Machinist Videos

Since purchasing the Bridgeport mill this year, I’ve been trying to learn as much as possible about more refined techniques of metalworking and machining. As we all know, YouTube videos are a wonderful resource for learning anything, and metalwork is no exception (I’ve been recently been watching  videos by tubelcain (mrpete222)).  The author of  MachinistBlog has recently put together a new site called MachinistVideos.com which aims to be a pool for all the best in machining videos. I’m planning to spend a good amount of time over there.

New Bridgeport Mill

After years of searching for a good deal, last month I bought a beautiful used Bridgeport milling machine for the shop.  Awesome!

I bought it in Bridgeport, CT from a guy selling a lot of equipment from a mold making shop that closed. Originally interested in a small M-head Bridgeport with a small work surface, I saw this variable speed beauty and couldn’t resist.

I got a great deal with all this, and was able to throw in all kinds of extras! A vise in good shape, a rotary table, a high-quality drill bit chuck, a box of misc. mills and a bunch of collets! Here it is at the warehouse with all the good stuff:

And transporting wasn’t as much a problem as I thought. I drove a Penske truck up to the warehouse in Bridgeport, popped the head off (with much friendly help from the forklift operator) and they loaded the beast onto the truck with a pallet. Strapped that sucker down & good to go:

Off-loading was not TOO bad. It would have been a bit easier if I had (a) borrowed a forklift, or (b) asked for any help whatsoever. But amazingly I did get it off the truck and into my shop with nothing more than a pallet jack. The tricky part was compensating for the fact that the truck was too low for the loading dock at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. I had to back the truck up on ramps I made from some 2 x 10 boards lying around. Then I had to work the pallet slowly toward the back of the truck (since I was working against a bit of a slope). This took some time, moving forward a few inches at a time, and screwing a board to the floor of the truck to keep everything from sliding back again. Anyway, it all worked out. Here it is safely on the loading dock:

Once in the shop, I borrowed a friend’s chain hoist & popped the head back on:

Moved everything in place with the pallet jack, and all was done!

Hooray! Time to get to work:

Xavier Lust Bench

Nicely done. The new Gun Metal bench by Belgian Xavier Lust creates strength with gentle bends in the surfaces.

via designboom

Tool Jewelry

Just looks good, right?

via designboom