Big Barn’s Retirement Farm Shop

[Big Barn]

You haven't got a lathe for sale? It just seems like there is nothing descent for sale here in Alberta. Something 10x 24ish would do but looking more for a 13x36ish. I'm tempted to buy new but don't really want to spend that much money. Most used lathes here are going for pretty well new price.

It would seem the lathe situation is similar everywhere.

 

[dstig1]

Ahhhh, the lathe situation....

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
A time to be born, a time to die…

 

[dstig1]

Terry, one of your earlier tool hangers inspired me. I finally added on an additional side case onto my tool chest to store the overflow that had been creeping onto open shelves over the years (unthinkable, I know!) and I needed a good place to hang some of the longer tools like pry bars, breaker bars, etc. Well the story starts a couple months ago when this followed me home:

It took a while as it was filthy and needed some common wear items replaced but it is now in it's final home and basically working fine (X power feed still needs some work but it manages OK for now) plus I needed to rig up a VFD for it. So I had some of this leftover 14ga 304SS from my screen porch railings that I had brake bent already. It is way too stiff for me to bend with anything I have in the shop at the present time. So I took a scrap of that, put it in the vise with some scrap lumber behind it as sacrificial clamping block and went at it. I added more screws to hold each "tongue" after I took this photo:

Well, I am an idiot, not a machinist, so I took the ~5/8" bit plunged it in at the root of the cutout and then milled back out to the free edge at the front. That worked fine for a couple slots but the bit got harder to plunge after 2 holes, and 3 was harder, 4 was brutal and 5 made the SS glow red and would not go through 304 SS is pretty Fargin' hard to mill, as apparently everyone knows but like I said, I'm an idiot not a machinist . I went from right to left in this photo and on #5 started milling in from the free end as it was no longer plunging at all. The side of the bit was OK farther up from the end so I was able to finish off that way. Probably should have started off that way (ref: previous idiot comment...):

It is kinda funny seeing how the burn increases right to left until I re-calibrated my method...

Here is what I did to the bit (oopsie! good thing I got it cheap!)

Cont...

 

[dstig1]

And the result. I rounded over sharp corners and bent the ends up a little in my vise to help keep hanging tools in place. The short sections were small enough to allow enough leverage to bend it with a big crescent wrench. So here it is tucked under the shelf on the side opposite my new side case. Enjoy!

Don't ever let anyone tell you SS is easy to work with!
-Dave

 

[goeduck]

Results look great! I like how you rounded off the openings

 

[Big Barn]

Results look great! I like how you rounded off the openings

Agreed! Beautiful job, Dave

 

[TheFarmerInAdell]

Stainless is a pain. My first suggestion is spin it slow and use a lubricant. WD-40 is sufficient if you don't have any machining lubricant. And actually with milling aluminum WD-40 is a preferred lubricant (strange as it sounds). Carbide bits last probably 10 times as long as HSS bits, so grab them when you find them cheap. There are companies out there that sharpen both carbide and HSS bits, ask a local machine shop who they use. Full width plunging is tough on endmills. Drill undersized first, then plunge it to size. For the best finish, mill it with 3 passes. Mill down the middle to remove the material, then move a few thousandths both directions to clean it up. Also milling thin material is hard on tooling. Smaller diameter bits will work better with thinner material, just make more passes.

 

[dnw64]

Also milling thin material is hard on tooling. Smaller diameter bits will work better with thinner material, just make more passes.

I am not a machinist in any form. Never ran a (metal) mill or lathe. But I have been playing with wood for 50+ years, and working with it professionally for almost 40.

This is very interesting to me.

When you say "Smaller diameter bits will work better with thinner material, just make more passes" my thought, seeing what was made, was, rather than "eating" all the material, use a 1/8" bit and just cut the shape and have a drop-out.

Again, I am not a machinist. Maybe it's not feasible to use such a small diameter bit in metal.

If so, a few other (a little knowledge is a dangerous thing) ideas come to mind.
Wire EDM
CNC Plasma cutter
Water jet
3D Printing

 

[TMGT]

I am not a machinist in any form. Never ran a (metal) mill or lathe. But I have been playing with wood for 50+ years, and working with it professionally for almost 40.

This is very interesting to me.

When you say "Smaller diameter bits will work better with thinner material, just make more passes" my thought, seeing what was made, was, rather than "eating" all the material, use a 1/8" bit and just cut the shape and have a drop-out.

Again, I am not a machinist. Maybe it's not feasible to use such a small diameter bit in metal.

If so, a few other (a little knowledge is a dangerous thing) ideas come to mind.
Wire EDM
CNC Plasma cutter
Water jet
3D Printing

For sheet/plate stock a plasma/waterjet/laser are you're best bet. The mill is good for thicker material and more precision but definitely not the preferred method for that type of cutting on thin material, but hey, run what ya brung!

And yes, stainless can be a real pain, any material that can be both gummy and super hard will drive you nuts!

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

And the result. I rounded over sharp corners and bent the ends up a little in my vise to help keep hanging tools in place. The short sections were small enough to allow enough leverage to bend it with a big crescent wrench. So here it is tucked under the shelf on the side opposite my new side case. Enjoy!

View attachment 706794View attachment 706795


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Don't ever let anyone tell you SS is easy to work with!
-Dave

All's well that ends well. I would definitely say that you got your money's worth out of that bit.