Machining Class Information

Mill & Lathe Class Follow-Up

Rreminder: any broken tools or lacking supplies should be reported as soon as possible, preferably using the link on the red QR codes in the shop (any posted QR code will do; they all go to asmbly.org/problem ), or via the Discourse ( yo.asmbly.org ) or by emailing workshop@asmbly.org . In addition, if it isn't obvious a tool or machine is broken, place a label or sign on it to make it clear to others.

Online Videos to Learn From

There are many great videos about mill and lathe techniques available on YouTube.

For the lathe, the best place to start is certainly Blondihacks. Her videos do have a slant towards hobbyist (small) machines and small parts, but her material is solid.

For the mill, check out the Tom's Techniques as a starting place. These channels also seem useful: This Old Tony, Inheritance Machining, and again, Blondihacks. In particular, the first of these has the video I mentioned on precision squaring, with full attention to many possible issues and how to verify the squareness of the final piece.

Mill Tooling

We have the variety sets of cheap end mills I showed in class. In addition, I've gotten a few nicer HSS (high speed steel) mills for general use. Use them gently and we will see how long they last. We are also planning at some point to provide more index-able tools, including a larger roughing face cutter.

If you're going to use the mill frequently I would suggest you get an end mill appropriate for the work you do. (Two flute HSS for aluminum, brass, bronze, copper, and plastics; four flute HSS or carbide for steels.)

The 3/4" HSS end mill we used in class is from H&H Industrial Products. It seems decent; I've also used mills from Melin and Shars. Likely most brands are similar.

Mill Tooling Suppliers

Dixie Tool Crib (near Ben White and I35): They were much better at helping me figure out which of the huge number of tool variations I wanted than other sites were. But then they sold me carbide bits when I specifically asked for HSS, which soured me on them personally.

SparkTech (Round Rock): Good *if* you know exactly what you need.

R.S. Huges: you can pick things up literally next door, and they will happily rummage through their back room looking for things for you, but if they don't have it, you'll have to go through their website to order it. And like SparkTech, you then need to figure out on your own which one out of the dozens of nearly identical items is the one you want.

Online: Mcmaster-Carr (often pricey), or even Amazon for more common tools (prices and quality are a gamble, though I've definitely gotten acceptable tools there).

Lathe Tooling

We should now have new inserts and functional holders for all of the index-able tooling we provide, though we don't have many spares. If you have need of a tool we don't have, let us know and we will consider expanding our set. I now also have some blanks for grinding custom tools; talk to me if you think you may need to do that.

Material Suppliers in Austin

The most common aluminum for machining is Aluminum 6061. The steel tube we use is Steel A36, a very common mild steel.

Metals4u (on 45 east of 35 in Round Rock) is my choice for getting metal in Austin. They have most common industrial metals in common sizes. They have handled small orders requiring cuts quite quickly. But I usually get things from their drop shelves, which have quite a range of irregular cut-offs of aluminum, steel, and stainless steel, mostly plate in aluminum and tubing in steel. **Tell them you are from Asmbly and you will probably get items from those shelves at half price!**

West-brook Metals (off Airport near Lamar): Now owned by Metals4U. I haven't been there since that buyout; their service and setup before were inferior to Metals4U before it.

Mcmaster-Carr: online with all metals, plastics, hardware, etc. but generally pricey.

There are a lot of plastic suppliers in town; one recommended to me for acrylic sheets is Allied Plastic, which is literally in the industrial park next to Asmbly's. I myself have gotten material from Interstate Plastics (off 183 between MLK and the river). They have a range of acrylics, and I have gotten Nylon, Delrin, and HDPE from them. Call and see if they have offcuts and remnants, as you can get good deals on them.