The Sieg C6 - AL-60 - G0516 - 10 x 22 class lathe thread

[cba_melbourne]

Hi Ew

Hi had to do that on the follower because of the angles, it was enough that if I was turning smaller diameter it wouldn't allow it to be in the right position.

It's easy to flip them around if I need to,or just remove the bearings and use the brass fingers.

I have thought about swarf getting caught between the bearings.....I'll have to see how I go with that.

That is indeed the major problem: metal dust and chips get caught between ball bearing and workpiece, then forcefully rolled onto the workpiece and the bearing outer. That can quickly create enormous radial pressure on the bearings, which are not unknown to fail catastrophically under such conditions. That does not happen when using plain bronze fingers, as these act as a wiper instead of a roller.

Another problem is that when using the steady rest, you often have very limited space between the saddle end-of-travel and the face of the workpiece. Mounting the ball bearings to the other side does not work either, as it completely restricts how far you can open the fingers.

One more limitation you may have already noticed, is that the larger (stronger) you choose the ball bearings, the larger is the smallest wotkpiece diameter thet you can use. And the smaller you choose the bearing, the more fragile and delicate it gets.

Ball bearing steadies have their limited uses, but only if they can be kept clean in use. And I believe it is best to have two or maybe three separate sets of fingers, one set plain and the other only with bearings big and small. Chris

[Ueee]

You can use a piece of cardboard as a shield for the bearings, Pipeclay suggested it when i showed some pics of using my fixed steady. Not so easy with the traveling steady though.

Ew

[Jim Ferrous]

Had some fun in my shed today I made a lathe tool height checker thingo and I'm well pleased with it out of an old broken vernier caliper.













Pretty basic compared to the things I see posted on the forum by other members, but I'm really stoked with it

[Jim Ferrous]

Also got around to making a carriage stop for the lathe. Learnt a lot about using the mini mill making this out of a solid block of aluminium. The set screw goes through to a brass plate that pushes against the ways and locks it in without any damage.

[Jim Ferrous]

And lastly, I finally got around to adding some steel (cut on my bandsaw ) to the back tool rest behind the lathe. So simple, but works so well holding the magnetic bases for the dial gauges.

They're only the short arm ones and I've only had them for a week, but these newer (to me) ones with the single knob to loosen and tighten are fantastic compared to the older type.

[snowyskiesau]

You're showing me up!
I've had my C6 for years and still haven't gotten around to making a carriage stop.
One day ...

[Ueee]

Very handy additions Jim

With the stop i would get a cheap adjustable handle off ebay for the locking screw adjustable handle in Industrial | eBay. But i detest having to reach for a spanner or alan key. If you wanted to go all out a cheap mic head from CTC would work a treat for graduated fine adjustments. Micrometer Head Metric 0-25mm #H52

Cheers,
Ew

[Jim Ferrous]

Thanks for the links Ew, I've ordered a handle. How good is eBay for things like that!!!!

[nearnexus]

Another good inclusion for a carriage stop is to have a mount for a dial indicator to read off carriage travel.

This can be a stem clamp or use the rear mount point.

I have this on mine.

Extremely accurate and handy.

Rob

[eskimo]

You'll never find a vegemite jar in my shed. Yuck! (yeah I know, un-australian etc) might be able to do that with peanut butter jars though...

I love your organization, I'm more than a little envious. I reckon that the organization of a shed is inverse to its size. I have a big shed......

Congrats on the new lathe too, New machine day is always good no matter what it is.

Cheers,
Ew

Ive said it once (or twice) and I'll sya it again

a clean n tidy workshop is a sign of a sick mind......lol

[Jim Ferrous]

Ive said it once (or twice) and I'll sya it again

a clean n tidy workshop is a sign of a sick mind......lol

LOL.....you should see it sometimes

It just gets so bad that I have to do something......lasts clean and tidy for about 2 hours.

[snowyskiesau]

I find the swarf, oil etc from the lathe doesn't travel too far so the mess is confined to one area.
No other machine needs to be covered up.

Sawdust on the other hand gets everywhere!
I have to keep the lathe and mill covered.

[Jim Ferrous]

Mucking around again today trying to 'make' a DRO for the tailstock.

This is the only thing so far that's missing on the Sieg C6 and that's there is no graduation markings on the quill and for drilling, it's a bit of a pain.

I cut down an old unused digital calipers with a cut off wheel on a Dremel and got rid of all the parts that weren't needed. Took a deep breath when I cut through the main part, because I wasn't sure whether I was going to ruin how the 'magic' happens, but happily found out that cutting through the electronic tape stuck on the caliper doesn't stuff it up!

It's just sitting there at the moment with a drop of hot melt glue. I won't have a problem attaching the main bit to the tail stock, but does anyone have any ideas on how to attach it to the quill?

[Jim Ferrous]

I find the swarf, oil etc from the lathe doesn't travel too far so the mess is confined to one area.
No other machine needs to be covered up.

Sawdust on the other hand gets everywhere!
I have to keep the lathe and mill covered.

I suppose I'm 'lucky' in that regards in having a small shed in that all my dust making woodworking machinery is outside under the extended shed roofs (all sides). Just have to wait for a windy day and bingo.....everything's swept of sawdust!

With swarf, the worst thing is my two dogs like to sit in the shed with me.

[snowyskiesau]

My shed has flow through ventilation - big doors on one end and a poorly fitting roof at the other. This ensures that the sawdust is evenly distributed.

I do have a small (3x3m) room I could use for the lathe and mill but it doesn't have any windows.
Besides, I'd have to find somewhere else to grow my mushrooms.