SO many great little learnings packed into one little project, and nicely explained! Whether one needs to make a tap or not, this is worth watching just to learn a LOT of little tips, tricks, and better ways to do things. (Just a few: why and when to use a spotter drill, not a center drill. Leave the plastic on the end mill. Drill bits are for/better at making holes in X situation; end mills in Y situation, BUT think about these things too which is why you need to actually use BOTH to make ONE hole in a particular, unusual situation. Which you wouldn't do (and would probably screw it up) if you didn't know & think about several characteristics of each! Etc....) THANKS for a great little tutorial.
I enjoy videos of people making things. My primary occupation is in a military firearms factory, and work with mills, drills, CNC machines, and lathes. My hobby is restoring acoustical talking machines and making the cylinder records for early two minute machines. My father makes miniature steam engines so has small lathes and mills. Thanks for a nice video.
Excellent stuff. I recently inherited a mini-lathe. It was completely covered in grease. Using your videos I was able to take most of it apart and clean it. Now I’m just watching video of things you’ve made. Very fascinating!
I found the Demel / brass hinge set-up to be a stroke of genius. Nothing to be ashamed of there. Your vids are interesting, informative and relaxing. Always learning something. Thanks for the post.
Thank you so much for a very nice technical video. Try this little trick on for size, (from an old Machinist/Tool & Die Maker/Welder/Designer 40 years, retired disabled over 10 years ago.) Put your lathe in 1/2 back gear...In other words, pull the gear handle, but don't pull the pin. That will lock your chuck spindle, if you're going to use a tap handle. On another note, put your tap into a chuck, morse tapered into your tail-stock. Use your spindle chuck key to turn your stock and the chuck on the tail-stock for holding your tap. In this case, don't tighten your tail-stock. At first, lean into it to start the thread. Then just turn the chuck 1/2 turns using your chuck key to turn your stock. Don't use tapping oil...use Crisco Vegetable Shortening instead. You'll break far less taps this way! You'll also find you can power-tap using Crisco. When close to the end of the tapping session, finish by hand and then reverse on back out, after you come to a complete stop, or you'll pop your tap! (If you're tapping Aluminum, use Terpentine as a cutting oil.) You made mention, that your work wasn't supported from behind, when in the divider head chuck. I had a plastic sectional box of WOODEN parallel bars, that I used for this very purpose. Be it in a chuck or in a machine vice, my work was always level. If it got drilled into, so what. It would still work for some things. When it was shot, all it was, was a piece of oak I had machined in my spare time. Chunk it in the garbage and grab another one out of the box. That would take care of your support problem. Also, that was a Kewl jig you came up with, using a door hinge and a Dremel tool, to cut your slot. Here's something you can do, when you're hardening something...crush up a bunch of Walnut Hulls. Then crush up the coals from a wood fire. Don't take it all the way to a powder...that's explosive! Just down to granuals. Mix the shells and the carbon and DRY play sand and put in a metal bowl. Dig a shallow hole in the center, a tad larger than your part. Heat to a dark yellow or light red, whichever works best for your equipment/application. Then lay your part in the hole and immediately scoop more mix over the part. Then pour more dry play sand over it. (this holds the heat and allows the Walnut shells to inject the carbon into the open pores of the surface of the metal.) Forget about it for an hour. Using tongs, reach in and get your part. You have just CASE HARDENED it. Now heat IT up just before red and drop it in oil. This hardens and gives a memory. Then heat it in a shop toaster oven, on about 175 degrees for about 20 minutes...and then let it cool to room temperature on it's own. You just annealed it. If it's TOO hard, it will be brittle, and will break! The annealing takes the brittle out of it. Thanks again for posting a great video!
I LIKE This channel. Watching stuff being made on a lathe, mill, (and sandblasting, which you don't) ... is very fun -- especially of the highlights at fast speed. It's hypnotic. Thank you.
A really good video, all processes clearly described without unnecessary commentary, very useful for me as I also have a Boley watchmakers lathe needing feed-screw renovation. Thanks.
I have to say, your dremel fixture setup was brilliant. I always fear breaking out that tool as it's the time I always think to myself, "this is where I turn a nice professional looking part into a garage hacked together looking part."
Making a tap and die? What a courageous effort! Great work. You are my hero! I love the detailed technical explanations and lessons from experience you are passing on. Great stuff!! Keep them coming!
I usually just put the lead screw in the lathe and then run a thread file on it. It's a lot quicker if you have the right file with the correct thread pitch. But this was still a very cool video on how to make a die.
Well done ! -- clear & understandable, can i offer the following -- Drilling the three holes , make a "pin" like a top hat to fit the center hole The flange - file away in three places then place in hole & proceed. Tempering -- Get a thick ( ish ) block of steel ( in the case of your die say 10 mm thick-- not critical but dont go too thin ) heat the block up realy hot & place die on block . watch the colors & quench -- this gives even heating & slower/ more control over proceedings. But -- nice one sir !
I found your tempering method interesting. I am a woodworker and sometimes forge my own tooling. I find it easier to temper in my wife's cooking oven. Light straw is usually around 400 deg F. Check your material data chart. Check oven with a thermometer first and let it soak for about 20 - 30 minutes. you can also throw a test piece in and check it that manor. A word of warning, make sure you have removed all the oil from your part. If you fill the kitchen with oil smoke, your survival may be in question.
Tempering in a bed of brass chips seems to be a common traditional method among horologists. I was using this method as I've seen it used in a number of videos about clock and watch making. As you saw in the video, it didn't go all that well. :) I'll certainly try the oven technique at some point, though I may have to wait until the oven is already hot, as it seems wasteful to heat up a large cooking oven to temper such a tiny tool. Thanks for the suggestion!
Great stuff Alistair, Well done!! I particularly like the simplicity of your jig idea for cutting the slot. FWIW, I've got an old Aussie made P&N die that's not only split but features a tiny grub screw that forces & holds its gap open. The real beauty of this grub screw arrangement is it acts as a fine adjustment stop so the die can just be used as a chaser. Out of all the dies I own, regardless of their sizes, this is the only one with this particular feature. regards Colin
Thanks Colin! I'd love to know how they cut the thread for that grub screw. Since I made this video I've used die wrenches with much finer adjustment screws, which give much finer adjustment of the die depth, and I'm considering an upgrade to my tailstock die holder to make it easier to control the die depth of cut.
I have had great success using 3 flute end mills. A lot of chatter is occurs because the cutter can react against the opposite side. This works VERY well with facing cuts.
My tiny Proxxon MF70 micromill will chuck a cutoff disc and I use that when I can. Cutoff discs are really brittle but fortunately are cheap. Especially if you buy the ones from Dremel rather than Proxxon. For heat-treating operations I made a "tin can furnace" from instructions all over the internet. Can be used indoors on a flat brick, costs almost nothing. Got to remember that boric acid trick. Well done.
Thanks for the tips! I'm on the look out for an MF70 for fine work, as I think it might fill a gap my mill currently can't quite do. Would love to know more about how useful you find it. The tin can furnace sounds like a good approach, as my current furnace loses a lot of heat into the open. The boric acid trick is a standard horology technique, and is covered in a lot of watch and clock making books. Clickspring covered it really well in his videos, which is my main inspiration here.
The MF70 is no Bridgeport. It will accept tooling with approx.1- 2-3 mm diameter shanks. In fact the collets that come with the mill are 1, 2, 3 and 3.2 mm (1/8") but it is possible by diligent search to find end mills that will fit it. The Proxxon endmill set is very expensive and a bit of Search work is worth the trouble. I have pushed this mill beyond its limits. I have no room in my shop for anything bigger. It is agony to face a 40 mm square piece of flat steel with a 3.2 end mill. But I did it . I think that within its limits the MF -70 is a nice piece of gear. Especially when you are limited for room.
@@juanrivero8 From what I've read the MF70 collet is the same system as Proxxon use in their drilling and grinding tools, so would be the same as my little drill, and would accept the same tooling.
Interesting. If you shop around the internet, you can find a lot of tooling with 3mm shanks. I have some 2mm, 2.5mm, 2mm ball end tooling in solid carbide that I am very pleased with. I can also chuck Dremel tooling, which is a lot cheaper than Proxxon. Maybe not as good so I regard the Dremel stuff as expendable tooling. The MF70 qualifies as a Very Small Mill. I have no room for anything bigger:)
Nice work. Contrary to your belief , I liked the hinge idea for the up and down motion as you advanced the piece closer to the cutter . Good job. Glad it turned out well for you.
Hi Alistair. Great work on the die (and the tap beforehand)! It's good (instructive) to see the challenging moments as well as the plain-sailing moments. LOVED the slitting fixture :-) Cheers, Craig
One thing I noticed about people who use tap and die is you turn a quarter turn turn back to get rid of chips and repeat that way your tap doesn't get damaged or your stock more likely to be because its softer
fwiw ; boric acid mixed with water is used as an eye wash under certain conditions. very very well done, i have always wondered how dies were made, now i know. thank you for a very interesting and instructional video.
The only warnings I found were against breathing in the dust, so the gloves were mostly because of the alcohol. However I'm not qualified to tell people what's safe, so in videos I err on the side of caution.
That's the great thing about having a fully equipped shop.. Tool doesn't exist? I guess we will just have to make one! Awesome! I loved the dremel setup as well.. A dremel drill is definitely one of my favorite tools! In many situations, they are able to make what seems like a big problem seem insignificant!
Small thin sections of silver steel should be hardened & tempered in oil, water can sometimes be too harsh/cold and crack the object. What about the burrs on the thread after end milling the holes and de burr’ing?
I first saw the boric acid/alcohol paste on Clickspring. Same for the tempering in brass shavings. I may have to try it next time I heat treat a small item. You might be well served to make a mini forge with a couple soft firebricks and your mapp torch. It would hold the heat in the part much better and more evenly.
Hi, thanks for the shout out on your community post. Just enjoying it this video, and noticed you promise a card at 3:23, and one doesn't appear. The video is in the suggested list below, so I'll go watch to that next..👍
No problem, your videos definitely deserve more views and subscribers than you've had so far. Glad to be able to send a few your way. I just checked the card at 3:20, and it's there for me. Weird that it didn't appear for you. It's timed to appear just before I mention it.
@@AdventureswithaVerySmallLathe Just checked, and on my PC it is fine - just my phone. Wouldn't be the first time it'd done something odd. All the best.
@Just1Guy Metalworks yeah it great though I am disappointed a bit, was hoping to be able to make a full set myself than have to own tap or die to make the other one
Maybe it's a regional thing or maybe it's an industry thing. Z-axis and Zed-axis were terms I heard growing up from my Father (a tool maker machinist) and were terms used in Math and Engineering courses I took. (I'm from the U.S too)
Also, you have engineers thumb nail. I have the same thing. Years of damage to the bed of the thumbnail leaves streaks in the nail :) It's like a badge of honour.
Great to see, really interesting, never done quenching with water, was surprised not to hear the pinging sound of the steel letting go. Impressive video👍
Thanks, that would definitely have been essential if I wanted to cut new threads, but I don't think it mattered too much for chasing an existing thread. I'm not certain whether it would be better to cut the taper before hardening, or try and grind it later. Either would be pretty fiddly dealing with a thread of this size.
Great job making this video. One of the best I've seen. Great video work, & great expository on the ups & down, goods & bads & good detail. Loved all parts of it. I use a lot of Acetone, generally, but for degreasing I've found commercial products that call themselves degreasers to work pretty well. As much as I hate WD-40 (oversold & not a lubricant as many claim) their specialty degreaser works pretty well, in my experience better than Acetone. Also brake-cleaner works well.
Very Interesting. Next time you need to do hardening, use extra fire bricks around 3 sides and over the top to make it an oven. Your way you were losing to much heat, even on a non windy day you would still get a lower temperature than if the part was totally enclosed. Thanks for showing all the operations.Use steel wire next time too for handling purposes.
That worked great! I love the trick with the steel wool, never thought of that but I'm remembering that for the next time I have to heat treat a small part!!
hear that ladies, a tool makers clamp to get a better grip on the shaft . . . . . lol , good to see you chasing the tap in with the stock and a center, nice spring loaded center btw
I’m new here and thinking of buying the Proxxon pd250e lathe. Have you done a review with pros and cons etc. I saw the quick change bolt you made and was wondering if there is much more you would do? I’m often told ‘buy nice or buy twice’ and don’t mind the extra cost if I don’t have to mess around with the product too much. Proxxon seem to have good support and back up so that’s a huge plus for me over some others. Can you please direct me towards where you might have done a critique. I’m pretty impressed so far. I like how you are not shy about revealing your errors, much to learn from that as well. Thank you so much.
Over the last couple of years I've been trying to gather evidence, and really understand the tradeoff between a cheap Chinese lathe and a Proxxon. It turns out to be quite a complicated decision though, as it's not as simple as the build and quality. The PD 250/e came finished to a very high standard. I was able to use it straight away, and I've never had to make significant adjustments to it. However it is a very light machine in terms of available motor torque, and the weight of the major components, which is a limitation that can't really be improved. It's pretty clear from my videos that my Chinese lathe arrived in terrible, unusable condition, though some suppliers do sell very similar lathes to a higher standard. However, the various parts of the Chinese lathe are very solid. If I view the Chinese lathe as delivered as a kit, then it's entirely possible to use it to build a lathe that is much more capable than the Proxxon, as it's bigger, heavier, and more solid. The downside is the 100s of hours of work and learning required to get there. Obviously this makes no sense commercially, or for anyone who just wants to start making projects, but for a hobbyist with lots of workshop time and desire to learn it would make a lot more sense.
Beautifully filmed. A most interesting approach. Depending on your resources putting the part between centres and chasing the thread with a single point tool might have been easier. Still, great work with the tools on hand. Thanks for posting.
I just had a thought in passing - hinges for fire doors tend to be better quality than cheaper ones and the best quality hinges have washers or even tiny bearings and so will have less slop than a cheap hinge - one of the these may give more accuracy for a similar job. I notice that hinge looks to be quite a good one but some are absolutely terrible - for example I can't imaging that operation turning out well or safely with the average hinges iIhave lying about in my workshop drawers :)
Thanks for the comment. I just got lucky when I was making this tap, as I happened to have a pair of brand new, unused interior door hinges. Probably nowhere near as good as the fire door hinges you suggest, but I think easily enough for this die.
I am a toolmaker and unfortunately this guy is a hack and knows enough to call himself a DIY backyard wannabe. Do not use his techniques as most are wrong.
Great video! I would recheck that there isn’t a gross misalignment between the threaded rod and it’s accompanying components. The worst wear appeared to be mainly diametrical which implies the mating member was originally located too low. Great work!
Thanks! I'm pretty sure I understand how the thread got damaged, but I'll also carefully check the alignment when it all goes back together again. There is a ring attached to the shaft with a pin, which keeps the lead screw fixed, and ensures that the nut moves along the screw, moving the slide. This pin sheared, the ring and pin started to work their way down the screw. The broken pin pressed against the outside of the thread, and mushroomed the points. Thanks for the tip!
Really interesting video, especially the bits about adjusting the die cutter to take shallow cuts. I knew that it was possible but I haven't seen it done. Thanks for the great info and for your time 😊
Idea with the hinge is brilliant. You need to sharpen Die using abrasive drill bit, and make relief angle like when you make tap. just using angle plate or so and drill press or mill
The Proxxon tailstock has a short B12 taper with no tang, so it's holding power isn't very strong. I have used the technique you suggest on a larger lathe successfully, but not on the Proxxon.
heres one method i use, ill put the tap in the keyed drill chuck (cant be a keyless, youll see why in a minute) and get it good and tight, then ill keep the chuck key in the chuck, and position the chuck arbor in the tailstock so that the key rests against the compound. they chuck key then becomes a kind of dog to "drive" (hold) the tap and i turn the lathe chuck to thread teh part. if its a particularly tough part to thread, ill put an adjustable wrench on the jaw to turn it.
Next time warn a man before changing camera angles and increasing the sound when cutting with a dremel! I was so absorbed in the video you frightened 6 years of life outta me! LOL using that hinge was a great idea! Kudos for thinking outside the box! Brilliant result! Keep up the good work!
Onetwelfthscale A wonderful video of exercises in miniature engineering. I also own a lot of Proxxon tools and am always amazed at how accurate they are. I have found that using the diamond cutting wheels are a lot more secure than the carborundum wheels.
Nice, but you should get you a small oven like Efco 150 for heat treading with an electronic thermometre or a ramp controller. And you did not use cutting oil on you most important cut, the tread screw. But interesting to see what can be done on the small Proxxons.
An excellent result ! However it would have been much easier, (I realise you probably do not "do" easy), to have used a thread restorer device like the Buckingham thread restorer. You should really get some proper centre drills ,they will give you a much better, and accurate hole location than a stub drill ever will, especially on a very light duty machine like you have, also using a 2 flute slot drill would make boring down a lot easier as they have an offset centre and can cut straight down without a pilot hole to clear the swarf, this was a really interesting video, and I like the use of Boric acid ! Chris B.
Great vid! Get yourself some diamond cutoff wheels. Same size as the abrasive type, and they do not break, they make a nicer finish, and they last a long long time. Don't waste money on expensive ones; go Ali Express or Banggood because Dremel, Proxxon, and others buy from the same Chinese makers.
Well done! I've made some taps, but never a die. A couple of questions: - Can isopropyl alcohol be substituted for denatured alcohol in this application (mixing with borax for a flux)? - What about an angled lead for the die? Maybe it wasn't necessary in this application, since you were just cleaning up threads. Thanks!
I'm nut sure about Isopropyl for this application, but I'd guess it would work as all that's required is something to bind the boric acid into a paste. The die would definitely need a tapered lead to be able to start a thread, which I assume would be created by grinding after hardening. For a die this size it would be pretty difficult.
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I love the way you describe your thought processes, it's like hearing your inner monologue.
SO many great little learnings packed into one little project, and nicely explained! Whether one needs to make a tap or not, this is worth watching just to learn a LOT of little tips, tricks, and better ways to do things. (Just a few: why and when to use a spotter drill, not a center drill. Leave the plastic on the end mill. Drill bits are for/better at making holes in X situation; end mills in Y situation, BUT think about these things too which is why you need to actually use BOTH to make ONE hole in a particular, unusual situation. Which you wouldn't do (and would probably screw it up) if you didn't know & think about several characteristics of each! Etc....) THANKS for a great little tutorial.
If the legendary David Attenborough was an Adventurer with a very small lathe. Love your channel! This video was incredibly satisfying to watch.
Your attention to detail is amazingly impressive
I enjoy videos of people making things. My primary occupation is in a military firearms factory, and work with mills, drills, CNC machines, and lathes. My hobby is restoring acoustical talking machines and making the cylinder records for early two minute machines. My father makes miniature steam engines so has small lathes and mills. Thanks for a nice video.
Excellent stuff. I recently inherited a mini-lathe. It was completely covered in grease. Using your videos I was able to take most of it apart and clean it. Now I’m just watching video of things you’ve made. Very fascinating!
I found the Demel / brass hinge set-up to be a stroke of genius. Nothing to be ashamed of there. Your vids are interesting, informative and relaxing. Always learning something. Thanks for the post.
Thank you so much for a very nice technical video. Try this little trick on for size, (from an old Machinist/Tool & Die Maker/Welder/Designer 40 years, retired disabled over 10 years ago.) Put your lathe in 1/2 back gear...In other words, pull the gear handle, but don't pull the pin. That will lock your chuck spindle, if you're going to use a tap handle. On another note, put your tap into a chuck, morse tapered into your tail-stock. Use your spindle chuck key to turn your stock and the chuck on the tail-stock for holding your tap. In this case, don't tighten your tail-stock. At first, lean into it to start the thread. Then just turn the chuck 1/2 turns using your chuck key to turn your stock. Don't use tapping oil...use Crisco Vegetable Shortening instead. You'll break far less taps this way! You'll also find you can power-tap using Crisco. When close to the end of the tapping session, finish by hand and then reverse on back out, after you come to a complete stop, or you'll pop your tap! (If you're tapping Aluminum, use Terpentine as a cutting oil.) You made mention, that your work wasn't supported from behind, when in the divider head chuck. I had a plastic sectional box of WOODEN parallel bars, that I used for this very purpose. Be it in a chuck or in a machine vice, my work was always level. If it got drilled into, so what. It would still work for some things. When it was shot, all it was, was a piece of oak I had machined in my spare time. Chunk it in the garbage and grab another one out of the box. That would take care of your support problem. Also, that was a Kewl jig you came up with, using a door hinge and a Dremel tool, to cut your slot. Here's something you can do, when you're hardening something...crush up a bunch of Walnut Hulls. Then crush up the coals from a wood fire. Don't take it all the way to a powder...that's explosive! Just down to granuals. Mix the shells and the carbon and DRY play sand and put in a metal bowl. Dig a shallow hole in the center, a tad larger than your part. Heat to a dark yellow or light red, whichever works best for your equipment/application. Then lay your part in the hole and immediately scoop more mix over the part. Then pour more dry play sand over it. (this holds the heat and allows the Walnut shells to inject the carbon into the open pores of the surface of the metal.) Forget about it for an hour. Using tongs, reach in and get your part. You have just CASE HARDENED it. Now heat IT up just before red and drop it in oil. This hardens and gives a memory. Then heat it in a shop toaster oven, on about 175 degrees for about 20 minutes...and then let it cool to room temperature on it's own. You just annealed it. If it's TOO hard, it will be brittle, and will break! The annealing takes the brittle out of it. Thanks again for posting a great video!
I LIKE This channel. Watching stuff being made on a lathe, mill, (and sandblasting, which you don't) ... is very fun -- especially of the highlights at fast speed. It's hypnotic. Thank you.
A really good video, all processes clearly described without unnecessary commentary, very useful for me as I also have a Boley watchmakers lathe needing feed-screw renovation. Thanks.
I have to say, your dremel fixture setup was brilliant. I always fear breaking out that tool as it's the time I always think to myself, "this is where I turn a nice professional looking part into a garage hacked together looking part."
Making a tap and die? What a courageous effort! Great work. You are my hero! I love the detailed technical explanations and lessons from experience you are passing on. Great stuff!! Keep them coming!
At least you own your mistakes and not editing them out. Good man. Thats how we learn
Good tip with using the parallel to make sure its square. I was just thinking about how I might do that today.
I usually just put the lead screw in the lathe and then run a thread file on it. It's a lot quicker if you have the right file with the correct thread pitch. But this was still a very cool video on how to make a die.
Well done ! -- clear & understandable, can i offer the following -- Drilling the three holes , make a "pin" like a top hat to fit the center hole The flange - file away in three places then place in hole & proceed. Tempering -- Get a thick ( ish ) block of steel ( in the case of your die say 10 mm thick-- not critical but dont go too thin ) heat the block up realy hot & place die on block . watch the colors & quench -- this gives even heating & slower/ more control over proceedings. But -- nice one sir !
I found your tempering method interesting. I am a woodworker and sometimes forge my own tooling. I find it easier to temper in my wife's cooking oven. Light straw is usually around 400 deg F. Check your material data chart. Check oven with a thermometer first and let it soak for about 20 - 30 minutes. you can also throw a test piece in and check it that manor. A word of warning, make sure you have removed all the oil from your part. If you fill the kitchen with oil smoke, your survival may be in question.
Tempering in a bed of brass chips seems to be a common traditional method among horologists. I was using this method as I've seen it used in a number of videos about clock and watch making. As you saw in the video, it didn't go all that well. :) I'll certainly try the oven technique at some point, though I may have to wait until the oven is already hot, as it seems wasteful to heat up a large cooking oven to temper such a tiny tool. Thanks for the suggestion!
@@AdventureswithaVerySmallLathe You can always cook some food in the oven (with tin foil over it) on the bottom shelf when tempering !! 😉
Great stuff Alistair, Well done!!
I particularly like the simplicity of your jig idea for cutting the slot.
FWIW, I've got an old Aussie made P&N die that's not only split but features a tiny grub screw that forces & holds its gap open.
The real beauty of this grub screw arrangement is it acts as a fine adjustment stop so the die can just be used as a chaser.
Out of all the dies I own, regardless of their sizes, this is the only one with this particular feature.
regards Colin
Thanks Colin! I'd love to know how they cut the thread for that grub screw. Since I made this video I've used die wrenches with much finer adjustment screws, which give much finer adjustment of the die depth, and I'm considering an upgrade to my tailstock die holder to make it easier to control the die depth of cut.
@@AdventureswithaVerySmallLathe I'll email you some photos of my die which should give you a much better idea than me trying to explain it.
Hi from Baku Azerbaijan - Apsheron Peninsula. Good looky!!
Wow, I had no idea my videos got that far! Welcome! :)
Thanks for the video. Really nice bit of work. Shows what can be done with very little.
I have had great success using 3 flute end mills. A lot of chatter is occurs because the cutter can react against the opposite side. This works VERY well with facing cuts.
Interesting, that sounds very promising. I'll have a look for some 3 flute end mills.
This was an awesome watch! Thanks for sharing. And what a nice narration you have to it all. Just enough at the right time, etc. Excited to see more!
My tiny Proxxon MF70 micromill will chuck a cutoff disc and I use that when I can. Cutoff discs are really brittle but fortunately are cheap. Especially if you buy the ones from Dremel rather than Proxxon. For heat-treating operations I made a "tin can furnace" from instructions all over the internet. Can be used indoors on a flat brick, costs almost nothing. Got to remember that boric acid trick. Well done.
Thanks for the tips! I'm on the look out for an MF70 for fine work, as I think it might fill a gap my mill currently can't quite do. Would love to know more about how useful you find it. The tin can furnace sounds like a good approach, as my current furnace loses a lot of heat into the open. The boric acid trick is a standard horology technique, and is covered in a lot of watch and clock making books. Clickspring covered it really well in his videos, which is my main inspiration here.
The MF70 is no Bridgeport. It will accept tooling with approx.1- 2-3 mm diameter shanks. In fact the collets that come with the mill are 1, 2, 3 and 3.2 mm (1/8") but it is possible by diligent search to find end mills that will fit it. The Proxxon endmill set is very expensive and a bit of Search work is worth the trouble. I have pushed this mill beyond its limits. I have no room in my shop for anything bigger. It is agony to face a 40 mm square piece of flat steel with a 3.2 end mill. But I did it . I think that within its limits the MF -70 is a nice piece of gear. Especially when you are limited for room.
I recommend Pask's "Percy Pig" Furnace as ruclips.net/video/Po9EKcOj1uc/видео.html
@@juanrivero8 From what I've read the MF70 collet is the same system as Proxxon use in their drilling and grinding tools, so would be the same as my little drill, and would accept the same tooling.
Interesting. If you shop around the internet, you can find a lot of tooling with 3mm shanks. I have some 2mm, 2.5mm, 2mm ball end tooling in solid carbide that I am very pleased with. I can also chuck Dremel tooling, which is a lot cheaper than Proxxon. Maybe not as good so I regard the Dremel stuff as expendable tooling. The MF70 qualifies as a Very Small Mill. I have no room for anything bigger:)
Very well done. A great combination of art and craft. Luckily you had some great tips from other craftsmen as well. What a great community.
Nice work. Contrary to your belief , I liked the hinge idea for the up and down motion as you advanced the piece closer to the cutter .
Good job. Glad it turned out well for you.
I really appreciated the content and presentation of this video. Thank you!
very good video. solution for non standard threaded dies
Hi Alistair. Great work on the die (and the tap beforehand)! It's good (instructive) to see the challenging moments as well as the plain-sailing moments. LOVED the slitting fixture :-) Cheers, Craig
Thanks Craig! I'll try and always include the mistakes and problems, as for me they are the most interesting parts of the videos.
@@AdventureswithaVerySmallLathe They are certainly the parts with the most learning potential. Cheers, Craig
One thing I noticed about people who use tap and die is you turn a quarter turn turn back to get rid of chips and repeat that way your tap doesn't get damaged or your stock more likely to be because its softer
Yeah, I do turn my tap back, but I go too far beforehand, and don't do it often enough. It's a knack I need to work on.
Very well narrated. Professionally done. Thank you.
fwiw ; boric acid mixed with water is used as an eye wash under certain conditions. very very well done, i have always wondered how dies were made, now i know. thank you for a very interesting and instructional video.
The only warnings I found were against breathing in the dust, so the gloves were mostly because of the alcohol. However I'm not qualified to tell people what's safe, so in videos I err on the side of caution.
nice use of the door hinge .. very good
Love the hinge idea! Great way of controlling the cut
That's the great thing about having a fully equipped shop.. Tool doesn't exist? I guess we will just have to make one! Awesome! I loved the dremel setup as well.. A dremel drill is definitely one of my favorite tools! In many situations, they are able to make what seems like a big problem seem insignificant!
one tip: you used wrong thread parameter. need to be p
Small thin sections of silver steel should be hardened & tempered in oil,
water can sometimes be too harsh/cold and crack the object.
What about the burrs on the thread after end milling the holes and de burr’ing?
I checked the data sheets for BS1407 Silver Steel before I did this project, and they said to quench in water, so that's the procedure I followed.
I love the hinge mount!
Really really good videos (both tap and die) - great photography, great commentary and production - pretty much all possibilities covered.
I first saw the boric acid/alcohol paste on Clickspring. Same for the tempering in brass shavings. I may have to try it next time I heat treat a small item. You might be well served to make a mini forge with a couple soft firebricks and your mapp torch. It would hold the heat in the part much better and more evenly.
Thank you. I came from TOT and ABOM to you - enjoy your adventures with the weenie little lathe very much.
Hi, thanks for the shout out on your community post. Just enjoying it this video, and noticed you promise a card at 3:23, and one doesn't appear. The video is in the suggested list below, so I'll go watch to that next..👍
No problem, your videos definitely deserve more views and subscribers than you've had so far. Glad to be able to send a few your way.
I just checked the card at 3:20, and it's there for me. Weird that it didn't appear for you. It's timed to appear just before I mention it.
@@AdventureswithaVerySmallLathe Just checked, and on my PC it is fine - just my phone. Wouldn't be the first time it'd done something odd. All the best.
Nicely done! It was a tap making video that got me hooked on tool making, and now a die video too 😁! Thanks for the share 😃!
@Just1Guy Metalworks yeah it great though I am disappointed a bit, was hoping to be able to make a full set myself than have to own tap or die to make the other one
When you said zed (z) axis, I was like ??? (I'm From the U.S.) Excellent idea to split the die. I've got to remember that one!
Sorry about the language difference. Its a cross we all bare.
Maybe it's a regional thing or maybe it's an industry thing. Z-axis and Zed-axis were terms I heard growing up from my Father (a tool maker machinist) and were terms used in Math and Engineering courses I took. (I'm from the U.S too)
Hi Alastair. Great video. Thanks. Can't wait to see the next Chinese mini-lathe video too. Mike
Hi Mike, thanks for watching. The next Chinese lathe video is in editing, so I'll get it done as soon as I can.
Very good video. I learned quite a bit even though I'll never make a die or tap. Learning how to heat treat and temper something was worth the watch.
Always nice to find new RUclips channel that is going to be great.
Awesome project, and now we know, taps before dies.
Your dremel hinge slot cutting rig is great :)
Also, you have engineers thumb nail. I have the same thing. Years of damage to the bed of the thumbnail leaves streaks in the nail :) It's like a badge of honour.
Great to see, really interesting, never done quenching with water, was surprised not to hear the pinging sound of the steel letting go. Impressive video👍
Nice work, one thing I would have done is tapered the thread hole on one side for easier cutting.
Thanks, that would definitely have been essential if I wanted to cut new threads, but I don't think it mattered too much for chasing an existing thread.
I'm not certain whether it would be better to cut the taper before hardening, or try and grind it later. Either would be pretty fiddly dealing with a thread of this size.
Great job making this video. One of the best I've seen. Great video work, & great expository on the ups & down, goods & bads & good detail. Loved all parts of it. I use a lot of Acetone, generally, but for degreasing I've found commercial products that call themselves degreasers to work pretty well. As much as I hate WD-40 (oversold & not a lubricant as many claim) their specialty degreaser works pretty well, in my experience better than Acetone. Also brake-cleaner works well.
Enjoyed your video. Very instructional
Excellent work..! From what I could see you hit the temperature pretty much spot on. So that die should cut for good.
Very Interesting. Next time you need to do hardening, use extra fire bricks around 3 sides and over the top to make it an oven. Your way you were losing to much heat, even on a non windy day you would still get a lower temperature than if the part was totally enclosed. Thanks for showing all the operations.Use steel wire next time too for handling purposes.
That worked great! I love the trick with the steel wool, never thought of that but I'm remembering that for the next time I have to heat treat a small part!!
Super video; nice presentation.
What a wonderful job!
hear that ladies, a tool makers clamp to get a better grip on the shaft . . . . . lol , good to see you chasing the tap in with the stock and a center, nice spring loaded center btw
Very nice sir what can you tell me about the borx What you got in acid is mix
I don't know a lot about borax. I just learned to use it for heat treating from other videos, and from watchmakers books.
I own small tos mn80 lathe, so I really enjoy your channel.
I’m new here and thinking of buying the Proxxon pd250e lathe. Have you done a review with pros and cons etc. I saw the quick change bolt you made and was wondering if there is much more you would do?
I’m often told ‘buy nice or buy twice’ and don’t mind the extra cost if I don’t have to mess around with the product too much.
Proxxon seem to have good support and back up so that’s a huge plus for me over some others.
Can you please direct me towards where you might have done a critique. I’m pretty impressed so far.
I like how you are not shy about revealing your errors, much to learn from that as well.
Thank you so much.
Over the last couple of years I've been trying to gather evidence, and really understand the tradeoff between a cheap Chinese lathe and a Proxxon. It turns out to be quite a complicated decision though, as it's not as simple as the build and quality. The PD 250/e came finished to a very high standard. I was able to use it straight away, and I've never had to make significant adjustments to it. However it is a very light machine in terms of available motor torque, and the weight of the major components, which is a limitation that can't really be improved. It's pretty clear from my videos that my Chinese lathe arrived in terrible, unusable condition, though some suppliers do sell very similar lathes to a higher standard. However, the various parts of the Chinese lathe are very solid. If I view the Chinese lathe as delivered as a kit, then it's entirely possible to use it to build a lathe that is much more capable than the Proxxon, as it's bigger, heavier, and more solid. The downside is the 100s of hours of work and learning required to get there. Obviously this makes no sense commercially, or for anyone who just wants to start making projects, but for a hobbyist with lots of workshop time and desire to learn it would make a lot more sense.
Beautifully filmed. A most interesting approach. Depending on your resources putting the part between centres and chasing the thread with a single point tool might have been easier. Still, great work with the tools on hand. Thanks for posting.
Nicely done!!
Nicely done, that cutoff jig was clever!
Ich ziehe meinen Hut vor dieser Leistung
Danke sehr aufmerksam.
I just had a thought in passing - hinges for fire doors tend to be better quality than cheaper ones and the best quality hinges have washers or even tiny bearings and so will have less slop than a cheap hinge - one of the these may give more accuracy for a similar job.
I notice that hinge looks to be quite a good one but some are absolutely terrible - for example I can't imaging that operation turning out well or safely with the average hinges iIhave lying about in my workshop drawers :)
Thanks for the comment. I just got lucky when I was making this tap, as I happened to have a pair of brand new, unused interior door hinges. Probably nowhere near as good as the fire door hinges you suggest, but I think easily enough for this die.
Awesome work. I have always admired toolmakers.
I am a toolmaker and unfortunately this guy is a hack and knows enough to call himself a DIY backyard wannabe. Do not use his techniques as most are wrong.
Righteous! The door hinge is brilliant, loved the narration, great video, subscribing!
Glad you enjoyed it! I was certain that I'd be criticised for using something as improvised as a door hinge, but everyone seems to love it. :)
Great idea with the hinge !
Great video!
I would recheck that there isn’t a gross misalignment between the threaded rod and it’s accompanying components.
The worst wear appeared to be mainly diametrical which implies the mating member was originally
located too low. Great work!
Thanks! I'm pretty sure I understand how the thread got damaged, but I'll also carefully check the alignment when it all goes back together again.
There is a ring attached to the shaft with a pin, which keeps the lead screw fixed, and ensures that the nut moves along the screw, moving the slide. This pin sheared, the ring and pin started to work their way down the screw. The broken pin pressed against the outside of the thread, and mushroomed the points. Thanks for the tip!
Adventures with a Very Small Lathe The broken pin would explain it too. Keep up the cool videos and stop motion!
Lovely video and brilliant job of making the die. Keep up the good work
Good
Great job man.
Nice work. Your split die doesn't have a locator screw? I've always wondered if small split dies really need one.
Is that a screw used to control how far open the split die is, or something else? I'm not familiar with the term.
Really interesting video, especially the bits about adjusting the die cutter to take shallow cuts. I knew that it was possible but I haven't seen it done. Thanks for the great info and for your time 😊
Excellent work, thank you.
Nice. Very nice . Thanks for all video's
Idea with the hinge is brilliant. You need to sharpen Die using abrasive drill bit, and make relief angle like when you make tap. just using angle plate or so and drill press or mill
My Compliments and... Well done sir.. I understood the whole process and the reasons why. Well done...well done
Great camera work and super interesting video!
Great work! And really good video work. Love it!
I've simply used the jacobs chuck in the tailstock to hold taps while threading holes. It works very well.
The Proxxon tailstock has a short B12 taper with no tang, so it's holding power isn't very strong. I have used the technique you suggest on a larger lathe successfully, but not on the Proxxon.
heres one method i use, ill put the tap in the keyed drill chuck (cant be a keyless, youll see why in a minute) and get it good and tight, then ill keep the chuck key in the chuck, and position the chuck arbor in the tailstock so that the key rests against the compound. they chuck key then becomes a kind of dog to "drive" (hold) the tap and i turn the lathe chuck to thread teh part. if its a particularly tough part to thread, ill put an adjustable wrench on the jaw to turn it.
Next time warn a man before changing camera angles and increasing the sound when cutting with a dremel!
I was so absorbed in the video you frightened 6 years of life outta me! LOL
using that hinge was a great idea! Kudos for thinking outside the box!
Brilliant result!
Keep up the good work!
Point taken, that is a bit of a sudden transition. I'll try and be more gentle if I do something similar again.
Watching this fees like exactly like watching an OU video--which I used to love doing as a child! Brilliant work!!!
You sound like richmond from the IT crowd
I do wear black more often than not, but I have never in my life listened to a Cradle of Filth album.
Onetwelfthscale
A wonderful video of exercises in miniature engineering. I also own a lot of Proxxon tools and am always amazed at how accurate they are. I have found that using the diamond cutting wheels are a lot more secure than the carborundum wheels.
Nice, now you can now make a whole new lead screw rod if you wanted to for a backup.
Hobby machining at its finest. Excellent commentary
Nice, but you should get you a small oven like Efco 150 for heat treading with an electronic thermometre or a ramp controller. And you did not use cutting oil on you most important cut, the tread screw. But interesting to see what can be done on the small Proxxons.
Sadly I have no room for anything that big. I definitely did use cutting oil on the thread, but don't always manage to include every detail on camera.
Very educating, thanks a lot!
Absofuckinlutely brilliant. I've messed but never as well as you mess. Brilliant.
This is like metal porn. I just, can't stop watching. It is amazing and relaxing. Keep up the great work mate.
An excellent result ! However it would have been much easier, (I realise you probably do not "do" easy), to have used a thread restorer device like the Buckingham thread restorer. You should really get some proper centre drills ,they will give you a much better, and accurate hole location than a stub drill ever will, especially on a very light duty machine like you have, also using a 2 flute slot drill would make boring down a lot easier as they have an offset centre and can cut straight down without a pilot hole to clear the swarf, this was a really interesting video, and I like the use of Boric acid ! Chris B.
very nice, perfect and clean work with utmost care... keep it up bro.
Great vid! Get yourself some diamond cutoff wheels. Same size as the abrasive type, and they do not break, they make a nicer finish, and they last a long long time. Don't waste money on expensive ones; go Ali Express or Banggood because Dremel, Proxxon, and others buy from the same Chinese makers.
Very interesting, very exciting, congrats for making a die!!
Well done! I've made some taps, but never a die. A couple of questions:
- Can isopropyl alcohol be substituted for denatured alcohol in this application (mixing with borax for a flux)?
- What about an angled lead for the die? Maybe it wasn't necessary in this application, since you were just cleaning up threads.
Thanks!
I'm nut sure about Isopropyl for this application, but I'd guess it would work as all that's required is something to bind the boric acid into a paste.
The die would definitely need a tapered lead to be able to start a thread, which I assume would be created by grinding after hardening. For a die this size it would be pretty difficult.
Exelente presentacion felicitaciones
Thankyou for a great video. Great idea making your own die to what ever thread you require.
Barry. Australia.
Awesome, thanks for showing that.
Wow adventures is the right word! Awesome