New shop toy for Alan

[AlanCasida]

I got it in today. I've been wanting something like this for a very long time. A larger one would have been nice but I think this will do just fine.

[jayb]

Well, I started off like that.  Now I have 3 CNC vertical machining centers and a six foot LeBlonde lathe.  Danger, Alan...

[AlanCasida]

Yeah it seems no matter which one you get you'll wish you'd got a bigger one.  This one I bought has a long enough X travel that I can put a cylinder head or intake on it and be able to cover it.

[GJCAT427]

Alan, not to burst your bubble but I have 2 Bridgeport's, The standard and a series II, I use the standard all the time.  Whats important is the tooling. Also Jay I have a LaBlonde and a Monarch, The LaBlonde has taper attachment which took some mastering but I can setup much faster than my brother. On the other hand he does threading better than me. I also polish cranks on my Monarch by hand. 

[machoneman]

Very cool toy! Danger lurks.....indeed! 

[BattlestarGalactic]

I have a vintage JET "table top" mill.  9x24 table.  It takes quite a table to hold it up though.

I have access to lathes(big as 40ft centers) and horizontal mills(4x8 table) at work.  Plus Plasma cutter and various welders.  Pretty lucky I suppose.

[cjshaker]

I have access to lathes(big as 40ft centers) and horizontal mills(4x8 table) at work.

Ok, I gotta ask....what in the heck do they cut on a 40' lathe? Flag poles? Sail boat masts? Fence posts to keep out King Kong?

[WConley]

40-foot centers?  Amateurs!

I went to school next to Watervliet Arsenal.  They used to turn 18-inch battleship main guns on their lathes.  They needed railroad cars to catch the chips, which looked like car coil springs.

[Drew Pojedinec]

We use a 40ft lathe when we change prop shafts on the boat I'm Chief Engineer on.

[jayb]

Man, those big tools are really cool 

[BattlestarGalactic]

Doug.....it came from the Ravenna arsenal if that is a clue....lol.  it used to make gun barrels.  Twin saddles.  We use it in our manufacturer of screws/barrels for injection and extrusion molding.   The longest screw I've seen in my 32 yes was about 325".

[Drew Pojedinec]

Man, those big tools are really cool 

The stuff I work with isn't in the same realm as Mr Conley's.
That said, I used to be overwhelmed by the size of the stuff I work with.  To be honest, they are pretty much the same exact things as a smaller version.  Once you get past the obvious material handling issues they really aren't that big of a deal and often times are simpler in design than their smaller counterparts.

I never did get to see the machine that balanced this crankshaft.... I kinda wanted to see how they did it to be honest.

[cjshaker]

Doug.....it came from the Ravenna arsenal if that is a clue....lol.  it used to make gun barrels.

Being from Ohio, and being a war and history buff, I actually know of that place. Pretty cool. They must be WW2 era pieces.

[GJCAT427]

Out side of Warren PA is another plant the used to make barrels for ship guns. It was a pretty tight security place 30 yrs ago, I got to the door to deliver material for the plant expansion that was going on, so I got a peak at the shop floor, Pretty impressive to see the lathes and mill at work. In Puxatauny Pa there is a shop that does gears for the coal shovels and mining industry. I had to pick up some 8" shafts for a local Co here in Westfield. I got to tour the plant and the guy was surprised that I knew what a gear hobber was and several other machines they had. They had 2 lathes that were 25' and 15', with 60" turning heads. If you know where to look You can still find places that specialize in old technology to get the job done. 

[cammerfe]

Since this is the 'non-' part of the site, and tight clearance was mentioned, I once visited a shop in the edge of the Garment District in NYC. It was a loft and I'd somehow winkled out the address. It was called 'Seventrees, Ltd. The owner had developed a cut-down Model 39 S&W pistol in 9 MM and had a government contract to supply them to such as the CIA for 'spy' work. The company was also doing other sorts of highly-concealable weapons such as knives.

A cop of my acquaintance had an 'Asp', as the pistol was called, and I'd shot it a bit.

On a lark, I'd just 'dropped-in' with the idea of, perhaps, buying one of my own. The elevator opened into a cage---they had no interest in my business, except to give me a badly-printed info sheet, and ask me to leave. Interesting experience!

KS