...which reminds me that I didn't post about my Christmas present to myself, a pair of Malco Eagle Grip vice grips (had to get a large to replace a pair of vintage Irwin's that my father had "borrowed" from his brother's welding shop.....

Just curious what the difference is between the Malco and a standard pair of Vise-Grips? They seem almost identical except for an extra pin/rivet/stud in the top jaw.

Quote from: WillAdams on March 07, 2023, 09:34 AM

...which reminds me that I didn't post about my Christmas present to myself, a pair of Malco Eagle Grip vice grips (had to get a large to replace a pair of vintage Irwin's that my father had "borrowed" from his brother's welding shop.....

Just curious what the difference is between the Malco and a standard pair of Vise-Grips? They seem almost identical except for an extra pin/rivet/stud in the top jaw.

That, and they’re made in America.

Ordered two Pica 9mm pencil from Toolnut, managed to lost my original at work, actually think I left it lay, and someone evaporated it.  Evaporation tends to be a thing where I work part time.  Company tools sometimes disappear and them suddenly reappear later. I generally am very careful with my tools and have lost very few in the 53 years of working in shops and sites.

The new 0.9mm?

I have worked at a final testing department, and the assembly guys left tools inside the installations they build too often. At some point we got fed up and we didn't return their tools but we collected them in a crate for the whole week, then gave it to the assembly team leader 

About 12 years ago I ordered the smallest Aloris quick change tool post they made for a small Atlas 618 metal lathe. Unfortunately, when it arrived it was huge and was just not practical to use.
So time marches on and I recently stumbled upon a version that is only 2/3 the size of the Aloris. It's perfect for rapid tooling changes on a small lathe.
The tool post itself is in the rear center of this photo while left to right the tool holders are for: cut-off blade, 3/8" lathe tool, 1/2" lathe tool, a 3/8" boring bar and a holder for a 1/2" boring bar that has not been installed yet.




For those that are unfamiliar with lathe tooling, I'll give a very brief history of how we've landed where we have. The lathe dates back to 1300 BC but I'm interested in "modern" metal lathes driven with an electric motor so that starts right around 1900.

Left to right:
1. Original lantern tool post used with a single lathe tool, when tools are changed out, everything needs to be readjusted
2. A square tool post that can accept multiple lathe tools, to change tools, release the handle and spin the tool into position.
3. The modern quick change tool post, release the handle and mount what ever tool you want to use. Everything is pre adjusted.




One thing all tool posts must have is the ability to adjust the height of the lathe tool relative to the centerline of the material being turned.




For the lantern tool post, the thickness of the black bar that sits between the silver tool bit on the top and the "rocker" on the bottom needs to change. Either the bar thickness needs to change or there needs to be the addition/subtraction of shims.




For the square multi-tool tool post, the lathe tool is raised/lowered through the use of metal shims.




For the modern quick change tool post, it's a simple twist of a thumbwheel which allows for fine tweaking of the lathe tool height.




I also want to give a quick visual on how lathe tooling has changed over the years.

From right to left;
1. A Cleveland HSS tool circa 1900 to 1950, ALL geometries are hand ground on a blue or white wheel.
2. A Carboloy cemented carbide tool with a brazed tungsten tip circa 1950 to 1980, minor geometries can be hand ground on a green wheel.
3. An early, cheap carbide insert tool with a replaceable carbide insert circa 1980 to current, ready to use as is.
4. A modern Seco Carboloy tool with a replaceable carbide insert circa 2000 to current, ready to use as is.




All of these tools perform the same function and yet you can see the tip geometries become smaller and more precise as time goes by. That Carboloy cemented carbide tool was really cutting edge in its day and it took a while before they became affordable to the small machine shop/home machinist. The Carboloy material, just for the brazed tip (cemented tungsten carbide) was priced at $450 per pound in the 1950's. Compare that to the small silver carbide insert in the Seco holder at the top of the photo...that insert was $6.

“The Carboloy material, just for the brazed tip (cemented tungsten carbide) was priced at $450 per pound in the 1950's. Compare that to the small silver carbide insert in the Seco holder at the top of the photo...that insert was $6.”

How many of those little $6 bits to the pound?

Thanks for the tooling lesson!

Nice collection of QCTP's there Cheese!

My first lathe came with the old style square post but I had them change it to a QCTP, makes life so much easier!

I will add that metal working on the lathe is a real joy, I love it!

Those are some sweet looking marking devices Cheese, I may give some of those a shot!

Thanks to a recent post by Ron @rvieceli , I was made aware that KC Tool had a sale on Wera products this week.

I purchased this Wera Zyklop Mini 1 ratchet. Instead of having a 1/4" male square drive on the end, it has a 1/4" female hex drive so that it will accept hex bits directly without needing an adapter. This thing is absolutely tiny and will fit in very small spaces, exactly what I needed. Another really nice feature is the black thumb wheel at the top of the ratchet for the rapid insertion of longer screws.

I’ve got one of those, love how the ratchet lever is shipped like a wera handle. Small detail, but indicative of the care they put into their products. 

I can't recall where I saw these but someone suggested them and, you know...



I've got a bunch of the Irwin quick clamps that I use all the time, these are beefier in addition to being more versatile.

RMW

I've been using this small Atlas metal lathe for the last 15 years or there about. A sweet little lathe that's very precise and accurate but some of the features are cumbersome which makes sense as it was originally released almost 80 years ago when life was simple.    One of the major annoyances is the supplied Atlas wrench that's used on the adjustment of the tail stock. It's short but it's an open end wrench which means if you place it on the hex nut, it falls off. The alternative option is to use a box end wrench but that is a long wrench and is constantly in the way, which means the wrench also needs to be removed after each adjustment because it interferes with the adjustments & functioning of the lathe. 

I finally found a solution to this conundrum. Snap-on "midget" combination wrenches.

I originally started looking at the Wera wrenches when they were recently on sale. The price was reasonable but they were the long style as is usual, had a funky bad chrome finish and were made in Taiwan...and they were asking $20 each for the wrenches.
So... I needed to spend $20 per wrench for something that didn't really fit my needs? I put them in my cart but then decided to revaluate the situation.
After a couple of days of evaluation and visiting many websites, I returned once again to Snap-on. I didn't want to spend the $$ but it soon became obvious that they offered the solution I wanted and for a reasonable price, all things considered.

Bottom line, I couldn't be happier, these are some extremely nice tools, you get what you pay for. Buy once...cry once, I'd spend the $$ again in a heart beat.

Here are the 3 Snap-on midgets I purchased, all dedicated for use on the Atlas lathe. These small lathes don't need a lot of torque to lock down the features, and too much torque applied can become an issue because they can damage the gibs and the mating surfaces.




Here's the original Atlas tail stock wrench. The square end is for adjusting the original lantern style tool holder bolt.




Interestingly enough, way back when, this lathe wrench was manufactured for Atlas in the 50's/60's by Armstrong Tools which is now owned by...wait for it...Snap-on. 



And here's how it fits on the lathe, really sweet, short and out of the way and it no longer needs to be removed to perform basic lathe functions.

Quote from: Richard/RMW on March 16, 2023, 04:29 PM

I can't recall where I saw these but someone suggested them and, you know...

(Attachment Link)

I've got a bunch of the Irwin quick clamps that I use all the time, these are beefier in addition to being more versatile.

RMW

Have you tried them? According to Bessey the clamping force is only 100 pounds.

I have a pair of the Harbor Freight knock offs.  The holding power has to be substantially less than the 100 pounds of the competition.  I only use it to. Hold pieces down for sanding or routing.  But very cheap. 

@Cheese welcome to the poor house 

Just received Stabila's short elevator tripod.  I have a regular builders elevator tripod and a couple light duty camera tris but they are pretty light duty and wanted a heavier one for the Milwaukee 12v green laser I have.  The Stabilas as beastial as the builders.

Knipex non-conductive long-nose pliers.




Kind regards,
Oliver

Hmmmm, I've been thinking about getting those.


Seth

Milwaukee's 18v 1/2 x 18 band filer (sander).  I've  keep a corded one in van for years.  It's great for commercial locksmithing repair and modifying on aluminum or steel doors using 3m Cubitron and Trizact belts.  I also use the file sanders for glass notching using silicon carbide belts.  I also have the Makita 1x 21" for glass and wood applications.  Anyone looking for a corded one should let me know as I have three.