Warco VMC Head Riser.

[MattH]

0.4-0.5 is as far as I would ever push mine but like I say it’s not as big or rigid as yours. I do it with a positive rake carbide insert at 145 rpm in the back gears and it will take that cut

N.B. Negative rake every time in this scenario.

 

[Richard.]

N.B. Negative rake every time in this scenario.

Would that be better for mine too

 

[MattH]

Would that be better for mine too

I only us positive rake for aluminium and plastics (sometimes brass).
Steel and especially heavy cuts in steel should always be at least neutral or preferably negative rake.

 

[Richard.]

I only us positive rake for aluminium and plastics (sometimes brass).
Steel and especially heavy cuts in steel should always be at least neutral or preferably negative rake.

I’ve never had any joy on mine out of negative rake. I think it’s too gutles or I have it set up poorly

 

[Hood]

Your lathe is probably on the small side for a negative insert, positive inserts work well on small lathes and can usually cope well enough with the DOC possible on such a lathe.

 

[Pete.]

As Hood said your little lathe won't like negative rake. I'd be more inclined to experiment with high positive rake grinds you'll find it reduces the cutting loads a lot.

Nice job on that riser Matthew. I think that taking it steady is a good idea you have a very short grip on the piece and quite a lot of overhang. Going mad with the feeds could easily wrench it out of the chuck and a lump that size has a lot of momentum.

 

[Hood]

That is certainly true and often, where possible, I use the tailstock with a live centre pushing against the work just to reduce the chance of any mishaps. I have a nice bull nosed live centre that is perfect for big lumps like that.

 

[Matthew92]

Thanks everyone for all the tips, this is all very new to me, so all info is great. I shall get the lathe work finished soon, then I’ll move onto drilling. I feel like that could cause me more issues than the machining, I’ve got to figure out where to drill the holes and I don’t have a rotating table.

 

[atconut]

have you got a dro on the mill

 

[atconut]

if you have i could give you the co-ordinates or google bolt circle and there are sites that will work it out for you

 

[Matthew92]

I haven’t got one at current, it’s one of those jobs for the future if I need it. Which I guess already do. Thank you though, I’ll just have to get my center punch out and keep my fingers crossed.

 

[Hood]

You can just do it via the dials on the Mill, DROs are handy but dials do the same job.

 

[slimjim]

Draw it in card, using a protractor to get the angles, then centre punch through the card, it should be good enough.

 

[Pete.]

As above dials or even digital calipers just make sure all your approaches are from the same direction so you don't suffer backlash errors.

Another good way of plotting clearance holes is draw in CAD, print off and use the printed drawing as a template.

 

[addjunkie]

Back in the olden days before all this high tech jiggery pokery you would blue the face, and mark it out using a rule, dividers and scribes etc. How many holes is it, cant be that difficult to mark out.

 

[doubleboost]

I used paper templates on mine as the original bolt pattern was not symmetrical (by a long way)

 

[Matthew92]

Machining finished, I've knocked up a paper template, quite literally, using a hammer to gently tap around the casting, something else I've learned from you @doubleboost . I'm not going to rush into the drilling stage, I want to decide how I'm going to do it first, but I think I have a plan.



Forgot to add a picture of my poor headless mill.



I took on board what was said above and tried slowing the lathe down to 190rpm and took a .75 doc and this was the result. Much better, unfortunately I didn't have enough material left to take more cuts like that. I know .75 seems like an odd figure to try, but on my 1330 the dials are set out so that if you dial it in 1.5mm it removes .75 from each side. Quite good really, until I try another lathe where I have to remember to half the cut I need.



Finished, ready for the next step. Question is, when completed, do I spray it with the can of Warco green paint I have or just oil it and enjoy the finish?

 

[MattH]

Very impressed mate, great work so far.

Those chips are spot on, learning chip control is very satisfying I find.

 

[doubleboost]

Machining finished, I've knocked up a paper template, quite literally, using a hammer to gently tap around the casting, something else I've learned from you @doubleboost . I'm not going to rush into the drilling stage, I want to decide how I'm going to do it first, but I think I have a plan.

View attachment 138283

Forgot to add a picture of my poor headless mill.

View attachment 138284

I took on board what was said above and tried slowing the lathe down to 190rpm and took a .75 doc and this was the result. Much better, unfortunately I didn't have enough material left to take more cuts like that. I know .75 seems like an odd figure to try, but on my 1330 the dials are set out so that if you dial it in 1.5mm it removes .75 from each side. Quite good really, until I try another lathe where I have to remember to half the cut I need.

View attachment 138285

Finished, ready for the next step. Question is, when completed, do I spray it with the can of Warco green paint I have or just oil it and enjoy the finish?

View attachment 138286
View attachment 138287
View attachment 138288

Mine was left shiny
Much better and safer chips

 

[Hood]

That is the type of chips you strive for, not always possible depending on material but often more possible than not. I love hearing it in the CNC, sounds like a machine gun with the chips rattling off the tin work Doesn't do the paint much good though