New Mill and Surface Grinder / Now What??

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Diamond G Knives

Well-Known Member
I have found a Rockwell surface grinder and an Enco mill that I will be picking up on Thursday.

Now I understand the concepts and some of the basics of both machines but really have no experience to speak of.
Does anyone have any "How to books" to recommend?

Im looking into some classes at the local Technical collage but it may be a while.

Any of you machinists out there have any suggestions on what NOT to do??

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

God Bless
Mike
 
Im not a machinists per se but have had my mill for a while. The first thing your going to want to do is give it a thorough cleaning, all the ways etc. Then get some good way oil so you can lube it back up. Then you will have to true everything up which can take quite a while and you may have to get creative with your dial indicators.

Dont skimp on a vice.

make sure to lock your ways when not moving in that direction. Vibration can cause movement and throw off your cuts.

My first project was making mounts from a DRO on all the axis so I bought some aluminum stock and just dived right it. Taking small cuts and trying to get a feel for spindle and feed speeds, how it affected the finish etc.
 
Wow! Your taking two big steps with these machines,someday you will wonder how you ever got along without them.
Massachusetts institute of technology ,M I T, has some good videos teaching basic machining,google it,it's easy to find.
As far as surface grinding I don't know of any formal instruction but there is probably some out there. I'd say use your surface grinder as is at first then consider a conversion to belts,that will make it more versatile. I use mine to grind steel,bone,micarta,pearl,titanium,wood,etc. I can turn a batch of pivot bushings then surface grind them all to the same thickness,or a set of standoffs for a liner lock.
Both of these are wonderful machines with so much potential,your going to love them.
I could go on and on but I better get to work.
 
I've found all the videos by this fella Tublacain on youtube to be EXTREMELY helpful. He's got tons of videos on all manner of subjects.

Here's a link to one so you can find him and all his other vids-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY2crpjhL3E

I also went with a DRO on my Bridgeport straight away. WIP on the install here-

http://knifedogs.com/showthread.php?25509

Convert surface grinder to run belts. I never even used a stone on mine. Here is my conversion build wip-

http://knifedogs.com/showthread.php?31794-Surface-Grinder-Belt-Conversion-WIP

-Josh
 
some ideas
1) SAFETY get a comfortable pair of ohsa approved safety goggles to keep stuff out of your eyes. do not wear loose long sleeves. keep the on/off switch in easy reach and make sure you are not reaching across the moving tool to get to it.
2) SPEED AND FEED the key to good finished part. the mill should have a book that lists settings and speeds. you can find online sources that give recommendations of tool speed and feed rate for various metals.
scott
 
Calvin
Thanks for the advice!
Josh
Great tutorial! One question though. Do you give up any "precision" abilities when you convert to a belt vs stone?

Again, thanks for all the input! This is exactly what I need to be hearing!

God Bless
Mike
 
Mike,

1. I don't really know :) No prior machining experience other than my knifemaking endeavors. However Brian Fellhoelter is experienced and a backer of the belt conversion. I think pretty much everyone converts to belts so don't worry about it ;)

2. When it comes to the precision of these types of machine tools even sloppy ole wore out dogs provide the needed accuracy for making knife blades. That is of course MY personal belief. I currently don't own any measuring devices that go below .0005 and that is a harbor freight digital caliper.

I use my SG to get stuff FLAT and PARALLEL and throw a 220 finish on blades. Others go higher but I usually don't bother due to the fact that I'm hand finishing my blade anyway so the tiny area that remains flat is no problem.

On blades I've ground and checked I've never found a difference in thickness that equals .001 or over. That's is quite accurate enough for anything I've done. Even on my vintage machinery and with belts.

-Josh
 
I'm not a machinest, but I play one in the shop! :) My first milling machine sat on the bench for 4 years before Tom Ferry visited...and asked me why I wasn't using the mill. I told him "Don't know how." He spent about an hour showing me, and now I can't image what I'd do without it (them....I now have two mills in the shop!) :)

Over time I've learned that what you can do on just about any machine is only limited by your imagination. Classes are nice, but nothing beats one-on-one, and "hands on" time.
 
Diamond G Knives said:
Calvin
Thanks for the advice!
Josh
Great tutorial! One question though. Do you give up any "precision" abilities when you convert to a belt vs stone?

Again, thanks for all the input! This is exactly what I need to be hearing!

God Bless
Mike
Click to expand...

Yes,with a belt it will still be precise enough for what we do,not for building a Hubble telescope but fine for what we do.
 
Sure wish I had managed to get the at least the surface grinder. On another forum several very respected makers are saying to not make the change to belts and that the grey and or white (?) wheels will do a great job. There is also one maker there rebuilding a surface grinder he just purchased. Might be helpful? Frank
 
Thanks Guys!
And Ed, I plan on "Playing" quite a bit to get use to it.

Any suggestion on what tooling I should buy for general mill work?

Thanks and God Bless
Mike
 
Don'ts and Do's

Don't keep either one!

Do pay for both and deliver to my shop. It's only an hour away from yours.
 
Murph have you been riding that bike in the noon day sun again??
Thinking it may have effected you! ;)
And yes, your only an hour away! You can come and play on it any time you like!
Great pics you have been posting of Mia, she is growing!

God Bless
Mike
 
Diamond G Knives said:
Any suggestion on what tooling I should buy for general mill work?
Click to expand...

The money you will eventually spend on tooling etc will far outpace the cost of the mill in short order.

here is a list of some must haves in my book....
good vice
collets to hold your end mills
Some edge finders or a decent electronic one
a set of parallels to use in the vice
a couple 3-2-1 blocks
a clamping kit with various studs and such to hold work to the table
some end mills (size and type will vary depending on your needs)
dial indicator for trueing up your mill.


When I started I just got a rather cheap set of end mills since I was just playing with aluminum. Then as the need arose and I started cutting/facing stainless I bought a couple better end mills.
 
Diamond G Knives said:
Calvin
Thanks for the advice!
Josh
Great tutorial! One question though. Do you give up any "precision" abilities when you convert to a belt vs stone?

Again, thanks for all the input! This is exactly what I need to be hearing!

God Bless
Mike
Click to expand...


I use mine to sharpen end mills and other tools. You can do lots of things with a surface grinder besides flat grinding if you know how.
 
I like Exitium's recommendations.

To that I'd add a Drill chuck to get you off to a good start with the Mill.

I've got an edge finder kit but have never used it. I zero my cutter on the side of the work then move over half the width of the cutter to find the edge.

Something I still need to get is a Z setter block like this-

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAKA=308-0391&PMPXNO=12093229&PARTPG=INSRHI

Another I would LOVE to have is a powerfeed on the knee especially but not necessary to get started.

-Josh
 
Well I go pick them up in the morning.
From what I am seeing in the photos the mill has 15-20 collets various sizes, a fell set of clamping things(?), a vise, and has power feed. The surface grinder has a 18" magnetic chuck, and 11 assorted wheels.

Will give a full report after I pick them up!

God Bless
Mike
 
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