Messages

31

General Mach Discussion / Re: Shop Fox Lathe Retrofit

« on: September 19, 2015, 08:21:16 PM »

Wow guys. Nobody has any input!!!!  Everyone must be really busy

32

General Mach Discussion / Shop Fox Lathe Retrofit

« on: September 16, 2015, 07:06:07 PM »

Hey Everyone!!!  Hope all is well!!!

I am getting ready to start a new project. I've been wanting a lathe to go with my two routers for some time. Would have liked to have a larger lathe, but my shop is so full I've decided to settle for a bench top instead. Besides all the parts I am making are small. I was going to buy a grizzly g0602, but an industrial supplier I use hooked me up with a shop fox m1049 at his cost. It was a great savings. There back ordered through mid October, but that gives me time to prepare anyhow. Here's my plan so far. Ball screws on both axi, replace motor add vfd, and control with csmio/ip.  Not sure which controller yet, depends on whether I use servos or steppers. On my original machine I changed my z axis to a larger stepper and digital amp and was pleased with how it ran. My large machine is servo and I love it. I know there are pros and cons either way. My question is what do you guys think?  Steppers?servos?  What size of each?  Now I do have two mrj2 drives, but I'm pretty sure the are 3 phase input side. I'm going to dig them out and check them later and I'll post specifics. I'm open to suggestions from everyone. Thanks for all the input.

33

General Mach Discussion / Re: Ballnose Bits

« on: March 18, 2015, 10:51:26 PM »

Thanks for the input guys!!!!

34

General Mach Discussion / Re: Ballnose Bits

« on: March 10, 2015, 05:22:59 PM »

Thanks

35

General Mach Discussion / Ballnose Bits

« on: March 10, 2015, 03:03:03 PM »

Hey guys!!

I wanted to get everyone's opinion on ballnose end mills for wood. Traditionally I have always used general purpose uncoated cutters for finishing. Mainly because I have been in the tool die field for years and had an abundance. Most of the time finish was acceptable with a light touch of sanding. I find myself getting into more intricate work these days where sanding the geometry is not so easy. After a slough of different sanding equipment I've decided it's time to bite the bullet and get some cutters more specialized for my application. I've purchased some onsrud roughers and a few other brands. So far I've been pleased, but I haven't tried any of the ball nose. I wanted to get your guys thoughts as wood working has its demons as well. Mainly I cut a multitude of different hardwoods and epoxy laminated wood. Spindle speed and feed rates won't be a problem even with chip load being high on some cutters. I'm looking for different brands to compare by as well as personal experience from different people.  I use from a 1/16 to 1/2 ballnose depending on the work.  Most of the time I try to get my cut direction and wood grain in the proper orientation, but sometimes it almost impossible. I'm aware that the woodworking bits have a much more aggressive rake that wood brake in metal cutting. Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated. As always thanks for the help

36

General Mach Discussion / Re: Grizzly lathe retrofit!!!

« on: February 16, 2015, 09:54:00 AM »

Yep. I was planning on the stepping up a notch on the controller this time. Definitely want to be able to thread.

Thanks

37

General Mach Discussion / Grizzly lathe retrofit!!!

« on: February 15, 2015, 09:43:31 PM »

Guys,

I've been studying on purchasing a 10 x 22 grizzly lathe and retrofitting it. I've stumbled upon some small lathe work that would be a perfect fit for it. Also I think I need one

38

General Mach Discussion / Re: Connecting to a computer that doesn't have a db25 port??

« on: January 14, 2015, 07:42:21 PM »

I used a PCI parallel on my first machine. As Hood said it is probably an address problem. The address on mine was nothing like the defaults in mach. Go into device manager, find your parallel port card and you should be able to find the correct address. I remember I pulled my hair until I figured it out!!! Good luck!!!!!

39

General Mach Discussion / Re: XHC Mach3 4-axis control card

« on: January 05, 2015, 08:26:53 PM »

Dan,

Glad everything worked out for you. That is some nice work!!!!!

40

CS-Lab / Re: Cs-lab ordering

« on: January 03, 2015, 08:46:09 PM »

Pitch black,

I recieved my shipment in about a week. Order was processed in a very timely fashion. Best I remember it was shipped global express. Once stateside I lost tracking info, but recieved the item Ups shortly after.  I did receive a bill from global express where they charged me an extra $45.00 for walking it through customs. I was so happy with the product I gladly paid it. If your on the fence about the mpg module , I'll say it's worth every penny.