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    Mini Lathe belt slipping

    Poly V-Belts are not very expensive. If they fit the sheaves properly and the sheaves are aligned, they should grip pretty well. Even if a bit loose. It may be that they are now glazed and don't grip well. Perhaps you should go to the auto parts store and buy some belt dressing. I used it on...
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    Almost burned my shop down and didn't even know it

    I think you may be wrong about push in terminals. Push in terminals dig into solid copper wire and apply steady spring tension to maintain good electrical continuity. It is not unlike the "gas tight" connection of a wire wrap terminal. Wire wrapping was a method used for decades to construct...
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    Almost burned my shop down and didn't even know it

    I'm speaking as a guy who was educated at an MIT level engineering institution (Rensselaer Polyechnic), and spent 20+ years doing electronic design followed by 24 years doing mechanical design and machining. Circuit breakers are NOT as reliable as fuses. The government mandated circuit...
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    Squaring off the bottom of a blind hole

    I've been machining for a living here in the USA for 21 years, and haven't encountered the terminology "slot drill". The cutting tool suppliers sell "endmills" and "center cutting endmills". You use the latter if you're plunge cutting unless you're following a pilot hole. And if you're...
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    Leaded steel

    Just for the reference... If you are concerned about the lead in leaded steel, you can get 12T14, a free machining steel with tin in it. Very hard to find though. I got a sample years ago. Was from a company in Canada I believe.
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    Anyone here know about machining HSS?

    I was away from this thread for a long time due to family issues. My apologies for abandoning the thread without thanking everyone. Thank you.
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    Gone as far as I can

    So sorry for you. I'm saying a prayer for you right now, that if it is God's will, he heal you, or if not, that you don't suffer needlessly. I'm certain that if heaven is the wonderful place we're told, people are not just praying and singing every day. They have hobbies, and can enjoy them.
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    Endmill helix for fastest cutting of aluminum

    Deleted post.
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    Leaded steel

    I don't think most people know most of the small threaded fasteners used in electronic devices, watches, etc. used to be made of leaded steel, precisely because it machines so well, including the fine pitch threads. McMaster sells 12L14, and 41L14 "free cutting" steels. The latter is as easy...
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    Anyone here know about machining HSS?

    Thanks. That was a fallback position for me. Problem is, I have never mastered silver soldering with a propane torch. I did some silver soldering working for a job shop 28 years ago. They used something they called "Easy Flow". I bought some a couple years back. Silvery wire about 1/16"...
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    Anyone here know about machining HSS?

    Pull the datasheet on most any tool steel, and the accepted "procedure" calls for a furnace, special quenchants like salt baths or cyanide, very controlled timing, etc. I have to work with what I have available, and that's a propane torch. I experiment. I've been very successful through...
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    soft soldering question

    Are you wedded to plumbers solder? The modern stuff (legal to use in water lines) has antimony and other elements in it, that in my opinion, makes it much more difficult to use than leaded solder. Of course these days, it is difficult to find leaded plumbers solder. You can still easily...
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    Leaded steel

    I work with leaded steel a lot. It has spoiled me. I don't want to cut anything else. It doesn't rust that fast, if the surface finish is fine.... And besides, your cylinder is going to be lubricated, is it not?
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    Anyone here know about machining HSS?

    Wondering if anyone here has done any machining and hardening of HSS like M2 or M4. I've never worked with the stuff. It's expensive, so I'd rather not invest the money, if it's going to be impossible with my equipment. I have an idea for a circle cutter (similar to a trepanning tool) that...
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    My method to zero Z axis to part.

    Circuit board is notorious for absorbing moisture and swelling. May not be significant for most jobs.
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    Centering a Lathe Tool

    I like your caliper idea! Good job.
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    Handiest tool on my bench....

    They do a nice job scoring circuit board for breaking. The blades aren't carbide. Would be nice if they were.
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    Very Useful Info ( Must Read )

    How much current a wire can handle depends on whether it is bundled with other wires, the thermal dissipation, the frequency of the current, etc. You don't want the wire insulation to melt. Fusing current is a totally different matter. The link below shows fusing currents for American wire...
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    Stopping chatter ......

    Pretty clever solution to chattering, although I would want my hand free rather than holding the lead.
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    My method to zero Z axis to part.

    Clever, but 35 years experience in the electronics industry tells me that circuit board is never very consistent on thickness. It is, after all, a product made from layers of glass fiber and epoxy.
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