Thread: My machine shop

Originally Posted by thermite

Looks familair.. guess I was a bad influence, building those two for the Quartet....

;-)

A 'caveat' ... stout as it may look, the one my much shorter 10EE arrived on was stouter yet. Neither is actually very stiff, so the only thing it really gains is better suitability to getting forks under. The Quartet mill, with a short, and very nearly 'square' footprint, was a different animal altogether.

OTOH, it is going just from Johhnie's old shop to your new one, right? Almost could have laid sheet steel and rolled it the whole way.. or put two 6"x8" skids under it and just dragged it behind your monster Dodge/Cummins duallie..

;-)

Bill

Ive thought about a few different ways to move this lathe, and the reasons why I opted to put it on a skid was to make it a little easier to lift with the fork lift, and hopefully it will allow me to roll it much easier. We're hoping Joes forklift will handle it, but if not I can put it on my big trailer, and basically try to roll it off easily in the shop and push it back into place. once I get it moved and the skid out from under, Ill put the Victor on it and move it the same way. Things are more tricky for me once they get in the new shop because I dont have the lifting capabilties there. Hell, I may even order a couple more of those skates and just roll the other lathe back.

Heres a couple jobs I did today.

First is a shot of the blind end of a big 4 stage telescopic cylinder that we'repairing. This particular cylinder, in order to get all the tubes out you have to cut the blind end off, then machine the stop plate out of the end of each tube. Its a royal pain in the ass if you ask me, the one who had to do all the work. Yesterday we got all the tubes back inside, and this morning I welded the end back on. I took the pic while I was working on the cap pass.






This is another job I had to knock out today. Its a gearbox shaft that goes to some big wind tunnel ride on the beach. As you can see the output end fractured in the bottom of the keyway, which also broke the shaft coupling too. We got lucky and had a piece of 3" 4140 on the shelf that i used to make it. I ground a small radius on the endmill corners to help strengthen the shaft in the keways. Crisis diverted and the ride should be back up and running in a day or so.

Adam,

SCARY fracture for any part of a people-carrying amusement-park ride, whether it was in a life-threatening part of the system or not.

I take it you meant the original had sharply-squared corners at the bottom of the keyway cut?

If so, looks to be a good 'why not to' example, and a close-in shot of where the break began its propagation might be of value.

Also looks as if the original was made from flawed material, and/or heat-treated the wrong way.

Bill

Originally Posted by Abom79

That looks great! I'd hate to see it once the maintenance guys at the amusement park get done 'installing' it though...

Bill, yes the original had sharp square corners in the keyway. Since thats where the crack started, I radiused the corners to help keep that from happening again. I know its possible the original also may have had a flaw in the material, but no way of knowing for sure. One of our concerns was how the machine is started. We asked if it had a soft start on the motor, the customer said that its a clutch engagment system. He thinks that it may have been caused by his son who just recently started working with him. He says that he always slowly engages the clutch to start the machine, but he forgot to tell his son and thinks he rammed the clutch lever in hard, which iether broke the shaft, or finished off a problem that hs been ongoing for some time now. This shaft is the output side of the gearbox and is coupled to the propellor.

Screwmachine, the shaft came still assembled in the housing. The gearbox mechanic at my job pressed everything apart, then re-assembled everything once I had the shaft finished. The only thing the customer has to do is bolt the assembly back in, and couple the prop shaft to it.

It goes to one of those zero-gravity, or skydiving similator rides where it feels like your falling through the air.

Originally Posted by Abom79

Bill, yes the original had sharp square corners in the keyway. Since thats where the crack started, I radiused the corners to help keep that from happening again. I know its possible the original also may have had a flaw in the material, but no way of knowing for sure.

Actually, there are, and many. Forensic metallurgists have all sorts of tools, are often called upon when their IS loss-of-life or serious money at stake and an argument over liability is on the radar. Oil-well blow-out-preventers in the Gulf being among recent such cases, and very much delayed analysis of whether the rivets had sheared on the Titanic, plates had flaws from the mill, or what else went wrong in 1912 being another.

They had enough skills to sort the Titanic question even after close to a century in seawater by the time they first were able to have actual samples, and limited samples at that.

There's a caution there for all in the trade.

What we do leaves 'fingerprints', records more of a story, and preserves it for longer, than we might once have thought possible.

..slowly engages the clutch to start the machine, but he forgot to tell his son and thinks he rammed the clutch lever in hard, which iether broke the shaft, or finished off a problem that hs been ongoing for some time now.

Corrosion indicates the crack had already developed to most of the full area a very long time ago, so all the newbie did was expose that.
Even so - it is one of the sort of things that SHOULD have been caught by an inspection. One wonders what ELSE is wrong with the rides at that location.

Bill

I just read all 35 pages of this! lol. Awesome thread. And good luck with your move and new shop!!

Thanks Welder691!




Heres an adaptor plate I machined today.

Thought you might like to look at this craigslist offering. I don't know about the price but the lathe is consistent with recent topical discussion.

Jon

Monarch 25N Engine Lathe 36.5" Swing x 48" Between Centers 2 Chucks

You have a very nicely set up job shop. There's a job shop down the road from me that also uses non-CNC machines - the owner told me that he has so much variety from job to job, that he spends his money on skilled machinists instead of spending it on fast-depreciating CNC tools. Anything I've ever had to job to an outside shop goes to him, because he can figure a way to do the job with what he's got.

I thought I would give an update on the new shop for my dayjob. The first new bridgecrane is going up and will be ready tomorrow. We have the entire moved planned on paper and we will be busy all next month, as we have to be out by the end of August.
I took a few pics, but didnt want to get in the guys ways so Ill take some better ones later. The new crane spans 60' wide and is rated for 5 ton. This was the first time I seen it, and didnt know they designed it as a twin beam style. It also uses a cable winch system that rides along the top of the beams. The section in the back of the building is where our existing bridge crane will be setup also. That will be after we move.






This is the area that our other bridge will go.




In addition to the building in the pics, they are adding on another 100' on the back side( the side in the last picture). The contractors should be starting on it any day now. It will have a taller ceiling height, and a 10 ton bridge crane.
Ill post some pics as things progress, as well as my own home shop move.

Originally Posted by Abom79

In addition to the building in the pics, they are adding on another 100' on the back side( the side in the last picture). The contractors should be starting on it any day now. It will have a taller ceiling height, and a 10 ton bridge crane.
Ill post some pics as things progress, as well as my own home shop move.

Bound to have its frustrations from time to time, Adam, but any company that can be expanding and building new - in America - in these times has to be a better place to be than most.

Let's hope it's contagious!

I wish them - and you all the best.

Bill

I hear you Bill. The company is doing good with growth in business every year. They like having me there and it was a good opportunity to my foot in the door with them. Working for "the man" has its downfalls but I do like my job and most of the people I work with. Plus I don't have to worry about all the overhead business dealings like at my own shop. It's a garuntee payday every week with health care benefits.
The existing shop has just outgrown its current location the shop needs more room. It has been a long ongoing process for them to find a new location that is still affordable with ability to still make a good profit.
I like the new location. It's still 5 minutes from home, will be bigger, and hopefully setup better. It's going to be a little tight for us at first but when they finish the new addition we will be able to spread out better.
I'm looking forward to our new shop, and me being able to work from home also. My stress level is starting to go down now.

Originally Posted by Abom79

The company is doing good with growth in business every year.

They have locations near here as well now, though I've not visited.

Had no idea 'til you posted samples of the work that they were anything more than a parts distributor.

Bill

Originally Posted by thermite

They have locations near here as well now, though I've not visited.

Had no idea 'til you posted samples of the work that they were anything more than a parts distributor.

Bill

That I know of, there 22 locations that have shops. I believe the closest ones to you are Baltimore MD, and Charleston WV. All the other locations are parts stores. The main warehouse for the southeast is in Birmingham.

Originally Posted by Abom79

That I know of, there 22 locations that have shops. I believe the closest ones to you are Baltimore MD,

Port of Baltimore may be a factor.

and Charleston WV.

Coal, oil, and gas, probably.

DC metro main product ... sorry, 'main consumer of resources' ... is Government.

Spare parts can be found in any Brothel, and there ain't a shop on Earth as can actually 'fix' what they break or wear out.

Bill

We made some progress today and got my Monarch moved to my shop, and the Acra-Turn lathe moved to the new building. My boss and co-worker helped me out and used the boom truck to move it. We also bought 4 new machinery skates, the track type, and used them to roll the lathe back into position. My wife took some pics of us setting the lathe in my doorway, but I was just too busy to get anything else.












Heres a video she took also.

b9560282.mp4 video by bigadam1979 - Photobucket

Originally Posted by Abom79

We also bought 4 new machinery skates, the track type,

Adam,

Were those perchance the ones Northern had listed? And either way - how well did they work vs the roller and axle type?

Also - is that the same boom truck intended to move the HBM - perhaps twice the mass of the lathe?

Bill

Originally Posted by Abom79

We made some progress today and got my Monarch moved to my shop, and the Acra-Turn lathe moved to the new building. My boss and co-worker helped me out and used the boom truck to move it. We also bought 4 new machinery skates, the track type, and used them to roll the lathe back into position. My wife took some pics of us setting the lathe in my doorway, but I was just too busy to get anything else.


Heres a video she took also.

It's been great following this whole thread. I spent all of my breaks and lunch yesterday and today at the shop reading all 35 pages. Glad to see light at the end of the tunnel with regards to the move. Keep up the great work and pictures. I've learned a lot today. And most of all best of luck.

Very nice!! I like the video. I forget, but what is the size on that Monarch? Also where did you get those machine skates?

Thanks,
Chris