Any Metalworkers?

I wanted to make a thread like the popular any woodworkers thread. I am a home hobbiest that likes to do both so I want one more twords metal.

Show your heavy metal projects or tools. Lathes, CNC, Milling or simple dremel tricks. Having a high dollar tool for work does not matter as much as what you created at home to overcome the high cost of tooling.

Showing off your tools is great but projects that you are making or finished is preferred.

 

I will start with supplies. You know you will need to build things but do you buy what you need on the spot or do you have some stock metal ready for when you want to make something.

I like to regularly visit my local metal supply place to see what they have in their remnants section. Luckily it's pretty large and it changes often. It is way lower in price than ordering the metal outright, you just have to kinda know what you might use.

This is my current supply.

Aluminum: I use this the most.



Brass: I plan on using this more very soon.



Steel. I will need this to make tools for my tools.

 

I added a couple of digital readouts to my milling machine. I added X and Y axis, The Z axis has one built in.



No more reading the manual dials. The scales look like this in various lengths.



I wanted them to be well protected from the flying chips so I milled some aluminum brackets then used 1 1/4" aluminum L channel for the covers.

 

I dont have the space or money for CNC/Metal lathe stuff...

 

One of the first projects I will build is a PM Research #1 scale working steam engine. It is a casting kit with just the bare materials and lots of engineering plans.

I have no idea how long it will take to build this but it looks like it will be a lot of fun and frustration in the works.

 

man there was a guy on a different forum, he had some mad machining skills...He made himself a gatling gun 22, a full sized cannon and duplicated another...

 

My mag chuck that I recently cleaned up & got mounted.




What it looked like when I got it.

 

@Slashaar

 

I'd do more if I had money and space to own some CNC or even Manual machines. Right now the only chips I get to make are at work.

 

Though I have considered financing a plasma table.

 

I thought I would beat the Chinese import tariffs and get the parts I need now. I want to build the steam engine before I convert it though.

 

Is that a Grizzly lathe?

 

It's a PM1236.

 

I have been in machining since 1991. Started my own shop about 20 years ago. Began out of a 2 car garage and then moved about 5 years ago into a 40x60 with in floor heat. Winters are so much easier... but I'm getting older and starting to slow down.

 

that garage looks just like a glass/chip repair place up here...

 

I'm hunting for a piece of measuring equipment for work that disappeared when they shutdown one of the facilities. I'm hoping that someone here might have an idea if what I'm looking for is commercially available or if it was homemade. I've been searching Google to no avail and the piece had no marking on it that I ever saw.

TIA

Here's a crude sketch of what it looked like.