Quick note on endmill speeds

Mild steel with HSS tool you can use 350 RPM / 1 inch how it works is if you use 1/2 inch 700 RPm, if you use 1/4 " 1400 rpm. if you use 3/8 then 8x350 divided by 3 which is 933 rpm...Hope this helps

Machining the Atlas Lathe Motor Pulley

 

Did the rough turning with some old tool I had on hand.  Need to sharpen a good one to get a better finish on the final dimensions. 

P7	p8	p9

Had the jaws set as outside jaws to turn the feeder into a spigot.  Flipped the pulley around and worked on the large sheave.   Next I will reset the jaws to inside holding and chuck the spigot truing the pulley as best possible.   That should allow me to finish the remaining work including boering.

I had contemplated getting a 5/8" tapered mandrel and turning it between centers.  But the six jaw should work and I own it.

Dec 31, 2021

The mandrel is now back ordered.  The new plan is to drill and ream a 1/2" hole and use the 1/2" tapered reamer I have to turn everything concentric.  Then put it back in the six jaw making sure it runs true and bore the hole to 5/8" and broach the keyway.

Pouring the Atlas motor pulley.

 Did not put much effort into this video.  Pointed out the problems. 

Demystifying the B&S No. 6 Plain Screw Machine.

Read most of the specs from the doc on the VintageMachinery.org site last night.  That and watching a few vids has me thinking about old #6 again.

Everything I say here is based on the one specs document.

"DRIVE Cone, 3 steps, largest 11" diameter. 3" belt. Friction back gears. 12 changes of spindle speed forward, 30 to 450 revolutions per minute; 6 backward, 63 to 450 revolutions per minute. Speeds in geometrical progression. 4 forward speeds always instantly available, without shifting belt."

Looks like there is a V belt adaptor screwed to the spindle.  Will look further into that later.

This may have been the selector for the 4 shiftable speeds.   It looks like there are screws in the holes so maybe not.  

At the rear of the machine there is a large gear.

Large gear as viewed through cover on rear of headstock.

xxx

Near the front of the spindle is this pinion gear.   It, the shaft and the large gear turn together.  The bevel gear behind this gear does not turn.

Calculating the metal for first pour with new greensand

Determine metal needed from pattern

Pattern displaced 367g of water.  So volume is 367cc.

Aluminum weighs 2.7g per cc.

2.7 x 367g = 1015.2g

Determine how much metal the flask can accommodate

Flask diameter is 4"
Safe fill is about 3.5" with 1/2" below top

Flask volume is pi r squared x height.

pi x (2x2) x 3.5 =  43.96 ci

43.96 ci x 16.387 = 720 cc      

720 cc x 2.7 g/cc  =  1944g

Looks like I have a nice margin.

Brown & Sharpe No.2 Wire Feed Screw Machine

My B&S No. 6  Plain Screw Machine is missing most of the knobs and levers.  This machine although a bit newer may have some clues as to what they looked like.

There is also this

First Ram Up with New Greensand

 

Got the mold rammed up this afternoon.   Still need to cut the pouring basin and blow out the mold.  It got dark cold and windy.  Did not want to go over to the other shop to get an air hose and blowgun.  Need to find them for this shop so I don't need to drag them around.

The sand is the green tub is did not go through the riddle I used for filling on top the pattern.
The others should be self explanatory.

Masonry sand + sodium bentonite mixing trials

Initial target is 4% moisture with minimum clay.

Sample	Sand g	Bentonite g	Dry Post Mix g	Water-g---	Wet Post Mix g	Observation
1	1000	40	1037	70	unknown	Close if tightly compressed
2	1000	60	1061	40	1100*	About the same no worse
3	1000	80g 7.1%	1080	40g 3.5%	1120	Good enough to use

On the second sample I lost 20/60 grams of clay in part due to the wind.  So I am doing it over with a 2 gallon bucket and a snap on lid.  Would prefer a screw on lid but don't have them in this size.  After tumbling in the 2 gallon bucket my weight was one gram extra.  Well within the expected margin of error for this.

* I discovered that weighing the spray bottle does not work as significant water is lost due to evaporation and maybe droplets that never hit the sand.   A better method is to spray the water onto the sand on the scale while mixing.   That lets one hit the exact target number.  This has me unsure of the water in sample 1.

I am storing sample 2 in a ziplock bag.  Will make an observation regarding it again in the morning.  Need to bring it in so as not to freeze.

Added a few more rows to the table.

1. Progress on making new green sand. After doing 3 test batches of approx 1 Kilo each I settled on a mix of 7.1% clay and 3.5% water. This test batch consisted of 1 Kilo of masonry sand, 80g of bentonite and 40 grams of water. If needed I can go higher on the sand and water but this feels like it will work and I have wiggle room. Added water with a spray bottle to the mixer. 
2. 
   
3. 
   
4. Notes on combining the sand/clay/water in a cement mixer. Add dry ingredients and tumble in cement mixer. I erred on the side of caution and sprayed water over the sand. A fine spray helps prevent lump which happen when using a cement mixer instead of a muller. Initially I sprayed water with the mixer stopped. Mixing by had between each spraying. When I got to where it was no longer dusty I sprayed with the mixer running without the lid. Did not come out as well as the test batches I mixed by hand. This has small lumps that while not all clay, are clay rich. Put the stuff in covered pails. Will see if the lumps lose any of their moisture with time. Maybe breakup with a bit more time in the mixer if they do. If not I will break up what I can with a riddle then dry and ball mill the rest so I can mix it back in. With the lumps being clay and moisture rich the rest is short or them. Could be used as is if I riddled the first bit on the pattern to avoid the lumps. But I want to see If I can get it to where it should be to determine if using the mixer for adding water saved time. Next Morning: The lumps were still there but soft and smashed easily with ramming. Sand is useable.

Somewhat Different Lost PLA Process

 

Xalthran — Today at 9:49 PM

I have actually never used PoP for lost PLA, but I -did- do a thin coating of investment and surrounded it with homemade sodium silicate bound sand. Poped it in a small toaster over for a couple hours then threw it in my small kiln along with the silver I was melting and simultaneously pulled the mold out and poured the silver.

Wick Oiler for the Atlas 10F

 Based on work done by other I am making a wick oiler for the Atlas front spindle bearing.
The original oiler is a light press fit spring loaded flip up cap.  The new oiler will be loosely based on this drawing.

It will be using a solid copper wire instead of a cloth wick.   Thes cups will not hold much oil.  Most of my sessions are 2 hours or less.  Note that one can stop the oil flow by removing the wike aka wire.

The center post has been machined from a 1/2" diameter length of all thread.  One end has been turned down to fit in the bearing cap.  The other is drilled out to take the wick and allow one to squirt oil directly into the bearing.  This went well.

Using an odd chunk of aluminum I machined a cup that threads on the center post.  The pot has to fit next to the guard over the spindle so it is limited to a diameter of about 1.2".  It did not machine well and although I used the specified 27/64ths bit the fit is sloppy.   May use this as a proof of concept but it is not good enough to keep.   Thinking of making one from steel.  

More to come.

The wire did not drip.  Neither did a section of cord from a window shade.  Thinking....

Testing sand for porosity

 another thing that would cause the surface to be really rough like that is pouring way way too hot

also that seam across the swivel part, that looks like the sand puffed on you when the metal was poured in because the moisture trapped behind the facing sand couldnt escape/vent through the rest of the sand because there was too much, or not enough breathability of the sand, and it just popped that part out as the metal was cooling

Dusty Dan — Yesterday at 11:38 PM

Ah I was wondering about that

Chirpy — Yesterday at 11:46 PM

looks like mostly breathability of the sand and water content tho

@FlashyFlash do you have a 1" or 1 1/2" pvc pipe piece somewhere nearby?

even 3/4" pvc pipe would work too

does not have to be very long, only a few inches really

and a wooden dowel rod that's a little bit longer than the piece of pvc pipe section

Dusty Dan — Today at 12:50 AM

The dowel is for ramming the sand in the pipe ?

Chirpy — Today at 12:54 AM

yea, lightly, and if the sand is too damp, it'll want to stick to the end of the raw wood dowel rod

just pack around 1 1/2" of sand lightly into the tube till the sand starts to push back and it feels solid, it shouldnt take much pressure to ram it in at all

then take your mouth and try blowing it out as hard as you can, if nothing can get through, then it might be that your sand cant breathe, but if it is less of a cork and extremely restricted, then the porousity of the sand might be ok, and just is too wet

or dump around 1 1/2" of sand into the tube and pack it in lightly with the dowel rod

if the sand wants to stick to the dowel rod, then it is really way too wet, or if the end of the rod feels wet after tamping it down

when you turn the tube over, it should feel pretty hard, but hold into the tube very snugly

would feel almost like a sugar cube, so not super hard, but still can crush it with enough force

if your sand can pass a little bit of pressure/air through it, then just sit there for a while and repeat that over and over again, pouring 1 1/2" of sand into the tube, and lightly tamping it down to get a feel for ramming the sand up, then knock that plug out and repeat 

everyone's greensand is a little different, and reacts a little differently to how it likes to be handled, and is a good way to figure out where the issues are with the sand

when you blow through it with your mouth, you dont want to use your lungs, you can try blowing through it, or try sucking the air through it with your mouth, it'll act as either a cork if it cant breathe at all and you end up with a constant vacuum, or if it will lose that pressure/vacuum on it's own as the air gets through the sand

that'll tell you alot about how hard the sand wants to be rammed up

and it sticking/balling up on the end of the piece of wood is a guaranteed way to tell that the water content is too high

Adjusting the play in the Atlas carriage.

Author was asking about a Craftsman 101 so this should hold for Atlas 10s as well.
 Steven Haskell

In one of the manuals, they discuss loosing the screws on the RH end lead screw bearing bracket, moving the carriage to the RH end of the bed, engaging the half nut lever to close the half nuts on the lead screw, then tightening the screws in the RH lead screw bracket. Then disengage the half nuts and see how the carriage feels on the ways.

Drill Speed by Coating

 

Lord of Lava Island 🌋🤷🌋 — Today at 11:09 AM

Was watching a training video, extracted this information. Might be helpful to someone. Cobalt drill bits can run 10% sfm over hss Tungsten carbide drill bits can run 2-3x, very brittle, must use spotting bits, not center drill as they will most likely chip TiN (titanium nitride, dark gold color) typically allows about a 25% increase in cutting speed, until worn off or sharpened away TiCN (titanium carbo nitride, violet grey color) 35-50% higher speeds and 15-25% higher feeds TiAlN (titanium aluminum nitride, violet black color) 75-100% higher speeds, not for aluminum! they stick ZrN (zirconium nitride, very bright yellow color) 25-30% faster speeds, increases tool life 3-5x, great for aluminum as they tend to NOT stick together

Atlas 10F Thrust Bearing

The thrust bearing started making noise.  The part number is 10D-61.  Clausing is said to sell a replacement that is wider than the 1/2" width of the original bearing.   The 10D-61 has 2 ID sizes.  The side with the larger ID faces the babbitt bearing to provide a path for the oil.  A replacement bearing would need to have open area on one face to provide the original oiling setup.

On this spindle stacks up like this

1. Round thrust adjusting nut
2. Change gear drive gear
3. Spacer with keyway
4. Babbitt bearing
5. Thrust bearing 10D-61
6. Backgear gear
7. Pulley stack
8. ...

The spindle has a small pin that rests in #3's, the spacer,  keyway and causes it to rotate with drive gear #2.  The space between the spacer and the babbitt bearing #4 is oiled by oil lost from the babbitt bearing.  This pin is small compared to the size of the keyway. 

Others have succeeded in removing this pin with heat and oil I failed.  Maybe because I was unwilling to use sufficient heat on the spindle. I filed the pin flat and polished the spindle.

My initial plan was to drill a new hole in the spindle and fit a pin.   Visions of doing this on the spindle were unpleasant.  Then I figured I could drill matching holes in the face of #2 and #3 fitting a pin between them which would cause them to rotate together.   Found an 1 1/4 inch pipe and made a mandrel.   With it setup in the drill press I opted to sleep on it.

The next day I came up with what maybe a better solution.   I created a new woodruff key for under the #2 gear with a tail to drive the spacer.  The tail has no groove so it rests on top the spindle shaft.   But it is larger than the pin it replaces so it should be strong enough.   The advantage to this fix is that I did not have to modify anything but the key which is a stock item.  

It took a while to layout and file the key but it happened.  

Now back to #5 the thrust bearing.  The bearing did turn easily.   The ultrasonic cleaner was used many time over a period of 2 days.   Cleaning solutions were place in a zip lock bag along with the bearing.  Cleaners were PB Blaster, Purple Power, and Evaporust.     After many cleaning cycles it is turning freely.  I don't know if it is good enough yet, it would be opinion and subjective.  So I am going to assemble the machine and check it with a dial indicator.   

If it don't work I will be placing a bronze spacer in place of the bearing.  

Also intend to replace the rear felt in the oil cup with one that is less stingy with the oil.

Will edit when its back together.

Procedure for checking headstock shims on Atlas 10F Lathe

 from a Practical-Machinist post by wa5cab

One thing that hasn't been mentioned are the spindle bearing shims. Under both sides of the bearing cap when it left the factory should have been a 0.010" (originally) shim. Each shim is made of five 0.002" shims glued together. To evaluate the two bearing/spindle conditions requires a dial indication good for at least +/- 0.001" that can be attached to the bed or headstock and measure/indicate spindle vertical and horizontal movement near the bearing caps. First confirm that the four bearing cap screws are properly tightened. Atlas apparently never specified a torque figure but something in the range of 25 to 35 lb-ft seems appropriate. move the end of the spindle that is being indicted vertically and horizontally. Presuming that no chuck is on the spindle, insert something like a piece of 3/4" diameter round bar at least a foot long into the spindle bore. Pull up and push down on the end of the bar to determine the vertical clearance. Push and pull in the horizontal plane to determine the horizontal clearance. Do this at both ends of the spindle. If the vertical movement is greater than about 0.0015", remove one shim wafer from either whichever shim is the thickest or from the front shim if they are both the same. Reinstall the shims and bearing cap and repeat. If still too loose, remove one shim from the thicker shim pack. Continue until the vertical movement with the cap screws fully tightened is under 0.002 at both ends and the spindle still spins freely with little resistance.

Images

 

Rusted in Tap Wrench: SUCCESS

The tap wrench has been in the vinegar bath for almost 2 weeks, 13 days to be exact.  

About 1/2 through I tried a bit of heat from the propane torch with no results.

Today I tried to turn it for the first time in about a week using a vice grip on the handle..   I noticed the handle turned just slightly and the jaw was rocking with it.  Applied PB Blaster. It took a fair bit of pressure to turn but slowly it started to turn a bit further and eventually it moved over the entire range.

It still turns bloody hard so removed the penetrating oil with brake cleaner, cleaned the soak tube and filled with fresh vinegar.   I left it with the jaw closed which exposes parts previously hidden.  With luck it will remove rust from these areas and it will move freely.

Three days later I made this video.  The wrench is ready for use.

Nov 26th UPDATE:
The wrench had seized up while sitting in the drawer with the others.  Put it in the vice and worked it loose.  Lubricated with 20W ND oil.  In terms of fit this wrench is quite possibly the best in my collection.  But yeah it looks crappy.

Rusted in tap wrench.

In a non productive mode for some reason.  Need to work my way out of that with easy things.

This is a 15" tap wrench from a rummage sale.
It is going to be a bit of a test case for vinegar on badly rusted steel with moving parts.  Vinegar has been doing a bang up job on removing mill scale for me.

Have a fresh gallon of evapo-rust but want to see how the vinegar works.  It's been soaking it in vinegar but not submerged.  Need to get a PVC pipe to do that.  Thinking vinegar is thin and may creep into places other de-rusters may not go.  Have not verified that.

Reverse electrolysis only works on surface rust as it is line of sight.    

May alternate with heat.


The brown and sharpe lathe has lost of rusted in things that are supposed to move.   Maybe apply what I learn here there.

Chirpy says "420 degrees before it starts to affect temper
those are probably tempered into 500F tho, that way they're not super hard, but still have a little deformation in use and you could always wrap that area of the tap wrench up in a soaking wet rag too, it'll soak the heat away and let you heat that up without worrying about losing the temper"

Chirpy on pouring brass

with brass alloys, if you think it's hot enough, then it really isn't, lol

[6:06 AM]
when your scooping the dross off, you should see green/yellow flames where your scooping, and a small steel rod, it should wet to it and not ball up on it

[6:06 AM]
just heat it up first to preheat it and drive off any moisture

[6:07 AM]
a steel coat hanger would work perfect for that, just stick it in the metal and stir it around very gently to make sure everything has melted, and when you pull it out, it shouldnt have anything on it except where it wetted to it

if you take a piece of aluminum wire, just a small, short section and sit it on top of the melt right before you pour, do not mix it in, just let it sit on the top of the melt as you pour.  when you pour, the aluminum will help the brass wet it's way through the mold and flow into the mold easier, and you'll end up with a white powder on the cast part, which you just brush off with a wire brush

and I'm not talking about a massive piece of aluminum wire, just a very short section, like 3/4" section of 1/8" aluminum wire at largest

yea, higher temperature is the best bet

I usually wait till every last piece is melted down into the crucible, then skim the dross and everything off of the melt, put it back into the furnace and set a timer on your phone for 10-15 mins depending on how well insulated your furnace is and how good your burner is, then go directly from the furnace to the mold(edited)

you can scoop the dross off right before you pour, but you shouldnt have much since you skimmed a few mins before, so very little to no time lost there

the second you take brass alloys out of the furnace, your on the timer and every second counts
you can try an extra 5 mins, but I usually let it heat up 10 mins
some people's furnaces/burners aren't that great, so I said 10-15 mins

https://www.a-m.de/englisch/lexikon/giesstemperatur.htm

since your using an electric furnace, that'll help
you'll want to use the thin walled temps

MartinHewitt — Today at 5:20 PM

Sounds really like I want to go up to 1200°C.(edited)

Chirpy — Today at 5:21 PM

looks like 1160 would do it

[5:21 PM]

yea, brass, the melting point and pouring temps are really far apart, and the pouring temp range is pretty small usually

[5:22 PM]

various bronzes on the other hand, the pouring temp is slightly above melting temps, and most have a pretty wide pouring range

platypus — Today at 12:51 PM

also what should I use for bronze, flux wise? every source on the internet's trying to sell me something

Chirpy — Today at 12:52 PM

nothing tbh

platypus — Today at 12:52 PM

oh that makes my life easier lol

Chirpy — Today at 12:53 PM

Ive never really used anything for bronze, but do set your burner to run a little on the rich side

[12:53 PM]

even copper, never used flux for it