Workshop and machinery mods and tips,

nice pp. is that a cut off Vernier for a dro ?.

I didn’t no isopropyl alc thinned epoxy

Lol, vernier it is not. It was a cheap set of digital calipers that I modified for the task. Being cheap I’m not worried about it getting swarf and oil all over it. Good for working within cooee and then switch to checking the work with calipers.

I’ll try and keep that epoxy tip in mind but by the time I’ll find a use for it the knowledge will probably have leaked out my ear :cowboy_hat_face:

I stripped down my mini drill press and added a tred mill motor and controller to make it variable speed :slight_smile:

Any pics!:slight_smile:

Let me see if I have any on my phone, if not I’ll post some later

I made up a handle for the lathe spindle. I don’t have a use for it yet so haven’t put it through it’s paces. It’s made from a 20mm concrete expansion anchor and some other bits and pieces. The first time I use it I’ll get a feel for how tight I need to crank it, and if it can withstand the torque etc… I’m hoping it will slip out easily afterwards but if it doesn’t I have a redesign in mind.

Works with Devcon 2-ton, JB weld, and wood restorer. Not my idea but I can vouch for it with those three products.

added dro’s to the lathe cross slide and saddle the small one came from banggood the long one off ebay, look like the same units.

also found these 2 screws loose they hold the nut for the cross slide .may explain some inaccuracy I have been having (perhaps cuased from milling?)routine maintenance I guess.

You won’t know yourself with the dro. Nice mod.

Nice! A DRO on both axis. I only have one.

Not a mod but an unusual request, I had a work mate ask me to buff up his darts. Using the lathe also made it easier to straighten the bent ones. Here are some before and after shots.

At the owners instruction I didn’t do the body on these ones as he wanted to retain the coating. Just the tip, tail and grooves but I did forget to clean out the rear grooves when I took this pic :person_facepalming:

So by the end I figured all I was doing was cleaning his sticky finger jam off :confounded: It was a fun little project that didn’t take much time.

I started this a couple weeks ago but didn’t have an 8mm tapper so only finished it this weekend. On my drill press I ground back the mounting point for the depth gauge so it’s flat across the top. I didn’t get a before shot but it was an awful angle that point loaded the nut.


I also added another guide/aligning screw to give it some rigidity and spin true. I wouldn’t say it is perfect now but it’s much better than it was.



Whats the two threaded bolts in the main housing for?

That’s the guide/aligning screws (sorry I don’t know the proper terminology). You can see a groove in the spindle shaft (above the chuck when it’s extended down), these screws stop the shaft from rattling around in the main housing. Other (more expensive drills…. yes I cheaped out……again), have a bolt that clamps the housing around the shaft. This model relied on one screw pushing into the shaft. Now it’s got 2.

Hope I explained it better this time :blush:

Quill Lock.

Lol, okay, quill lock. But if that was it’s intended use then that’s not what I’m using it for. Without these screws done up snug the err quill slops around and drill bits fly around in little arcs.

Guide bushings a little worn out, eh? Oil Lite or Ampco Graphite Bronze bushings? :+1: Or is your quill guided by the Cast Iron Housing? :cry:

Yes. It’s a real cheap and nasty.

Thanks pp. got it. I dont recall seeing them before on drill presses.

This one is ripped off from Mrs dnf ,sorry Steve.
For machining parts you don’t want to damage, just machine up a thin wall split sleeve

good to use a reference point on your chuck, I use the made in china badge

I have a dozen or so split tubes all different sizes. They keep growing as you never have the right size. Its also a good way to hold tiny parts.
Yours looks like it was made from a hydraulic cylinder rod. :+1: