Hardtail Vise Build Ep.18: Swivel Base Counterbore 

There is this old German proverb: only those who do not work make no mistakes. Keep it up Adam, great journey.

I know plenty of people only like when use old iron, but when you explain your process and why your using CNC, it's just as enjoyable.

Practice pieces are important. Often the difference between good and better is the practice piece that never got out of the shed.

The precise and almost inhuman helical cutting down to an exact size, all done by programming learnt by yourself; is proof indeed that you are on the road to mastering yet another skill.

I haven't been a CNC machinist for a couple of years now, but I have over 10 years of experience doing it. One thing I learned was to always, always set a chamfer tool high and readjust a few times to get the perfect dimension.

"May all your 'learning experiences' be covered by later assemblies" - I heard that one when I first started engineering

I think it’s so cool that you’re learning all this new stuff. We should always be learning and pushing ourselves in our professions and keep striving to do better. There’s a bad stigma or stereotype in the trades where the more “old school” types would scoff at CNC or designing using the computer. I’m just glad that you seem to be forever a student of your trade.

I wonder in 100 years when someone takes this apart if they’ll realize how unique having these areas machined is.

My wife is laughing in the background. She doesn't watch the videos but hears it while I am watching. She figures that little error is going to keep you awake, Adam. She's married to a woodturner with the same mindset, so she knows. I love that part of how you do things - the insistence on excellence and attention to the aesthetics, even if the part cannot be seen.

These videos of yours has taught me so much about how to be a machinist you cant go wrong with a shop lesson from Adam Booth!

One step at a time Adam. Your progress is amazing.

Keep up the fine work. Working with new equipment and software is an inspiration to us. Thank you for taking the time to post.

Adam, you're attention to detail and the little personal touches like this project is why I love your videos. Keep it up man

Adam, there is no better teacher than failure. Glad the part looks beautiful and will function 100% fine even with a chamfer 10x deeper than intended.

Good video,Adam.Learning something new every day.Thank you.

If you aren’t making mistakes, you aren’t learning. Still was a really nice finish overall.

Hey, Adam, no worries. Practicing new processes on a casting with no redo possible takes guts. You're doing great.

Looking good! Thanks for keeping in the mistakes it's inspiring. I make tons of mistakes in my garage and seeing you make them too reminds me that we're all human.

Simulation software is great, but your ability to structure machining processes is even better. good 👍👍👍👍👍

Nobody will ever see that chamfer, but you know it's there. That kind of stuff drives me crazy too.

Always a learning curve to anything. So many things that can be missed. All part of the learning process. Thanks for sharing.

Very nice Adam, you are truly rocking this Vise. It's going to be a beaut when its done! Thank you for sharing.

Adam, I almost jumper out of my chair when the chamfer tool took that big bite! I remembered you saying the chamfer would be .010.

as always, appreciate you showing the mistakes, explaining how and why they're mistakes, and going through how to avoid them in the future. I don't know much about the CNC things, but I appreciate you taking us on this journey with you. You're doing great!

Great Video...Thank You...

You can teach an old dog new tricks, but it takes longer...except you. You soaked this stuff up quick, but you know how to learn and you are really interested. Thanks for the lessons.

Excellent! And a little human... which is excellent.

I love seeing this journey. Thank you for sharing.

Please keep sharing how you’re using Fusion 360. Thank you!

Screen is fine fun watching you get through this had to learn myself the curve is steep but worth it.

This has been a really interesting and informative series. Nice work and thanks for taking the time to film and post it.

Trouble with those CNCs is they do exactly what you tell them to do! 😜

In this country we say he who never makes a mistake, never fucking does anything. we build our success on top of our failures. keep on truckin Adam you’re on a good path.

that natural gray w/ black jaws and meatballs looks good

Well done, sir, what a monster of a vice!

I use fusion 360 for my projects. I learn something from your videos nearly every time. When I do the simulations I turn the model off to get a better picture of the finish product.

Live and learn like everybody else! Great video! Great tool!

Adam, longtime viewer and sub. I have no metal working tools. I am a, cut twice measure with my eyes closed kinda woodworker.. My boxes usually have 3 sides... But I love to watch craftsmen ( and Women...) using their craft and skill! The exponential steps in Video quality and the refined content you and Abby ( both in shop and in the wilds...) have produced over the years is simply amazing! I love watching your craftsmanship... But for this post, I wanted to applaud your learning and application of technologies both in the tool room and in video production! I truly have enjoyed being on this journey with you guys!!

Hey Abom. Brit here, learning Fusion 360 myself for making 3D prints from great RU-vidrs just like you, making random things for friends, Eventually I hope to get into engineering with that skillset. Thanks for another upload! No projects too small.

I don't know how many mistakes like that I've made learning "while doing stuff for myself." If it's functional, who cares. You both learned something and came away with a usable part. That's still a success even if you prefer perfection. You are way more confident now Adam. When you started you were just straight up intimidated by the whole process (which everyone should be at the beginning). Now you are just about to the point where you know what you need to look up. Which is a good feeling because crossing into the self-sufficient learning zone means you are really on your way.

You can just rotate the base to place the access window with the hole for the screw one side at a time!

Room for extra grease for the shoulder bolt. Thanks for sharing.

It's little mistakes like the chamfer.... That means that you are learning and you can always say that it's there for a grease reservoir! 🤔😁👍

How mesmerizing was that ?

the helical bore path reminds me of dropping a quarter into one of those make-a-wish coin things at the mall

"There are no mistakes, only lessons." -Dad Still, a beautiful job!

You did ok Adam you are human.

You could make a beveled washer to fill the void. I’d enjoy that video.

I have a cnc router for woodworking, I also use fusion 360. Outside of an auto cad course I took, I pretty much taught myself how to make things in a 3D cad program and transfer that to a cnc machine. It’s good you seek guidance when trying new operations but I’ve found experimenting with the program and utilizing the simulation function really teaches you a lot. Also, using safe work pieces like foam insulation allows you to test your program while eliminating waste of a workpiece and eliminating damage to your machine. Obviously if you have the means to hire professional help, all the power to you, absolutely nothing wrong with that. But also don’t be afraid to dabble safely. There’s a lot of benefits to gain from discovering something on your own. I love your channel and this build series, keep it up!

Great job Adam!

Adam, If you set the window in the base over the bolt hole in the vise, you could have set the locking lug right down on the bolt, then once the bolt was started turn the base till the window was over the other bolt hole and start the second bolt into the second lug.

enjoying your build. it's a machinist's hotrod. i dig it. 👍

Adam, you need a light up on the back side of the tool head on the CNC mill. The back of the machine/table is a huge shadow. I think that will make the milling footage look 100% better. Love your channel. Shout out to Abby. It’s cool to see her more on the channel lately.

Ah, the pitfalls of digital machining. Awesome vise, turning out great. Thanks, Adam.

Good job. Thank you 😊

What a machine!! Don't fret, Adam, only you and us will know of the goof. :-)

Nice work! When you need to edit a tool path instead or right clicking and hitting "edit" you can just double click on the tool path itself and the edit screen pops up. On chamfering operations like that I like the chamfer mill to be offset down in Z as much as possible (chamfer tip offset value). That means you are actually cutting with the larger diameter of the chamfer mill. This gets the SFM of the tool up and helps make a cleaner chamfer especially in aluminum.

I find that in life, I remember my errors far longer than my successes........Chalk it up to learning a new skill. I think you're doing a great job!

Man, you are getting great at this! I can't wait to see the episode where you crash it. There are two types of CNC experts. Those that have crashed their CNC and those that lie about crashing there CNC. In this case, you have moved forward. I love watching your discoveries.

My suggestion for installing the base clamps With the body upside down place the base on the body & fit the bolt Rotate the base until the cutout in the base lines up with one of the clamp holes Put the clamp in the in the cutout & screw the clamp bolt into the clamp Rotate the base 180 degree & repeat

Beautiful vice, and good job on the machining! The end is nigh!

Nice job Adam...

one hell of a Vice

Great work Adam! No-one will know about the whoopsie except you and us! 😊

The slot where the clamps are is called a race.

Adam. Nice work of the Fusion modelling, its a bummer to see the mistake, but great trouble shooting to find it. The simple model you drew is a common approach to designing and working with key features. If you wanted to add more of the features you had previously left out without the need to draw the entire item manually. Consider using the Canvas feature. In that you take a photo of the item (make sure you use a tripod with the lens parallel to the surface you are capturing, I'd also have transfer punches upside down in the holes so you have clear visual centre points). You need to manually measure between two points (hence the centre points) to get a exact distance, then in fusion after importing the canvas you calibrate the image by setting the correct distance between those same two known points you have the manual measurement for. Once the image has been calibrated you can use the outline when sketching to quickly draw your base lines before setting dimensions to get your sketch in the ball park size and shape. A second fusion feature to get training on or read about is "Parameters", these are static dimensions you can set in a single place, and apply custom names to. For example, if you only use 3 chamfer depths 10thou, 20thouh and 30thou, then you'd create a Parameter for each option with a custom name like Cham10, Cham20 Cham30. then in your tool path setting instead of using an actual number value you instead put in the Parameter name in this example Cham10. Its a great way to have at your disposal dimensions you use all the time for specific uses (Builders do the same for things like standard door openings etc). by using Parameters for your regularly used dimensions, you'll get in the habit of going to the parameters page and checking a single list before committing a drawing. Also if you need to make a change for what ever reason, then applying the change to the Parameters section of a dimension applies that everywhere that the Parameters name is used, so on a large job you'll adjust all Chamfers (in this example) from one place. I hope that gives you some food for thought, Take care D

Good job...I say it passes 100% this far. Also, yes I would hit those swivel pads with the mill to remove the "marbles" roughness to aid in clamping, good idea. No worries on the decimal point ! It happens to us all.

Very nice, series is great

I modified my swivel base vise. I had problems with the swivel clamps binding unless I loosened them right off. I installed springs on the clamping bolts that pushed the T=nuts away when loosened. Worked a treat.

I know your struggling with that CNC programming but your getting better. Every time I watch a video I see improvement. And just want say these videos have been an absolute inspiration to me. This weekend I started making my 1st real tool for my shop. It’s a spider to hold rifle actions. Taking those deep cuts with beautiful straw and blue color chips no squealing no chatter the 1st thing I thought of was you. I’ll finish it off this weekend. Keep er going man you’re doing great.👍

Thanks for sharing

Thanks, Adam. Really impressive to see you get you kick CNC's ass!

Good learning experience!

To line up the bottom to the top you could have screwed in some studs in the bottom and slipped the studs thru the holes of the vise.

Looking good

Looks great. More learning bud.

Really cool you taking on Fusion and sharing what you're learning. I don't know how to use it at all, all the tips you can share are fantastic! Big beefy vise needs a big beefy chamfer! Honestly if you didn't explain the issue, it would look perfectly reasonable to me. I'm glad you did explain though, the process for double checking the simulation was interesting.

Oh hey, that vise was made here! Didn't know we did that.

Those darn decimal places. I made a batch of bronze gears once where I had the depth of an internal shoulder off by a zero after the decimal point. Fortunately for me the gears functioned fine in the application. I feel your pain. While I can't say I will never make a similar mistake again... I haven't yet made another similar mistake. As a machinist my best hope is that I will remember all the mistakes I have made and make fewer of them in the future. It's all about attention to detail. Sometimes the mistake is way back in a calculation (or data entry point in your case.) Fine video Adam and fine work. Thanks for sharing.

Yay, more shaper videos to come!!!!

If the radius is reducing then it's a spiral path, not a helical path.

If that .1 chamfer bothers you too much ... make it a feature and make a new lock bolt with a corresponding cone shaped shoulder. THAT would be a challenging project on the CNC lathe!

I'm setting in my drs office watching your video and you are wearing the same shirt that I have on.

G'day Adam. The CNC did a great job, even though the swivel base champher was .090" to deep, all I would have done is cut the flat bolt surface down .090" giving you the required. 010" champher. Then just re machine the Swivel Lock Bolt to correct dimensions in length, & all would be perfect Really nice job so far 👏 👍🏻 👌

Thank goodness that mistake happened here instead of an expensive part.

You could make a cool, triangular cross-section filler washer for the overly chamfered bore. Something contrasting like brass would look good.

Those holders are very cool! First ive seen of that system. We have some Haimer 3d probes and absolutely love those.

On the Mac a screen recording is very simple. Open QuickTime and choose File > New Screen Recording. You can choose to record the entire screen or use the “crop handles” to select the area to be recorded. Hit the record button on the bottom interface and when you’re done, click the stop icon on the top of the screen in the task bar. It might automatically save the video on the desktop as a .MOV file.

Hey, I have really enjoyed watching you machine this vice. I am always trying to improve my skills and sometimes I mess up a little. The trick is to make your mistakes only noticeable to you, except you put your mistakes on RU-vid.

This is the type of CNC content I've bene waiting for

Nice job Adam. Sorry for your slip up :). My thought for assembling the swivel base would be to do it upside down as you started off. Place the swivel base on top, then install the swivel bolt. You can then simply swivel the base until the access opening is above one of the toggle bolt holes. Drop the slot nut into the slot through the access hole directly over the bolt hole in the main body. Install the toggle bolt loosely. Then just swivel the base 180° to line up with the second hole & rinse & repeat…

It's Always Something©

I used to use a pick like that with just a little 90 on the end for pulling wheel lug covers on vw's and bmws back when i was a lube tech lots of oil and tire changes i hated pulling those caps if you didnt get behind them good enough sometimes they would break coming off

Next time you need to put the two pieces together, do it upside down, rotate the opening over the bolt hole and get one started. Then rotate it 180 degrees putting the opening over the other bolt hole and get the second one going. This way you can see what you are doing.

13:16 .. The ida of heat shrinking a utte seems a bit I don't know, a bit different at least. BUT when you think of it? There's no moving part nothing to wear out, it's super compact when finished, and had GOT to WAY cheaper than the compilated and exact machining needed to make accollet. I was reading on lime the life span of a shrink fit holder can be thousands of heat and cool uses, if properly heated and cooled as Adam was showing as mandated by the manufacture. Something I DIDN'T think of is tool life of the cutter is normally extended GREATLY, with Twice to EIGHT times the utting lifespan, due to lack of vibration, flex and "whipping" a tool gets when helded in a common collet. Especially with solid carbide cutting tools lie Adam is using. I find this very interesting!! Amazing!

I am not sure if others have mentioned this but there is a trick where you use a needle scaler to match the texture of a casting. For example the parts of the casting that were cleaned up with an angle grinder and smoothed out, with a needle scaler you make the smooth parts look like the rougher casting. Not sure if you want to bother but may be nice.

Just FWIW, based on how your static model showed through in the simulation, this looked about the same as I thought it would. Keep practicing!

Oh, that was so fun to watch. Good job! Your chamfer width problem is a common one in all computer programming. Especially when your CNC program hasn't been used very often, it would be useful to put in some tests to see if the numbers being punched in by the operator are reasonable. For example, here, you have a subprogram to chamfer the end of a bore hole. I can't imagine you wanting to make a chamfer width of less that .002" or greater than .02" in most circumstances. You can likely come up with better bounds than I can. But, as you said, a chamfer width of 0.1" just looks weird. So, add some code in the first part of your chamfer program to test whether the chamfer width punched in by the operator is within reasonable bounds. If not, pause the program and give the operator an error code that means "unusual chamfer width". If the operator knows that his boss really wants such an odd chamfer width then the operator can tell the program to continue.

Adam, I know you said that the(miss cut) is “no big deal “ but given that you pride yourself on your work accomplishments and it’ll be on your mind for ever, I have a suggestion. Spray weld it, and then recut it. (just a suggestive thought).

Beer and machining video's on a Saturday night. Life is good. I'm going to get more at midnight. Hold on I'll be back🍻🍻🍻