Milling
Axminster Cross Vice – Unboxing and review

Thanks to an Axminster Gift token I’ve treated myself to a small cross-vice. I plan to use it for drilling holes accurately and for light milling. A drill press should not really be used for milling as sideways pressure will
Nano Machines

Thanks to the forums at Home Model Engine Machinist I’ve found out about these tiny metal working tools from SIEG. The SIEG NANO series of engineering tools currently consists of three models, the lathe, the mill and the pillar drill.
Collet Chuck

Previously when milling in the lathe I’ve just put the milling cutter in the jaws of the 3 jaw chuck. This is not idea as it may slip and could damage the chuck jaws if it does so. A better
Knurling tool – Slot cutting

The next step that was taken on the knurling tool arms was to tidy up the slots in the ends. This was done with a 5mm end mill mounted in the lathe chuck. Ideally this would be mounted in a
Flying cutting blobs

Earlier in the year, I bought some fly cutters at a model engineering exhibition. The intention was to tidy up some of the castings I’d made last year. The first issue was how to hold an irregular shaped piece whilst
Stepperhead

The stepperhead is a sophisticated multi-mode machine made by Alan Jackson. In other words, it’s both a lathe and a milling machine but it can also perform some functions not available on either. The video below shows one of these