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PAToyota said:
Yep, even HF has a version now: https://www.harborfreight.com/circular-saw-beam-cutter-attachment-58804.html

I've been impressed with timber framing tools for a long time. Chain mortisers are some wicked kit!

Chain Mortisers - Timber Framing - Timberwolf Tools

TIMBERWOLF TOOLS offers a full line of specialty power tools from HEMA, Mafell, Makita, Oliver Machine Company, Protool, and Wood Owl.
www.timberwolftools.com www.timberwolftools.com
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I briefly considered searching for a used chain mortiser for my Cook Shed project but in the end decided it wasn't worth the investment for a total of 54 2" mortises. Now that I've finished a few I think that was the right call; but, if I had to cut them every day going forward I would definitely own one.
 
Lathe had too much crud in the the gearbox/bearings to try flushing so full tear down it is. Motor cleaned/new bearings and working fine. Chuck disassemble/cleaned/lubed and working like it should. Gearbox had about a quart of silty goo settled in the bottom. Hot pressure washed with sump pump removing what was left. Scrounging 26 bearings/races. LeBlond probably has all but is known to be very fond of them. Found most for decent $ but remaining are getting scarcer/pricier. In an unusual twist of luck (for me at least) I found 5gal of correct lube I'd bought years ago for something else and forgotten. That will leave me a pint short but still beats having to buy 5gal. Also found 5gal of forgotten mineral spirits I can use for cleaning up all the gears/etc rather than silting up the parts washer.

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837 parts to get back together!

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Nothing to fancy but a couple of tools we have needed to pick up for awhile now.

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Cheers
 
Been pushing my 50 ton 5 ft CNC press brake to it's limits for some time now. Felt like this press brake was holding me back a lot. Started shopping for an 90 ton CNC press brake about a year ago. Nearly bought a couple 8020 and 8025 Amada's.

My rigger stopped by to give me a quote on loading an 8020 Amada and he mentions I should talk to one of my vendors down the street as they're selling an Amada. I immediately drove right over to check it out.

This was a much larger brake than what I was looking for. I wasn't looking for a brake this big because 1) I thought big brakes were slow (it's fast as hell) and 2) rigging costs are significant as press brake weight goes up exponentially with bed length and tonnage.

All the pieces came together. My rigger cut me a smoking deal because it's a 1/4 mile move. Today I sealed the deal on an FBD 1253 Amada. 138 tons capacity, 10 ft bed in like new condition.

Super stoked! I can't believe I own a 138 ton Amada. I can do so many activities now!

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@PIP congratulations on the new monster. I admit I don’t know what this machine can do but it is impressive in construction alone
 
knuckle47 said:
@PIP congratulations on the new monster. I admit I don’t know what this machine can do but it is impressive in construction alone
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I learned sheetmetal on 1970's Diacro hydromechanical brakes. My first press brake I owned was a 65 ton Verson from WWII.

When I got the opportunity to buy a 1990's CNC press brake for a price I could afford I jumped and never looked back.

I'm a 100% believer in top shelf Japanese machine tools. All my CNC's are Makino, Kitamura and Mori. Amada builds press brakes to the same level that Makino builds milling machines. Press brakes that dance like a ballerina and repeat to .0001".

I've never used a press brake with a handwheel that can inch the ram .0001". This is so wild to me.

I've never used an up-acting brake before. I was anti-up acting. Then talked to one of my vendors about it who runs them. They love them. Tells me the neat part about up acting brakes is you can put full tonnage in short parts- No need to worry about ram distortion like you do with down acting. Sounds pretty slick to me.
 
I don't know what any of this means but I am thoroughly impressed!
 
CL find!
In a velvet lined box, no less.
I'm estimating from between 1955 and 1965. Those were the days for this sort of stuff.
Wondering how much that one cost back then...

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e9999 said:
CL find!
In a velvet lined box, no less.
I'm estimating from between 1955 and 1965. Those were the days for this sort of stuff.
Wondering how much that one cost back then...

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Interesting find. Not sure how one would use that caliper? Is it missing a fixed end? Maybe I'm just showing my ignorance.
 
WarDamnEagle said:
Interesting find. Not sure how one would use that caliper? Is it missing a fixed end? Maybe I'm just showing my ignorance.
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It's a vernier height gage.

It's used on a Granite or iron surface plate to compare features of parts or features of a part to a standard.

The pointy part is an attachment. Usually that part stays in the drawer and you use it with an attachment to mount a dial indicator.

You'd zero out the indicator on a feature you want to measure, record the vernier position, repeat for another feature or standard (gage blocks, calibrated blocks, 123 block, etc then subtract the smaller vernier position from the larger one to get the difference in height.

Today these tools are used infrequently because CMM's do this work automatically.

I mostly use my granites and height gages to check flatness of parts. Just slide it around and watch the indicator. With vee blocks or bench centers you can check round part concentricity, straightness as well.
 
Yes, it's not something I'd use every day, but I could not pass on it. Just too beautiful and full of history. The quality is astounding. And being Lufkin makes it a bit more special for me.

I also use them for scribing layouts. This particular one, because it's older I think, has the arm and tip being a solid piece with the sliding sleeve. Of course, you can attach anything you want to the arm, like a DTI or another scriber for extension (it came with one). And it being 14" there is plenty of room for normal stuff. It also has a depth gauge accessory.

I looked up the original cost and it is stroke-inducing in today's $.
 
Waorani said:
Like the cold saw I picked up last week, I've wanted a bigger lathe than my SB Heavy 10 for years but didn't want to pay big bucks or have to drive across the country to pick up. This LeBlond 19" showed up on ebay for cheap Sat am only 60mi away so I jumped on it. Was in Ashville, NC in a private dam powerhouse during hurricane Helene and got completely flooded with 6 5gal buckets so far of silt accumulation in the bases. And it turned out I'd met seller several times over the years so got to reconnect with him a bit. May have bitten off more than I can chew. It's going to need to be completely torn down and gone through but I knew that going in. Worst case I can part it out and scrap the rest. 12" Buck set-tru chuck is worth more than I paid for it. Cleaner than expected under side cover and in gear box.

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Before ^^^^^^


After:

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All new bearings, seals, gaskets and an Earl Scheib paint job. No chips yet but everything works as it should. Still needs one of the speed indicator plates. LeBlond wanted $450 for one that didn't even match!
 
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