would you recommend / do you prefer?

Stu