Metal lathe, milling machine, and machine shop work in my DIY garage home shop! Join me while we explore and learn about the incredible art of machine work. Machinists are the unsung heroes of our modern society. Somewhere, at the beginning of just about every modern convenience that we enjoy, is a skilled machinist. Whether it be making the tools we use, molds, parts, patterns, or any other number of essential tasks, machinists make the world go round. We will explore the roots of this great and noble profession in manual machining, and eventually even learn some of the modern magic of CNC machining!
Who am I? I'm a hobby machinist, with a passion for old machine tools and manual machining. I am here to share and learn. Being self taught, much of my limited knowledge, has come from others sharing their experiences online, just as I am doing now. My hope, is that by putting my work in front of much more knowledgeable machinists, we can all learn something new together.
I made something similar to this for my lathe. Initially it was alright but with a little bit of thread wear I soon found the handle was frequently in the wrong place and conflicted with the quick change lever. I mad a new space which was a little longer which cured the problem for a while but soon I was having the same problem. My solution? I went to a pawn shop and bought an old Craftsman 3/8" drive ratchet with a button release for the socket detent ball on the back of the ratchet. I drilled the top of the nut through with a 3/8" bit and then filed it to a square to accept the drive on the ratchet. I cut the threaded end off the tightening arm and used it to plug the existing hole in the nut with red locktite. I drilled a 1/8" hole drilled through it so it would engage the detent ball on the ratchet when it was inserted into the nut. Result: I now have a tightening arm that will sit in any position I need it in and by depressing the release button on the back of the ratchet the handle is off in less than a second. Total cost: about $20.00
Great explanation, I'll need to start trying this myself too soon. I have some broken cat iron (architectural decorative bits) that needs fixing. What size of acetylene torch tip did you end up using?
Thanks very much. I'm using a #3 tip the whole time here. I think a #2 or #3 is usually a pretty good general purpose tip for most stuff around the hobby shop, at least as far as I can tell in my limited experience so far. Thanks for watching btw.
How can I locate your email? I’d like to share a very useful boring head extension device that you can make on your channel. I believe your viewers would like to see how it’s made so they can make one for themselves.
@@douglasthompson2740 haha, it’s definitely not perfect but it works ok. I still haven’t replaced all of mine with this because I think there’s still a better design to be had. Something that can be tightened and loosened by hand without any tools is the goal for my next attempt. Thanks for watching btw
I think you can buy annular (not angular) cutters with Weldon shanks from Vevor as well. The regular drill chuck and its threaded Weldon adapter are simply to help when you have a requirement and the drill bit but not the Weldon shank cutter. I suspect you will find that you have some play in between the Weldon to chuck adapter which is taken up by the set screws. Perhaps you can adjust the set screws (trial and error method) to take some of that out. The other thing is you might want to use a hole punch to set spot where you want it before starting to drill. Like you saw, the runout doesn't normally impact the hole drilled once it is started - at least less than the runout actually is. Thanks for posting this video. It allowed us to look it over before buying one. We will. It would be handy in our fab shop and the price is crazy low for the utility. Thanks again!
@@alliedtesting8491 yeah you can, it’s just a 1/2” Weldon shank so they’re common. Just wished I’d have had some for the video. But yeah, it’s actually been a decent drill, I’ve been happy with it so far. Thanks for watching btw
Oh wow - first of all: highly-relevant video. Second: IDK what you've done here, but your video production quality is very high - not that it was bad before or anything, but that you've clearly been working at something - maybe writing ahead of time, maybe editing, IDK. whatever it is, it works. this is great.
@@StripeyType thank you very much. I have indeed been working very hard at it and to be honest it’s really nice to hear that. So glad you’re liking the vid and I sincerely appreciate the positive feedback. Cheers
I am by no means an expert in oxyacetylene processes but the gas flame in the vise repair sequence appeared to me to be carburizing rather than neutral. Once again since I am no expert I couldn’t speculate whether introducing more carbon into the surface might have any effect but just wanted to throw that out there in case someone might weigh in. I have a little experience with TIG brazing using Silicon Bronze but have no idea if that method is applicable to cast iron. Thanks for posting your experience.
@@Dogfather66227 thanks very much. I didn’t end up with any excess carbon on the part, you might be seeing the flux burning as a result of me applying too much heat honestly lol.
@@ninomaiorano6697 I don’t think so. The flux flows to the heat either way and if you apply it too early you might just end up burning it. But like I said, I’m not an expert so I could be wrong but that doesn’t seem to be how I’ve ever seen it done either. Thanks for watching btw
@@hersch_tool hope you have been doing jobs to help your family! I'm working outside my comfort zone also been doing auto repair on engine heads seems no one around here doesn't want to anymore take care and best wishes
I taught myself cast iron bronze brazing with the exact same lincoln portable torch kit you have. Never had any experience before diving in. SUPER HELPFUL TIP - Get the flux coated bronze filler rod in 3/32” … If you try and use 1/8” on a small part you’re going to struggle, only time I’ve ever found myself “needing” an 1/8” over a 3/32” was for a LARGE VISE crack which required the crack to be ground down for 4” and ran 6” across (part weighed 70+lbs). For almost all bracket repair or common cast iron part repairs weighing under 20lbs , the 3/32” rod will be perfect. The ease of use is night and day between heating & dipping your rods in flux… the ease and results you’ll see will be night and day just like when you try brazing with Harris Safety Silv 45 or 56. For brand I would go Hotmax or Lincoln, I tried US Forge but for some reason I had more trouble with that brand(batch?). Hobart, Forney, Harris would probably be fine too but since I can only speak from experience …which is I loved the HotMax 36” rods they made the process as user friendly as I could ever have hoped.
Thanks very much for the info. I'll definitely pick up some rods and experiment based on your recommendations. And I love this little portable kit. I grabbed it off craigslist for an absolute steal nearly brand new. Thanks again, and thanks for watching!
The part that you fixed on vice , you can't put alot of torque on it when tightening it down , wouldn't been better to TIG weld it instead ? TIG welding is stronger weld than Brazing . Either way interesting video , keep it up and thank you , William , MN
Brass or bronze has more UTS than the cast iron does. You just have to get the filler to wet out the parent material. That's what flux does, and why silver content is important.
Good question, honestly I don't know that tig would have been preferred for this particular repair. Given its small size and the base material being cast iron, I think there's a strong argument for brazing even if tig is available? But, I'm not the expert lol, and I also don't have tig either way. Thanks very much btw, and thank you for watching!
Pro-hobbyist tip, run a slightly hotter flame than you think you need. Then, hold the tip slightly farther away to spread the heated area out a little farther. This helps prevent hotter than needed spots and a more even heat to the part, which in turn reduces the cracking probability when it cools. It also helps the filler material flow out better as more of the area is evenly heated.
For a first go at brazing cast iron you did really well, you are right practice is the key but looks like you are on the right path. Before i had acess to oxy or tig my first attempts were with a carbon arc torch on the wife's mini fixing bodywork many years ago. Not pretty but it worked 😂
One tip I received many years ago that helped me wrap my head around this type of brazing is to remember the filler material ( brazing rod aka bronze) goes to the heat. Meaning it will always try to go to the hottest point. Flux will help it get there faster. That, and also understanding that the approach angle is what I try to focus on when brazing. I do ALOT of brazing with 45 and bronze is what I use the majority of the time. But your video was still very informative and entertaining. 😊
Thanks very much. That's a really great tip btw. It is a little weird trying to wrap your head around how that works, but it 100% fits with what I've experienced while practicing. One of my big issues was that I was trying to "heat the bronze" directly instead of allowing the job to heat up and then letting the bronze flow to that heat. Makes perfect sense when thinking about struggling to get the bronze to go to the right place.
That's exactly what I did, spent a couple days pulling stuff out of the scrap bucket and trying to stick it together. Definitely glad I finally did it. Brazing has been one of those things that's been getting the best of me for a long time.
Brazing is an art, not that I have any skill with it, I don't, but it takes practice and once it comes together it just works. My 8th grade shop teacher was a brazing Jedi. Why? Because he had done it a lot. The tip he gave me that helped me the most was to melt the rod with the piece you are trying to braze together. Melting the rod with the torch will never work.
Thank you for doing this video. I have a brand new oxy/acet torch setup which I had purchased for the sole purchase of learning how to braze. I have hesitated trying because I really didn't know where to start. I now have some beginning ideas. So, here is my situation. I have a '62 Impala that has some rust holes in parts that are not available in the aftermarket. They are also very complex as far as bends and curves and would be very difficult to reproduce. Since this is in sheet metal which is already thin from the rusting, it appears I should try the silver/bronze vs. the straight bronze because of its ability to flow at a lower temp. I'd be interested in your thoughts since you just brazed razor blades.
You're very welcome, and thank you very much for watching. And that's a really great question. Remember, I'm no expert so take this with a grain of salt, but my initial thought is to say yes, give the silver brazing a try. That said, you also might pick an inconspicuous spot and experiment with both before committing fully. Either way you go, just make sure that you heat the part enough for the filler to bond. With silver brazing, you can melt the filler before you get the base up to temp if you're not careful and it won't stick well. So, whether you go with bronze or silver, you'll want to make sure that the base metal is glowing red before flowing the filler. Also, you can try getting some sheet metal of the same size and cutting it as backer for the holes. It's really difficult to build up and fill holes without some kind of backer, especially for beginners like us. This also give you the benefit of being able to concentrate the heat onto the backer while allowing the backer to help spread that heat to the part. It's very easy to blow a hole through sheet metal with oxy acetylene, so that should be helpful in reducing the pucker factor lol. Also you'd be getting some practice on the back side of the part while you're brazing the backer material in place. Good luck, and thank you for watching!
Sup m8? First! -edit- Damn, you just invented an actual ``safety razor``... What a remarkable feat of engineering! Not just one, but two safety razors in one... Shiet man, that`s some business mind right there in action :P Also, nice job... Yeah, brazing is fucking disgusting... I prefer tig above all other methods, even tig brazing, but that shit doesn`t fly with everything... Brazing is just the worst, right after painting... Cheers! Steuss
Haha, what up bro. Yeah, I don't have a tig, never used one, but I would love to get one and try it. And yeah, painting is I think legally classified as officially the worst... lol
i hate mine, i love mine... i guess mines the bigger sister. HM45...46? it works, but i spent a bit of time learning its idiosyncrasies? being left semi exposed for a few years wasnt the best thing for the bearings... box got water in it. so stripped it down and thats when i found the major issue, that one of the gear shafts has a nasty big crack in it along one of the keyways. from the factory judging by the grinding marks... bit hard to select one speed and i know that one day its going to have to be stripped down and remade... at the same time, see if i can beef it up a bit as well. in this country we have a monopoly of one seller/importer and theyre not interested in after sales support... not even really interested in pre-sales support, lol. a reputation for "customer service" but what can you do given no alternative but bend over and take it? the big challenge will be when i finally get motivated to start scraping it... gotta love the "decorative" factory scraping... it still has the cutter marks on some of the ways! not hard as such, just tedious and some parts weigh a bit. i still cry about letting a bridgeport go years ago as i didnt have the shed for it (remember that bit about "semi exposed"?)
Thanks very much. And no, probably not. I haven't had any issues without it and haven't run into any reason to add it so, it'll probably stay how it is forever at this point lol. And thank you for watching!
