Just milling around
Well, I did it. After a lot of contemplation, research, and great input on this blog, a Smithy Granite mill / lathe now sets in our shop.
Setting it on the work bench would have made a good You Tube video. This thing weighs as much as a light sport airplane. It took two of us with an engine lift and some crazy gyrations to set it in place.
There have been some criticisms of a combo unit from some I have talked to due to the extra set up time that may be needed for different functions, but with our space limitations it was the only viable option.
Ryan came for a brief visit and gave me a tutorial on milling and turning. Indeed we milled a complex item with rather precise tolerances and it worked very well. The precision drilling out a hefty piece of aluminum was very good. Our only criticism was the back lash in the dials, particularly the X axis, which required some mental gyrations to factor the measurements into the settings. After Ryan left I spent some time ‘fine tuning’ which decreased that backlash. A digital readout (DRO) would eliminate the issue completely.
This tool would have made fabrication of the pedal box and the sub frame components so much easier and more precise. It will come in handy when the time comes to fabricate a shifter handle, door hinges, latches, and other details, I am sure.
So much to learn. Thanks for the encouragement and excellent suggestions that have been posted here. A spring loaded lathe chuck and the machinist’s book are on the way, per those recommendations.