My latest tool acquisition

[nobbie48]

Yep, knock PA and CT all you want but for the average person working on their own stuff it’s generally sufficient. Also replaced with little hassle when it breaks.

Are quality tools that much better? Hell ya but you have to pay to play.


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For the hobbyist a broken tool is an inconvenience. For the professional it's a day off work without pay.

 

[GreyGhost]

Sometimes there is a bad casting. A marina owner told me that he ordered in a propeller for a customer and when the customer picked it up he opened the box at the store for a look. As he handled it a blade fell off in front of marina staff. If he opened the box at the dock they wouldn't have believed him.

How the prop got through finishing is beyond me.

Maybe it didn't. Fell got dropped and broke in the factory and they threw it in the box to keep shift premium. Throughput and avoiding rework is worth a decent amount to line workers.

 

[nobbie48]

It's not a new tool but people sometimes ask about my mini metal lathe. In short they're not professional machines but some are crappier than others.

There's a YouTube video by Blondiehacks and she explains the differences.

It seems a lot of the castings are made by one foundry but what gets put into the tool later can vary. Some better ones have better bearings and wear plates. Chucks can differ. They look the same but aren't identical in use.

Weights vary from 75 to 100 pounds so someone is putting in more metal somewhere

Generally speaking they do work but:

They are low powered so don't expect massive blue chips coming off the cutter. Some have the output of a 1/4" electric drill.

They are small and compact so if you have big hands, turning one handle means bumping the one next to it. Lots of slop in the feed screws.

They do cut threads (a little at a time) but changing TPI is an exercise in selecting plastic gears and stacking them to get the right cut. Mine does both SAE and metric.

I would have preferred a better one but it seems to be go big or go home. The little one is portable at well under 100 pounds. The next size up is many times that.

 

[timtune]

I'm not sure I've cut threads with my lathe. Usually it's easier to get out the cheap tap and die set.

 

[85K100]

I have a bunch of cutting tools and carbide inserts if you guys need some.

 

[Mad Mike]

Not worth it.
With ductile and cast iron the entire part must be pre heated and then stress relieved after welding. Even doing that you have a much weaker part than the original.

She owes us nothing, just time for a new vice.

Ductile up to 1/4" is easy to weld -- no need for preheating ductile unless it's over 1/4". ( If you're dead set on preheating, just drop a few spot puddles around the weld area with your mig, that will put plenty of pre-heat into your part. ) Stress relief is also simple -- I just peen the weld with the pointy end of a body hammer.

The small vices I've welded ended up working fine -- possibly better than before they broke. I'm guessing an inherent flaw in the casting left them weak in the beginning.

 

[Gary]

Sometimes there is a bad casting. A marina owner told me that he ordered in a propeller for a customer and when the customer picked it up he opened the box at the store for a look. As he handled it a blade fell off in front of marina staff. If he opened the box at the dock they wouldn't have believed him.

How the prop got through finishing is beyond me.

I had so many blades (and part blades) *fall* off my engines, the prop repair guy always said, "we'll see you next Monday".

 

[Soulcatcher668]

Ductile up to 1/4" is easy to weld -- no need for preheating ductile unless it's over 1/4". ( If you're dead set on preheating, just drop a few spot puddles around the weld area with your mig, that will put plenty of pre-heat into your part. ) Stress relief is also simple -- I just peen the weld with the pointy end of a body hammer.

The small vices I've welded ended up working fine -- possibly better than before they broke. I'm guessing an inherent flaw in the casting left them weak in the beginning.

Your method, while it may work as a hobby fix, does not pass muster as far as certified welding is concerned.

 

[Mad Mike]

Your method, while it may work as a hobby fix, does not pass muster as far as certified welding is concerned.

I don't think there is such a thing as certified welding for ductile iron vices. Certified welders, yes.

A hobby grade PA vice only needs to perform the 'its stronger now than it was when new' test to pass muster. A strong man should not be able to fracture a sound vice -- even a cheap one -- when clamping by hand. When a vice breaks, it's either because of a casting flaw or the user put a lever on the vice to gain mechanical advantage. This vice broke under the force of a 165lb human's bare hand with no levers.

For fun I'm gonna weld that one up then see where it breaks. I'm guessing I'll need a big lever to break it, and have so much force the lead screw will get stretched out before the weld breaks.

 

[Soulcatcher668]

I don't think there is such a thing as certified welding for ductile iron vices. Certified welders, yes.

A hobby grade PA vice only needs to perform the 'its stronger now than it was when new' test to pass muster. A strong man should not be able to fracture a sound vice -- even a cheap one -- when clamping by hand. When a vice breaks, it's either because of a casting flaw or the user put a lever on the vice to gain mechanical advantage. This vice broke under the force of a 165lb human's bare hand with no levers.

For fun I'm gonna weld that one up then see where it breaks. I'm guessing I'll need a big lever to break it, and have so much force the lead screw will get stretched out before the weld breaks.

I will be sure to let my weld engineers know.

 

[oioioi]

For fun I'm gonna weld that one up then see where it breaks. I'm guessing I'll need a big lever to break it, and have so much force the lead screw will get stretched out before the weld breaks.

Please have a camera near by recording.

 

[Mad Mike]

I will be sure to let my weld engineers know.

If they need any more help, you know where to find me!

 

[bitzz]

 

[nobbie48]

FWIW my record vice is still intact after bending the cross handle. I figured the cross handle was a type of torque wrench. It would bend before the casting reached its critical point.