Popular Post Lt. Dan Posted January 21, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted January 21, 2022 Well its been awhile since I've posted on old school. Since my last thread with the Chevy camper van build up we've moved back into NZ, bought a mini lifestyle block in Taupo and put a house and shop on it, we've also spent way too much time working. I've gotten quite good at Barry tasks like lawn mowing and fixing fences, so no car projects as boring things have taken over my life now. We've also gotten a dog! Anyways this one is another (off) white Chevy, a 2005, which is a bit too new and full of computer fandangles to be considered Old School but I figured you guys might appreciate it anyways. So long story short, I was watching a listing on TradeMe but not really seriously thinking about buying a project, and it ended on the 30th of December, which is really a stupid time to end an auction. I got a fixed price offer that morning while I was driving up to see Mr. Jackson in Waiuku for New Years shenanigans (I don't know your internet name, damn I'm a shite friend). When I arrived him and @Testament gave me a quick pep talk/beer and we left for Auckland to go have a look at it. It was good for what it was and I was able to work out a deal for even less than the fixed price because the owners wanted it gone. Anyways it arrived yesterday, since it took a bit of time to organize transport. She's big, weighing 3.7 tons and it just fits in the shed doors. A used but running 2005 Chevalier FTC-1320V! So for those who aren't familiar with this model, its a twin table vertical machining center, 15,000RPM, 3.7kW with a 16 tool ATC. This might be a bit of a slow thread as I collect parts, get the air system in the shop running so its on you guys to keep me motivated. PS I just epoxied the floors, my shop isn't usually this clean...everything is pushed down the other end, and then I'll put it all back and paint the last bay this weekend. The stuff from Regis Coatings in Christchurch turned out really good (Epotread 1000). We'll see how it holds up long term. Also if there is interest I could do a shop spam thread. 10 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheepers Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 please put your shed build into the shed building thread, i for one would be keen to see what/how you built it. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sentra Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 shit i was confused here - (this is dave) @Lt Danand @Lt. Dan theres two of you!! what are the chances one of them fixes the ambulances, and the other is doing his best to end up in one. did they have to back that truck all the way out? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt. Dan Posted January 21, 2022 Author Share Posted January 21, 2022 1 hour ago, sentra said: shit i was confused here - (this is dave) @Lt Danand @Lt. Dan theres two of you!! what are the chances one of them fixes the ambulances, and the other is doing his best to end up in one. did they have to back that truck all the way out? Oh crap. I feel like I should change my name now since the other Dan has probably been around longer. Is that possible? Also ideas for another name? The driver was great. He was actually already turned around in the 3rd picture. He went down the driveway next to the shed to the farm behind me, then hooked it backed around infront of my section towards the other houses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickJ Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 Whats your plans for the machine? They're quite production focused arn't they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt. Dan Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share Posted January 23, 2022 On 21/01/2022 at 18:09, NickJ said: Whats your plans for the machine? They're quite production focused arn't they? Yeah they are an interesting machine these twin table vertical's. Since you are working from the side window for setups they are a bit ergonomically inconvenient for job shopping/prototyping, but at the same time you don't get the advantages that a twin pallet horizontal does (a tombstone with lots more surface for parts and good chip clearance). The 15k rpm spindle only goes down to 150rpm, and looses a bit of torque down low, so you have to focus your machining strategy towards high speed/constant engagement tool paths. I think that's why this machine didn't have a lot of interest and went for what I thought was a good price and because of that I'm willing to put up with the inconvenience and extra floor space vs a standard BT30 machine. For reference it went for a more than a new Shapeoko and much less than a starter package Tormach 440, so if you have the power and space buying a used industrial machine will get you a bunch more than a hobby grade machine. You may have to put up with Fanuc... but once you get over that you're golden. In terms of my plans, I'm an engineering consultant and I felt that it might be nice to have a bit of capacity to do odd jobs for clients (so no need to keep the spindle busy). I have a bit of background in machining from years ago, so its something I'd like to be able to do again because I really enjoyed it. Sometimes I have errant dreams of completely transitioning out of being a consultant to making parts (I probably incorrectly feel that will be lower stress), so this is kind of a way to test out the market/feasibility/enjoy-ability of that as a revenue stream. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt. Dan Posted February 13, 2022 Author Share Posted February 13, 2022 Not much progress. Been waiting for one of my industrial sparky friends to come wire it up but it's the maintenance shut season for the power stations around here so they are all busy. Started cleaning all the schmoo off. Did a few hours, maybe got a 1/3 done. You can see how the before/after nastiness on the side I haven't cleaned yet. Not going crazy on every nook and cranny, just trying to get the bulk of it off, it's a machine tool after all. My partner came in asking me to make a replacement clip for the brake line on the fork on her bike, it was maybe $35 shipped which she thought was too much so she didn't want to pay for it. I told her it would take me hours to make once the machine got going so it probably was a better idea to just buy it. She still didn't want to buy it and asked if she could help in exchange, so I put her to work water blasting the chip tray in the pouring rain...fair trade. Took the back y axis way cover off and scraped the old dry grease/machine poos out from around the linear rails. Will get the other side and the X axis when it's powered up and I can jog it around to make room. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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