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The Water Cooler / Re: help from MEM Mods
« Last post by tom osselton on Today at 07:40:44 PM »WTF! AI is the new big brother?
Recent Posts
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The Water Cooler / help from MEM Mods
« Last post by ozzie46 on Today at 07:25:17 AM » I have been banned from MEM for a supposed North Korean scraper thingy.
This has to be an error as I have not had any issues with any other site.
I have been a member since it the site started and have had no issues before.
Can a MEM Moderator please help?
Ron
This has to be an error as I have not had any issues with any other site.
I have been a member since it the site started and have had no issues before.
Can a MEM Moderator please help?
Ron
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CNC / Re: It's new to me
« Last post by ddmckee54 on Today at 12:03:32 AM »I added another 20 or so items to the ToDo list, another 15-20 on top of that and the mechanical part of this build will be mostly over. Then I'll get to the part I'm more comfortable with, the controls/electrical end of things.
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Member Videos / Re: My week this week, my workshop videos!
« Last post by hermetic on March 14, 2026, 12:30:34 PM »Hi Folks,
Something for everyone this week! milling, turning, Kitchenaid foodmixer rebuild, and a day of antique repairs I start to sort out some of the stuff "downstairs" and start on my Dads old photographic equipment. There a lot going on and its all in here!
Phil, spring has gone cold again in East Yorkshire
Something for everyone this week! milling, turning, Kitchenaid foodmixer rebuild, and a day of antique repairs I start to sort out some of the stuff "downstairs" and start on my Dads old photographic equipment. There a lot going on and its all in here!
Phil, spring has gone cold again in East Yorkshire
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Member Videos / Re: My week this week, my workshop videos!
« Last post by hermetic on March 14, 2026, 12:29:48 PM »Hi Tom, I try never to let my hand leave the chuck key without removing it, but sometimes I test myself to see if I am really conscious, or just drifting!!
Phil
Phil
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Project Logs / Re: Building a New Lathe
« Last post by Brass_Machine on March 13, 2026, 03:33:19 PM »
That looks amazing.
Eric
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CNC / Re: It's new to me
« Last post by ddmckee54 on March 12, 2026, 11:49:52 PM »Houston, we have a problem. I thought I would have enough clearance between the bearing block and the base for the zerk fitting - I don't. I need about 10mm for the fitting to clear, I've only got 4mm. Initially I thought I could flip the bearing blocks 180 degrees, and have the zerk fitting on top. No can do, the bed overhangs the fittings - so they wouldn't be accessible. I couldn't do it anyway, there's only 8mm between the bearing and the bed. I can't use an angled zerk fitting either, because they're even taller than the straight fitting.
Soooo..... The solution is simple, I install the grease fitting, grease the bearing, remove the grease fitting, and plug the hole with an M5 set screw - 4 times.
Soooo..... The solution is simple, I install the grease fitting, grease the bearing, remove the grease fitting, and plug the hole with an M5 set screw - 4 times.
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CNC / Re: It's new to me
« Last post by ddmckee54 on March 12, 2026, 04:03:06 PM »A kind soul on another forum gave me some possible ways to mount the bed to the brackets, including a couple of links. It definitely pointed me in the right direction.
That led me to a trail of bread crumbs, which told me that I needed to measure the slot width - it's 8mm. Searching for an 8mm t-slot nut with an M5 thread led me to the fact that 8mm is the width of the slot on a 3030 extrusion. Searching for 3030 T-slot nuts led me to this, https://www.ebay.com/itm/157340497226. Which allowed me to verify that these T-nuts had mostly the same dimensions as the ones that came with the clamps, the T-nuts in the link are M5 - the ones from the clamps are M6. (I've got enough issues with M5 screws, M6 would be worse.) One "Buy it now" transaction later and VIOLA, I have a plethora of T-nuts on the way. Although mounting the bed to the brackets, and the X-axis lead-nut to the bed, will take a healthy bite out of that plethora - I should have enough left over to allow me to clamp objects to the bed for years to come.
I also got my M5 grease zerks today, more stuff that can come off the ToDo list.
That led me to a trail of bread crumbs, which told me that I needed to measure the slot width - it's 8mm. Searching for an 8mm t-slot nut with an M5 thread led me to the fact that 8mm is the width of the slot on a 3030 extrusion. Searching for 3030 T-slot nuts led me to this, https://www.ebay.com/itm/157340497226. Which allowed me to verify that these T-nuts had mostly the same dimensions as the ones that came with the clamps, the T-nuts in the link are M5 - the ones from the clamps are M6. (I've got enough issues with M5 screws, M6 would be worse.) One "Buy it now" transaction later and VIOLA, I have a plethora of T-nuts on the way. Although mounting the bed to the brackets, and the X-axis lead-nut to the bed, will take a healthy bite out of that plethora - I should have enough left over to allow me to clamp objects to the bed for years to come.
I also got my M5 grease zerks today, more stuff that can come off the ToDo list.
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New from Old / Re: The Sequel - Oh Blimey I bought a CNC Lathe (Beaver TC 20)
« Last post by vtsteam on March 12, 2026, 01:56:56 PM »That's no fun.... 
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New from Old / Re: The Sequel - Oh Blimey I bought a CNC Lathe (Beaver TC 20)
« Last post by awemawson on March 12, 2026, 07:27:55 AM »So yesterday I managed to get at a pair of hydraulic fittings that would allow me to release any trapped pressure locking up the turret - the only problem being that they are 'bulkhead fittings' and trying to undo them they just rotate in the bulkhead and I can't get my arms round the intervening metal work (one side is in the lower part of the control cabinet and the other is in that lathe enclosure.
Then I had a brain wave (or so I thought) the control valve in question is a 'Ceetop' variety mounted in the same lower control cabinet on a manifold plate as they are. If I slacken the four mounting screws a bit with the power off so no pump running, the valve will no longer seal to the mount and any pressure will be released - have a picture of the valve in question:
[ You are not allowed to view this attachment ]
So I slackened the mounting screws and tried levering the turret spindle as per my experiment on the spare one on the floor. Absolutely solid - no movement what so ever - very odd. So I thought OK re-tighten the valve back to it's sealing mount and try driving the solenoids electically.
At this point there was a nasty squelching sound and oil pouring in vast quantities into the cabinet and on to the floor
I suppose that the valve is not seated properly - I'll investigate when I've cleared the mess up
[ You are not allowed to view this attachment ]
Quick power off and large numbers of workshop rags applied to the flood. Luckily I recently bought a bail of washed rags. I've left it to soak up for the moment.
[ You are not allowed to view this attachment ]
As you can see, the base of the cabinet is going to be fun clearing up!
Then I had a brain wave (or so I thought) the control valve in question is a 'Ceetop' variety mounted in the same lower control cabinet on a manifold plate as they are. If I slacken the four mounting screws a bit with the power off so no pump running, the valve will no longer seal to the mount and any pressure will be released - have a picture of the valve in question:
[ You are not allowed to view this attachment ]
So I slackened the mounting screws and tried levering the turret spindle as per my experiment on the spare one on the floor. Absolutely solid - no movement what so ever - very odd. So I thought OK re-tighten the valve back to it's sealing mount and try driving the solenoids electically.
At this point there was a nasty squelching sound and oil pouring in vast quantities into the cabinet and on to the floor
I suppose that the valve is not seated properly - I'll investigate when I've cleared the mess up
[ You are not allowed to view this attachment ]
Quick power off and large numbers of workshop rags applied to the flood. Luckily I recently bought a bail of washed rags. I've left it to soak up for the moment.
[ You are not allowed to view this attachment ]
As you can see, the base of the cabinet is going to be fun clearing up!