Getting started with my first project.

I'm brand new to machine work and I've been buying equipment for a home shop that is mainly for gunsmithing but there will be plenty of other things to do. I just purchased a U.S. Burke Millrite vertical mill. It was a bargain at a garage sale @$300 but I knew it had wear. Power feed on the X axis and ran well. The Y axis ways are heavily worn and the table needs some TLC also. I bought it with the intention of rebuilding it. I also purchased a Colchester Clausing Student 2500 that needs some work in the feed gearbox. I'm pretty sure it's swelled cams.
With those projects in mind my question is what tools do I need to start collecting ? Nothing in this hobby is cheap and I started life with next to nothing and still have most of it left ! I need to have a list I can work from to hunt deals. Once I have tools and the shop built I plan to attend one of Mr King's classes. Thanks for any help.

I would suggest you start watching You Tube scraping shows. Buy or make a hand scraper with a carbide blade. I prefer the BIAX and 3/4" Sanvik style. A diamond wheel lapper that you make or buy, Get a A or AA grade surface plate as big as you can afford. Read this forum as we give all sorts of info. A chunk of Cast Iron to practice on. I use Canode Ink as it is easy to wash off, a small ink roller, a med grit Indian stone, dull smooth cut file. There are a couple of DVD's sold on Ebay you can buy and the Machine Tool Reconditioning book. A good vise to hold your practice plate and a good LED light. Rich

Rich pretty much covered it. If money is tight you have enough equipment now to be able to make pretty much everything and it won't cost you much at all.

Richard's list is ideal, but I began with bearing blue from an auto parts store, which is very cheap. Just last week I made a larger lapping plate from another cast iron dumbbell. I know many people will poo-poo the cast iron, but believe it or not it often scrapes just fine, albeit it's a lucky dip as to what's inside, but I've made a number of scraping masters from old dumbbells. They are very cheap and often you can even find them for free.

The scraper handle you can make yourself, and I'm in the process now of working on some pull scrapers I'm experimenting with. I just needed to get the angles right, but now I have that sorted I'll make up permanent handles when I get a chance. I've made replaceable insert push scrapers in the past.

One thing not on Richard's list is a good quality 10ths indicator and stand. You will live by that, so don't cheap out on it. Good used indicators can be had for a reasonable price off ebay. I have, well, err "quite a few" but my favourite is a Compac 0.002 mm DTI. The alternative is a 0.001 mm Mitutoyo dial indicator.

Start by teaching yourself to scrape a scrap piece of CI flat, and then do the opposite side to make it parallel. I scraped in another master last week and I couldn't detect any movement in the 0.002 mm indicator as far a being parallel, so you will be surprised at the level of accuracy attainable with very little equipment beyond a lot of care and especially patience.

Once you can scrape flat and parallel, move on to an old or otherwise inaccurate angle plate off ebay and you will make it truly right angled. You will learn how to self-prove that with your dial indicator to an accuracy better than pretty much anything you're likely to be able to afford to buy, all for the cost of your time.

From there you can move on to machine tools as you will then have pretty much all the basic skills you need. Good luck and enjoy the ride

Thanks ! That's a good start. I see straight edges talked about but I'm not at all sure if and what I need there . What I'm looking for is what you would have if you were going to build a well tooled kit for scraping ? I see the Biax scrapers but the prices scare me a little but I'd jump if it was something that will make a big difference. Same with straight edges and flat plates. I'm not trying to do this on a shoestring and expect at least a couple of thousand in the proper tooling. It would pay for itself if I can buy poorer condition machines and restore them instead of paying a premium for like new machines. I'd rather invest in tools and knowledge and end up with really good restored equipment that I know inside and out.

I have some indicators already and an Interapid 312-B3 on the way. Mitutoyo .0005 , Starratt.001" , and several .001" Chinese dials. A couple of no name bases. A couple of grinders in the garage including a wet wheel grinder and one with buffing wheels. I have good B&S and Mitutoyo dial calipers . Couple of 1" micrometers.
When you say as big a plate as I can afford is there an ideal size ? I saw at 72"x48"x10" beast on here and if I'd have thought it appropriate I might have raided my mad money and borrowed an equipment trailer and made it happen.

My advice is to start small and work your way up. Heck I STILL do small

It's easy to become over-enthusiastic with this and let one's enthusiasm overwhelm things. Everything you say about rebuilding machine tools is correct, you can take either a tired or inferior machine, and turn it into something that is much better that it was when new in many cases. However I think many people underestimate the amount of work that takes. I recently saw a post where somebody said he was going to make a living out of it. Good luck with that! It's tiring and hard work, and your back will ache like no tomorrow. The bigger the machine the more your back will ache!!! It's ok for people like me, as I can put it aside for a while.

If you're just starting in this, don't underestimate starting on more basic equipment like your reference tools and learning to make them REALLY accurate. That's still the type of work I prefer personally, but to each their own. Don't worry about straight edges and the like, just get started with scraping and the needs will emerge in the fulness of time. There's no point in, for example, buying a 3' straight edge if you discover you either don't like scraping at all, or prefer to work on small things. You will accumulate the appropriate gear when the time comes. You definitely don't need to start with a Biax, and you will be better served by learning how to first hand scrape well. There are many times when a Biax can't do the job.

For a surface plate, 36 x 24" is probably a good size for a small workshop, and you would be able to do a lot with that. As was mentioned, the bigger the better. Having said that, it's probably a moot point for these purposes, but there is indeed such a thing as a plate that's too large. The larger the plate, the less accurate it is to still meet specs. So let's just say, for argument's sake, you had a 10' x 10' plate, but only used 24" of it and never more. That 24" of the large plate is not as accurate as a 24" plate to the same spec. Again, a moot point, and more a metrology concern, but just threw it out there for info.

At this stage I would just suggest to get a plate, make a scraper and have a go. Everything you need to know will emerge as you go along. Be patient and don't worry about making mistakes. We all started by scratching the heck out of a defenceless piece of cast iron previously minding its own business, but if you keep an open mind and try things for yourself to see what works and what doesn't, with a bit of guidance when you get stuck it's not that difficult.

You might want to try scraping before you tear the machine apart and render it useless. Scraping is extraordinarily tedious work. If the machine is a worn as you indicate, you may need to have parts ground or milled before you can even do any scraping. Trying to scrap out more than a few .001s or wear is just going to burn you out.

Where in Florida are you? If your close to Tipton GA where Keith Rucker is holding a class in May, I could possibly drive over to your shop and give you a day of one on one training for the fun of it. I will have all sorts of tools with me. I just emailed with Keith and he is thinking of doing 2 more classes in 2018. His May class is full with 13 people, and so is the October class. Or next January when it's 30 below here in MN maybe we could do a Florida class at your shop? Have the room?

I also make exceptions sometimes to people with hardships. If that is your case PM me and maybe we can work something out. I will be ordering some Dura Bar tomorrow and shipping it to GA, maybe I can lend you a piece for your practice part. Rich

You in luck , there have been 2 millwrites rebuilt on this forum. Do a quick search.
As the the others have said, start with a small project. Smaller the better. If you want my personal .02

Richard King said:

Where in Florida are you? If your close to Tipton GA where Keith Rucker is holding a class in May, I could possibly drive over to your shop and give you a day of one on one training for the fun of it. I will have all sorts of tools with me. I just emailed with Keith and he is thinking of doing 2 more classes in 2018. His May class is full with 13 people, and so is the October class. Or next January when it's 30 below here in MN maybe we could do a Florida class at your shop? Have the room?
I also make exceptions sometimes to people with hardships. If that is your case PM me and maybe we can work something out. I will be ordering some Dura Bar tomorrow and shipping it to GA, maybe I can lend you a piece for your practice part. Rich

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That's a very generous offer ! The shop isn't built yet and May is wildly optimistic a timeframe. I'm still working on getting my new redneck mansion moved onto my property. Once I get moved I can start to work on the shop. My son graduates from college in May and from then on the finances should get better. I will work on gathering parts and pieces and small learning projects until I can build a shop. With all I have going on I don't see a shop until December or January. I will definitely be signing up for a class about the time I can get the shop built. Btw , what size shop and setup is needed to host a class ?

I ordered a Sandvik scraper today but that's as far as I got. Spent the day moving a backhoe to the property and digging a stump out from where my house is going. Amazing what problems the right piece of equipment can make go away !
I'm going to try and watch some videos this weekend and check out the Millrite rebuild threads. Thanks for the help !

One of my better students and friend Edgar lives near Panama City....If your close and when your ready with new shop, maybe he can help too. I have taught classes inside 2 car garages so we don't need much room as long as you have a surface plate, some work benches, lights, AC if needed. A bathroom or portapotty....motels near bye...we can make it happen. Or if anyone else would like to host a class, let me know.

I'll have a Hilliard Florida address which is about 30 miles NW of Jacksonville Florida. Out in the country . Shop size is to be decided. Ideally it will be about 30'x50' but costs will probably cut that down to 28'x28'. I'd rather have a smaller shop now than a bigger shop later. I'm going to be looking for a good sized grade A or AA surface plate. 24"x30" minimum but 36"x 48" is the goal. If I see something bigger for a steal of a deal I would jump and figure out where to put it later. Who knows what I may find at an estate sale , garage sale , or auction.
Since I know next to nothing about the surface plates which is better ? Ledge or no ledge ? I'm assuming the ones with ledges but I don't know.

The ledge is there so you can sit next to the plate and your legs fit under it. Many times when you order them from the manufacturers you can have them lap a ledge flat so you can indicate off it. I would you read Starrett / Tru-stone's website and get some info. Rich