Some New and Some Not So New Tools.

"Tool time" some new, some not so new, one new which was a disaster waiting to happen.

With the arrival of the new mill the need for a milling vice soon became a necessity, so like many others I decided time to venture out and shop online, this was just prior Covid hitting China.
Round one! Ordered a 4" machinists Milling vice, it arrived with in the week from a Sydney vendor. Opened it to find the foam packaging not in a good state but there was no noticeable damage  to that corner of the casting. Removing the vice I noticed the edges had not been de-bured! Turing it over to view the soul and seeing the numerous casting flaws, cracks and hole where cast metal should have been so emails were sent with photos to the vendor. This didn't start off well with them telling me to mount the vice and use it as is, it would be fine! Not on your life would this be fine!!! One crack right at the bolt down point which takes a lot of tension not just when tightening down but during the forces of cutting metal on the mill.
 

Note the casting chip and pourris pitted holes. 

The more I wiped machine oil off the worse it looked.

It was round this time of taking more photos to send the vendor and make a complaint on ebay due to the vendors reluctance to refund or replace the vice that more and more flaws were evident. That is when I noticed the base must have been machined heavily taking off a fair amount. It wasn't until I posted these so other maybe warned he vendor relented and posted out a replacement telling me to keep this one. One receipt of the new one it was confirmed almost 6mm had been removed from the base.

Box No2 arrived much less damage and vice in greater condition to the first with more meat on the base.

Good friend Ken Parry down in Sydney was selling off his lathe and some gear, he had always said I cul have the Gear Vernier he had, he also returned my Nova Comet chuck and sent a couple of taps and die up.

 

I required a set of C-spanners or Hook as some may know them as, by now China was in the midst of lockdown due to the Corona Virus. I searched everywhere to find a set to suit my needs but had to settle in buying three separate spanners through Tool King in Bathurst. These were purchased to work on the Jig Borer's headstock shaft.

The milling machine needed riser blocks to stabilize it I wish i had ordered them with the mill.
 
No more vibration or rocking the concrete floor not as flat as thought.

Thanks to Wim and Eric and Wim's son for the heavy work of putting these in place.

 

 

Thank's goes to Wim for the Whitworth and SAE spanners, scokets and a few taps he had scored but had no use for they need a clean up that will happen latter.

One of the QMAC fellows had a beaut Record No6 engineers vice for sale which Wim brought round, it was well worth the $$$ I paid.

4x DDTI

I have a miss mash of Dial indicators and finger indicators. Son Peter offered to buy me two for a project he needed two for. So I have two matching DDTI now. Thats Digital Dial Test Indicators. The projects will be yet another post.

For the project of Peter's I required some small tap and die instead of $45 for one size I got this kit for $60. Thank goodness as the one I was told I required was incorrect but the right one was in the kit.

I had not been on any forums for a while so headed onto the Metal Working Forum where an old acquaintance  Ian had posted for sale some old taps and die at a reasonable price, he even had dropped hat price by less than half.
When I had the box shipped up, all 7kg worth it was like Christmas had come early. The surprises just kept coming.

From BSP taps, BA Taps, NF taps. One set so fine I can not read what they are.

 

Feeler gauges, thread gauge, P&N tap and die holders as well as Easyouts.

A neat little Apple knife, a reamer, a box with a new steel rule, two small precession Jacobs chucks oe threaded the other J type both with chuck keys to match. 

Many thanks Ruddy.