Since the moderator mentioned a few times he didn't like inline pictures, I'll try to keep these as "click to see". My fingers often forget

Anyway, when I built out the new workbenches, I left a protruding cabinet which will support the CNC machine I'm making.

Cabinet:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/yard/garage/IM001766.JPG

Had to make MDF spacers so that the metal chassis of the machine is in-line with the counter top, since the machine will have a fairly large (6") overhang onto the counter top which is where the steppers will reside:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/cnc2/IM001772.JPG

Basic chassis layout, nothing more than some scrap angle iron mitered to fit into the opening of the above cabinet:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/cnc2/IM001774.JPG

Then, I added the backplate which is where the steppers, sprockets, and belts will reside:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/cnc2/IM001781.JPG

Now that I have a lathe, I can make leadscrews, and turn down the ends for bearings:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/cnc2/IM001780.JPG

Then I made a bunch of weird looking metal things out of 1/2" square bar stock, complete with countersunk bolt holes:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/cnc2/IM001789.JPG

Then made four of them, and bolted them together to make sure the hole alignment was better than "reasonable":
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/cnc2/IM001790.JPG

Then I made some bearing spacers, using the lathe. It's kinda funny chucking a 1/4" OD aluminum spacer into a 10" lathe chuck, but hey, ya hafta use what you have, right? Anyway, all the spacers have to be 0.152" - 0.153" for proper fitment, assuming I measured the bearing's hub width correctly. This one looks pretty good.
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/cnc2/IM001787.JPG

And I bolted it all together. 1/2" square bar stock times four, eight bearings, 16 spacers, and eight aircraft stop-nuts. Viola, instant "homebrew" linear slide.
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/cnc2/IM001791.JPG

Now, I have to make five more slides and the supports for the round rails the linear slides travel on, as well as what the leadscrew bearings will attach to.

Fun fun!

 

You are having entirely too much fun now!

BTW- I don't mind the images, but dialup users have a hell of a time with them.

Check out this forum:
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/index.php?

 

I know, you explained thoroughly why I shouldn't post in-line, and I'm trying to remember to accomodate that request. Not sure why I typed the "disclaimer", probably because it's a habit more than anything else.

Anyway, yeah, this is fun, now that I have a decent design after much experimenting. I'm looking forward to cutting things, but that's down the road.

I just need to hurry up as I have quite a few orders for things to cut already.... and no machine to do it on!

 

Drilling out the ends of the stainless, hardened rod to 27/64"
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/cnc2/IM001792.JPG

Tapping to 7/16 course:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/cnc2/IM001793.JPG

Completed rail, with rail supports. I still have to chuck the end supports and skim them with a carbide cutter to make sure as both ends of the rail are the same height off the chassis. You can see the saddle floating in the middle.
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/cnc2/IM001794.JPG

Completed second rail, with supports, still have to skim the bases of the four end supports. I'll do that in a few days once I swap lathe chucks.
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/cnc2/IM001795.JPG

Anyway, back to making 3/16" ID, 0.153" long bushings

 

Tip-

When tapping in a lathe use the tailstock and drill chuck to hold the tap. Push/pull the tailstock (unlocked) forward by hand while jogging the lathe.

Some taps have a center drill in the end, on those you can use a tailstock center and let the tap handle ride on the lathe structure and push/pull the tailstock.

Some taps have a conical end. On those a small piece of bar stock that has been center drilled held in the drill chuck will hold them steady.



Have you picked up an indicator yet? Get a dial type not a digital one. They are far more useful.

 

I tapped the rod by hand, with the lathe's backgear engaged while the 1:1 ratio gear is engaged, and the power off. This way I could "lean into it" and not have the chuck rotate. My tailstock currently only has a dead center... it came with a live center however somehow I can't seem to find it anymore, once I got the whole thing here. I've been thinking for a while it bounced out of the box and out of my pickup on the ride home. It's a MT2 taper so replacing it isn't a big deal.

I didn't realize I could get a drill chuck for the tailstock... or is that something I'd have to make?

I bought some precision measuring equipment, and have been playing with it. A digital caliper, which is pretty nice. It can do OD and ID as well as depth, which is one of the reasons why I bought it. Also got a "switch on/off" magnetic base with an adjustable arm and a dial caliper which arrived today which is quite nice. I was playing with it today and couldn't figure out why it wasn't working... but then it dawned on me - I magnetically attached it to the saddle, and the roller on the end touched the workpiece. As I trimmed back the workpiece, the saddle moved to the left - with the dial indicator

Doh!

I guess I have a lot more learning to do... but I do like this machine a lot. I could easily fill my "mistake" rubbermaid container and still be happy. Thanks for the tips, BTW. Wouldn't mind more info about the tailstock/drill chuck.

 

I have 4 different size drill chucks, face plate, live and dead centers plus 2 brass jawed chucks for the tail stock to hold armature shafts to turn commutators and alternator slip rings. The face plate is handy to start dies, live center for taps. It's only a 12 x 36 lathe (small) with back gear, 10" 3 and 4 jaw chucks plus face plate. Thread cutting is a gear change out not a shifter box. With the 12" rotary table and Bridgeport all I need is time and imagination without the wife pestering. Fun with machine tools ya!
Now if I can sneak TigerDan's big lathe away from him I can swing rims.
.....=o&o>.....

 

This place is in the UK but it has some interesting books. You can probably find them in the US also.
http://www.lathes.co.uk/

Enco has all of the drill chucks and adapters to fit your tailstock you could want. They also have other tooling etc.
http://www.use-enco.com/

Now if only I could get my big lathe set up I could swing rims also...

 

Thank you Beemer and Torque for all the info. Seriously, thank you.

Here's a pic of my lathe:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/yard/...t/IM001730.JPG

And a writeup I found on the web about this machine:
http://www.lathes.co.uk/clausing/page2.html

BTW, that site has tons of information about many different lathes so if you're missing the manual, or need to know if a machine has a feature or not, that's a good place to go (top center of main page).

Just went through use-enco.com, thanks for the lead on that. Also googled around a bit and landed on ebay (go figure), for someting like this:

eBay 7622216768: 5/8" Drill Chuck / MT2 Drawbar Arbor

One of many, many such auctions.

A live center is a necessity, and a drill chuck will make it easier to align drill bits (chuck and drill) than what I'm doing now. Great tips, thank you guys.

I do have two questions though... I've seen in the Enco catalog "tapping heads" with the MT2 on the back... is that a gearbox? Or just an adustable chuck-type thing with a square socket for taps?

And... how does the MT2 devices in the tailstock not spin? I stared at my dead center for a while last night and it wasn't terribly obvious to me. It's tapered, and fits into the tapered hole, but I haven't been tapping it in the way one would install a new chuck on a commercial grade drill press, for example. Goes in, comes out, but it doesn't rotate. More of a curiosity thing!

 

Well, figured out how the morse taper thing doesn't spin in the socket - there's a tab that's supposed to be on the end (looking at pictures, and googling for information about morse tapers in general). Seems my dead center doesn't have this so it probably has enough friction in the taper not to spin, but at least I answered the question

I think I'll start off with a few simple tailstock things and have at it. Thanks guys!

 

We can spend your money on machine tools. Try MSC Tools.
I found that having a Bridgeport mill is cheap, it's all the tooling to fully use it that costs more than the mill.
Now you need a Bridgeport mill to compliment the lathe., it never ends.

.....=o&o>.....

 

I'm so old, I thought 'CNC' meant 'Count 'N Crank'! The taper is designed to lock by virtue of the wedge effect of the taper. The tang on the end is NOT what prevents it from turning. It's there to assist in removing it. That taper can get mighty tight under pressure. My drill chucks mount on to an R-8 (Bridgeport) adapter with a taper that's only about 5/8" long (and no tang!), and that will handle a 1/2" drill bit drilling tool steel! The taper must be very clean and burr-free if it is to lock in well. Sometimes if they've been 'spun', they will be galled up and not lock well. On old-timey drill presses, there is a slot in the quill at the bottom of the taper, and you drive a wedge in there to pop the Morse taper loose. On most lathes, if you back the tailstock off enough it will push the taper out. If you have trouble with a taper that doesn't want to lock in even if it's clean, try slamming it into place sharply. That usually will seat it.

 

$$$$$$$$$$$$ -Ain't it fun!!!

A drill press chuck also has the same tang on the end of the shanks that prevents turning the taper alone will not prevent turning in all cases. A mill uses a key and a draw bar to hold the tooling.

Glad you liked the links! There are other places to get tooling on the web as well as local places. I have a place called Air Parts that deals in industrial surplus tooling, and aircraft salvage here in town. They have all sorts of metal alloys available as well as tooling that is out of spec for production use but still usable in a home shop. There may be similar places in your area. Check with the guys in your local forum here and on some of the shop forums.

Get some of those books on lathe work. There are soooo many things you can do with that machine and so many tips for doing them with pictures and diagrams! -You will be amazed!!! I had the advantage of having a really good Industrial Arts Professor in College as well as working in two tool and die shops. Some of the shortcuts used in a production environment are interesting.

Your lathe can actually do milling type operations also. You can make much of your own specialized tooling with your lathe.

Also post some pics of the type of things you will be doing with your CNC machine!

 

I built a oversize Tesla coil in my HS machine shop class for my electric shop project. As Alameda is next to the Oakland Airport when the coil was fired off that gave us a visit from the FAA, they are not a friendly bunch.
If it involved high energy, speed or horsepower I was into it before HS onward.

.....=o&o>.....

 

This is a link to the UK site with a writeup on my lathe:
http://www.lathes.co.uk/voest/
Mine is slightly larger, 20" swing, 24" in the gap, 60"+ bed with hardened ways, and a 5.5KW ~7.5HP motor, but it looks exactly the same.

I have always wanted to build a Tesla coil, they are sooo much fun to play with. An old gentleman I knew as a kid had one with about a 36" long center coil, approx 100,000 volts. It would throw a 10-12" arc depending on conditions.