Hi Joe. Erik Louw again from South Africa. I never but never found any one of your lessons not very interesting. As a hobbiest I can follow and the way you explain make it also understandable for the novice. What I like most is the fact that you don't try to get a long video with all nitty gritty information. It is right to the point. Sometimes I battle with inch measurements, because most of the time we work here in metric. Keep up the good work.
Thank you very much! That's much faster and more efficient than some of the other techniques I've seen. I was brought up as part of the CNC generation - taught at school to program CNC machines long before we learned about manual machines - our teachers were very good and doing the best they could to prepare us for the future, money and resources were very tight and it saved a lot of money if we wrote CNC programs that our teacher could assess on a simulator instead of making parts from stock on manual machines - but when I only need a prototype for development and testing or 2 or 3 copies of something then making it on a manual machine is much faster than writing a program and tooling up a CNC machine. For my generation your videos are hugely valuable!
Old Austin hobby machinist here. I made a custom height gauge years ago, but I'm glad I watched until the end. That file handle trick is just what I need! Thank you.
I can't express how much help you are and the simple and easy to understand teaching methods you employ to make it easier to understand. I'm looking at property around Austin wanting to move from the Kansas City area. Retired from Bayer Corp. engineering maintenance machine shop area after 37 years. Maybe I'll get to meet you, you have definately been a great help as I have a small machine shop I built in my downstairs. Thank You very much.
Look me up when you roll into town. Property around here is getting extremely expensive with Apple and Tesla moving in and Dell already here. Outside city limits is still affordable if you don't mind country living.
As someone who has made a career of fixing pointless complexity, I have a special appreciation for simplicity. This tool does just one thing, but does it perfectly. Half an hour's work; good for a lifetime. Great idea
Hey Joe You are unbelievable. For many years I've been at the lathe, and still before the youtube channel file. So, I'm not inexperienced and not so young anymore. Here and there I see a different way of solutions. And that's exactly what I like most about your movies... Hugo - Belgium - W-VL
You describe my problem exactly, my tools are too high. Thanks for showing me, this is the most important lesson to learn, when new in lathing and owning a lathe. Mine will not cut properly, and it feels like I'm pushing the material. Thanks again for this.
One thing I have noticed mostly is how clean your shop is!!! Impressive! I work with a bunch of engineers and they always leave things lying around. Keeping a shop clean and organized saves frustration and is so functionally useful whenever you walk in!
The height tool is neat. I made mine out of two 1/2 inch bolts. Of course I faced the bolts off. I joined them in an extra long nut used to join all thread. I put two jam nuts on it to lock it in place. I'm not a "machinist" but have operated lathes for 20 + years. This little trick makes my life easier.
never used a different method.........a great thing to have in our tool box........must say worked at many factories over many many years,,,,,,,,,, when I have made the gauge a good many thought I was being a smart ass,,,,,,,, keep it up chap
Hi Joe, I love your videos - such innovative thinking please don't stop making them. I was a design engineer on the space shuttle main engines for Rocketdyne. We had a special projects machine shop that had three guys that were master machinists. I dropped in there any chance I got just to watch how these guys did things and to pick their brains regarding how to change a design to make the part as efficiently as possible. You would have fit right in there with those guys. One fellow was an old German tool and die maker - he thought outside the box just like you. Thanks for all the time you spend making these videos - I've been machining parts in my side design and prototype parts business for about 45 years now and you have taught me some great tips - which goes to show you're never too old to keep learning. Thank you.
Great info! I was also taught to use the tailstock in school. The tang of the file trick to me is plain old common sense, but I bet it's a Eureka moment for a lot of folks. I guess thats why your videos are always appealing..... a healthy dose of good old common sense is a valuable tool.
Another good video. Your comment about storing things on the head stock is a good one. After an incident that took out one of my flourescent lights I vowed to limit the clutter on top the lathe. I took a cafeteria tray and screwed it to a tall bar stool. I can put all the tools I need for a job on another tray, carry it over and it nests nicely into the one thats screwed to the stool. Portable table at a good height. I have found the trays very handy for keeping tooling for different jobs layed out and ready to go. Easy to clean, easy to store. A guy could mount one to the headstock easily enough so other trays nest on it. Just an idea that worked for me.
I too have seen tools launched by chuck jaws. They just go bam and disappear. Just wait for a second and you'll hear it hit somewhere if its not sticking out of your chest or forehead. I stage my measuring tools and cutting tools on 2 separate rags on my bench.
Another great tip, Joe! Made one in less than 20 minutes and wonder how I got along without one! I have not commented before, but this little tool tip is so basic and so useful I finally had to say something. Thanks!
Excellent. The tips are really great for those of us who are on a steep learning curve. The white board preps are vital to my understanding. I watch your video, move out to the garage and use the demo once again, as needed, to attempt to repeat your demo. While doing this I also keep a notebook of certain things I wish to recall. Your videos are well designed for this type of learning. Many thanks.
Good info and video. We were on vacation in Mobile Alabama and I got a chance to observe two machinist working on two 15" swing lathe's with lantern style tool post. They both had a standard like the one you made but the had a small piece of steel, bolted on the top, that overhung on one side so when they changed to a different tool they could swing the compound over and under the overhang. That set the tool height, then lock the tool down, then swing the compound back to the part and lock it down and start cutting. Thanks again. You can use a small drill drift to lock that knurled nut also.
Joe- made one of these and I'm getting way better surface finish, parting is a breeze, and it makes working on the lathe so much better. Never realized how off center my tools were and what a difference it makes. This is a must have tool for anybody with a lathe.
I like your idea but what I did was turn a piece of stock in the lathe and measured the diameter divided that by 2 and wrote it down. I then set a height gauge on my cross slide and measured the distance from the top of my cross slide and the top of the stock I turned. Next I took the number I wrote down and subtracted that from the distance I measured, that is the center of the stock in the lathe. It was 3.781. Now all I have to do is use my height gauge to set my cutting tool at 3.781. Works better than anything else I have done and it is very fast. Parting is a breeze now. Thanks for you videos they are informative and from someone that knows what they are doing.
pbysome No, not really. By turning the material gently in the lathe you are guaranteed that it is accurately centred on the lathe axis. It's one of the few cases where there is no tolerance - at least above a molecular level. It can't be anything else due to the lathe geometry. Far more accurate than using a pin in a collet, or worse, a three jaw chuck. and not everyone has accurately ground pins to hand either. Joe's method is good if you have a pin but no height gauge. In fact you can afford to be around minus 10 thou off centre without too much trouble. 30 thou is far too much though. Under height is better than over height, much less chance of a dig in. Bob UK.
Joe, There are several terrific machinists on you tube. You are one of the best! Your teaching style makes seemingly complicated things very easy. I look forward to all of your videos! Thank you for sharing you wealth of knowledge. All the best, John
Small stuff like that centering gage can mean so much in the quality of finish work not to mention insert tool life and time saved in setup, where in the end your tool is actually on center and not ( close enough). Thanks Joe,
I always wanted to learn how to use machining tools but nover got around to learning .After looking at one of your vid and illustrations you have ignited that old flame ,Amazing teacher you are Mr J.P Thanks for taking the time out to teach the world , I cant stop watching the vids.Excellent
Little tools like this are real time-savers. I made a square-U with the base of the U flat and parallel to the tips. I hold the tips against the face of my lathe chuck, straddling a jaw. The base gives me a parallel surface I can use to align the angle of my QC toolpost, especially the parting tool. I also made a dedicated little jack for my dividing head that lets me set the chuck exactly horizontal in a snap. The list goes on! Now that I'm old and senile, I need to label all these tools so I will know what they're for when I haven't used them in a year! Love your channel.
Joe, you always explain things so clearly! Hardinge lathes used to come with a similar post specific to each particular machine, only those had a cap on them so you could use the underside to see if the tool was too high and the top of the post proper if it was too low. I once saw a guy use a neat trick to center a tool - take your 6" scale and trap it between the tool and the work. Look from the tailstock toward the spindle. If the scale is vertical, you're on center. If the upper end is toward the right, it's too high. To the left, too low. Not as precise as Joe's method, but really quick more effective than it would seem. Of course, Joe's method is dead nuts accurate and very quick once you have your post.
This is an excellent tool. The best I could muster (for those tools which permit it) was to trap a thick shim between the tool tip and the workpiece to form a tangent. When it was on center the tangent was vertical, off center off vertical. I like your idea better. Thank you again.
Many do that, but depending on the grind and which surface you bump against, the tool could still be off. Always set the tool for the operation being performed.
Hi, I've got to say that I love your channel. I have had my lathe about 5 years and my mini mill for about 2years and I only found out about your channel this year. I would say that I have learnt more this year than in all the time I had my machines thanks to your teaching technique. I am a "why is it so" type of person. I enjoyed this video and will shortly be making one for my lathe. I liked the dial gauge holder that you have and looked to purchase one myself but they are no longer produced and while others make a similar one they don't appear as good. Also by the time I get one in Australia the cost looks like being over $300 for a magnetic mount. I saw that someone else asked if you could give us a breakdown of yours so we could machine one and I to would like to ask that and I am sure that there are others you would like to do it too. Cheers Mark
Thanks again, Joe. Just made one of these center gauges today for my 40's Atlas 10", and you're right - it's a simple solution that works great! It took me some time to "sneak" the 6061 round stock to the precise length a few thou at a time, but I can't thank you enough. Most precise gauge I've ever used for setting tool height!
Greetings Joe, Yes, I am a fan. Please keep up the good work. Iam a hobbyist willing to learn. I would like to make a recommendation in regard to the "Setting the lathe tools on center" video. In addition to feeling the tool height, which is neat, I lower the work light behind the standard and bridge a scale to the tool. Now setting the proper height is easy. Now I see the light! Regards, Rod D.
Hey Joe, Love your channel, I am a very experienced machinist but there is always something to be learned from others. This video shoes a great way to accurately set center height on tools, I agree it is most important. When I had a production shop I had exclusively Hardinge machines and they made an adjustable center height tool similar to yours, it had a top piece that folded out for setting upside down tools. Your method of setting the gauge is so simple and easy, great job.
Joe, I am an apprentice to the machine trade and find your videos very helpful. Thank you for sharing your great tips and vast experience with all of us . Looking forward to future videos.
Great video,Joe.I made the tool height gauge from 1 1/2 yellow brass because, it was easier than turning down a 3” bar of aluminum and,it’s heavier. I keep it in a pvc pipe with foam rubber glued inside the end caps.Thank you for the video.
Every time i watch one of your videos, something like this tip comes up and i feel like an idiot. Why didn't i think of that. Like the videos almost as much as reducing material to chips!!
Sir, thank you for the education, it is highly appreciated. I teach machining at a college in South Africa and I can tell you that most machining problems come from a tool that is not centered. I will implement this technique.
Joe, my name is Carlo Piaia one of the places I used to work at was Tydeman Machine Works in Redwood City and they had a tool height adjustment tool, that was approximately an inch or so in diameter, after they found the Center Height they attached another piece of material the same diameter, and offset it by about a quarter inch and reattached it with a 1/4-20 cap screw the so you could measure right side- up tools and upside down tools. Thanks Joe I like your videos
Thanks Joe. That is a good way to do it. Adding to that theme, you can add a little overhang, even with the top of your reference pin, to help you reach to where the cutter is. No more than 1/2” or so works well.
Hi Joe, This was a good first project for my lathe. I blew it the first time and under-cut it by 0.0030 " but got it right the second time. The difference in my cuts is amazing. Thanks for your instruction!
I made one of these and it is EXCELLENT! Took about 15 minutes start to finish and I checked and fine-tuned all my tool holders in about another 10. One quick tip for anyone else making one of these tools ... You have to be careful about runout in your chuck for the height measurement technique to work correctly. But there is an easy work-around. Since you have the dial indicator set up on top of the .500 dowel pin, rotate the chuck to find the high and low spots and mark them with a sharpie. Then rotate so that these two marks are horizontal (that is rotate 90 degrees from either high or low). Now re-sweep and zero your indicator and you will be .250 above the centre of rotation of your spindle regardless of how much runout you have (within reason).
Great Video, Great Tip - I even bought that US General 387 magnetic base (@ 5:53) Great tip (@ 7:57) on using the old file tang, too! Thank You - Joe Pie - you have taught us all a lot! Please keep posting the great videos.
Joe, that pin method is sheer brilliance in it's simplicity! And that file tang taper squeeze play is a good thing to remember. When I was manufactured engineer at one of the companies I worked at.... I had this one machinist that kept all of his nails trimmed except one pinky nail - which he usually let grow out to one quarter of an inch. It was his "educated measuring nail". He could run along the surface and tell the surface finish as good as the surface finish standard would do..... And he would use it for matching surface heights like you did with your finger. Personally I prefer my index fingernail! 🤗
That is a nice trick to measure correct height, you just continue to point out the obvious to us. Just today i made a nice stainless bar 20 mm dia. to height by scribing a line with a fixed center in my tailstock and worked back and forth on the lathe to get to correct height. Took a bit of time but now it is done it will speed up tool change. My tailstock is at correct height, checked with center in spindle and hard parallel will be clamped straight between the two sharp points in spindle and tailstock. I lapped the top and bottom of the bar and made a 5 mm wafer of the same material, also both sides lapped that is connected with an off center bolt to the top of my bar, Now i can slide turn the wafer from the bar and use the bottom of the wafer to drag the toolbit slightly for height setting for normal turning and the top of the bar for reverse turning tool adjustment. Like when i use Joe his reverse threading method. I only use my crossslide surface to rest the bar on because my lathe bed is too narrow, i got a small chinese lathe. I do get 6'es chips so i think i am pretty ok on center, also nice smooth surface with no center raise point when facing. I like the stainless because it sits pretty and heavy. (i also like shiny tools but i am not proud of that)
Joe, Really new at this and looknng for all you'r you tube vidioes i can find. You are one of the finest teachers i have heard from in a LLLLOOONNNGG time. You are very knowlegable and well spoken so that even a ROMPERROOM dropout like me can understand most of it. Just wanted to say, keep up the good work, and GOD Bless. Hank.
Thank you, Joe. I've been putting a thin piece of stainless between the tip of the cutting tool and the workpiece and adjusting the tool up or down with the stainless between. When the stainless piece is vertical (while pinched between the tool and workpiece), I've been calling it good. It worked a lot better than untrained method of just eyeballing the tool. With your method you demonstrated, I'll be spot on, no guesswork. I've only recently discovered your videos and thank you for taking the time to tutor me (us). This is good stuff.
This is how I was taught to set the tool bit. Currently I use a 6" scale (pocket scale) to set the tool height. Place the scale between the work and the tool bit, and close the bit against the work. If the scale is perfectly vertical, the bit is "on center." If the scale tips toward the operator, you are "below center." If it tips away from you, it is "above center." I love the custom Gauge Block, though. My question is: "Is my method lacking in some understanding?" I also do not have the luxury of a Quick Change Tool Post. Mine is a 4-way rotating tool post. Each tool must be individually "shimmed" to the correct height. I love your presentations. Good shop practice.
Great post my friend. This is likely the most important thing when setting up to use a lathe. If I ever find out who took the piece of metal straping from my tool tray I will declare a hanging, LOL. That trick of using an old, dead file as a hardware holder on the tool post id brilliant. THanks big time teach. Yer full of neat tricks for us tonight. Ya rock fella ! Take care teach. Your mentormship is so vry much appreciated EH !
nice technique for setting tools, another quick way i found is to lightly pinch a small piece of sheet stock between the cutter and your part then adjust tool height until the sheet stock is pointing vertical.
Another good one Joe Nice white-board and live demo, it's not the length it's the content especially when you're not gloating about new tools, new stuff, look at my machines, ya ta, ya ta. There's a place for that but it's about gettin things done. Come'on guys let's get those subs up for Joe.
Hey Joe, I found a very similar indicator holder to yours and love it. Mine is called "Erick Magna Model 200" They can be found on Amazon as well as other vendors. I just wanted to pass the work along in case someone would like to pick one up. I have found them easier to use than the Noga style that seem so popular now. Thanks for all of your great content.
This is really neat - as are all your videos. I trained as a woodworker, and now run a brass instrument making business - I'm learning learning learning machining...
great vids Joe over the pass 35 years i have passed so much information on myself and set up can't be stressed enough take time and make a jig or fixture to aide in their set ups just small things like this will aide someone that has struggle keep up the great work
I haven't gotten around to making a height block for my lathe yet, but had been planning to for some time now. I have made myself a LOT of specialty gauges over the years for setting tools in screw machines though. Of course some of them I ended up making duplicates of because my co-workers saw them and wanted a set of their own. Definite Time Savers and they take all the guess work out of a set up.
More expert tips. Thank you! For me, the reason I find these tips so valuable is that you include simple to understand, yet very detailed explanations and descriptions. You are an amazing craftsman and teacher. I really appreciate the effort and time you take to organize your thoughts and share them in such a seamless way. That only happens for those who really know the subjects they are presenting. All the best to you! Joel.....
real good idea Joe, I like it. Also, I find if my tool bit is too small and the quick change holder doesn't have enough adjustment, I just put a 3/8 dowel pin under the adjusting nut and it stays there just fine and I can use the adjustment again, if I am switching tools all the time, I just put the dowel pin back in when I use that tool.
Excellent tool Joe. I made one of these yesterday and reset several of my tools. Some of my BXA quick change blocks won't go down quite far enough to center the tool and I may have to grind the bottoms a little to lower the tools on center. But at least now I know for sure what the height needs to be! Thanks, and please keep the videos coming!
Sometimes the simple ideas are the best. I need to get a QCTP too as constant fiddling with shims is a pain. Thanks for taking the time to pass on your experience. Happy Christmas and Happy New Year from the UK.
You are the man. I have more fun with my lathe and I still have both my eyes and all 10 fingers due to things learned on your channel. Much thanks and cheers from Boston
Very useful tip! I'm making one tomorrow. Also, love the magnetic indicator holder with the quick release. And, the file trick for holding the thumb nut is great. Cool video.
The more I watch your video's the more I'm starting to get great work come out of my work shop it so good to have some one that is will to show the tips of the trade and the reasons why for the do's and don't that make all the difference when seeing it done -thumbs up from me and please keep on making these vedeo's.
Great advice and the file tang trick is a gem and why I have started watching your channel. I made a Hardinge-style tool height gage knock-off and use it every day for the tool setups. I like your short and to the point videos.
I have one of those at our shop i work at but it does not have a flat cut in it. It is a piece of round stock with a chamfer all the way around. I see the flat with the sharp corner will get me right on center. I also like the file trick. Thanks for that. Time saver.
been looking for a good deal on a General 387 for 2 years now ....... finally got a NOS one off ebay for like 35 bucks.......... it's really a beautiful thing. Wow it makes life easy
Hey Joe I'm new at machining but an old guy and want to make a shaft for a right angle gear drive . i have had all kind of problems turning 4140 or something like its hard .I would just eyeball the live center so before i move forward I'm making a setup tool great video i think this will help i also need to maybe get the right insert .Thanks for the video .JM
That's the best tool height setter I have seen to date!!! I always use the tailstock with center, more time consuming than yours!!! Steve, Instrumentmaker, MD.
Thats gold info ! Several occations I have fed the knife onto the axel workpiece, and then slammed off a big chunk. Now I understand, the insertbit was too high on the circumference.
Long time viewer/subscriber. Once I got done cracking up over how obvious the two ball trick is but *only in retrospect*, I felt like an 2x idiot for not having watched this when it came out - I needed that. Thanks again, Joe!
That's a nice gauge. For years I've just used a dedicated height gauge and that has worked well for me. Your gauge has tha advantage of actually being able to feel if you're set right or not. I may just make one. Thanks for the tip.
Hi Joe. Erik Louw again from South Africa. I never but never found any one of your lessons not very interesting. As a hobbiest I can follow and the way you explain make it also understandable for the novice. What I like most is the fact that you don't try to get a long video with all nitty gritty information. It is right to the point. Sometimes I battle with inch measurements, because most of the time we work here in metric. Keep up the good work.
Thank you.
Thank you very much! That's much faster and more efficient than some of the other techniques I've seen.
I was brought up as part of the CNC generation - taught at school to program CNC machines long before we learned about manual machines - our teachers were very good and doing the best they could to prepare us for the future, money and resources were very tight and it saved a lot of money if we wrote CNC programs that our teacher could assess on a simulator instead of making parts from stock on manual machines - but when I only need a prototype for development and testing or 2 or 3 copies of something then making it on a manual machine is much faster than writing a program and tooling up a CNC machine.
For my generation your videos are hugely valuable!
Old Austin hobby machinist here. I made a custom height gauge years ago, but I'm glad I watched until the end. That file handle trick is just what I need! Thank you.
I can't express how much help you are and the simple and easy to understand teaching methods you employ to make it easier to understand. I'm looking at property around Austin wanting to move from the Kansas City area. Retired from Bayer Corp. engineering maintenance machine shop area after 37 years. Maybe I'll get to meet you, you have definately been a great help as I have a small machine shop I built in my downstairs. Thank You very much.
Look me up when you roll into town. Property around here is getting extremely expensive with Apple and Tesla moving in and Dell already here. Outside city limits is still affordable if you don't mind country living.
I am watching a 7 year old video. It is still a gem. 😊😊😊
As someone who has made a career of fixing pointless complexity, I have a special appreciation for simplicity.
This tool does just one thing, but does it perfectly. Half an hour's work; good for a lifetime. Great idea
Hey Joe
You are unbelievable.
For many years I've been at the lathe, and still before the youtube channel file.
So, I'm not inexperienced and not so young anymore.
Here and there I see a different way of solutions.
And that's exactly what I like most about your movies...
Hugo - Belgium - W-VL
Thanks Hugo. I visited Belgium a few years ago. Great beer!!
File trick is a nice bonus. Never know what I’ll learn when I hit the play button. Thanks Joe.!
I call that an embedded jewel.
Love the simple logic.
30 years a welder fitter, I trust my fingers more than my eyes.
This is now to the top of the list of needed tools.
Thanks.
You describe my problem exactly, my tools are too high. Thanks for showing me, this is the most important lesson to learn, when new in lathing and owning a lathe. Mine will not cut properly, and it feels like I'm pushing the material. Thanks again for this.
One thing I have noticed mostly is how clean your shop is!!! Impressive! I work with a bunch of engineers and they always leave things lying around. Keeping a shop clean and organized saves frustration and is so functionally useful whenever you walk in!
i made this tool and have found that my tools cut more easily and longer without needing to be touched up. A great addition to the inventory
This is an issue I've had as a hobby machinist for years with lathe work. Best centering method I've seen yet. Love the little "File" trick as well.
The height tool is neat. I made mine out of two 1/2 inch bolts. Of course I faced the bolts off. I joined them in an extra long nut used to join all thread. I put two jam nuts on it to lock it in place. I'm not a "machinist" but have operated lathes for 20 + years. This little trick makes my life easier.
B.Fox, Thank you for THE very best description of the importance of center height ! Been using this for 20 yrs. Great video,Thanks.
Thank you.
never used a different method.........a great thing to have in our tool box........must say worked at many factories over many many years,,,,,,,,,, when I have made the gauge a good many thought I was being a smart ass,,,,,,,, keep it up chap
So direct and to the point of the function. Will be watching you more, a lot of people are over complicating way things with a lathe.
Hi Joe, I love your videos - such innovative thinking please don't stop making them. I was a design engineer on the space shuttle main engines for Rocketdyne. We had a special projects machine shop that had three guys that were master machinists. I dropped in there any chance I got just to watch how these guys did things and to pick their brains regarding how to change a design to make the part as efficiently as possible. You would have fit right in there with those guys. One fellow was an old German tool and die maker - he thought outside the box just like you. Thanks for all the time you spend making these videos - I've been machining parts in my side design and prototype parts business for about 45 years now and you have taught me some great tips - which goes to show you're never too old to keep learning. Thank you.
Thanks. I like those kind of environments.
Great info! I was also taught to use the tailstock in school. The tang of the file trick to me is plain old common sense, but I bet it's a Eureka moment for a lot of folks. I guess thats why your videos are always appealing..... a healthy dose of good old common sense is a valuable tool.
It should be bottled and served in schools. Seems to be a lack of it these days.
Another good video. Your comment about storing things on the head stock is a good one. After an incident that took out one of my flourescent lights I vowed to limit the clutter on top the lathe. I took a cafeteria tray and screwed it to a tall bar stool. I can put all the tools I need for a job on another tray, carry it over and it nests nicely into the one thats screwed to the stool. Portable table at a good height. I have found the trays very handy for keeping tooling for different jobs layed out and ready to go. Easy to clean, easy to store. A guy could mount one to the headstock easily enough so other trays nest on it. Just an idea that worked for me.
I too have seen tools launched by chuck jaws. They just go bam and disappear. Just wait for a second and you'll hear it hit somewhere if its not sticking out of your chest or forehead. I stage my measuring tools and cutting tools on 2 separate rags on my bench.
Brilliant videos Joe I'm a toolmaker for 30 years and I have learned great tips from you
We can all learn something from each other. No doubt in my mind. thanks for watching.
Another great tip, Joe! Made one in less than 20 minutes and wonder how I got along without one! I have not commented before, but this little tool tip is so basic and so useful I finally had to say something. Thanks!
Excellent. The tips are really great for those of us who are on a steep learning curve. The white board preps are vital to my understanding. I watch your video, move out to the garage and use the demo once again, as needed, to attempt to repeat your demo. While doing this I also keep a notebook of certain things I wish to recall. Your videos are well designed for this type of learning. Many thanks.
Thanks.
It may have been one of your shortest videos but I gleaned several important bits of machining wisdom from it.
Good info and video. We were on vacation in Mobile Alabama and I got a chance to observe two machinist working on two 15" swing lathe's with lantern style tool post. They both had a standard like the one you made but the had a small piece of steel, bolted on the top, that overhung on one side so when they changed to a different tool they could swing the compound over and under the overhang. That set the tool height, then lock the tool down, then swing the compound back to the part and lock it down and start cutting. Thanks again. You can use a small drill drift to lock that knurled nut also.
Joe- made one of these and I'm getting way better surface finish, parting is a breeze, and it makes working on the lathe so much better. Never realized how off center my tools were and what a difference it makes. This is a must have tool for anybody with a lathe.
Glad you like it.
I use this tool all the time as from seeing this video 2 years ago. Kind of the "Occams Razor" approach of keeping things simple. Thanks Joe
Its a handy reference to have available. Easy to make too.
I like your idea but what I did was turn a piece of stock in the lathe and measured the diameter divided that by 2 and wrote it down.
I then set a height gauge on my cross slide and measured the distance from the top of my cross slide and the top of the stock I turned.
Next I took the number I wrote down and subtracted that from the distance I measured, that is the center of the stock in the lathe.
It was 3.781.
Now all I have to do is use my height gauge to set my cutting tool at 3.781.
Works better than anything else I have done and it is very fast.
Parting is a breeze now.
Thanks for you videos they are informative and from someone that knows what they are doing.
Joe's solution is a lot simpler than that though?
pbysome No, not really. By turning the material gently in the lathe you are guaranteed that it is accurately centred on the lathe axis. It's one of the few cases where there is no tolerance - at least above a molecular level. It can't be anything else due to the lathe geometry. Far more accurate than using a pin in a collet, or worse, a three jaw chuck. and not everyone has accurately ground pins to hand either. Joe's method is good if you have a pin but no height gauge. In fact you can afford to be around minus 10 thou off centre without too much trouble. 30 thou is far too much though. Under height is better than over height, much less chance of a dig in. Bob UK.
Joe,
There are several terrific machinists on you tube. You are one of the best! Your teaching style makes seemingly complicated things very easy. I look forward to all of your videos! Thank you for sharing you wealth of knowledge.
All the best,
John
Thank you John. It does take some effort to shoot and edit these. Nice to know they are appreciated.
Small stuff like that centering gage can mean so much in the quality of finish work not to mention insert tool life and time saved in setup, where in the end your tool is actually on center and not ( close enough). Thanks Joe,
Your explanation of the geometry cleared up a lot questions I have had, as a bonus I learned how to be more in control of the machine. Outstanding.
I always wanted to learn how to use machining tools but nover got around to learning .After looking at one of your vid and illustrations you have ignited that old flame ,Amazing teacher you are Mr J.P
Thanks for taking the time out to teach the world ,
I cant stop watching the vids.Excellent
Thank you for the compliment. I am glad it helps.
Perfect! Thank you for sharing. I like that you don’t talk down (or up) to your audience..
Thanks, I try not to.
Little tools like this are real time-savers. I made a square-U with the base of the U flat and parallel to the tips. I hold the tips against the face of my lathe chuck, straddling a jaw. The base gives me a parallel surface I can use to align the angle of my QC toolpost, especially the parting tool. I also made a dedicated little jack for my dividing head that lets me set the chuck exactly horizontal in a snap. The list goes on! Now that I'm old and senile, I need to label all these tools so I will know what they're for when I haven't used them in a year! Love your channel.
Joe, you always explain things so clearly!
Hardinge lathes used to come with a similar post specific to each particular machine, only those had a cap on them so you could use the underside to see if the tool was too high and the top of the post proper if it was too low.
I once saw a guy use a neat trick to center a tool - take your 6" scale and trap it between the tool and the work. Look from the tailstock toward the spindle. If the scale is vertical, you're on center. If the upper end is toward the right, it's too high. To the left, too low. Not as precise as Joe's method, but really quick more effective than it would seem. Of course, Joe's method is dead nuts accurate and very quick once you have your post.
This is an excellent tool. The best I could muster (for those tools which permit it) was to trap a thick shim between the tool tip and the workpiece to form a tangent. When it was on center the tangent was vertical, off center off vertical. I like your idea better. Thank you again.
Many do that, but depending on the grind and which surface you bump against, the tool could still be off. Always set the tool for the operation being performed.
I like your work Joe, direct and to the point, no stuffing around.
Hi, I've got to say that I love your channel. I have had my lathe about 5 years and my mini mill for about 2years and I only found out about your channel this year. I would say that I have learnt more this year than in all the time I had my machines thanks to your teaching technique. I am a "why is it so" type of person. I enjoyed this video and will shortly be making one for my lathe. I liked the dial gauge holder that you have and looked to purchase one myself but they are no longer produced and while others make a similar one they don't appear as good. Also by the time I get one in Australia the cost looks like being over $300 for a magnetic mount. I saw that someone else asked if you could give us a breakdown of yours so we could machine one and I to would like to ask that and I am sure that there are others you would like to do it too.
Cheers Mark
I may have to make that video.
Thanks again, Joe. Just made one of these center gauges today for my 40's Atlas 10", and you're right - it's a simple solution that works great! It took me some time to "sneak" the 6061 round stock to the precise length a few thou at a time, but I can't thank you enough. Most precise gauge I've ever used for setting tool height!
Excellent. Keep the bottom knick free and it should serve you well.
Greetings Joe,
Yes, I am a fan. Please keep up the good work. Iam a hobbyist willing to learn.
I would like to make a recommendation in regard to the "Setting the lathe tools on center" video.
In addition to feeling the tool height, which is neat, I lower the work light behind the standard and bridge a scale to the tool. Now setting the proper height is easy. Now I see the light!
Regards, Rod D.
Hey Joe, Love your channel, I am a very experienced machinist but there is always something to be learned from others. This video shoes a great way to accurately set center height on tools, I agree it is most important. When I had a production shop I had exclusively Hardinge machines and they made an adjustable center height tool similar to yours, it had a top piece that folded out for setting upside down tools. Your method of setting the gauge is so simple and easy, great job.
Joe, I am an apprentice to the machine trade and find your videos very helpful. Thank you for sharing your great tips and vast experience with all of us . Looking forward to future videos.
Thanks Todd. Feel free to send me a message offline if you have a certain question.
Great video,Joe.I made the tool height gauge from 1 1/2 yellow brass because, it was easier than turning down a 3” bar of aluminum and,it’s heavier. I keep it in a pvc pipe with foam rubber glued inside the end caps.Thank you for the video.
very good, have seen quite a few of your videos and they are all excellent., toolmaker for 30 years.
Thanks. Been at this full time since 1976
Once again you make, what seems to be a difficult set up, appear easy. Thank you for all your videos.
Every time i watch one of your videos, something like this tip comes up and i feel like an idiot. Why didn't i think of that. Like the videos almost as much as reducing material to chips!!
Looks like one of those tools that are so simple to make and even easier to use .... Fantastic job !!!
Its very handy when you do a lot of O'ring grooves.
Sir, thank you for the education, it is highly appreciated.
I teach machining at a college in South Africa and I can tell you that most machining problems come from a tool that is not centered. I will implement this technique.
You are one of the best with helpful & usable information. Thanks and God bless!
Thanks. Glad to help.
Joe, my name is Carlo Piaia one of the places I used to work at was Tydeman Machine Works in Redwood City and they had a tool height adjustment tool, that was approximately an inch or so in diameter, after they found the Center Height they attached another piece of material the same diameter, and offset it by about a quarter inch and reattached it with a 1/4-20 cap screw the so you could measure right side- up tools and upside down tools. Thanks Joe I like your videos
Thanks Joe. That is a good way to do it. Adding to that theme, you can add a little overhang, even with the top of your reference pin, to help you reach to where the cutter is. No more than 1/2” or so works well.
Agreed.
Joe I gotta say after a long day at work I love sitting back cracking a beer and watching your tutorials/Tips and tricks.Keep them coming sir!
Hi Joe, This was a good first project for my lathe. I blew it the first time and under-cut it by 0.0030 " but got it right the second time. The difference in my cuts is amazing. Thanks for your instruction!
Glad it helped. thanks for watching.
I made one of these and it is EXCELLENT! Took about 15 minutes start to finish and I checked and fine-tuned all my tool holders in about another 10. One quick tip for anyone else making one of these tools ... You have to be careful about runout in your chuck for the height measurement technique to work correctly. But there is an easy work-around. Since you have the dial indicator set up on top of the .500 dowel pin, rotate the chuck to find the high and low spots and mark them with a sharpie. Then rotate so that these two marks are horizontal (that is rotate 90 degrees from either high or low). Now re-sweep and zero your indicator and you will be .250 above the centre of rotation of your spindle regardless of how much runout you have (within reason).
Or you could just turn the stock to .400 and forget about the runout.
Joe Pieczynski hard to do if you are using end mills as dowel pins 😀
Your comment and your setup description are good tips if the pin is not easy to turn.
Great Video, Great Tip - I even bought that US General 387 magnetic base (@ 5:53)
Great tip (@ 7:57) on using the old file tang, too!
Thank You - Joe Pie - you have taught us all a lot! Please keep posting the great videos.
Glad to help.
Joe, that pin method is sheer brilliance in it's simplicity! And that file tang taper squeeze play is a good thing to remember.
When I was manufactured engineer at one of the companies I worked at.... I had this one machinist that kept all of his nails trimmed except one pinky nail - which he usually let grow out to one quarter of an inch. It was his "educated measuring nail". He could run along the surface and tell the surface finish as good as the surface finish standard would do..... And he would use it for matching surface heights like you did with your finger. Personally I prefer my index fingernail! 🤗
That is a nice trick to measure correct height, you just continue to point out the obvious to us.
Just today i made a nice stainless bar 20 mm dia. to height by scribing a line with a fixed center in my tailstock and worked back and forth on the lathe to get to correct height. Took a bit of time but now it is done it will speed up tool change. My tailstock is at correct height, checked with center in spindle and hard parallel will be clamped straight between the two sharp points in spindle and tailstock.
I lapped the top and bottom of the bar and made a 5 mm wafer of the same material, also both sides lapped that is connected with an off center bolt to the top of my bar, Now i can slide turn the wafer from the bar and use the bottom of the wafer to drag the toolbit slightly for height setting for normal turning and the top of the bar for reverse turning tool adjustment. Like when i use Joe his reverse threading method. I only use my crossslide surface to rest the bar on because my lathe bed is too narrow, i got a small chinese lathe. I do get 6'es chips so i think i am pretty ok on center, also nice smooth surface with no center raise point when facing. I like the stainless because it sits pretty and heavy. (i also like shiny tools but i am not proud of that)
I like heavy ones too. The sliding wafer on top works well.
Joe, Really new at this and looknng for all you'r you tube vidioes i can find. You are one of the finest teachers i have heard from in a LLLLOOONNNGG time. You are very knowlegable and well spoken so that even a ROMPERROOM dropout like me can understand most of it.
Just wanted to say, keep up the good work, and GOD Bless. Hank.
Thank you, Joe. I've been putting a thin piece of stainless between the tip of the cutting tool and the workpiece and adjusting the tool up or down with the stainless between. When the stainless piece is vertical (while pinched between the tool and workpiece), I've been calling it good. It worked a lot better than untrained method of just eyeballing the tool. With your method you demonstrated, I'll be spot on, no guesswork.
I've only recently discovered your videos and thank you for taking the time to tutor me (us). This is good stuff.
Thank you.
This is how I was taught to set the tool bit. Currently I use a 6" scale (pocket scale) to set the tool height. Place the scale between the work and the tool bit, and close the bit against the work. If the scale is perfectly vertical, the bit is "on center." If the scale tips toward the operator, you are "below center." If it tips away from you, it is "above center." I love the custom Gauge Block, though. My question is: "Is my method lacking in some understanding?" I also do not have the luxury of a Quick Change Tool Post. Mine is a 4-way rotating tool post. Each tool must be individually "shimmed" to the correct height. I love your presentations. Good shop practice.
Thanks Joe. I learn something every time you post a video, no matter how simple.
Great post my friend. This is likely the most important thing when setting up to use a lathe. If I ever find out who took the piece of metal straping from my tool tray I will declare a hanging, LOL. That trick of using an old, dead file as a hardware holder on the tool post id brilliant. THanks big time teach. Yer full of neat tricks for us tonight. Ya rock fella ! Take care teach. Your mentormship is so vry much appreciated EH !
nice technique for setting tools, another quick way i found is to lightly pinch a small piece of sheet stock between the cutter and your part then adjust tool height until the sheet stock is pointing vertical.
Another good one Joe Nice white-board and live demo, it's not the length it's the content especially when you're not gloating about new tools, new stuff, look at my machines, ya ta, ya ta. There's a place for that but it's about gettin things done. Come'on guys let's get those subs up for Joe.
Thanks for this great comment. I really appreciate positive feedback. Stay tuned.....more to come.
Hey Joe, I found a very similar indicator holder to yours and love it. Mine is called "Erick Magna Model 200" They can be found on Amazon as well as other vendors. I just wanted to pass the work along in case someone would like to pick one up. I have found them easier to use than the Noga style that seem so popular now.
Thanks for all of your great content.
This is really neat - as are all your videos. I trained as a woodworker, and now run a brass instrument making business - I'm learning learning learning machining...
great vids Joe over the pass 35 years i have passed so much information on myself and set up can't be stressed enough take time and make a jig or fixture to aide in their set ups just small things like this will aide someone that has struggle keep up the great work
My tooling shelf has hundreds of fixtures. Well worth the time it took to make them.
I haven't gotten around to making a height block for my lathe yet, but had been planning to for some time now.
I have made myself a LOT of specialty gauges over the years for setting tools in screw machines though. Of course some of them I ended up making duplicates of because my co-workers saw them and wanted a set of their own.
Definite Time Savers and they take all the guess work out of a set up.
Found your Video I've always had problems finding the center after changing tools. Made a jig just like yours. Works great. Thanks
Simple too.
More expert tips. Thank you! For me, the reason I find these tips so valuable is that you include simple to understand, yet very detailed explanations and descriptions. You are an amazing craftsman and teacher. I really appreciate the effort and time you take to organize your thoughts and share them in such a seamless way. That only happens for those who really know the subjects they are presenting. All the best to you! Joel.....
Thank you Joel. Its good to know these videos are landing in good places. Best to you as well.
real good idea Joe, I like it. Also, I find if my tool bit is too small and the quick change holder doesn't have enough adjustment, I just put a 3/8 dowel pin under the adjusting nut and it stays there just fine and I can use the adjustment again, if I am switching tools all the time, I just put the dowel pin back in when I use that tool.
Another spot on production from Joe, all these tips and tricks are really helpful for me and a colleague, thank you from the UK.
Excellent tool Joe.
I made one of these yesterday and reset several of my tools.
Some of my BXA quick change blocks won't go down quite far enough to center the tool and I may have to grind the bottoms a little to lower the tools on center.
But at least now I know for sure what the height needs to be!
Thanks, and please keep the videos coming!
Great tips from a veteran machinist. Makes lots of sense.
Thank you
Great tip! I'm in machinist school right now and i was having a problem centering up the tool on the lathe i was using today.
Thank you so much for taking the time to really explain your methods, they are so hopeful in learning
Sometimes the simple ideas are the best. I need to get a QCTP too as constant fiddling with shims is a pain. Thanks for taking the time to pass on your experience. Happy Christmas and Happy New Year from the UK.
It doesn't get much more basic than this one.
You are the man. I have more fun with my lathe and I still have both my eyes and all 10 fingers due to things learned on your channel. Much thanks and cheers from Boston
Outstanding.
going out to shop to make one now for my brand new lathe ....thanks Joe keep up the great work and videos.
Very useful tip! I'm making one tomorrow. Also, love the magnetic indicator holder with the quick release. And, the file trick for holding the thumb nut is great. Cool video.
Thanks Jim.
Top of my to do list as well, great explanation!
Joe as usual yet again another great and simple add on for us Home machinists
THANK YOU JOE.
Martin in the uk
The more I watch your video's the more I'm starting to get great work come out of my work shop it so good to have some one that is will to show the tips of the trade and the reasons why for the do's and don't that make all the difference when seeing it done -thumbs up from me and please keep on making these vedeo's.
such a simple idea that just makes sense. I watched this video last night and ran right out and built one for my Ole SB 13. thanks!
Super easy and all you need is a mic and indicator. Nothing fancy.
Hello Joe, great tool tip. I made one for my Mini-lathe. Works perfect and quickly. Keep the tips coming. Kurt Kenyon, Seattle Wa.
Nice. You'll have it for a long time.
Hi Joe, love all your videos, clear precise & exacting! Keep it up. I'm just a humble beginer strugling for precision. Fantastic
Thanks, will do!
Joe, you are a Great teacher and machinist/ inventor. Thank you.
Thank you
I love your measurement techniques...when you starting out in engineering these tricks are invaluable. Top marks for being short and to the point.
Thanks Rupert.
Great advice and the file tang trick is a gem and why I have started watching your channel. I made a Hardinge-style tool height gage knock-off and use it every day for the tool setups. I like your short and to the point videos.
Thanks for the comment Paul. Stay tuned.
I have one of those at our shop i work at but it does not have a flat cut in it. It is a piece of round stock with a chamfer all the way around. I see the flat with the sharp corner will get me right on center. I also like the file trick. Thanks for that. Time saver.
Awesome! And that "end of an OLD File" trick, was like frosting on a Cake!
been looking for a good deal on a General 387 for 2 years now ....... finally got a NOS one off ebay for like 35 bucks.......... it's really a beautiful thing. Wow it makes life easy
mine is VERY old, but I use it everyday. I should have bought 10.
I'm glad I found this channel. Fantastic tips and tricks.
Hey Joe I'm new at machining but an old guy and want to make a shaft for a right angle gear drive . i have had all kind of problems turning 4140 or something like its hard .I would just eyeball the live center so before i move forward I'm making a setup tool great video i think this will help i also need to maybe get the right insert .Thanks for the video .JM
That's the best tool height setter I have seen to date!!! I always use the tailstock with center, more time consuming than yours!!! Steve, Instrumentmaker, MD.
Hi Stephen, If the MD in you note is Maryland, I just got back from a long weekend at the inner harbor. I was actually born in Baltimore. Great state.
I got one of these standards with one of my lathes & was going to make one for the other lathe - now I know a quick way to do so!
another good tutorial will certainly set 1 up for myself. agreeing with the headstock, not a storage area for lathe related tools and things
Thanks, my lathe is a hundred years old but your videos are always helpful.
Thats gold info ! Several occations I have fed the knife onto the axel workpiece, and then slammed off a big chunk. Now I understand, the insertbit was too high on the circumference.
I’ve been a machinist for 18 years and have never thought of this idea! Awesome one 🤙
Simple and accurate.
Long time viewer/subscriber. Once I got done cracking up over how obvious the two ball trick is but *only in retrospect*, I felt like an 2x idiot for not having watched this when it came out - I needed that. Thanks again, Joe!
That's a nice gauge. For years I've just used a dedicated height gauge and that has worked well for me. Your gauge has tha advantage of actually being able to feel if you're set right or not. I may just make one. Thanks for the tip.
Good Luck Dale. This bar has served me well. It works very well setting my threading tool when I thread with my tool inverted.