Some Thoughts on Basic Metal Working - Part 2 (Hand Tools)

TapMagic is the standard, but I really was blown away with the Elmers.

Will do.

 

In the early days when catalogs had to publish the truth inProblem is , product evaluation I learned volumes.
WW grangers catalogs gave me info on tools and equipment that helped me learn how to design my own equipment. ( Truth in advertising is not what it use to be.)
Other books like the machinery hand book ,SAE standards, and automotive and otter equipment manuals, contributed a great deal as well.
My brother taught me machine work and cutting feeds and speeds, and I took the time to learn how to sharpen tools and drills free hand and it's fun .
One of my jobs in the compressor shop was removing broken pipes and bolts and I developed some of my own techniques and tools for doing it.
Impatience causes more trouble than anything when working on equipment. if your being pushed by impatient people, slow down.
I know how to work under pressure , but the reason I can is because I'm already practiced at it with so many things.
Problem is ,if your not using this knowledge regularly, or don't keep up with changes in materials you can seriously fall behind.

 

Working on boats I did a lot of stainless steel ,and taping and drilling I used a product that was designed for fuel stabilization called
2+4 it was an OMC product. I believe that a portion of it is alcohol.
The unusual characteristic was the hiss that was heard each time you turned the tap and when it no longer hissed , I added a little more .
The hiss was the boiling point of the fluid boiling off the heat as it was cutting, yes even the slow movement of the hand driven tap .
Some machinists have told me that when cutting Monel they used butter milk ,
I had a supervisor that should have known better suggest I use engine oil when I ran out of cutting oil , all it did was ruin the dies on the pipe threader.
When the boss tells you to do something you may disagree with and it fails , you need back up to your suggestion. So I showed him in his own engineering hand book that thread coolant is the primary issue, lubricant is a secondary issue.
On my own chop saw and hack saw I prefer water soluble oil ,keeps the blade and parts cool while cutting.

 

Happened upon a video of a lathe accident. These guys weren't very careful and when kid reaches across the carriage (never reach across equipment) while polishing the shaft with emery paper, his right shirt sleeve brushes the rotating shaft. Even though it was smooth and polished the shaft still wrapped up the material ripping his shirt off and slamming the kid into the lathe.



AT

 

And this video addresses gloves.

 

I'm a full time machinist. The only time to wear gloves is when handling material, welding, or doing repair work. The rest of the time, they belong in your tool box. There was a fellow at the last place I worked who was wearing gloves while drilling some rather larger holes. He almost lost a hand and was off work for a couple of months as a result of getting tangled up with it. It's bad practice and a liability.

Don't buy "sets" of drills--they're a rip off. Order drills by the dozen from a machinist tool supply house. They're better quality and cheaper. Cobalt is better than HSS, but costs more. 135 degree drill points will hold up longer in hard materials than the standard 118 degree points. Split points on drills are nice.

Taps and dies--- Hardware store stuff is JUNK. Also, there is a difference between threading dies and re-threading dies. The former is adjustable, while the latter is not. Threading dies are made to cut threads while the rethreading die is only to clean up damaged threads. Taps....could be an entire page by themselves. There are a multitude of different designs suited to as many different purposes. Again, a machinist tool supply house is your best bet for a quality tool. Good cutting oil will make them last longer.

Cutting oil/coolant--- It's hard to beat old school black sulfurized cutting oil on steel or stainless, especially when cutting threads. I haven't seen anything that works better on aluminum than plain WD-40(incidentally, that is one of only two good uses I have found for WD40). Some steel alloys are best worked with no cutting oil/coolant, D2 is an example. They will work harden almost instantly. I didn't know this the first time I cut D2 on a bandsaw and popped nearly every tooth off of a brand new band. Motor oil/ATF/etc. are not even close to proper cutting oils.

Put a handle on your files. This is a must do if you're using them on a lathe. No sense in ramming a file tang through your hand when the lathe chuck catches it, and it eventually will. Files are only designed to cut in one direction...dragging them back over the surface just dulls them faster. Rubbing the file teeth with blackboard chalk will help keep filings from sticking in them. Use a file card to clean them. There are many different types of files. Single cut, smooth cut, mill, lathe, bastard, etc.. Each has a purpose, and you need more than one.

Edit: I forgot to mention that a copy of Machinery's Handbook is really nice to have. I like the older editions better than the new ones.

 

I have a 15th edition that my Dad gave me and it has a lot of information relating to Blacksmithing and Hardening metals that is old school... Found it to be very informative and is a treasure..

 

Yes, that's why I prefer the older editions. They edit out older, but still relevant info every year when introducing a new edition. I look for the old ones at yard sales.

The biggest secret to hardening steel alloys, assuming they have enough carbon, is to hit the critical temperature and maintain it long enough for it to be hot all the way through. Critical temp varies, but a quick check is with a magnet. If the magnet isn't attracted, it's hot enough. The other secret is using the right quench medium. Water is a brutal quench method on the metal and is usually a bad idea. Only a few alloys call for a water quench. A light oil is better. Some alloys just need to be cooled rapidly in open air. Tempering is a different animal and really simple, but difficult at the same time---if using primitive methods.

 

Drill points explained: DRILL POINT GEOMETRY by JOSEPH MAZOFF

I've worked on car and Harley engines for decades or I own most everything mentioned. In addition, I'd recommend dial calipers, dial micrometers, and ball micrometers.

@zombierspndr
As one who has spent 4 decades in design engineering; Heat Treat is both an art and a science.

 

Reamers to size valve guides are a good to have also.

 

So far as doing machine work tis true , you don't wear any thing loose fitting and it's still not a bad idea to wear tight fitting latex gloves as they will tear off easily if provoked, but for the most part will keep your hands clean during the process, keeping unwanted chemicals out of your system . Keep you hands away from a moving shaft.
Wrenching wearing gloves of any sort will inhibit your feel while starting threads and such , but if there's a chance of rotating machinery, treat it like a hungry shark.
In the video the way the boy was sanding the shaft ,it is likely that the paper it's self completed the circle and started drawing the paper in and the boy did not let go and his sleeve got caught up in it and the rest is history.
You could see by the way the boy tightened the chuck, he was completely unskilled and needed more supervision from the machinist .that is HIS failure.
Never grasp the shaft with paper, never grasp the shaft period while in motion.
Any thing in motion is dangerous and tempting fate will bite you.

As with files ,it's a good idea to test a spot first to see if the file can phase it . if it's too hard it will ruin the file .

 

I happened to remember something today that I haven't had need of for several years. It is quite important, and since serious bodily injury or death can result, I don't know how it could have slipped my mind.

Always ring test a new grinding wheel before installing it on a pedestal/bench grinder or a surface grinder. Stick a pencil(or wood dowel) through the center hole to support the wheel, hold it up, and give it a light tap with a metal object. You should hear a clear and distinct ring, like a tuning fork. If you don't hear a ring, or it's more of a dull "thunk", the wheel should immediately be given the floor test. The idea is to make sure the floor is still hard and shatter the wheel so that it cannot be mistakenly used. The wheel that rings is free of cracks or other defects which may cause it to fail in use. A fellow I used to work with was nearly killed by a grinding wheel that came apart. It missed his jugular by about a millimeter...after crawling all the way up his arm to get there. Nasty scars.

 

That almost sounds like the float test you do on outboard motor spark plugs.
If you toss the used spark plug in the lake and it doesn't float replace it .

I'll keep that test in mind concerning grinding wheels; I have a few new and used wheels on the shelf, I have never had one come apart on me my whole life.
I have been playing on grinders since I was 7-8 years old.

 

I saw one on a small surface grinder come apart once. I was a few feet away and thankfully out of the line of fire. The guard on the machine protected the guy that was running it. I found a few that were bad when I worked there. I miss the jig grinder and ID/OD grinder....and the EDMs.

 

Don't remember if it's been said enough but safety glasses are a must.
I know for very close personal experience, they work.
If your out side I recommend dark safety glasses and guard your eyes from strong daylight , might sound silly but My vision is better than my dads was or my brother because I do this.
As the sun's influence gets worse your eyes will suffer most, if you do not guard them.
If your grinding or sanding, a face shield is best, even if you think the debris will be going in a safe direction, junk bounces.