Machine tooling

[Bendy]

Hi all,
I have recently bought myself a warco super major mill and a Colchester student lathe so i can get cracking on my 4" little samson (thread to follow). I have found myself now needing tooling for these machines so i can get started and have kept and eye on ebay etc. I want to refrain from buying from places like RDG or likewise as i would prefer to have a nice british built rotary table for example and i expect i could get more tooling for my budget by getting it second hand. So if anyone has any tooling for either a milling machine or lathe lurking in the cupboard of their shed then please get in contact as id like to get buying some tooling over the next few months.
on my list would be
fly cutter
boring head
rotary table
right angle block thing
set of parallels
v blocks
colchester student faceplate
and anything else you think a young machinist may need to get going.

Many Thanks James

[hedge]

hi james

the parallels, angle plate, rotary table, v blocks and colchester items are readily available on ebay so i would sit on there and have a look through the ads. if you want a really solid rotary table don't be afraid of the ones in the £500+ range and don't be put of by non british manufacturers as Hoffman is a really solid make and their dividing heads are really well engineered as well.

there are lots of angle plates on ebay but go to the ads at the end as that is generally wear the proper old school cast angle plates are which i prefer over the modern items as they seem to stand the test of time a lot better, i have a moore & wright angle plate which is what i generally use on the bridge port.

best thing is to think about what you want to do because if your planning to build more than one engine in the future then invest in your machinery and tooling. sometimes spending that little bit more at the beginning will save you a lot in the future.

best of luck with your project.

cheers sam

[Bendy]

Thanks Sam
Like you say im hoping to only buy my machinery once so im looking for some quality tooling. By the sounds of it im best off keeping an eye on ebay. Although £500+ for a rotary table is quite a bit out of my budget at the moment.
Just out of interest what do people think of the quality of tooling from places like rdg?
Thanks James

[hedge]

the actual tooling so boring bars and lathe tooling are not that bad actually, i buy all me high speed steel tooling from rdg and i use their carbide boring bars on the horizontal borer with good results so yes i would recommend them for the simple lathe tooling. but items like boring heads for the mill which don't seem to be no money from rdg then i would want to do some research and talk to some one who has used them before getting one.

you may want to put some thing in the model section on hear as you may get more feed back on the subject and better advice as i am no half size engine builder. may be worth sending andy smith a pm as he has built a number of engines all with a colchester student and a small mill so he will certainly get you going in the right direction.

[Bendy]

i was going to buy tooling like that from them as my view was that you cant go too far wrong with items like that. However i think ill take on your advice and ask a few people about the rest of their stuff.
I think ill have a chat to Edward when he gets back as i expect he will know what to do.
Thanks James

[kev-zoo]

Depends on what part of the country your from, take a look at projectmachinery.co.uk we bought all our machines at work from Richard and I have my own, he is very good if you are after something to keep an eye out for what you are after. As said previously look on eBay, there is some good quality tipped tooling around


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[Bendy]

Thanks Kevin
Im based in Exeter but ill take a look anyway. ive now got all the machines im gonna need for a while, just need the tooling.
Thanks James

[4040]

ebay is your best bet but also keep an eye out for local company disposal auctions

It's difficult to get and afford everything in one go and I remember often doing things the hard way before being able to buy one tool or accessory to make life easier over the years

I have been building up my workshop for over 25 years and am still often buying stuff

My advice would be to buy anything if it's local and cheap even if you don't need it or you already have it, theres always someone else looking for it too and a little bit of profit helps to buy the stuff you really need

I think my best buy to date was a mint 12" Hoffman rotary table for £40 at a company auction locally (they were £800 new at the time )

Theres plenty of bargains out there, you just need to be patient

[Radhew]

I would tend to agree with Sam, RDG cutting tools are okay. The other stuff is a bit chinese cheapy.

For other stuff I use MSCJ&L. They have a range of tooling and offer both value stuff and high quality. Cromwell tools are also good.

For heavy stuff like rotary tables etc. I would resort to ebay or occasionaly home and workshop machiney in Beckenham if I am in a hurry.
Dave

[kev-zoo]

Originally Posted by Bendy

Thanks Kevin
Im based in Exeter but ill take a look anyway. ive now got all the machines im gonna need for a while, just need the tooling.
Thanks James

No problems James, I found Richard at project machinery good if I was after a particular piece of machinery or tooling. He sourced me a very nice Hoffman indexable dividing head with plates and tail stock for a very reasonable price. Just keep hunting and that piece your after will eventually appear


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