Broken bolts on front axle

[dirtymartini]

I bought mine years ago from the Snap-On or Mac jobber… way before online shopping

Funny thing is, I was a Mac Tools distributor in the 1980's. I wish I would have kept more inventory.

 

[ultrarunner]

Never bought a bad tool from MAC and I only bought specialty tools… like spark plug rethreader which included the size for Model A Fords

 

[5030]

I bought mine years ago from the Snap-On or Mac jobber… way before online shopping

Most likely rebadged Cleveland Twist. Buying them now from Snap-On or MAC and most likely are imported from China.

Last time I bought anything from the 'tool truck' it was a 12 volt continuity light, said Snap-On on the outside box and the light was marked 'made in China' on the inside. That was it for me. 100 bucks and the spitting image on Amascon was 15 bucks.

 

[ultrarunner]

My tool buying spree was in the 70’s and 80’s… picked up my tape Bridgeport J Head Mill, Welders, etc…

Looking back I think it was a good time to get the tools I needed… a few German/Swiss/Japanese machinist in the mix but the bulk all USA including the Southbend Lathe…

Yesterday a operating table was down broken and the repair guy said he would have to bring it in to the shop with a week turn around as it couldn’t be field repaired…

All I needed was my trusty hand held hammer impact to loosen 12 stainless screws into aluminum casting that would not budge for love or money… it worked!

Saturday a 1.5 inch galvanized pipe nipple into a wall cast iron T would not budge… the sink handles lots of chemicals…

I pulled out my torch after putting the hospital fire on test and heated the cast iron and the nipple broke free… then chased
the threads with a 1.5 inch taper pipe tap…

Heat in the right place can be a beautiful thing… just like a dab of never-seize on reassembly.

This morning no one the wiser… plumbing fixed, operating room table fixed, large copier fixed, automatic entry door fixed…

The bad part for the boss is it took weekend overtime to get it done and a trip home to get what I needed.

I’m slowing down but still get it done… and after hours is the best time to get it done…

I’m not a big fan of heli-coils and we preferred thread inserts at the machine shop…

Both have their uses…

If possible I would still give a left handed drill a shot… hopefully the bolt isn’t to hard.

 

[5030]

I own 2 American made Bridgeport's one Versa-Trak and one manual with dro's on it and a LeBlond Servo Shift toolroom lathe as well as a Sunnen hone and a vintage Atlas floor lathe, completely tooled in pristine condition along with a restored South Bend bench lathe with quick change gearbox and a complete set of collets and closer and a Dake hydraulic arbor press all American made and none are in business today or are made offshore now. Have a couple Taiwan made lathes as well, big ones as in 10 foot beds.

I see Grizzly prostituted the South Bend name... South Bend, made in China. How quaint. Hopefully that crap comes to an end soon. I have no issue with imported machines actually, so long as they are built with quality components and will hold the tolerances I require. I don't care for any company the prostitutes a quality American made name however.

Kind of like Milwaukee battery operated tools. Milwaukee, a trusted American brand name, made in China or Taiwan...ugh.

I buy the Bauer stuff as I know where it's made and no prostituting an American brand name.

Least you can still buy American made twist drills and American made insert tooling yet.

 

[ultrarunner]

Missed a nice Regal Leblond I would have liked to have but this was when guys were still hot to buy… not much competition now and most mom and pop shops long gone…. I turned down a Monarch because it would be just be one more thing for the nephew to eventually dispose.

A lot of used machine tools are significantly cheaper today than years ago… even free as have been the last couple of drill presses.

Silly me… I sold my Apple Stock in 1982 to buy the Bridgeport…

Dake, Blanchard, Sunnen Hone were all on my list…

 

[GS650GL]

Sometimes heating it and then pouring cold water on it will shock it loose and it will come out easier when it's cold. Never had anything crack from the temperature shock either. A machinist told me once heat it up and put a crayon or candle on it and let the wax melt into it and it will come out. Don't know if it works, never tried it. Hard for me to believe it would work.

 

[ultrarunner]

An old mechanic trick is heating and melting a crayon into the threads… works better for flat upright surfaces I’d imagine.

 

[CalG]

Sometimes heating it and then pouring cold water on it will shock it loose and it will come out easier when it's cold. Never had anything crack from the temperature shock either. A machinist told me once heat it up and put a crayon or candle on it and let the wax melt into it and it will come out. Don't know if it works, never tried it. Hard for me to believe it would work.

The thing is that wax EXPANDS when it solidifies. Just like water does as it becomes ice. The expansion is "supposed" to help, but I haven't found that to be true for me.

The door latch on a wash machine uses melting and hardening wax for it's automation.

 

[CalG]

I own 2 American made Bridgeport's one Versa-Trak and one manual with dro's on it and a LeBlond Servo Shift toolroom lathe as well as a Sunnen hone and a vintage Atlas floor lathe, completely tooled in pristine condition along with a restored South Bend bench lathe with quick change gearbox and a complete set of collets and closer and a Dake hydraulic arbor press all American made and none are in business today or are made offshore now. Have a couple Taiwan made lathes as well, big ones as in 10 foot beds.

I see Grizzly prostituted the South Bend name... South Bend, made in China. How quaint. Hopefully that crap comes to an end soon. I have no issue with imported machines actually, so long as they are built with quality components and will hold the tolerances I require. I don't care for any company the prostitutes a quality American made name however.

Kind of like Milwaukee battery operated tools. Milwaukee, a trusted American brand name, made in China or Taiwan...ugh.

I buy the Bauer stuff as I know where it's made and no prostituting an American brand name.

Least you can still buy American made twist drills and American made insert tooling yet.

I have only three lathes, (well, four if you count the metal spinning lathe)
One is American (WADE) One is German (Weiler), And one is Japanese. (MAZAK). The Hardinge and the Logan are gone.

I've always wondered, Does China make any quality machine tools?
My mill is a Dah Li, Horizontal Vertical. Useful, but hardly a quality machine.