Hello everyone,
I wanted to take a moment to share the incredible progress made in the metal shop following last weekend’s closure.
First and foremost, a huge THANK YOU to everyone involved! The support and dedication have been overwhelming.
Lathe
The lathe was almost entirely disassembled by @VintageSteel and myself—not due to damage, but because as we worked on it, we felt it necessary to check the internal mechanisms and lubrication. We’re extremely glad we did.
- Apron: We found it completely dry, with signs of heavy wear beginning to appear. It was fully dismantled, thoroughly cleaned, and refilled with the correct oil as per the manual.
- Disassembly Process: This involved removing the toolpost, compound slide, cross slide, control screw, saddle plate, main lead screw, and autofeed shaft. Each component was inspected, cleaned, and properly oiled.
- Adjustments: The saddle and cross slide gibs were adjusted, eliminating slack and making the dials feel buttery smooth.
- Wear & Condition: Despite its age (60+ years), wear was present but well within acceptable limits.
- Headstock: Drained, inspected, flushed with wash-out oil, and refilled with the correct lubricant. The old oil was in terrible condition, and replacing it has significantly reduced vibrations, improved running smoothness, and minimized heat buildup.
- DRO Issues: The DRO had to be removed for access. Upon inspection, the temperamental scale was contaminated with coolant and chips (expected), but we also found excessive slop in the reading head (not expected). As a result, it has not been reinstalled until we determine the cause of the damage, how to fix it, and how to prevent recurrence.
When it was installed by Roman, this equipment was working flawlessly, we want to ensure that this will be the case again, reason why we are taking the time to research the cause of the issue. - Thread-Cutting Gearbox: This had to be disassembled to remove the leadscrew. All gears were cleaned and inspected. Upon reassembly, we discovered some incorrect spacers, which will need to be remade. @Timbo attempted this (hats off to you!), but after two intense days of work, our 1 a.m. attempt was unsuccessful. Another attempt will follow soon. Until then, the autofeed remains disconnected.
- Change Gears: Good news! The missing change gears have allegedly been located at SMEE, meaning we may now have a complete set. This is yet to be confirmed and tested.
- Maintenance & Lubrication: Please ensure proper cleaning after use. Lubrication is a bit more complex, as four different types of oil are required. We’ll publish more information on this soon.
Conclusion: The lathe is now in significantly better shape and more precise. It is available for use by the @MetalMovers group. A lubrication and maintenance schedule will be published and made available in the space soon.
Milling Machine
No work was done on the mill this session—we’re tackling one project at a time!
General Area Improvements
Compressed Air System
A massive THANK YOU to @joeatkin2 and @Timbo for their outstanding progress on the airline installation. The main infrastructure is now in place, and they’re close to completion.
Planned Air Outlets:
- Clean Air: Horizontal mill, lathe, vertical mill, mini-mill, pillar drill, spot welder, sandblaster, welding bench (for plasma cutter)
- Oily Air: Vertical mill, two outlets above the main table, welding bench
Joe and Tim have worked incredibly hard and quickly, but as you can appreciate, this is still a work in progress. We’re much closer than we were—thank you!
Storage
Another big thank you to @scday94 and David (can someone add his username?) for tackling the drawer storage organization. A couple of Gridfinity test inserts have been printed, and they look fantastic!
- Almost all metrology tools have been measured and processed—big improvements coming soon.
- Drawing tools in the top drawer are also being organized.
This is a slow process, but significant progress has been made. Thank you for your hard work!
Welding Area
The air quality monitor now has a new, shiny (and possibly armored) case—thanks to @scythian! It looks great and will help maintain air quality, benefiting all members and keeping both metal and pottery spaces as clean as possible. Huge thanks to Roman for making this happen!
Next Steps
A list of upcoming projects will be published soon, but I just want to say—I felt genuinely emotional seeing so many people interested and willing to help.
What a fantastic weekend!
If you have any ideas for further improvements or any concerns regarding the metal shop, please speak up. Your input is invaluable.
Let’s keep this momentum going and achieve even more amazing results.
THANK YOU!!!
