Yes he did, I'm grateful to you for pointing me in his direction! Very nice guy, obviously very experienced and great pricing. That makes an unbeatable combo in my book. I had actually already ordered the lathe from Amazon to cash in on their additional 10% off before July 4th sale. But once I started talking to Leigh (and once I confirmed that the Amazon order could be cancelled) I ended up buying both pieces from him.
He mentioned something about "donating" a few lathe bits to my newbie cause. But I would surely be interested in the tool package you mention.
Regarding the measuring tools I have already purchased, they haven't even been dropped off yet by UPS so they are 100% returnable at this point. I'm definitely keeping the Starrett mics. They are necessary for even my non-machining tasks (engine building) and I can't see how they wouldn't be constantly in use with the machine work too.
But, if the group really feels that my choice to go with .0001 on the dial indicator and test indicator is foolish, I can certainly substitute in some .001 gear of the same quality. What about .0005 stuff as a compromise? :-) I just can't imagine that for tramming the head, dialing in a 4-jaw chuck, etc. that I would hate having the extra resolution. My eyes aren't that great and having the needle physically move 10x as far for the same physical dimension seems like a win to my inexperienced brain. ???
Thanks again to everyone that has responded. This group has truly catapulted me into a new passion!
Robins suggestions were pretty good for the most part.
As much as I hate to say this..and I cringe while doing so..there is nothing wrong with Chinese metrology equipment, or parallels etc. The vast majority of my stuff, from the 24" Cadillac Master height gage to the Starrett stuff, are US made..but...Ive been collecting Stuff for a number of years and tend to find more Stuff than most folks do in my travels as a Master Scrounger and machine tool repair tech.
Ive had discussions with calibration shops and they all say that unfortunately..Chicom metrology stuff calibrates just fine. Fit and finish may not be up there with old Helios, or Teslock or Mueller..but they are square, straight and repeat. So save as much money as you can by buying import metrology, as you can get a better bang for each buck, making it stretch farther, for more Stuff.
Its been said, with some justification, that simply tooling up a machine will nearly double the price.
Ebay is a fairly decent place to get tooling, metrology gear and whatnot. If you are fortunate enough to have machine tool dealers or surplus places near you..haunt them. Onesies and twosies can be found here and there. If you were starting out to be a full blown production or engineering shop, then thats a different story..but get what you need, at the best price you can. I dont recall anyone mentioning a good set of telescoping gages either. They are essential to boring operations. Close enough for most things, .002+/-..and a tiny fraction of a set of bore gage mics.. Some practice with them and you can measure smaller than that with some accuracy.
The $35 hold down sets, the $20 parallels, the $12 1-2-3 blocks..the $10 V blocks..imports..will do you well enough while you are starting up. The "Good shit" will come as you progress and can actually get/use the accuracy they are capable of.
Another place to check for tooling and whatnot..are large swap meets. Now some areas are virtually impoverished of metalworking stuff...others there are heaping piles of Stuff at very little money. If you find a set of used parallels..say missing one, or a pair..and can get it for dirt cheap..jump on it. Sooner or later you may buy a "good set" but in the mean time..$5 as opposed to $45 is a big savings that can be used for other stuff you may need.
One suggestion though if swap meeting..bring a 1-2-3 block with you. Use it for a ready reference to determine if the mic/caliper you just found in the hair dryer box is worth the $2 they want for it. I bought a single block for .50 once ..missing the other one of the pair, used good mics to determine its accuracy, and now carry it whenever Im browsing swap meets and whatnot. Ive tossed some shit back into the boxes..and laughed like a bandit over finding treasures after measuring (repeatedly) the block. I once found a near new Mitotoyo 2-3 tenths mic still in its case with all the accessories and the standard..in a box of busted hair dryers at a swap meet. When I asked the woman seller how much..she said.."for the C clamp?..hows $2 sound?"...I got whiplash reaching for my wallet...
I use .0001 a lot. But then..I have need for it. The group is right, .0005 is good enough for most things. HOWEVER..the caviat is..if you have the choice between the two..for the same or nearly the same money..get the more "accurate" one. Not that you will need the capability every time you use it. But on the very rare occasions you do need it..you will have it. But dont knock yourself out buying one.
Biggest problem you will have, if your stuff is ultr precision..is you will try to make Stuff to that precision..and in most cases..its a heart breaker working to even large tenths, particularly for a beginner. God knows it frustrated the living shit out of me when I first started. Then a very kindly gent reminded me that I didnt need tenths on most of those projects..a couple thou was good enough. And he was right.
Here be Dragons. You now join the ranks of the misfits, goof balls and wierdos..the tiny precentage of the population that actually WANT do do something creative. Kiss your TV goodby..you will be making chips when you used to be watching the Glass Tit and turning your brain into mush.
Gunner
"If thy pride is sorely vexed when others disparage your offering, be as lamb's wool is to cold rain and the Gore-tex of Odin's raiment is to gullshit in the gale, for thy angst shall vex them not at all. Yea, they shall scorn thee all the more. Rejoice in sharing what you have to share without expectation of adoration, knowing that sharing your treasure does not diminish your treasure but enriches it."
It means Ill wander my tired old body into Reliable Tools, in Irwindale California
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see ebay auctions also for that seller
and pick you out a starter assortment of endmills, taps, drill bits, lathe tools and whatnot that should get you on the track and up and running. They sell surplus tooling for $4 a pound..bins filled with the above Stuff. What Ill do is go in with my glasses on and pick you out the sharp stuff in the common sizes..stuff you can/will actually use, based on my feeble understanding of the subject...and ship em off to you. Just tell me what your budget is..how much you want to spend on cutters etc..and Ill set youp. Just dont burn me or Ill put in some left handed end mills to f*ck up your whole day....
This week, I went in to pick up some stuff one of my clients won on an ebay auction, and I bought a 100' fiberglass Lufkin tape measure, a Remington powder actuated driver, a 14" Rigid pipe wrench and a set of import .125-.75 ball ended telescoping gages for $10.
Good score. Some times I get lucky...other times I go away empty handed. Sometimes the bins are overflowing..other times pickins are pretty thin.
If you have a surplus place close to you..Ill let you get the stuff..shrug.
Just an offer. Ive set others here the same way.
Gunner
"If thy pride is sorely vexed when others disparage your offering, be as lamb's wool is to cold rain and the Gore-tex of Odin's raiment is to gullshit in the gale, for thy angst shall vex them not at all. Yea, they shall scorn thee all the more. Rejoice in sharing what you have to share without expectation of adoration, knowing that sharing your treasure does not diminish your treasure but enriches it."
"If thy pride is sorely vexed when others disparage your offering, be as lamb's wool is to cold rain and the Gore-tex of Odin's raiment is to gullshit in the gale, for thy angst shall vex them not at all. Yea, they shall scorn thee all the more. Rejoice in sharing what you have to share without expectation of adoration, knowing that sharing your treasure does not diminish your treasure but enriches it."
I'll be sending you a check for you to just keep in case you see some good deals in your normal wandering...no list, no time frame, and when you exhaust that funding, it will be replaced. You have my UPS and FedEx #'s. I'm not kidding! I will mail next week...if, it's OK. Just don't leave the stuff on the roof for a few weeks. Another of my scrounging buddies has one of my corporate debit cards for just such "emergencies".
The one thing I don't see on your list, and I didn't see anyone mention it, is a good quality edge finder, you'll need it about he 2nd time you use the mill.
BTW, don't screw with one of the laser jobs, until they're refined a bit their more of a PIA than they're worth.
A real slick edge finder can be made from a pise of 3/8" drill rod, grind the end to fit the ID of a .500" ball bearing, press the bearing on. Chuck it in the mill and bring it to the edge of the work until the outer race stops spinning. Works great, I'd never seen one mentioned till I took my latest job, everybody in the shop uses them.
BTW II, checking your machinist's work on your engine stuff will likely do nothing but upset you..............
what about a co-ax indicator like the Blake piece? that thing seems super useful to me. Obviously not a have-to-have item, but if a person could find a good deal on a used one wouldn't that be a good way to spend $100 at this point?
I had to hide all my left handed drills or someone would always wind up burning them up running them backwards. I used them for drilling out broken screws.
Can't agree entirely with what you are suggesting. That is, I agree a 'laundry list' is, in all probability a waste of money.
Where I disagree is just 'start'. Start with what?
It's generally useful to decide what one wants (or needs to) make. Next step is to determine what is required to obtain this goal. Minimum, (or cheapest) is usually not a good way to go. I like to think my 'project' will be a success, and where will I go from there. If more 'projects' are in the works, then will the equipment work for them also?
On the other hand, maybe we're saying the same thing, only a little differently?
One thing that I don't think was mentioned that you should have if you are working to tenths is a set of standard gage blocks, B grade is good enough. A certified set imported ones go for less than 100 bucks and will keep you in tolerance. With that you should also have a granite surface plate.
It just keeps on building up till you run out of room or money.
Among other things, it is very nice for setting the offset on the lathe tailstock back to zero after using the offset for turning tapers between centers.
You'll find other uses once you have it around.
It is one of those things which I would not buy *new*, but a good used one is very nice to add to the collection.
*New* should be saved for things which you need to have *right now*, or for expendables such as endmills, drills, and taps when you are going to be making a lot of parts using them. (In particular, you want to start with new taps when using a Tapmatic (or similar) tapping head with a torque limiter. You set it so it just does not slip with a brand new tap, and when it starts slipping, change taps to avoid breaking one in one of a large number of tapped holes in a single workpiece -- or breaking one in a workpiece which already has a lot of other work in it, so it is difficult to start over.
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