Garage Slapstick
December 4th, 2009Augustus Gloop in the Workshop
I had fun today. I put a new blade in my 4 x 6 metal cutting bandsaw, and then I spent about three hours trying to fold the old blade. It’s a Mobius strip that bites.
While I was trying to fix up the garage, I made an amusing discovery. The rear cover on my mill ways was not attached at one end, so the ways (or saddle or whatever) was littered with swarf. I had to use a blowgun to clean the crap off. I think you have to be nuts to use a blowgun around swarf, but there was no other way. I still have my eyesight, thank God.
I knocked my old 14N chuck off the arbor so I could put the new one on, and stupidly, I didn’t think to take the arbor out of the collet first. The chuck dropped unexpectedly, and now I have my first mill table ding. It’s tiny, but I couldn’t feel it more if it was on my own surface instead of the mill’s.
The band saw is a little slow. It took about an hour to cut a slice out of 4″ by 4″ 1045. I don’t know the right speed, so I used the lowest one. I don’t know how much lube to use, so I had to run to the saw every five minutes and squirt pipe threading oil on it. What a drag.
I started making so many dumb mistakes in there, I quit and came inside. Maybe my blood sugar is low.
Hope I get it together so I can finish up. My cross-slide table arrived, and I need to make hardware to attach it to the drill press.
December 4th, 2009 at 10:06 PM
You need a copy of Machinery’s Handbook. From it you can learn to compute feeds and speeds and what lubricants to use for which metals. A used copy will provide all the useful info you need. Anything newer than fifteen years will be so full of CNC stuff as to make it less useful to someone not using CNC machines. I got a good used copy at Half Price Books for less than Ten Dollars.
Gerry N.
December 5th, 2009 at 2:41 AM
1)The blades that come with those cheapo 4×6 saws are absolute garbage. Go get some decent blades, they make a big difference.
2) Consider building a mister or a dripper for the saw it will prolong blade life, and save your sanity.
3)You’re cutting a big chunk of metal on a very small horizontal saw. You should expect it to take awhile.
December 5th, 2009 at 1:40 PM
Steve,
Here’s one technique for folding a bandsaw blade, and is the one I use: http://www.woodmagazine.com/woodworking-tips/techniques/skills/folding-bandsaw-blades-simple-as-one-two-three/ My search had a link to a YouTube video, but that one didn’t come up for me.
Don’t ever use a blowgun to clean the ways of your lathe or mill, it’s too easy to blow swarf between the slidey parts, and that’ll ruin them. I use a paintbrush and vacuum to clean my machines.
Blade speed on a bandsaw for cutting metal is usually about 100 fpm. Although cutting oil may help the process and will definitely be a Good Thing for blade life, most home shoppers don’t use it regularly.
December 7th, 2009 at 3:17 PM
jdunmeyer’s method works. I was taught that one too. It’s one of those things that looks devilishly easy, but confounds you until you get the knack.