Home made horizontal milling machine.

[Toolmaker51]

Mr. Foales's "Is it OK..." and responses like
"...caught my eye..."
"...you will find..."
"...threads morph into some very interesting sometimes informative..." or "most eclectic group...concentrated in one place."
and "...lot of folks lurking, but us usual suspects that have commented here plus some others are the ones most likely to comment"
Those just begin, barely, to typify what you'll find, and participants enjoy here. There are categories for ANYTHING you care to post.
And we offer humor occasionally. Your own "shaped as it is for a deeply technical reason. It's the way that it came out of the scrap box." caught on to that readily.

Kind of like a family dinner party. The real action isn't at the main table; the interaction is located elsewhere; most call it 'the kid's table'. Conformity and expectations don't seem to be what makes this work. And anywhere your cursor lands and highlight a name or avatar; you can peer into what makes individuals tick.
A stunning group, to be sure.

[Frank S]

"Kind of like a family dinner party. The real action isn't at the main table; the interaction is located elsewhere; most call it 'the kid's table'."
I hope that I never grow up. which just reminded me of something I saw my grand mother do on a coal oil stove one winter. weather turned off very cold so G'ma as per her usual daily chores after breakfast had just finished cleaning up the 6 burner Butane cook stove but still had the fire going in the very old even at that time, coal oil stove it didn't have an oven just the small flat top with 4 holes for pots to sit in. Since everyone was going to be house bound for the day she decided to make stove top cookies. I don't know or probably just don't remember her whole process but I do remember the cookies because the snow had blown deep against the house effectively blocking the doors All of us were sitting around trying to watch the 1 channel we could get on the TV when G'ma yelled from the kitchen that she needed help to remove the pot from the stove because her cookies were going to burn. OK she got the help the cookies must have turned out fine. I don't remember anyone ever complaining about burned cookies. The post about the kids table somehow brought that memory to mind , that and the fact that the wind chill here is now in the lower teens with slight flurries outside since the electronic controller on my Propane oven has decided to go south for the winter I am stuck with only the 4 burners on top I'm wanting cookies My wife grew up on a farm as well but has never heard of stove top cookies so I'm going to attempt to make cookies tomorrow while we are house bound not due to snow but just because there really is no good excuse to get out in the -0° wind chill

[C-Bag]

"kids table" indeed!........I resemble that remark..........food fight!!!!!!!!!!

[Toolmaker51]

About stove top cookies, I'm not familiar. My paternal Grandmother had humble origins, and raised 4 kids thru the Depression. No longer on the farm, but cooked woodstove in what were outskirts of Kansas City, passing away in her 90's. Thus three younger generations were treated with all manner of kitchen wonders. While her situation improved greatly, she often 'celebrated' her past and teaching 'us' simple joys. One memory is a rectangular steel plate, blackened with use but still flat and teflon-slick, on a gas range. She fried cornmeal paste [less water than mush] around 1/2" thick x 4"; topped with homemade chili & beans, shredded cheese and onions. Same plate also made buckwheat pancakes; batter sat overnight to raise a frothy mixture in the morning. Crispy edges, fried on lard and white corn syrup.
Safe bet Dad, Sister, and I are last to make either in our three separate locations. Fear simple cuisine lost on the others.
Milling machines morphs into comfort food; what rails?

[Frank S]

Comfort food exactly, and you know if anyone tried to follow my rails they would be better off trying to calculate the probability of locating the beginning and end of infinity to the billionth power in base 67
OK cookies made using the stove top a flat cast iron skillet and a 10" cast iron skillet
the bottom skillet was heated on very low heat just about as low as the flame would go.
The top skillet was heated to very hot using the flame set at its max

The snikerdoodle dough was chilled in the freezer for 15 minutes then spooned onto the un-greased flat skillet then the other skillet was placed over it forming an oven of sorts and allowed to cook for a few minutes they turned out well enough for a first try
And before anyone asks many years ago when I bought my cast iron skillets I used a 5" random orbital sander on then progressively going to a finer grit until I had as near to a mirror polish as possible on cast iron I then fire cured them with cooking oil. before I ever used them. nothing sticks in them not even cheese

[Jon]

Congratulations tonyfoale - your Horizontal Milling Machine is the Tool of the Week!

An unusual build; not sure whether to list it as a horizontal milling machine, a surface grinder, or a tool and cutter grinder. Its provenance and longevity probably pushed it above some other excellent entries this week, as well as its ability to keep morphing into different tools.

Other nice entries this week included a Wood Lathe by connan, a Screw Size Gauge by mklotz, and a MT02 Center Drill by Cascao. There were some other good builds by tonyfoale this week, including methods for Cylinder Boring and Tailstock Alignment. Finally, there's also a rare but not yet completed Vapor Blasting Cabinet by archimeech in the works.

tonyfoale - you'll be receiving one of our official HomemadeTools.net T-shirts:


Please PM me a mailing address, black/white color choice, and size preference, and I'll get it mailed out shortly.

And, we've added the wrench-on-pedestal award to the awards showcase in your postbit, visible beneath your username:




Congrats again and nice job!

[tonyfoale]

Congratulations tonyfoale - your Horizontal Milling Machine is the Tool of the Week!

Wow, as a very new member here I wasn't expecting that. Many thanks, I am happy that other people like my work. I do intend to make a full post about the Tool & Cutter aspect and demonstrate how using a little maths can simplify the design without compromising function.

you'll be receiving one of our official HomemadeTools.net T-shirts:
Please PM me a mailing address, black/white color choice, and size preference, and I'll get it mailed out shortly.

It gets better. Jon, how do I PM you, I couldn't find a link?

[Jon]

You can click on my username, above my avatar, and then select "Private Message".

[crazypj]

[QUOTE=tonyfoale;81673I have been meaning to document some of this stuff for years and finding this forum has kicked me into action so I thank it for that. The other night I made a list of possible items to post about and it looks like I won't run out anytime soon.
A question. Is it OK to post about non-mechanical things? For example I made a flow bench which is largely mechanical like other devices but some of these tools need electronics, either home-made or using devices like Arduinos, to enable them to work. Are forum members also interested in those details?[/QUOTE]

I really hope you do post about 'EVERYTHING'. I didn't read much about you until probably late 70's early 80. There are only a couple of people I 'trust'for information. Leon Moss was one, David Vizard and yourself. I used to build stuff 'all the time' (mainly because I was broke growing up in South Wales in the 60's/70's (I was 3 in 1960 )

[Okapi]

Hi Tony,
As a lover of those ancient milling machines, I think you've made a very good job, in my workshop is hi big sister as I suppose, mine is in W20 broach and weights about 300 kilograms, a very precise tool with that important point for me , the longest deplacement in vertical axis I have on those small milling machines.
I wish you a nice end of year, for us it's "Joyeux Noël et bonne année".
Pierre