There are days....

[AdeV]

...when you just shouldn't be in the workshop...

A friend asked me to knock up a small piece out of aluminium - only 45mm long, 10mm for 10mm (drilled & tapped for M3), with the remaining length 3mm diameter, the last 10mm being screwcut for M3 again. OK, thinks I, that might be a bit of a challenge for my not-so-speedy lathe...

Well, I managed to turn a piece of scrap ally down to 10mm, drilled & tapped the end for M3 as requested. I then put the 10mm bit in my ER32 chuck.... and somehow managed to break it - the chuck, that is, not the work piece. I must have accidentally over-tightened it, because it all jammed up solid. I had to totally destroy the nut to get it out... and the threads on the chuck are damaged, so that's £30 quids worth of tool wrecked 

Not to be defeated, I recalled seeing some "turning" work done in a CNC mill with the toolbits clamped to the table & the work in the spindle. Thinking this seemed like quite a crafty idea, I went for it. And it worked a treat, I got the required 35mm turned down to 3mm in relatively speaking, no time flat. Cut the excess off with some snips, and went to tidy the end up a bit on the grinder, bent the bloody 3mm bit.


Aaaargh! 


Gave up. Today never happened... 

[Powder Keg]

Sorry you had  a bad day. It happens.

 :wave:Experience is what you get from that mistake you just made

[Stilldrillin]

Ade,
Some days, and some jobs..... Just shouldn't be allowed...... 

But, why do they happen so often? 

Commiserations..... 

David D

[Bogstandard]

Ade,

and the threads on the chuck are damaged, so that's £30 quids worth of tool wrecked

Nothing is truly dead until you have tried to repair it.

I am positive I have a spare ER32 nut here, and the threads should be able to be chased back into shape with a thread file (again, I have one here). So just put it to one side, and bring it over next time you visit, if you ever want to visit again.

John

[AdeV]

Ade,

and the threads on the chuck are damaged, so that's £30 quids worth of tool wrecked

Nothing is truly dead until you have tried to repair it.

I am positive I have a spare ER32 nut here, and the threads should be able to be chased back into shape with a thread file (again, I have one here). So just put it to one side, and bring it over next time you visit, if you ever want to visit again.

Hi John,

I will do just that, thanks; although a visual inspection of the threads shows that a goodly portion of one thread is completely missing... the dings & bumps will clean out I'm sure...

I'm supposed to be installing some stuff for Cheshire East (or is it West?) Council in Crewe anytime soon; as soon as I know the date I'll let you know because then I get to visit AND charge my boss for travel  



Thanks for the other thoughts - I'm not disheartened (just disappointed), I only stopped because you just know that problems will snowball on that sort of day...

[Stilldrillin]

Ade,

If John can't find his spare ER32 nut, I know where mine is.

You're welcome to it...... 

David D

[picclock]

Has anyone here tried the nuts with a bearing inside for ER32 Chucks. I've only got a non bearing type but sticking is an occaisional problem.

picclock

[Stilldrillin]

Has anyone here tried the nuts with a bearing inside for ER32 Chucks. I've only got a non bearing type but sticking is an occaisional problem.

picclock

Pic,

That is the reason I have a spare!

One particular 1/4" cutter would insist on moving...... However much I tightened the original nut.

http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=1554.msg15044#msg15044

It's never moved since installing a bearing type!  

David D

[kwackers]

That's one of the issues not often mentioned with larger collets - they're not that great at grabbing small things.
The reason is obvious, the walls of the collet are pretty thick when you have a large collet with a small aperture.

Bearing nuts can help a lot, they allow much greater forces to be applied.

I have a set or ER40 collets (want to be able to hold 1" bar in them) but for small stuff I've a set of ER25's and ER16's.
The ER40's tend to be used in the horizontal arbor of my miller or lathe head, the ER25's are usually used in the vertical head of my miller and the ER16's in my quickstep mill. Although I can use any of them anywhere (apart from the quickstep).

[cidrontmg]

Just wondering about "those days"... Might there be some correlation of them occurring, to some other natural phenomenon? 
13th and a Friday - no way. Certain moon phase - no way. Some planetary conjunction? I really couldn´t say. Any other possibility? I´m not trying to establish causality (something causing such days), just some, even a weak, correlation to something else. It would be a very welcome thing to be able to predict something like that in advance...   
  

[Darren]

Hey mate I'm still trying to work out an early advance warning system for the "other one" who lives here ... never mind my own troubled days 

[Bernd]

Believe it or not there is a rhythm. Way back when computers first came out I had an Atari that ran a program that had a bio-rhythm program. If I remember right they were mental, physical, and emotional. You would type in you birth date and it would give you three curves as to were those cycles were at that day. I didn't believe it so I followed my bio-rhythm for a year and it was pretty interesting as to how they were true. If all three were at a peak in your cycle you would have a good week. If both were in a valley you should stay in a easy chair and read a book. It was pretty scary on how close that program was. Remember the whole world works on a cycle, so why not a person.

Wonder if such a program is avaiable today for our more powerful computers?

Bernd

[Ned Ludd]

For any of you wishing to replicate Bernd's test, keep a diary for a year THEN check your Bio-rhythms. Let's be objective
in our research. 

Bio-rhythms may have an effect but I suspect they are more likely to be used as an excuse after the fact.
Personally when things go wrong for me, more common than I would have hoped, I have no one but myself to blame. Well, no one except those pesky little workshop Gremlins who keep nicking or hiding things, which causes frustration and bad temper and cock-ups.
Ned

[AdeV]

IMHO:

The biggest cause of workshop cockups is probably lack of concentration - either because you're on a timetable (and can't afford for anything to go wrong - ironically, this just makes it all the more likely), or general tiredness, or other things on your mind...

Of course, once you start making errors due to lack of concentration, the anger & frustration kicks in & that just makes it worse. This is especially true if you have a recalcitrant tool (such as my comedy bandsaw) or a lost tool (put the screwdriver down, turn through 360 degrees. On a bad day, the screwdriver will be gone. On a good day, it'll be there and it's long lost cousin will be right there with it. Cherish the good days...)

As soon as a tool or part makes you angry, it's time to turn everything off and find somewhere that sells alcohol. Or, failing that, you can go have a good old moan on an internet forum with like-minded souls who will probably commiserate.  Nice one 

[Brass_Machine]

...
Wonder if such a program is avaiable today for our more powerful computers?
...

I am sure there are. I had one on my Android phone a few months back.

Ade...

I have had days like that. I have had days like that in a row... make it a weeks worth of days like that! Sometimes it is best to put the tools down and walk away.

Eric

[Bernd]

For any of you wishing to replicate Bernd's test, keep a diary for a year THEN check your Bio-rhythms. Let's be objective
in our research. 

I should have added that. I did give it quite some time to see how true it was. I also was surprised on the 28 day cycle of a woman. I seemed to follow my wifes cycle as far as emotion was concerned. I asked my doctor and she agreeded that a spouse will sync with that cycle. Can you imagine a father having 4 or more daughters.

Anyway. I think there is some truth to it.

Bernd

[AndyB]

Nope...it's the gremlins!

Tell me truthfully; when you are really concentrating on a small piece of work, have you ever noticed a movement in your peripheral vision, looked up, and nothing was there?

Yep! That's the gremlins. I get them all the time. Tell me how else chuck keys and spanners end up on a bench 10 feet from where you are using them when you haven't been near the bench?
I even had something moved to another shed! (I have since discovered that that particular gremlin wears a wedding ring similar to mine)

[dsquire]

Nope...it's the gremlins!

Tell me truthfully; when you are really concentrating on a small piece of work, have you ever noticed a movement in your peripheral vision, looked up, and nothing was there?

Yep! That's the gremlins. I get them all the time. Tell me how else chuck keys and spanners end up on a bench 10 feet from where you are using them when you haven't been near the bench?
I even had something moved to another shed! (I have since discovered that that particular gremlin wears a wedding ring similar to mine)

Andy

I think what you need to do is set up video surveillance on both your sheds and inside your main shed. Now when the gremlin strikes you can just go back to the surveillance tape and catch him red handed. 

Cheers 

Don

[Ned Ludd]

Hi Don,
The trouble with your idea is that the workshop gremlins will have a quiet word with their cousins the electrical gremlins and get them to screw up the recording.
Ned

[dsquire]

Ned

Yea, I guess that is a possibility that I hadn't thought of. 

Cheers 

Don

[Bernd]

                   

I think there's a second culprit at work called to much 

It works for me because I can't remember were I laid the wrench down. 

Bernd