[Ducati] Hey Art...I need....

[Peter Bonner]

Hopper

Given how cheap one can get used Bridgeport-style mills at prices
competitive with new hobby stuff, it pretty much works out to how much your
time is worth Hopper. In most cases, if your time is worth anything, you may
find that it will be cheaper to have it done by a well equipped shop rather
than spend long hours with a hobby machine. Most shops would do something
like the indicator adaptor that Art showed for a 1 hour minimum charge if a
reasonable drawing was provided, and probably 2 for the same time charge.

 When cutting 6061 Alum with a carbide cutter taking off .5 inch per pass on
a Bridgeport, it doesn't take much time to remove metal. However you won't
be doing anything close to that with the hobby stuff even if you stick to
delrin (which would have worked for the indicator holder job). A much better
solution might be to sign up for a nite class at a school with a good
machine shop facility. Also, in some cases, there are "rent a machine shop"
places where you can buy time on machine tools (Albuquerque used to have a
place like that). Houston ought to have lots of machine shops because of the
roughneck stuff. Look around, maybe with your experience you can talk
someone into letting you use their equipment. Even do some side jobs for
them for extra cash?

Peter




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "HOPPER ELDRIDGE" <hoppereldridge at sbcglobal.net>

>   Which now beggars another question....What's your feelings about the
Harbor Freight drill/mill? Been looking at theirs and at some in the Grizzly
catalog. Figured it might be a stop-gap set-up before I get a bigger lathe
and knee mill. (Looks like I may finally be getting back into the oil patch.
Several promising "returns" came back Friday, especially the one that ask me
my birth date! Figured it would be the kiss of death, but guess not! It's an
overseas compnay so they can do that! So, everybody, cross their fingers,
and the Aggies on the list, squeeze their left...well, y'all get the
message!) Is the power, center distances, speeds and feeds adequate for most
m/c work?
>
>   The Grizzly Toy...err Tool Catalog has some real reasonably priced
machining equipment. Just not reasonably for my current underpaid job!
<grin-n-bear it>
>
>   Hopper