There's a whole methodology developed from this insight: TDD or Test Driven Development. I've found it works best for things like APIs or libraries. The process of writing the test illuminates the problem space surprisingly well making the implementation much more straight forward.
I agree with you 100 percent. I also have a 4" rotary table, fortunately I did not purchase it. I opted for the 8" table, but my mill is a little larger. But boy is it heavy. Great video for budding home machinists.
I think at this point Quinn has copy-pasted "I use the V-blocks all the time. It's the U-clamps that are useless." About 5 times now by my count. It's the U clamps people!
my v-blocks with saddle clamps now live on my metal cutting bandsaw table, after I learned that trick & was astonished at my ignorance in trying to hold a piece of round stock between my fingers (while it would invariably spin out on me) or with a vise grip pliers.
Q, you mentioned that the 6" rotary table had so much more clamping area while petting the bed. There isn't much clamping area on any rotary table. just four slots that are way too wide and are a bottomless pit when trying to actually mount a part. I ended up making a square aux table for my 6" with 1/4-20 holes at one inch intervals. This is probably the most useful thing I have ever done for my fun little garage shop.
Thank you, this was helpful. I've been pondering buying a set of the V-blocks with clamps and one of the reasons I haven't was the clearance issue you spoke about. Thanks again for sharing this with us.
I've got several sets of V-blocks that are quite useful with a standard set of hold-downs I use on my mill, I also have the clamps that are useless except every once in a while. I've made a custom clamp more than once for one job.
Thanks for helping us newbie's. I'm constantly back and forth on quality vs. price. What to buy is probably the greatest money waster of all. Some things are easy, such as cheap mill vises. Nobody on yt or forums have ever said, " it's ok to buy a cheap vice". Thanks for pointing all of us in the right direction. Retired RR keep steaming
Thank you for another content rich and delightfully humorous video. As a septuagenarian hobby machinist I have but one thing to say on the subject of unused tools, you got off easy. Cheers, F.C.
Being a machinist for almost 40 years, I can confirm what she's said here, with a couple of caviates about V-blocks. You have to have the correct type for the job at hand, which would be based on what you're doing. Where I've used them the most is doing die and mold work on the surface grinder, which would probably be well outside the scope of what most people are doing for a hobby.
@@Blondihacks That would go back to type. I've got 3 styles myself, 2 from Starret and a cheap pair I bought for one small production run at a former employer. Both the Starret's are the type where the clamps are below the surface of the blocks so you can use them in multiple positions. One set of two are a matched set, approx. 2×3×3, the other is what I would call a "pin block" due to it almost being mandatory for working with headed ejection pins for molds, as well as headed punches for stamping dies. The thing of it is, I'm now a CNC machinist in a job shop, and none of them have come out of the box in almost a decade. When you have a programmable 4th axis on every machine, you don't need them. Same for my collet blocks. That being said, I'm not getting rid of any of them, because I'd like to get a couple of machines for home again (last small shop setup had to go to try and keep the house awhile back).
@@PheonixRise666 Thanks for the clarification. I thought he had some V blocks that had small air bubbles exploding into them somehow while they were submerged. Silly me
I wanted to borrow my dad's V blocks and he told me to make my own. I made a pair but only one clamp. That was in the 1980s and I've never had a need for a second clamp. After I left the factory environment I've used them as a third hand for soldering wires on various round connectors more than anything else.
Good one on the rotary table and I find myself using V-Blocks mostly for endwork on round stuff. I might have to digg trough my shop for tools that i should not have bought.. :D
Hello Quinn and everyone else. I agree with you about the swivel vice base being almost unnecessary. I have never used mine. Based on this video, I removed my swivel base yesterday and re-clocked my vice. On the very next job, forgetting that the vice handle was now much lower, my hand crashed into the bellows supporting strip and sliced my knuckle to the bone. So be careful folks. It is not only a spinning tool or part that can hurt.
I went the opposite route on my rotary table. I thought a 10 inch would be good for my 18 inch round column mill. Found one on eBay that was local pickup (still 80 miles away). I realized I was in trouble when the guy loaded it into my pickup with a forklift. Turns out it was advertised incorrectly and was actually a 12 inch Enco indexing table weighing about 300 pounds. Used an engine hoist to put it on my mill to find that it hits the column well before the spindle reaches the center of the table. I still have it hoping that someday I will buy a mill that will handle it. I use an 8 inch rotary table most of the time.
Quinn, this would be an absolutely amazing video for Video Chapters I believe they are general release for all creators, but I could be wrong Basically, it's just a list of timestamps and accompanying titles 00:00 Start 01:00 Minute 1 etc Would really help the availability of information!
@@ratdude747 all three of my rotary tables have dividing discs on them, but I agree that they are not ideal for gear cutting, without one. Another option would be to put on a stepper motor and an electronic division counter.
Great video, as always, Quinn! I learned the sizing issue right off the bat with my little mill. I ordered a 6" vice to start with, left me with no verticle movement, as well as the fact that it wasn't properly able to be mounted! 4" will do the trick! Nope! The three inch vice was all my mill can handle as it turns out! Thanks for the awesome information!
You are so right! I think a fair bit of this comes from old workshop practice, books I have show processes which use many traditional tools which I thought I would need but that I have rarely if ever used. My milling vice came with a swivel base, I placed it on the mill and thought “where has all my headroom gone?” Vee-blocks’ clamps and a scriber mounted in a stand done all of that. Note to self, must try an expensive end mill. (None seem cheap to me)
So funny to see that the mighty Quinn has the same collection of unused tools that I have. The only exception being the 4" rotary table, which is perfect for my Sherline mill.
Snap, made the same mistake with buying a small tilting rotary table for my small mill (Warco WM12), now on to the 6" Vertex which is much better and like your mill is a perfect fit for the machine
Hi, Quinn, I love your content. I am from Brazil and I always get back to your channel for learning. You are amazingly clever! congratulations for the channel. Thank you.
i got a 12" rotary table that has an mt3 taper in the middle- and i use that taper to allign stuff very often,very usefull,only drawback, exept the weight, is that i cant mount it vertically - but yes, it's pretty heavy - but i also got a 6"
V blocks and U clamps see a decent amount of use in my primarily welding shop! Especially to clamp to a pipe I'm bending to use as an angle finder reference surface to make sure my bends are all in line or if I need to rotate the pipe between bends. I don't think I've ever used one on the Bridgeport though 😅
I think small V blocks are creatures of layout, not machining. In the early days of accurate machining (and rather more recently for amateurs) a lot of work was marked accurately (to the nearest 1/100") using surface plate, squares, scribes and surface gauges. Flat stock was fixed to angle plates, and round stock was held in V blocks. Actual cutting was done working to the lines. If you're using a mill with engraved handwheels, or a DRO, this is ... not needed. Modern layout is done with a rule and a sharpie, just to avoid bozo errors. In the modern world, V blocks are used to hold big ol' drive shafts (and hydraulic rams). Over at CEE Curtis uses V blocks quite routinely.
Think the rotary I bought was 5" or 6", reason I don't remember is because I still made a aluminium fixture plate out of a round 20mm thick 8(ish) diameter plate 'scrap', which made it way more useful(using sacrificial mdf or plywood plates on top of that machined to fit the part makes it even more useful) side note: old brake disks makes for epic and huge fixture-plate upgrades to a rotary table. Have actually used the v-blocks Io got when I was starting out a few times, but on their side in a vise for larger diameter round-stock that needed flats or ends machined in some way. Only regret I have about choosing ER collet blocks over 5c is that I wish I had gotten ER40 or 50 rather than ER32(although the 1mm dimensional leeway for each collet size is still very useful even in ER32, just have to turn a 20mm sacrificial nubin on the part to hold it)
Regarding buying good quality: The first time I used hand files that were actually sharp instead of my dad's that have been rattling in their drawer for 30 years was a revelation!
I have a Sherline Rotary table and a Sherline 4 inch 4 jaw chuck and many v- Blocks and a large amount of clamps and an assortment of Starrett and Mitutoyo tools.
I had the thought that perhaps the V-block strap clamps could be used for temporarily holding a part in the V-block while other workholding is being changed so you don't lose the part's rotational position. It is a bit of a stretch though.
I have that 6" Vertex and and it doesn't line up with the T slots on my mill, I had to make a mounting plate. I wonder if the 8" would line up. That's a point, when buying fixtures, check the drawings before you buy, make sure it's going to fit your equipment.
I just last week drug my little 4 inch rotary table out of hiding and made a 6 inch fixture plate for it after watching you make one . Looks like it will work great ! If I use it ...
Thank you Quinn for a very educational video. I also bought a pair of V blocks and I agree that they are not used much. This is the first video that has popped up in quite some time. Are you doing weekly videos????
I use my V blocks mostly for metrology purposes at the surface plate. I've also designed and built some CMM fixtures for production parts using them. When you need them they are exactly the right tool, the rest of the time they patiently wait in their case, we'll oiled.
I agree with almost everything but on my Bridgeport I have enough vertical height and I've occasionally made use of the swivel base. Admittedly I could clamp a part directly to the table for an angular cut, but the swivel is just easier. I'd agree with someone else's comment about 123 blocks. I haven't found a good use for them other than as occasional packing on the mill - a rare event.
I had the exact same issue with the swivel base. The thing is in a cabinet and hasn't seen the light of day since maybe around 2011. I also agree on 6" being an optimal size for a rotary table. Big enough for most things I need it for, small enough for my aged, injured ass to lift.
Great video. Fortunately I chose 8" rotary table and I did not regret. But the rest of the items were in my bucket list for shopping. Now after the video it is really obvious that I am only that hobby machinist, that makes same mistakes that all hobby machinist do.
I needed to inspect a spindle (quill in fact) recently and I think a pair of V blocks would have made it so much easier for me. Instead I had to make a custom fixture for the spindle, with two makeshift "dead ends". I do not have a lathe.
Excellent video! I wonder if the buttery collet block lock ring could be easily hardened? It's to late for yours, but on future el-cheapo hardware purchases maybe?
For what it's worth, I use an 8" rotary table on my Sieg X2. There's just enough space to center to mill spindle over the rotab spindle, and enough Y travel to reach the back edge. This is useful for some things, but clearly not ideal. The 5" is an ideal size for the x2 in my humble opinion.
Funny that you actually bought a swivel base for your milling vise and that you never used it. When I purchashed my used J Head Bridgeport it came with a full sized Kurt vice with the swivel base. First thing I did was take off the swivel base, stored it away and have never touched it again.
We humans are often confused by diameter sizing and what it really means. The volume of a 1" pipe is 4 times that of a 1/2" pipe, instead of the 2 times that our brain wants to make it. In the same way that a 15" is more than twice the pizza of a 10" just doesn't sound right.
I have an 8" rotary which is heavy, but I can still lift it on by hand. Anything bigger than that would need a hoist or a friend. I always appreciate the generous table size when I use it. Plenty of room for clamps outside the workpiece. I use my v-blocks a lot, but I can't remember the last time I used a U-clamp! Take away from the video. Don't buy it until you need it!
Actually this was the most useful vid to me from You ever. I´m just that guy, I got myself a Wabeco xy drillpress so I could (maybe) do milling things, they even have a lathe thingy for the Wabeco system. So: I have a little, all wooden attic I can´t use in summer because of the heat and it sucks in winter, too. Basically I have one, two months per year I can do stuff comfy. And I CRAVE a lathe. I´m that guy that´s always broke but isn´t a junkie who so bad would like to get into being able to do stuff myself that it hurts. Anyways: Kind Regards
In addition to my longtime mini mill and lathe, I recently purchased a Sherline version of each. I tend to only buy accessories as I need them, and that’s how the Sherline rotary table wound up in my bag of tricks. I’ve used it several times, always happy with the operation of it except for one issue that’s not the fault of Sherline. Readers of this comment are encouraged to give feedback on their experiences with this issue on any size of rotary table! The issue: focusing my attention on the piece being machined, I reach out to turn the crank on the RT and notice that the motion is moving in the Y orientation, and not radial, due to grabbing the wrong crank handle! I’ve gone to placing a loose fitting spray can cap over the Y crank to discourage this recalcitrant behavior! Anyone else experience this dilemma??
I have the exact opposite problem of that 4 inch rotary table. I have a 15 inch Bridgeport rotary table that I got with my Bridgeport mill. I can't lift it by myself and need an engine hoist to lift that monster onto the mill. I will definitely be getting a smaller one in the future.
I once bid on a rotary table on an online auction. It was on a really cute small pallet. No one else bid, I got it for £5. Went to pick it up in my saloon car, and it turned out to be an 18" rotary table on a full sized pallet. Excellent value, but not super useful for my small mill! And the car was on its bump stops on the way home 😂
I bought the harbor freight mini Mill with an r8 spindle and went on Amazon to buy my tools including a r8 boring head, while it does fit into my machine and I only have about an inch of travel
I have run into that collet ring issue in a lot of cheaply made stuff that may or may0not be from China. It sounds like sometimes the parts miss a hardening step. I bought some brad-point drill bits that immediately untwisted themselves into 2 flute cutters.
I tend to like Adam Savage's advice on tools, though I think there are contexts where it doesn't quite work out... but for when it does, it goes something like this: The first time you buy something, buy the cheapest one you can find. Then, if you like it, buy the most expensive one you can afford.
@@Steve_1401 it takes time and money to remove carbon from steel so why would anyone want to overdo it and remove it all ...i would think that leaving too much carbon in it and ending up with a product which was more like cast iron than steel would be the direction they would have gone ...please correct me if i am wrong
Wisdom: "Then I understood the problem I was actually trying to solve." That's a level up right there!
That’s often the crux of it- the problem isn’t correctly identified before we start buying solutions.
There’s some test software I use, and the training starts with “know what you’re trying to measure before you start”.
There's a whole methodology developed from this insight: TDD or Test Driven Development.
I've found it works best for things like APIs or libraries. The process of writing the test illuminates the problem space surprisingly well making the implementation much more straight forward.
My favorite saying is “It is not enough to do your best. You must first know what to do, and THEN do your best.”
@@Blondihacks I do that ALL THE TIME with electronic parts. Buy 3 different parts before I truly understand what part I need.
It's... educational 😇
This is the kind of content no company would sponsor (for obvious reasons lol) but is invaluable to a newbie. Thanks for another great video!
As a resident of Kansas I appreciate the ballast otherwise useless cast iron tools provide against the shop blowing away in a tornado.
I'm in Oregon where it gets real breezy sometimes..... My ballast has less purpose than yours, so I'll give you the win. 👍
Good comment on the distinction between a tool being a "poor match for the work you do" and being a "bad tool".
Wisdom often comes moments after you need it.
More of these videos, I really appreciate learning about other people’s purchasing mistakes.
I agree with you 100 percent. I also have a 4" rotary table, fortunately I did not purchase it. I opted for the 8" table, but my mill is a little larger. But boy is it heavy. Great video for budding home machinists.
I think at this point Quinn has copy-pasted "I use the V-blocks all the time. It's the U-clamps that are useless." About 5 times now by my count. It's the U clamps people!
😅😅😅
I wish. I saw this sooner. I have made several of those mistakes.. 4" Rotary table.. YUP! Great Vid. Thank you
A lot of us have 4 inch rotary tables in perfect condition. An 8 inch is quite useful on a bridgeport though.
my v-blocks with saddle clamps now live on my metal cutting bandsaw table, after I learned that trick & was astonished at my ignorance in trying to hold a piece of round stock between my fingers (while it would invariably spin out on me) or with a vise grip pliers.
Q, you mentioned that the 6" rotary table had so much more clamping area while petting the bed. There isn't much clamping area on any rotary table. just four slots that are way too wide and are a bottomless pit when trying to actually mount a part. I ended up making a square aux table for my 6" with 1/4-20 holes at one inch intervals. This is probably the most useful thing I have ever done for my fun little garage shop.
As a retired Aerospace Machinist/Engineer, I thought I was going to disagree with everything. But after watching I agree with everything.
thats a strange outlook to go in with!
why did you assume you'd automatically disagree with Everything?
@@SoloRenegade Because the tools shown in the 1st frame are tools I used quite a bit over the years.
@@maxinehardy9411 oh yea? Why is that?
@@r1deftone fair.
regarding the v-blocks and clamps, what have you used them for? I've had the same issue with them this video highlights.
Buying tools and using tools are two separate hobbies.
I feel attacked!
I might need these tools one day. And the new design is better.
shhhhhh. The missus is sitting right here
Thanks for the video! If you ever add a surface grinder to your shop, you will find those v-blocks extremely useful.
I use V blocks all the time. It’s the U clamps that are useless.
@@Blondihacks oooo I see. I have only really used them standing up. Thanks again! I really love this channel!
Thank you, this was helpful. I've been pondering buying a set of the V-blocks with clamps and one of the reasons I haven't was the clearance issue you spoke about.
Thanks again for sharing this with us.
I've got several sets of V-blocks that are quite useful with a standard set of hold-downs I use on my mill, I also have the clamps that are useless except every once in a while. I've made a custom clamp more than once for one job.
Thanks for helping us newbie's. I'm constantly back and forth on quality vs. price. What to buy is probably the greatest money waster of all. Some things are easy, such as cheap mill vises. Nobody on yt or forums have ever said, " it's ok to buy a cheap vice". Thanks for pointing all of us in the right direction. Retired RR keep steaming
Thank you for another content rich and delightfully humorous video. As a septuagenarian hobby machinist I have but one thing to say on the subject of unused tools, you got off easy.
Cheers,
F.C.
Being a machinist for almost 40 years, I can confirm what she's said here, with a couple of caviates about V-blocks. You have to have the correct type for the job at hand, which would be based on what you're doing. Where I've used them the most is doing die and mold work on the surface grinder, which would probably be well outside the scope of what most people are doing for a hobby.
To be clear, I use V blocks all the time. It’s the U-clamps that are useless.
@@Blondihacks That would go back to type. I've got 3 styles myself, 2 from Starret and a cheap pair I bought for one small production run at a former employer. Both the Starret's are the type where the clamps are below the surface of the blocks so you can use them in multiple positions. One set of two are a matched set, approx. 2×3×3, the other is what I would call a "pin block" due to it almost being mandatory for working with headed ejection pins for molds, as well as headed punches for stamping dies. The thing of it is, I'm now a CNC machinist in a job shop, and none of them have come out of the box in almost a decade. When you have a programmable 4th axis on every machine, you don't need them. Same for my collet blocks. That being said, I'm not getting rid of any of them, because I'd like to get a couple of machines for home again (last small shop setup had to go to try and keep the house awhile back).
Absolutely no shade, I assume you've only heard the word not spelt it, but caveat is the commonly accepted spelling.
@@PheonixRise666 Thanks for the clarification. I thought he had some V blocks that had small air bubbles exploding into them somehow while they were submerged. Silly me
I wanted to borrow my dad's V blocks and he told me to make my own. I made a pair but only one clamp. That was in the 1980s and I've never had a need for a second clamp. After I left the factory environment I've used them as a third hand for soldering wires on various round connectors more than anything else.
Good one on the rotary table and I find myself using V-Blocks mostly for endwork on round stuff.
I might have to digg trough my shop for tools that i should not have bought.. :D
Yah I actually use my V-blocks a lot, it’s just the U-clamps that I find useless
Hello Quinn and everyone else.
I agree with you about the swivel vice base being almost unnecessary.
I have never used mine.
Based on this video, I removed my swivel base yesterday and re-clocked my vice.
On the very next job, forgetting that the vice handle was now much lower, my hand crashed into the bellows supporting strip and sliced my knuckle to the bone.
So be careful folks. It is not only a spinning tool or part that can hurt.
Make an adapter plate for your small rotary table and mount a 3 or 4 jaw chuck on it. Uses for it will magically materialize.
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences. I'm sure you have saved many people a lot of money, and frustration!
The 80mm chuck can be friends with the 4" rotary table.
I went the opposite route on my rotary table. I thought a 10 inch would be good for my 18 inch round column mill. Found one on eBay that was local pickup (still 80 miles away). I realized I was in trouble when the guy loaded it into my pickup with a forklift. Turns out it was advertised incorrectly and was actually a 12 inch Enco indexing table weighing about 300 pounds. Used an engine hoist to put it on my mill to find that it hits the column well before the spindle reaches the center of the table. I still have it hoping that someday I will buy a mill that will handle it. I use an 8 inch rotary table most of the time.
Quinn, this would be an absolutely amazing video for Video Chapters
I believe they are general release for all creators, but I could be wrong
Basically, it's just a list of timestamps and accompanying titles
00:00 Start
01:00 Minute 1
etc
Would really help the availability of information!
I mounted my 4” chuck on a plate and mount that to my mill either on the bed or the vise. Whole new world of uses appear!
Hi Quinn, I bought the same 4” Rotary Table. I have used it Zero times. I just didn’t think it would be that Small.
Why not mount that little chuck to the little rotary table? It might not make it more useful but it will look really cute.
and will be ready for the time you want to machine gears.
@@belair_boy6035 Nah. For gears you really need a dividing head. Rotary tables don't accurately (and repeatably) index... dividing heads do.
@@ratdude747 you can mount disc divider on some rotary table (like the vertex hv4/6). But a dividing head is more usefull for gears (less obstrusive).
@@martinchabot_FR Did not know that. I've always seen them as two different mill accessories.
@@ratdude747 all three of my rotary tables have dividing discs on them, but I agree that they are not ideal for gear cutting, without one. Another option would be to put on a stepper motor and an electronic division counter.
I wish I had seen this before I bought most of the stuff you demonstrated! Great videos, thank you.
Great video, as always, Quinn! I learned the sizing issue right off the bat with my little mill. I ordered a 6" vice to start with, left me with no verticle movement, as well as the fact that it wasn't properly able to be mounted! 4" will do the trick! Nope! The three inch vice was all my mill can handle as it turns out! Thanks for the awesome information!
Yes,you need a friend to help lift the 10" rotary table for sure. 🎉🎉 good tool reviews
i use the v block clamps all the time at my work, they are mainly used in the surface grinder for grinding the ends of pins
My mistake was putting lots of good tools in a cheap shed.
You are so right! I think a fair bit of this comes from old workshop practice, books I have show processes which use many traditional tools which I thought I would need but that I have rarely if ever used. My milling vice came with a swivel base, I placed it on the mill and thought “where has all my headroom gone?” Vee-blocks’ clamps and a scriber mounted in a stand done all of that.
Note to self, must try an expensive end mill. (None seem cheap to me)
So funny to see that the mighty Quinn has the same collection of unused tools that I have. The only exception being the 4" rotary table, which is perfect for my Sherline mill.
Snap, made the same mistake with buying a small tilting rotary table for my small mill (Warco WM12), now on to the 6" Vertex which is much better and like your mill is a perfect fit for the machine
Schedule filler or not, I'm glad you made that video.
Hi, Quinn, I love your content. I am from Brazil and I always get back to your channel for learning. You are amazingly clever! congratulations for the channel. Thank you.
I lol’d. I bought a 4 inch rotary 15 years ago and it’s still in the box for exactly the same reasons you stated.
i got a 12" rotary table that has an mt3 taper in the middle- and i use that taper to allign stuff very often,very usefull,only drawback, exept the weight, is that i cant mount it vertically - but yes, it's pretty heavy - but i also got a 6"
V blocks and U clamps see a decent amount of use in my primarily welding shop! Especially to clamp to a pipe I'm bending to use as an angle finder reference surface to make sure my bends are all in line or if I need to rotate the pipe between bends. I don't think I've ever used one on the Bridgeport though 😅
I think small V blocks are creatures of layout, not machining. In the early days of accurate machining (and rather more recently for amateurs) a lot of work was marked accurately (to the nearest 1/100") using surface plate, squares, scribes and surface gauges. Flat stock was fixed to angle plates, and round stock was held in V blocks. Actual cutting was done working to the lines.
If you're using a mill with engraved handwheels, or a DRO, this is ... not needed. Modern layout is done with a rule and a sharpie, just to avoid bozo errors.
In the modern world, V blocks are used to hold big ol' drive shafts (and hydraulic rams). Over at CEE Curtis uses V blocks quite routinely.
I use V blocks all the time. It is the U clamps that are useless.
@@Blondihacks Apols. I (badly!) misunderstood your point
Think the rotary I bought was 5" or 6", reason I don't remember is because I still made a aluminium fixture plate out of a round 20mm thick 8(ish) diameter plate 'scrap', which made it way more useful(using sacrificial mdf or plywood plates on top of that machined to fit the part makes it even more useful) side note: old brake disks makes for epic and huge fixture-plate upgrades to a rotary table.
Have actually used the v-blocks Io got when I was starting out a few times, but on their side in a vise for larger diameter round-stock that needed flats or ends machined in some way.
Only regret I have about choosing ER collet blocks over 5c is that I wish I had gotten ER40 or 50 rather than ER32(although the 1mm dimensional leeway for each collet size is still very useful even in ER32, just have to turn a 20mm sacrificial nubin on the part to hold it)
Regarding buying good quality: The first time I used hand files that were actually sharp instead of my dad's that have been rattling in their drawer for 30 years was a revelation!
You are a very good instructor Quinn. Thanks again for Your time and effort to share the knowledge.
Best Wishes to You, Your Family and Friends..
I have a Sherline Rotary table and a Sherline 4 inch 4 jaw chuck and many v- Blocks and a large amount of clamps and an assortment of Starrett and Mitutoyo tools.
IMO V-blocks are essential. I mainly use them to hold round stock in a vise. Turn them on the side. The U shaped clamps are pretty useless.
Yah I use V blocks all the time. It was just the clamps I was ranting about.
I had the thought that perhaps the V-block strap clamps could be used for temporarily holding a part in the V-block while other workholding is being changed so you don't lose the part's rotational position. It is a bit of a stretch though.
I have used them as such setting work up on the block on a surface plate and then transfering it to the mill table.
I have that 6" Vertex and and it doesn't line up with the T slots on my mill, I had to make a mounting plate. I wonder if the 8" would line up.
That's a point, when buying fixtures, check the drawings before you buy, make sure it's going to fit your equipment.
I just last week drug my little 4 inch rotary table out of hiding and made a 6 inch fixture plate for it after watching you make one . Looks like it will work great ! If I use it ...
Thank you Quinn for a very educational video.
I also bought a pair of V blocks and I agree that they are not used much.
This is the first video that has popped up in quite some time.
Are you doing weekly videos????
I’ve done a video nearly every week for five years. You can see that in the list of videos on my channel
I use my V blocks mostly for metrology purposes at the surface plate. I've also designed and built some CMM fixtures for production parts using them. When you need them they are exactly the right tool, the rest of the time they patiently wait in their case, we'll oiled.
I use my vee blocks. It’s the U-clamps that are useless
@@Blondihacks I think that’s what the U stands for in U-Clamp
I agree with almost everything but on my Bridgeport I have enough vertical height and I've occasionally made use of the swivel base. Admittedly I could clamp a part directly to the table for an angular cut, but the swivel is just easier. I'd agree with someone else's comment about 123 blocks. I haven't found a good use for them other than as occasional packing on the mill - a rare event.
Funny, I inherited two V blocks from my dad, and have never found a use case for them (I’m a woodworker, not a machinist). Good to see I’m not alone.
Thanks Quinn,
I had the exact same issue with the swivel base. The thing is in a cabinet and hasn't seen the light of day since maybe around 2011. I also agree on 6" being an optimal size for a rotary table. Big enough for most things I need it for, small enough for my aged, injured ass to lift.
Great info thanks. I'm getting ready to buy these tools. Now I know what to get.
“Definitely not schedule filler” LOL
Great video. Fortunately I chose 8" rotary table and I did not regret. But the rest of the items were in my bucket list for shopping. Now after the video it is really obvious that I am only that hobby machinist, that makes same mistakes that all hobby machinist do.
"All tools are beautiful" 😂 i love you Quinn
I needed to inspect a spindle (quill in fact) recently and I think a pair of V blocks would have made it so much easier for me. Instead I had to make a custom fixture for the spindle, with two makeshift "dead ends". I do not have a lathe.
Excellent video! I wonder if the buttery collet block lock ring could be easily hardened? It's to late for yours, but on future el-cheapo hardware purchases maybe?
If that is a one shot oiler on your mill, I am seriously jealous!
For what it's worth, I use an 8" rotary table on my Sieg X2. There's just enough space to center to mill spindle over the rotab spindle, and enough Y travel to reach the back edge. This is useful for some things, but clearly not ideal. The 5" is an ideal size for the x2 in my humble opinion.
Nice tips. Thanks for saving me!
Funny that you actually bought a swivel base for your milling vise and that you never used it.
When I purchashed my used J Head Bridgeport it came with a full sized Kurt vice with the swivel base. First thing I did was take off the swivel base, stored it away and have never touched it again.
We humans are often confused by diameter sizing and what it really means. The volume of a 1" pipe is 4 times that of a 1/2" pipe, instead of the 2 times that our brain wants to make it. In the same way that a 15" is more than twice the pizza of a 10" just doesn't sound right.
Before we got 4th axis’ for the cnc (which are 1m in diameter)
We had a big old manual rotary which was 24”. Big girl that was. 😂
I have an 8" rotary which is heavy, but I can still lift it on by hand. Anything bigger than that would need a hoist or a friend. I always appreciate the generous table size when I use it. Plenty of room for clamps outside the workpiece.
I use my v-blocks a lot, but I can't remember the last time I used a U-clamp!
Take away from the video. Don't buy it until you need it!
That collet locking ring is what I like to call cheese metal
Vee blocks with recessed clamps {so they can lay flat on their side} are far more useful than regular vee blocks.
Maybe you could attatch the small chuck on the 4" rotary table. It might be a good way to cut hex heads on custom made bolts.
I’m fixating on that lovely burn mark on your bench. I need to know the story behind that.
The v block / u clamp is very useful in my shop at the slow grinder! Resharpening or modifying small carbide boring bars or undercut tools and similar
Actually this was the most useful vid to me from You ever.
I´m just that guy, I got myself a Wabeco xy drillpress so I could (maybe) do milling things, they even have a lathe thingy for the Wabeco system.
So: I have a little, all wooden attic I can´t use in summer because of the heat and it sucks in winter, too. Basically I have one, two months per year I can do stuff comfy. And I CRAVE a lathe. I´m that guy that´s always broke but isn´t a junkie who so bad would like to get into being able to do stuff myself that it hurts.
Anyways: Kind Regards
Outstanding keep doing what you do I learn so much GOD BLESS
In addition to my longtime mini mill and lathe, I recently purchased a Sherline version of each. I tend to only buy accessories as I need them, and that’s how the Sherline rotary table wound up in my bag of tricks. I’ve used it several times, always happy with the operation of it except for one issue that’s not the fault of Sherline. Readers of this comment are encouraged to give feedback on their experiences with this issue on any size of rotary table! The issue: focusing my attention on the piece being machined, I reach out to turn the crank on the RT and notice that the motion is moving in the Y orientation, and not radial, due to grabbing the wrong crank handle! I’ve gone to placing a loose fitting spray can cap over the Y crank to discourage this recalcitrant behavior! Anyone else experience this dilemma??
I lock all the slides when doing rotary table work, to prevent that error. Also keeps you from bumping the other hand wheels by mistake
I have the exact opposite problem of that 4 inch rotary table. I have a 15 inch Bridgeport rotary table that I got with my Bridgeport mill. I can't lift it by myself and need an engine hoist to lift that monster onto the mill. I will definitely be getting a smaller one in the future.
No lift here, and usually no one else around. I have to move my
12 incher myself.
I once bid on a rotary table on an online auction. It was on a really cute small pallet. No one else bid, I got it for £5.
Went to pick it up in my saloon car, and it turned out to be an 18" rotary table on a full sized pallet. Excellent value, but not super useful for my small mill! And the car was on its bump stops on the way home 😂
Tell me which blue marker is better suited for metal surfaces?
I bought the harbor freight mini Mill with an r8 spindle and went on Amazon to buy my tools including a r8 boring head, while it does fit into my machine and I only have about an inch of travel
I have run into that collet ring issue in a lot of cheaply made stuff that may or may0not be from China. It sounds like sometimes the parts miss a hardening step. I bought some brad-point drill bits that immediately untwisted themselves into 2 flute cutters.
Yet again: experience is what keeps you from making mistakes.
Mistakes - it's the best way how you gain experience.
Isnt it a idea to make a ball turner for the lsthe out of the small rotary table?
I know this is out of topic, but... Is it snow we can see outside through the window? In September ?
I tend to like Adam Savage's advice on tools, though I think there are contexts where it doesn't quite work out... but for when it does, it goes something like this:
The first time you buy something, buy the cheapest one you can find. Then, if you like it, buy the most expensive one you can afford.
Yeah, I was once staring at an 8-inch *rotary table* wondering "table goes WHERE???"
I also have the unused vee blocks, a boring head that I have not used.
Perhaps you could try hardening the collet block ring next time you're doing that sort of thing.
I doubt there's any carbon in that steel :)
@@Steve_1401 it takes time and money to remove carbon from steel so why would anyone want to overdo it and remove it all ...i would think that leaving too much carbon in it and ending up with a product which was more like cast iron than steel would be the direction they would have gone ...please correct me if i am wrong
Schedule filler?
HA!
I scoff at that suggestion.
Actually very useful information.
Quack to Swarfy, THANKS, and Meow to Sprocket.
That was useful, especially since I have not started yet.
Can the small rotary table square be mounted on the big one? Handomatic 5-axis milling...
The lamp shading made me laugh but id take schedule filler over no Blondihacks any Saturday.
Very interesting. Thanks.
You can mount the 4" rotary table to the 6" for some home-brew 5 axis shenanigans
I'm sensing a t-shirt design: "All tools are beautiful"
It's not the pie that gets you - it's the two pirates.
Great job. Thank you 😊
Shared hindsight.. two out of three here as well
The only thing I heard from the rotary table issue is that size does indeed matter 😂
but also here there can be a "too big"
That's what she said... XD