Hi all,

I'm new to machining and this forum. I just got my machine in January. My Shoptask is not CNC'd (yet) but this is probably the most active forum I've found related to the shoptask.

I had some trouble finding good/current information on the Shoptask while I was researching what machine to get and trying to figure out what I'd need to set it up. As Bloy2004 suggested I used an excelent guide by Tangoromeo. Of course now the Tri-power is out, so I guess new buyers are on their own again.

Anyway, since there was so little current info out there I decided to put up my own site. Not a guide really, just some observations on my experience.

Right now I'm working through some motor problems. Thanks in advance for checking out my site.

www.the-alchemist.com

Hi again,

If anyone has feedback I'd greatly appreciate it.

cheers,
DaHui

Hi again,
If anyone has feedback I'd greatly appreciate it.
cheers, DaHui
I tried it and got nowhere.
How about making Flash optional so people w/o flash can still use the site?

Otherwise, it could be a fine and much appreciated help for Shoptask users.

Pres

Hi,

Sorry bout that, only the logo was done with flash, the rest of the site is HTML. I added a hyperlink to the splash page in case you can't load the .swf file.

thanks for the heads up,

Dahui

Damn dude , I,m impressed $4 grand investment for a beginner machinist?

Heh... four k for a startup hobby is relatively minor. Have you priced snowmobiles or jetskis? ;)

Nice looking site Dahui. Should be helpful for other new owners. I do have to admit though that the flash front page is annoying to me too.

psst... on the endmill breakage, check www.mscdirect and order something so you get on their mailing list. They almost always have import endmill sets in their mailers for very reasonable prices. Make good expendable "learn on them" tooling.


Tiger

Hi,

Thanks for the endmill tips, I'll check it out.

I'm also a freelance product designer so I've decided to do some of my own prototyping with the new machine, which helps take some of the sting out of the price. It is pretty comparable to anything else like golf or scuba diving or something. Machined stuff has always been fascinating to me and I waited about twelve years to finally get my hands into it.

It feels a lot better getting back into some fabrication, the computer was stealing my soul.

By the way, can I ask why you guys find the flash annoying? Just curious.

For me the annoyance of the flash intro pages is the obligatory wait. It's like a dvd that requires you to watch 10 minutes of trailers to see the movie you want. It's not so bad on highspeed, but on dialup the freeze while the flash loaded used annoy me enough that I'd often hit the reset button just to escape ;)


Tiger

Oh i,m not really knocking how much ya spent I,m just jealous, it is a beauty of a machine..

By the way, can I ask why you guys find the flash annoying? Just curious.
I am also dialup + Flash is usually just a time waster for me.
Most all of the material I'm interested in and needing is in html format.
(Use only Win 98 & Linux with Opera browser)

Your site is exceptionally well done with useful tips on what, why & how.
Congratulations! :cheers:

Yep,

I hate Flash and any other time waster, don't really want to see how "clever" some flash guy is, just let me see the good stuff, asap.

Hey folks,

At the suggestion of a couple folks on the ST users forum I sanded the gibs and the ways today and things seem better. I haven't had the chance to take any test cuts. I was surprised at how rough the finishes were upon closer inspection, or rather how much difference some elbow grease could make. The X axis is glassy now. I could have sanded that gib more, but my arm was pretty tired after doing the way and the tailstock. I don't have a grinder so I did it by hand with 400 and 600 grit wet paper and Tapmatic.

I've also made a bunch of updates to my site if anyone is interested. I made a mounting bracket for my DRO over the last couple days, just finished it tonight.

http://www.the-alchemist.com/projectsdro.html

cheers,

DaHui

Hello,

Great Site!!! Great information on the machine and projects.

One question. On the pictures I see you have a DRO on your machine. Do you have any problems with jitter on the Z axis DRO due to vibration from the mill motor?

I just upgraded to the latest version of the Shoptask El Dorado and have problems with the low order two digits of the Z DRO changing values. It seems to be related to vibration when running the Mill motor.

Thank you for the detailed info on the motor teardown/repair. I am a victim of the lathe and mill motor gremlins as well. How are your motors working since you installed the MOVs in series?


GAndrade

The battery rebuild. ..... I love it. Keep up the good work.

Hey,

I do in fact have problems with my X axis jittering. I wanted to change the resolution from .0002 to .0005 but my manual appears to be wrong. When I try the procedure it changes some other setting, not the DRO resolution.

If anyone knows how, this is for the Jenix DRO...I suppose asking JT might be productive. I had some luck by fidgeting with the cable where it enters the scale and making sure the loop wasn't putting as little pressure as possible on the scale.

My motor has been mostly okay since installing the MOV's. Sometimes I get a little brrrrp but I can clear it by jogging the motor in reverse. Right now I'm running a pair of 175V. This is probably way too much but it seems to help. You might try a 200v or 250v...or double up a couple of 150's. That is a very high voltage will have some quenching action, but not as efficient as having juuust enough voltage across the MOV to keep it from burning out.

Anyway, let me know if you find any z axis solutions. I'm actually looking into replacing the motors with some 1.5hp US made motors and a VFD...I figure that should eliminate a lot of the vibration.

Thanks on the power drill mod as well. That was a satisfying one.

cheers,

Dahui

Hello,

The manual I have is for a 804 model Jenix DRO. Which Jenix DRO model do you have?

You can download the manual from the Jenix Web page (www.dsjenix.com). When you get to the main web page select English in the upper right hand corner of the Web page then choose manual on the left side of the web page that appears.

For my DRO, I can change the value and see more digits in the display being affected. When I change the resolution to zero for the particular scale I change, the readout does not change when the scale moves.

In my opinion, the manual lacks detailed explanations of what the values and fields do.

If you still have problems downloading the manual or have questions let me know.

By the way, on my machine the X and Y axis scales are rock solid, no jitter at all. I have noticed that if the sliding portion of the scale is not located just right relative to the fixed portion of the scale per the installation instructions regarding tolerances listed in the manual the readout will jitter.

Do you have a source for US made motors that are resonably priced?

Thanks again for a great web page. I am planning to make a new set of knobs and a copy of the tool for turning rounds (balls). I hope it is ok to borrow from your idea.


gandrade

My DRO appears to be a Jenix 703. I'll take a look for the manual. I don't have any issues with the X or Y axis jittering, just the Z. I did a bunch of adjusting and shiming to get the scale and the reader lined up as well, but it's still shaky.

I'm hoping my new motor will run a lot smoother and eliminate some of that problem. I'll be using two 1.5 hp Baldor motors (TEFC) with a 145T frame and fabricating mounting brackets. I'd check out any local supplier for industrial motors. They aren't cheap. I'll be running a single Allen Bradley VFD for the time being and build a switching unit so I can use either motor on the VFD, but not both motors at once. What about the power-feed while milling? Eh, good question. I'm hoping to set up some sort of DC motor to drive the screw (mounted in the slot for the CNC motor) and build a control unit that works like the power-feed on a regular vertical mill. Probably causing more problems that I'm solving, but a second VFD isn't cheap either.

If anyone has a suggestion for setting up a DC motor power-feed I'd love to hear it.

As for the ball turner, I basically used Steve Bedair's design and tweaked it a bit. I may end up making a new base, instead of using the rotary base for my vise, because there are some clearance problems with the chuck if I want to work up close. Let us know how it goes.

Thanks very much for sharing.
Great job on website !!!!

I see you recently updated your site!
I'll be watching....great reading and I like all the photos!
If I can ever manage to leap into anodizing, you'll have been the inspiration.

John (bloy)

Hey thanks a lot John. I spent a lot of time looking at your thread before I bought my ST. I love the paint job. Maybe some day I'll get ambitous and try a repaint, mine is flaking like a bowl of breakfast cereal.

I've actually got a couple of questions if you wouldn't mind. The first is about the motorized column. I'd love to to this mod but have no idea what kind of motor I would need. Any hints? How do you limit the speed of the motor since it's hooked up on a 3 way switch?

Also, I'm going to be hooking up new motors with a VFD and need to set up something to read the RPM. What's your source for the optical reader and display?

I actually have a backlog of projects to put up and I hope to get to them in the next couple of weeks. Been a bit busy lately.

Anodizing is pretty fun and great that I can do little bits and pieces at home. I just moved so I haven't gotten set up at my new place yet. I figure it won't take long to justify the cost of having small runs done at a shop. I'm not quite sure what I'm doing but so far the results have at least produced an anodized layer!

Cheers,

Jason

That is one niceeee website. Great job on it and very interesting. Nice machine btw....Im also envious! :)

Hi Jason,
Happy New Year!
The motorized column is just a single reversible gearmotor that switches either up or down at a reasonable rate to get the head near desired position.
After I got mine installed, I thought maybe it could have been a little faster, but I'm happy with it....something like 22 seconds to go from all the way down to all the way up. I just hold the momentary switch on until the right height is reached, tighten the spider. Then the z axis does the rest.
The motor I used was a shot in the dark from ebay. It's an Oriental Motor Co. motor 4RK25GN-AT that's tagged as 100VAC, 1250 to 1500 revs per min.
the accompanying gearhead is 4GN12.5K. (does this mean a 12:1 reduction?)

The sensor I'm using for spindle rpm was obtained from mouser... an omron part.
part no. 653-EE-SN5V. I'll have to do some reasearch to find again what size resistor I used in the circuit. It's connections are covered in liquid electrical goop, and what notes I DID take are scribbled somewhere as yet undiscovered.

John (bloy)

More shamelss self promotion. I have some new updates on my site...actual machining projects this time!

Hi all,

Just wanted to let people know I've finished my VFD conversion and posted the project on my site. Don't forget to check out the motor mounts for both the mill and lathe.

I also repurposed the discussion link on my site to link to this thread.

Also, thanks John (Bloy) for your help with the motorized mill column. I have also posted this project.

cheers

http://www.the-alchemist.com/Images/Shoptask/mill_mount/mount_front.jpg <br> http://www.the-alchemist.com/Images/Shoptask/VFD/motor_vfd.jpg <br>http://www.the-alchemist.com/Images/Shoptask/Column_motor/mounted_close.jpg

Hi all, after a long long time I have a couple of new updates on my site: Bearing swap, Clausing compound slide adapter, and a power strip that I installed on the case.

I should have some photos of my motorized X axis power feed next week.

http://www.the-alchemist.com

Anyone else have some work to post? This place has been pretty slow lately. Bloy, you still around? How about the other guy doing a ST overhaul? I love pictures.

http://www.the-alchemist.com/Images/Shoptask/latest_machine.jpg

yup...I'm still around :wave:

nice additions to your site! It's becoming (or has been for me) the "go-to" site!

Hey thanks, I appreciate that. Did you loose interest in posting your progress? It would be neat to see what you have been up to.

I've been working a new job and haven't really had any time for the ol shoptask. A pitty since it's running so well these days.

Come on folks, any other pics of work or machine tuning? I need a fix.

Thanks to all you guys here posting your mods and upgrades.

My CNC kit came in from Dan 2 weeks ago and I'm slowly trying work out newly found bugs.
My Z axis is now hanging up due to the tension from the belt, it's tight but not that tight.
New pulley should be in today. Now I just need to find time.

sstec

Hi Jason,

I’m glad to see your site back up! Your work and documentation is really quite extraordinary.

I have the older ShopTask Eldorado with a Quadralift. I purchased it with ball screws and have fitted it out for CNC work with Gecko drives and stepper motors. I’m getting ready to replace the spindle motor with a 180V DC motor. We will see how it works out.

I am curious about how you resolved your problem with the step pulleys that you purchased from MSC. Did you find another source? Did you make your own? Please share the manufacturer, part number and purchasing source if your bought them. If you made them yourself, how about the specs or a drawing.

Bob

I found some good pulleys in an ebay store ("electricmotorsite"). They are not billet, but the finish is excellent and made in canada. I think the brand was Maska.

My MSC pulleys (made by Browning) are in my junk box.

Has anyone got a solution to this problem (besides a CNC conversion):
The pitch on the X ballscrew allows only .0058"/rev feed rate with the lowest gearing available. I would like to see .003 for a better finish.

Or this problem: My pictures are too big to upload. Any way to reduce their size?

plumber

What about using a larger tool nose radius?

Picasa is good for photos if you like free stuff
http://picasa.google.com/

I really appreciate the time and effort you've put into your site.
I've watched it grow through the years (quietly) - and am very impressed.

I have the same ShopTask you have.
I had a lot of problems (still do) with the push-pull device for the downfeed on Z-axis (JT calls it a 'dog') - it gets stuch for me a lot and I just got tired of taking it apart.

I have done no upgrades. Just used the machine for the small odd-jubs that ended up needing it.

I plan on using your site to make all the necessary upgrades (ways & bearings & oil), as well as a few more (VFD)

I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks,

Bruce

I really appreciate the time and effort you've put into your site.
I've watched it grow through the years (quietly) - and am very impressed.


Thanks,

Bruce

I whole-heartedly agree!!!

Hey guys,

Thanks very much for the kind words. I need to get a couple more updates on there but my machine has been sitting in the crate for a few months since I just moved again. Man, what a pain.

I recently motorized the X axis with a little gear motor mounted in the opening for the CNC servo/stepper. Only problem is it takes quite a bit of effort to turn it by hand now. I need to come up with some sort of quick connect contraption.

Post some more photos people! I'm in need of inspiration. Maybe smallblock can post some pics of the patriot and that project he is talking about.

Oh and happy chinese new year, hehehe. That works on so many levels.

Here are some pictures of my vfd drives & spindle housing. I am just about finished. Dahui what size is the Power Twist® V-Belt are you using is it 3/8".

Post some more photos people! I'm in need of inspiration. Maybe smallblock can post some pics of the patriot and that project he is talking about.


Dahui-
I have some good pics to post, but not sure how- they ask for an address- does that mean I need a website to post? Other forums just have a browser box which picks the photos from my picture file.

After you get done with writing your next reply do not click on submit reply. Scroll down the page to manage atachments. Click on it and you should be able to figure the rest out. Lets see some pictures.

Hi digitalmdj,

Since this is my thread I'd appreciate it if you would keep it civil and refrain from antagonizing other members that post on my thread. If you want to flame people, start a new thread. I don't want mine to get locked.

thanks for understanding,

DaHui

As for uploading photos. There is an icon for attachments (the paper clip) in the tool bar that appears when you are posting a message. Let us know if it's not self explanatory.

DaHui,
Thanks for your help on the pictures and also on that guy with the attitude. I have been using the " quick reply" box, and they do not have the browse option there. My next project will be to polish a 383 stroker crank- will be sure to keep the camera handy.

Dahui, very nice site, glad I stumbled in here!

Best,

BW

Hey Bob,

You have a fantastic site as well! I haven't visited in a while, anything new these days?

cheers,

DaHui