SpudFiles

http://www.payscale.com/research/AU/Job ... ourly_Rate

That being said, if you're working independently on your own equipment and have to cater for overheads, the client should obviously expect to pay more.

jackssmirkingrevenge wrote:http://www.payscale.com/research/AU/Job ... ourly_Rate

That being said, if you're working independently on your own equipment and have to cater for overheads, the client should obviously expect to pay more.

As I said, it's my equipment and overhead, and I supplied materials and tooling.

inonickname wrote:As I said, it's my equipment and overhead, and I supplied materials and tooling.

In that case, anything less than $300 (which is still a 50% saving on his alternate solution) would be an insult.

I think the pay scale thing is lowered because of lots of apprentices doing the trade and putting their pay as fully qualified tradesmen. the tool makers where i work are on around 35/hr and that's bit low some other places go to 45/hr.

Crna Legija wrote:I think the pay scale thing is lowered because of lots of apprentices doing the trade and putting their pay as fully qualified tradesmen. the tool makers where i work are on around 35/hr and that's bit low some other places go to 45/hr.

I think a few are a bit on the low side, eg. 115k as an upper pay for a mechanical engineer- around here, that's way closer to a lower pay.

Been reorganizing and built some tooling cabinets. Here's pics:

Nice clean look.


Under the drill press.
Drill bits gallor, hand drill, drill guide and spacer boards for the drill press table.


Under the lathes gear box.
2" bore head and cutters, change gears, M2 to M3 adapter sleeve, M3 dead center that I use to check alignment, jobber bits, outside 3" chuck jaws and miscellany small parts.


Under the face/front of my lathe.
Top draw has wrenches. Middle draw has cutters, shims. Bottom draw has metal stock. Cabinet to the left has measuring calipers, centers and a drill chuck M2 taper 1/2" capacity.

So I bought some adjustable dies the other day...

Is there a proper way to set these things, or is it just trial and error?

I see that I can use the set screw in my die wrench to close them up, and the screw in the die itself to limit the amount of closure.
But they don't fit in the wrench unless the dies screw is all the way in, or removed completely.

??

Also, I tried threading some 7/8" aluminum rod, and aside from crappy threads, I managed to cut at a hilariously misaligned angle. The cut axis would have left the rod had I been able to go a few inches further.

I've never done any threading jobs this big before... they've always lined themselves up on smaller stuff, so I'm not sure what to do here.

adjustable dies...

There's no such thing as a good afjustable spanner/die/whatever.

These are older greenfield dies. They seem to be pretty sought-after on machinist forums.

thread a bolt onto the correct die adjust till it fits good not cuting any but not loose take it off tighten a little bit more if you want nuts to thread on a bit easyer.

Mmm, ok. That makes sense.
However, something else I noticed.
I am producing smoke when I thread things. That's never happened before.
The first test I did was with some 5/16" 416 stainless rod. Half turn, break the chips, half turn, break. Smoke.
They cut well when adjusted properly, but do get hot compared to my HF dies.

How old is your cutting equipment, and what cutting oil/grease do you use?
At work I mostly use 316L stainless, and it's almost impossible to thread at a productive rate without smoke.

They're pretty old, but still appear sharp. I figured dies are not used very often compared to taps, so an older set would be fine. The threads on stainless look good.

Need this piece made
I can pay by bank transfer, paypal etc.
I live in Portugal.
Pm me for details.

I could do it in brass for say €15 posted but I don't currently have a 5/8"-18 tap so I would have to order one, that would add about €10 to the price and increase waiting time. If you don't get a better offer and still want the part let me know.