If anyone is looking for workshop equipment of the sort stocked by Hare & Forbes, check out: http://stores.ebay.com.au/OzMeStore1 . Some of the prices are WAY cheaper than H&F and apparently most gear comes from exactly the same suppliers.
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Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

@ glen lol.if yah buy pooh you get pooh
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Photos - http://community.webshots.com/album/154092733uokpXC
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question,

is there a specific speed or anything for countersinking?

i got a fancy countersink a while back and ive only started using it since i slowed my drill press down to 650rpm, and now it takes forever to countersink a hole in ali, lexan or steel.. and when it does manage to do a hole the countersink isnt deep enough, it just wont cut any further...

do i need to speed it up or something?
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www.demon50s.com - Minimoto parts
http://www.youtube.com/user/HyzerGlen - Videoooozzz

I think you got a dud! I have had many cs bits from cheap to expensive and they all cut at low speed just fine - the cheapo ones just went blunt faster and cut less evenly.

There are several countersink designs. there is the fluted bit:




Which can have from 3 to 6 flutes and then there is the "zero flute" design:





If you have some extra cash, I really recommend countersinks with combined drills like this:





This bit gives a fantastic result in ali sheet - always centered, no chattering and a better appearance.

For aluminium, a 3 flute design and LOTS of feed preassure is recommended by most textbooks and it definitely works for me. Under 1000 rpm definitely. If you use higher RPM or less feed preassure, you will likely get chattering, resulting in an uneven countersink. If you are cutting harder material. more flutes will give faster stock removal. The zero flute design is good for deburring and for plastics where normal bits grab and dig in. They don't work well in ali!

Here is my 'trick' for getting neat, repeatable countersinks with a bench drill:

Take a smallish piece of scrap sheet the same thickness as you commonly use and drill it for all the common screw sizes you use. Next, carefully countersink each hole for it's screw size. Take it slow and get the screw heads exactly flush with the sheet. You now have a template to set your drill to.

When you need to make a countersink, put in your bit, put your template on the drill table with a sheet of paper under it, lower the bit into the correct template hole size and then set the depth stop so the cs bit cannot go any deeper. Take out the template and paper and drill your job with neat, right-sized countersinks

The paper spacer is to compensates for the extra pressure you put on the drill when you are cutting the cs for real; 2 thicknesses of bond paper, an envelope or a piece of wet N dry sandpaper makes a good starting point.

BTW: for Lexan, use less feed pressure, the slowest possible speed and no lubricant. Frequent pauses to let the plastic cool off helps too.
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Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

kewl, thanks

also on tools, my grinder disk keeps doing something really wierd, everytime i try to grind with it, it will just bounce up and down really violently and if you try putting more pressure on it, itll just get worse.

same happened to jakes as well that time.

more wierd is that ive used the disk many times and its still not worn down any (its still hasnt got that curved shape near the ends). its one of those red coloured grinding disks.

its all centered and isnt wobbling up and down or anything so thats all good there...

and also dont buy those $20 vices from bunnings, they look solid but the threads strip out internally on them..
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www.demon50s.com - Minimoto parts
http://www.youtube.com/user/HyzerGlen - Videoooozzz

chuck it out and get a new disc.. its probaly chiped or something ..trust me they can be dangerous my father had part of his heel cut off when one exploded and a piece cut through the back of his work boot ..its cheaper in the long run to buy good quality discs as they might be a couple of dollars more but usualy last twice as long as the el cheapo brands . I use the Flexovite brand (might be spelt wrong lol ) and make sure you use cutting discs for cutting and grinding discs for grinding ..

question, is it possible to use those flexovit cd thin blades to cut aluminium?

i just need to cut off kangs side panel and being 10mm thick its going to mean a hell of a lot of hacksaw work. i was thinking i could cut through the weld with a cutting wheel but not sure how safe that would be with the aluminium being 10mm thick and what not.

can you get special aluminium cutting disks?
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www.demon50s.com - Minimoto parts
http://www.youtube.com/user/HyzerGlen - Videoooozzz

I have cut steel that thick with an angle grinder but aluminium might be different. The most important thing is to keep the cut straight so the disk doesn't jam. If it was me, I'd use a jigsaw...
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Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

yeah that seems the most likely outcome, i was just thinking that the aluminium would load the cutting wheel up too much.

btw while im at it, is there any good quality jigsaw blades i should look out for, i was cutting some 4.5mm steel in small cuts and even in 10mm worth of cutting the blade had no teeth... the box says its capable of cutting up to 4mm so im guessing there has to be blades capable of it too.. (note to self, get 710w jigsaw.... 310w = fairly lame.)
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www.demon50s.com - Minimoto parts
http://www.youtube.com/user/HyzerGlen - Videoooozzz

yes cutting wheels could cut through ali im sure.

Ive cut some ali with cutting wheels without too many drama's
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Andrew Welch, Team Unconventional Robotics

Be real carefull cutting ali with ordinary cutting discs they tend to clog up and jamb in the cut and can start chattering and break chunks out of the edges ive used them but only when i can get in with any thing else

Try putting some wax ( candle or similar ) on your cutting disc . It helps to reduce clogging of the disc by the ali .
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Some people pass cars - some people get passed by cars

dude cut it on the bandsaw
do some form of buildin day thing
cut that cut your pipes weld it all on
nifty++
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Mechanical engineers build weapons, civil engineers build targets

too late, the hacksaw and grinder removed that side quick smart mwuha and as for build day, that prospect is looking good at the moment (feel ready for another TA ownage )
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www.demon50s.com - Minimoto parts
http://www.youtube.com/user/HyzerGlen - Videoooozzz

Alex gave me a Dremel tool kit for father's day. There are many times when an angle grinder is too big for a job.
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So even the rain that falls isn't actually going to fill our dams and our river systems