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Since there has been considerable discussion of lathes, milking machines direct read outs, and CNC lately I thought it might be worthwhile to present some thoughts on the way that I have used machine tools. For a number of years I have been interested in building a series of warships’ boats to a common scale of 1:32. My comments apply to scratch building of these models. If you are say turning a set of identical cannon barrels your needs may be completely different. Almost 20 years ago I bought a Sherline long bed lathe and milling column to replace an ancient Sears metal lathe that had died. The Sears lathe did have two features that I thought that I wanted that the Sherline lacked: power feed, and a tail stock that could be set over to turn a taper. As it has turned out I have not needed either of these features. I have also found that that my work has not required a vast assortment of accessories. Chucks and hold downs: For most of my work, I use a 1/2 in Jacobs chuck attached to a Morse tapered shank that fits into the headstock. I also have a Sherline three jaw chuck but have only needed to use it two or three times. I also have a set of fractional collet chucks that are great for machining fractional sizes of brass rod. If I have rod that matches one of these collets I use it. Another highly useful and inexpensive accessory is a set of T nuts and hold downs. While their application to the mill is obvious they can also be used for making fixtures, sometimes from plywood that can be clamped to the tool post. I recently needed to drill a hole longitudinally down an oar shaft to fit a handle. Freehand made a mess of things. I made a U shaped bracket from plywood and mdf, held down to the toolpost with T nuts. A drill equal to the oar shaft diameter was chucked in the headstock and by moving the toolpost was drilled through the two uprights of the U. This hole was now centered on the headstock. A smaller drill equal to the handle diameter was chucked and by feeding the oar shank through the holes in the U bracket a hole concentric to the center of the oar shaft resulted. Drilling: Many projects involve drilling a hole, and for this a tail stock chuck is essential. I also use the sensitive drilling attachment in the milling column whenever I can. Turning: I have a vertical sanding machine with a 1in wide belt ( a linisher to our British friends) that I prefer for grinding lathe tools. I find this to be easier to use than a bench grinder. A parting tool is essential, but I also have a miniature one made from 1/4 in bar stock that accepts a piece of an Exacto blade. While the regular lathe tools are used for turning stock to a diameter or tapering, much detailing is done freehand with needle files. Calibration: For much work, I find that cut and try using simple plywood gages is easier than using the calibrated handwheels. For example I recently made a set of belaying pins. The raw material was 1/16 in brass rod. First this was chucked in a 1/16in collet chuck and the shank was turned to 1/32in, the diameter checked with a 1/32in hole drilled in a piece of thin model plywood. It was necessary to turn a short section of rod to its required diameter, then loosen the collet and to feed out another section until the entire shank had been turned. Otherwise it would have collapsed. The head of pin was then shaped with needle files and the pin was cut off with a razor saw. With some ingenuity there are all sorts of simple gages that can be made to produce work of sufficient accuracy. Roger
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