Obviously a scraper, but what's the best brand of Machinists straight edge you can get?
I need a 3x6x36 inch one, but I'm having trouble finding one that's not assloads of money.
Could I use a smaller one multiple times?
Will a square straight edge work instead of a camel back one?
No pics because I haven't got any of the mill, and I'm asking for advice on what tool I need.
>>948696
You'll need the longer one because of the tolerancing involved. Don't cheap out on this, there's literally zero point if you're not going to do it right.
>>949549
It's a half size mill, anon.
Forgot to mention that.
>>948696
>Could I use a smaller one multiple times?
Technically yes, but it's not going to work as well. You simply aren't going to get as good a rub if you're trying to sort of "bridge" two flat areas with a small straightedge. Again, if you're bothering to scrape something, there's no point in half-assing it because the entire point of scraping is that it gives whole-assed results. Why spend hours and hours doing it if you can't get it to within a mil because your straightedge is too small?
>Will a square straight edge work instead of a camel back one?
Unlikely. The point of the construction of the latter is that it doesn't flex much. Can't have a straight straightedge if it's flexing, and even a little flex matters when you're talking about the kind of tolerances you want when scraping a bed/ways.
>>949888
Thank you anon. Any brand you recommend or place you suggest looking first?
I've checked the obvious (eBay, The first few results on Bing, etc.)
Have you ever done any scraping? Starting out on a mill is a pretty huge task.
You will need a camel back and it will need to be longer than the part you are trying to spot or at least 70%, and then you need to be able to read the print to factor in any potential error.
Busch Precision was having a big sale a few months ago, worth calling to see what they have. They were selling some unfinished straight edges as I recall; taking one of those to a working tool would be a pretty good way to learn basic scraping.
If you don't have Connelly's book you will need that. You'll need some indicators and will need to make some jigs for comparing surfaces. The ultimate would be a King-Way alignment tool but Connelly's book shows some simpler setups.
You'll want carbide scrapers. Avoid Anderson, they are too stiff and strange in the hand. Sandvik are great. You'll need a way to grind the blades, and that means diamond wheels, with at least a D15 fine wheel for finishing (a cast iron lap with diamond paste works great too).
You'll need a decent sized granite plate too. At least big enough to check your straight edge on.
If you get a straight edge casting, you'll want it stress relieved, and then find somebody near you with a planer who can rough in the surfaces. Planing is way better than milling. At worst get it milled but don't grind it, it's a bitch scraping through a ground surface.
Once you've scraped off a few pounds of cast iron dust you'll want to save your pennies and get a Biax. It's a game changer.
Check out Practical Machinist's reconditioning forum, lots of similar topics there and the folks are really helpful and knowledgeable.
>>950637
Thank you anon.
I haven't, but I'm procuring tools and I have someone who has done it before that's helping me along and teaching me.
We've already gone in and redone the entire quill and shaft and bearing mechanisms which name escapes me right now.
We've redone the worms and nuts for the tables.
This is the last leg of this project.
