#linuxcnc Logs

Mar 14 2022

12:24 AM solarwind: https://usaweld.com/products/invertig-400-ac-dc seems like an excellent machine
12:32 AM solarwind: well-designed power stage because it can operate on anything up to 600VAC
02:44 AM Deejay: moin
04:43 AM JT-Cave: morning
04:51 AM Tom_L: morning
05:45 AM perry_j1987: morning
07:19 AM brett[m] is now known as Brett[m]
10:50 AM MattyMatt: DID YOU MISS ME?
10:53 AM MattyMatt: RIP freenode. I only found out about it when I tried to log in today
10:59 AM MattyMatt: So, I came for advice. I do work in mostly metric but I'm english so I'm bimetrical. Someone on ebay is selling 2 old but complete sets of Jo blocks for the same price. The metric set is steel and does 0.01mm. The imperial set is carbide and does 1/10000". I thought I'd ask a roomful of mostly-Americans for an unbiased opinion which I should get.
11:02 AM CloudEvil: Both.
11:03 AM CloudEvil: More seriously, if you're mostly going to be using them for calibrating measury stuff, it matters less.
11:03 AM MattyMatt: I like that idea :)
11:05 AM MattyMatt: I'd use them for setting height gauges etc when marking out, but I don't yet have a surface plate or even a height gauge, so I don't want to overspend on non-essentials
11:05 AM CloudEvil: The other obvious question would be to what specific point you can hit metric with the imperial, or imperial with the metric.
11:07 AM MattyMatt: either would work for me. I'm no Stefan Gotteswinter. I'm torn between the niceness of the carbide set and the inconvenience of converting all the time
11:07 AM CloudEvil: Now that the inch is defined in terms of mm, 25+0.4 gets you actually accurate
11:11 AM roycroft: i would try to get both, but if that's not affordable, in the us i'd likely get the us customary set, and in the uk, i'd likely get the metric set
11:12 AM MattyMatt: If I had both, I'd certainly use the metric ones more
11:13 AM roycroft: yes, you're much further on your way convertion from parochial to universal units than we are
11:13 AM roycroft: which is why i would make the choices i listed above
11:13 AM MattyMatt: 1895 we officially converted :)
11:13 AM roycroft: we did so in the 1870s
11:14 AM roycroft: and then again in the 1970s
11:14 AM roycroft: and our currency has always been metric
11:14 AM MattyMatt: In school we did only metric, and then out of school nobody did
11:14 AM MattyMatt: that is changing though. imperial fasteners are scarce
11:15 AM roycroft: it was a big deal for you to move to decimal currency in the '60s
11:15 AM roycroft: but i think that paved the way for metrification
11:15 AM MattyMatt: 1971. I remember it well
11:15 AM roycroft: joining the commen market helped as well
11:15 AM roycroft: common
11:15 AM MattyMatt: sure did. hopefully we'll do that again ASAP
11:15 AM MattyMatt: bloody boris
11:15 AM roycroft: then you joined the eu, and things went to hell
11:15 AM roycroft: your passports changed colour
11:16 AM roycroft: and life was miserable because of that
11:16 AM MattyMatt: joining the EU was the best. imagine needing a visa to cross state lines
11:16 AM roycroft: given how some of our states behave these days, i would not mind that so much :)
11:17 AM roycroft: but seriously, i think you would be better served with the metric set of gage blocks
11:18 AM MattyMatt: yeah but imagine the queues on the New Jersey turnpike. It takes 4 days to get a lorry to France atm
11:18 AM MattyMatt: it's true, but the carbide set is soooo nice. I might get them too just to hoard andfondle
11:20 AM roycroft: if you can afford both, that would be best
11:23 AM MattyMatt: I should get some essentials first. my lathe is sick, my mill needs a vice and a spindle, and I still need a surface plate and other stuffs
11:24 AM roycroft: surface plates are cheap
11:24 AM roycroft: shipping surface plates is expensive
11:24 AM roycroft: so find one locally if you can
11:24 AM MattyMatt: yep, the old "list nearest first" game :)
11:25 AM MattyMatt: I gotta get it upstairs too
11:26 AM MattyMatt: It's mostly cast iron ones here. All the granite ones are imported
11:27 AM JT-Cave: I have a cast iron war surplus surface plate from WW2
11:27 AM MattyMatt: Scotland is full of good granite too
11:30 AM roycroft: cast iron surface plates are a lot easier to refurbish than granite ones
11:33 AM MattyMatt: I could get it surface ground maybe, but unless I had 3 or some fancy measuring tools I couldn't scrape it flat without a reference
11:34 AM MattyMatt: I've toyed with the idea of casting a set of 3, but melting iron at momma's house is a nono
11:38 AM MattyMatt: I got a bag of charcoal and a blower ready if she goes away on holiday >:)
11:39 AM MattyMatt: realistically I just gotta get one manportable one and live with it
11:39 AM roycroft: surface grinding is not going to get it very flat
11:42 AM MattyMatt: getting a granite plate lapped by a pro seems easy enough. Could be pricey tho
11:43 AM MattyMatt: that's for the future when I've got a proper workshop
11:44 AM MattyMatt: my mill table is the flattest thing in my current setup
11:45 AM MattyMatt: I could just scrape that
11:46 AM MattyMatt: sods law says I'll ding it within a day tho
11:49 AM MattyMatt: ooh. Mitutoyo height gauge with metric and inch verniers. I'm having that
01:49 PM silopolis[m]: Good evening ✌️
03:15 PM Tom_L: MattyMatt, do the gage blocks have any sort of certification with them?
03:16 PM Tom_L: that would make them worth considerablly more
03:18 PM MattyMatt: Naah, just a good old English brand
03:19 PM MattyMatt: and they've ended. wasn't paying attention
03:19 PM MattyMatt: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/solid-carbide-slip-gauges-/304391651858
03:19 PM MattyMatt: unsold, so they'll probly be relisted
03:20 PM Tom_L: looks like that site has quite a few
03:20 PM Tom_L: well, linked from 'similar sponsored items'
03:26 PM MattyMatt: yeah there'll be others. ceramic ones come up now and then
03:27 PM MattyMatt: tbh, a simple steel set in metric would be best for me
03:30 PM MattyMatt: I can't see any grade on the photos, but IIRC the carbide ones were all grade A
03:30 PM MattyMatt: the same set was available in steel grade A and B
03:32 PM Tom_L: i purchased a 1" block for checking mics and calipers but that's it
03:33 PM Tom_L: oh and a .1" one
03:35 PM MattyMatt: I guess an adjustable parallel can do a lot of the fancy setup stuff just as well
03:35 PM MattyMatt: although tweaking that to 1/10000" might be tricky
03:36 PM MattyMatt: sine bar also on my "don't have yet" list
03:36 PM Tom_L: you wouldn't be able to hold that anyway unless you have a climate controlled shop
03:37 PM Tom_L: even then it will vary throughout the day
03:38 PM MattyMatt: house has been double glazed and thermostated since I set up shop, so I'm pretty good there
03:39 PM MattyMatt: downside is I can't open the windows wide enough to hang long work out of anymore >:)
03:40 PM MattyMatt: or to hoist stuff up through the window
03:40 PM Tom_L: not may things require that tolerance.. typically holes or shafts
03:40 PM MattyMatt: pin gauges. also on my list
03:41 PM Tom_L: air probes
03:42 PM Tom_L: measures air flow in the hole
03:42 PM Tom_L: https://www.westerngage.com/air-probes-for-precise-measurement-of-internal-diameters/
03:43 PM MattyMatt: groovy
03:44 PM MattyMatt: I had a cunning plan to get one of those 2mm endoscope cams and do photometry inside a hole
03:45 PM MattyMatt: that could potentially check thread size and condition too
03:46 PM Tom_L: https://www.ebay.com/itm/283440393566?epid=1418876257&hash=item41fe5d2d5e:g:GuEAAOSwAaJZ6C19
03:46 PM Tom_L: you use one of those to read the result
03:47 PM Tom_L: more accurate than any mechanical means
03:51 PM MattyMatt: too fancy for me just yet
03:53 PM Tom_L: most apps don't require that