Delage 15-S-8 Grand Prix (1/8)

[Roy vd M.]

22 hours ago, PROPELLER said:

Congratulations Roy! Your perseverance and details research are rally amazing! I love that. For machining tips and tricks, take a look at the kind of this site...

 It was very useful for me!

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/forumdisplay.php?s=503b463bc79936fc4d08799bd3074002&f=31

Dan.

 

As a matter of coincidence, your own topic on the Talbot-Lago has been a major influence for planning this build and several ideas to be executed. I looked in my above posts but couldn't find this reference (I did write it in the Dutch text version of this topic) but it's never too late. For those who don't know what thread I'm talking about, click here. 

 

Beside Gerald Wingrove's books and the invaluable book "Machine Shop Essentials", your thread probably had the biggest influence. Still, if the Home Model Engine Machinist forum was of much use to you, it can't be a bad. I'll definitely go and take a look. 

 

15 hours ago, larchiefeng said:

Those are some pretty nice examples of spark plugs Roy. I admire your wanting to make everything from scratch including all the nuts and bolts; that's going to require a lot of patience and perseverance! Lots of good info here on lathe work, thanks guys. 

 

Thanks Wayne, it will take a lot of patience indeed. It's also a lot of fun though and the feeling to finalize a model created from (full) scratch will be unimaginably great I reckon. 

 

 

113. The lathe was (finally) cleaned thoroughly and lubricated. I should do that more often. On the table you can see the lubrication schedule as scanned, enlarged, clarified and printed. 



114. On with the hexes. First a 4mm. steel rod is shortened to 15mm length. It is mounted in a collet (7mm. being the visible length). Beware that no hardened steel should be used, it can't be turned in a smooth way. 

 

The workpiece is faced. For that I use a 3mm. milling bit. The workpiece is to the left of the milling machine and will be milled from the back toward the front. A nice flat and smooth side is created that way. The lead screw (used to move the workpiece from right to left) is set to zero. 



115. The milling head is moved up. The lead screw is set to 0,51mm. This indicates the later height of the small hex. 

 

Using the milling bit, the top of the workpiece is located. When found the workpiece is moved toward the rear and the milling bit is moved 1 full millimeter downward. Now everything is ready to start milling one of the six sides. For that I use cutting fluid. 

 

I do the exact same thing at the other side of the rod (rotating it 180 degrees). So also there 1 millimeter will be milled off. After that's ready I measure the intermediary result. The difference between the measured part and the number '1,60' is divided in two. That number is the exact amount that the milling head still has to move down. 

 

The distance between the two opposing hex sides will have to be 1,60mm. On the hereunder photo it matches perfectly, but sometimes it was 1,62 or 1,63 and that would be sufficiently accurate for me. 



Anyway, now that this setting is 'saved' I can use it for all eight (plus one reserve, because I'm afraid I might make mistakes with these) spark plugs. From now on everything goes fast. 

 

116. The four remaining sides are milled. Then the hex is ready. 



117. To make the large hex, the milling head has to go up 0,25mm. and the lead screw has to be set to 1,14mm.

 

Because, as @Mark_1984, @Schwarz-Brot and @Pouln have pointed out, the large hex has a random relative position versus the smaller hex, I'll apply such randomness (more or less) as well. 

 

After all six sides of the hex are milled, measure again and if okay the milling is done. 



118. Making the two hexes on one workpiece will cost, after the height is set, approximately 20 minutes... so approximately equally long as the top part of the spark plug. 

 

Here the applied 'randomness' in relative position of both hexes can be seen: 

119. After all nine steel parts were finalized milling-wise, I almost finalized one spark plug. The only three things that have to be done:

 

- Making the groove between the two hexes;

- Painting the porcelain part;

- Light weathering.

 

This time I'll show the results first, later I'll describe the build steps / technique. 

 

To the left a specimen before turning, to the right: after turning. 



120. The two parts combined: 



121. To compare: 

[Schwarz-Brot]

Wow. Just wow.

 

Your work and patience is a major inspiration for me. I am really looking forward to May when I'll finally be able to start modelling again.

[CrazyCrank]

Absolutely EXCELLENT, @Roy vd M.

[NickD]

Roy,

 

Extravagently excellent as always. Have you thought about how the HT lead should attach. On the 806 thread, on the recent view of the Delage, the top brass section seems to screw down onto the end of the cable but of course this is not the same type of plug. Any idea how this might work on the type of plug on the drawing

 

Nick

[PROPELLER]

 

Thanks Roy!
But remember, I work in 1/8 scale... 1/12 is an other thing, out of my capabilities!
But when I saw your spark plug, I'm no longer worried...
Another coincidence, this car was in my mind a possible new challenge. In fact is really a magnificent car! I opted the facility, may be...

[Roy vd M.]

On 4/9/2017 at 10:39 PM, Schwarz-Brot said:

Wow. Just wow.

 

Your work and patience is a major inspiration for me. I am really looking forward to May when I'll finally be able to start modelling again.

 

On 4/9/2017 at 10:41 PM, CrazyCrank said:

Absolutely EXCELLENT, @Roy vd M.

 

On 4/10/2017 at 9:51 AM, NickD said:

Roy, Extravagently excellent as always.

 

Thanks for your overwhelming compliments guys... I can only say I'm glad you like the results.

 

On 4/10/2017 at 9:51 AM, NickD said:

Have you thought about how the HT lead should attach. On the 806 thread, on the recent view of the Delage, the top brass section seems to screw down onto the end of the cable but of course this is not the same type of plug. Any idea how this might work on the type of plug on the drawing

 

Yes I did think about that before I started work. Here two drawings of the engine made by Creswell* in or before 1949: 

 

*Copyrights currently unknown; images will be deleted upon first request of the rightful owner of the copyrights. 

 

 

 

Even though these drawings were made around 1949, that's still 22 years after the racing season... so even at the time the artist probably didn't have optimal information. I guess the original spark plugs were not present anymore. 

 

The drawings differ as regard high tension leads attachment. I think I'll use the last version which is approximately the same connection technique as used to connect the leads to the modern spark plugs (see paragraph 130 below). Studying the original 1927 drawing featuring the vintage spark plug, it seems to me that that same (sideways) connection method was used, in that the brass top of the spark plug could be unscrewed to allow the high tension lead to be positioned. 

 

I intend to use brass sheet for the connector. 

 

On 4/10/2017 at 0:11 PM, PROPELLER said:

But remember, I work in 1/8 scale... 1/12 is an other thing, out of my capabilities!

 

I am certain that what I can do, you can do at least equally well and most probably considerably better. 

 

On 4/10/2017 at 0:11 PM, PROPELLER said:

Another coincidence, this car was in my mind a possible new challenge. In fact is really a magnificent car! I opted the facility, may be...

 

That would be great. There are others who have this car on their (medium / long term) wish list (@CrazyCrank and @harveyb258) so we could team up! I can assure you that it will save you a lot of research :D. I'd love to see a 1/8th scale Delage 15-S-8 of high quality. Just let me know if you'll decide to do this and, if so, what area you'll need pictures of. At Retromobile I took many photographs, so there's a good chance they can be of help. 

122. Getting back to the milling actions for just a bit... creating the 'randomness' was very easy. 

 

1) First, for general understanding: the lever of the dividing head (used in making the hexes) has to be rotated 40 times to let the dividing head make one full 360 degrees rotation. 

 

2) I want to make a hex using the dividing head. So, after each milled side 6 2/3 rotations have to be made (40 divided by 60). The 2/3 can easily be determined by choosing the right pin on the dividing disk. 

 

3) I start milling the small hex. The starting position of the part doesn't matter, because it's still round. 

 

4) After all six sides of the small hex are milled, I proceed with the large hex. If I want to carve the large hex in exactly the same position as the small hex, I'll start milling right away (after enlarging the diameter) without changing the position of the dividing head.  

5) If however I want the large hex to have a different relative position, then I'll rotate the dividing head 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 times (that's the 'randomness factor'), before milling the first side of the large hex. Next I'll finish the large hex. 

123. On with the lathe work.

 

Setting the X-zero or starting point costs a lot of time (check, double check, triple check) but in the end it leads to the result I'm looking for... two (at least to me) similarly looking spark plugs. 

 

123. Using a center drill, the center of the workpiece is marked. The center drill is considerably thicker than the workpiece. 



124. Next, using a 1mm. drill, the hole is drilled; 3,6mm. deep. After two spark plugs (a few seconds after taking the photo below) the drill broke INSIDE the workpiece. Good I made a spare; I needed it. 

 

To replace the old 1mm. HSS-drill bit I used a 1mm. cobalt drill bit. Not cheap, but stronger and long lasting. 

 

As described previously, the drill itself won't turn; the workpiece is rotated around the drill bit at high speed. 



Here you can see the cobalt drill bit in action:
 

  

125. The small hex's top side is leveled off. First the horizontal starting position of the cutting tool has to be determined. Such setting can take up to 10 minutes... it's the most difficult part of all this spark plug work. 



126. Leveling off the top of the large hex.



127. From 1,14mm., the diameter will be brought down by (in total) 0,94mm. I did that in seven steps (0,15; 0,30; 0,45; 0,60; 0,75; 0,85; 0,94). The last step also provides for leveling off of the lower side of the large hex. 



128. If through that last action a raised edge is created, it is removed with a hobby knife. 



129. In the end I'll apply one more layer of depth.

 

After finalizing each specimen I'll always check if the spark plugs still look 'identical'. As you can see on the photo below I made a (non-fatal) error on one specimen... it was turned off 1 mm. too far. Fortunately this error is irrelevant and will not be visible later. But it's a reminder of the importance of constant checking / rechecking and keeping up concentration levels. 



130. Using a drawing as reference, the relative position of the spark plugs on the model is estimated. I check whether the relative positions look similar to those on a photo I made. Mind that the spark plugs on the photo are different (=more modern) than those I tried to replicate. 





131. In final, using the same cutting tool (but in a different position), a groove of 0,75mm. length is made between both hexes, separating them visually. The part was finally parted off. 



Now all machining has been done. Each spark plug required at least 42 machining actions, exclusive of setting the starting positions for machining. Creating the first spark plug took approximately 100 machining actions. Still, after all starting positions were determined, making one spark plug took approximately one hour and fifteen minutes... compare that with the method I previously used (the spark plug in one piece) that took me three and a half hours, leading to questionable results. 

 

 

Now what's left is to paint the porcelain part of the spark plugs white, and to lightly weather the little worms. 

Total building time: 37h. 
Total measurements study: 27h.

[Robin Lous]

superb!

 

7 minutes ago, Roy vd M. said:

Now what's left is to paint the porcelain part of the spark plugs white, and to lightly weather the little worms. 

Tip: use off-white (add a dab of cream or sand colour to the white). 100% white will look unnaturally bright and clean.

 

Robin 

[Roy vd M.]

1 minute ago, Robin Lous said:

Tip: use off-white (add a dab of cream or sand colour to the white). 100% white will look unnaturally bright and clean.

 

Thanks Robin for your reaction. I'll be going for this look:

 

 

 

Specifically the specimen to the utmost right.

 

The picture is the result of a search for vintage spark plugs in new condition.

 

Indeed, not the purest of white. Not sure how much I will weather them though, probably very very lightly, if at all. 

[Codger]

WOW.........................

[riggy]

Amazing work pure craftsmanship 

[Jnkm13]

Some mad patience & skills going on here.   

Edited April 12, 2017 by Jnkm13

[PROPELLER]

Thank you very much Roy for your proposition! First, for the Delage, I have to complete the Bugatti before... May be one or two years. If God willing, and your current work will be for me much useful, why not?

For the spark plugs connectors, two pics, one with a very bad quality , but it's the way...

 

 

 

Dan. 

[CrazyCrank]

9 hours ago, PROPELLER said:

Thank you very much Roy for your proposition! First, for the Delage, I have to complete the Bugatti before... May be one or two years. If God willing, and your current work will be for me much useful, why not?

For the spark plugs connectors, two pics, one with a very bad quality , but it's the way...

 

 

 

Dan. 

 

Hello @Roy vd M. and @PROPELLER

You can find the same spark plugs connectors on restored T50 Bugattis

[Roy vd M.]

@Codger, @riggy, @Jnkm13: thank you for your encouragements! 

 

On 4/12/2017 at 0:16 PM, PROPELLER said:

First, for the Delage, I have to complete the Bugatti before... May be one or two years. If God willing, and your current work will be for me much useful, why not?

 

I know you won't allow yourself to be rushed and that's a good thing. One model at a time and the Bugatti looks promising and a one of a kind project as well. Whereas at first I feared that occupying yourself with a Pocher kit would be detrimental to overal finish quality, that does not seem to be the case at all. You're doing a beautiful job and it's an educational experience for us followers, or at least to me. 

 

On 4/12/2017 at 0:16 PM, PROPELLER said:

For the spark plugs connectors, two pics, one with a very bad quality , but it's the way...

 

On 4/12/2017 at 9:52 PM, CrazyCrank said:

You can find the same spark plugs connectors on restored T50 Bugattis

 

That looks interesting, it's a different system than the Delages currently have. I will check which to use. If your suggestion will prove not to be too difficult to make (8 times visually similarly) then I will probably use this one because the connectors can be brought in place with relative ease. I have already tried milling the brass sheet but that won't work. I will use the punch & die and some solder. 

132. A summary and clarification regarding the spark plugs, in response to a question I received. 

 

I tried to replicate the spark plugs as seen on the 1927 drawing. Spark plugs are disposal products just like engine oil or brake pads: if they are worn out, they are typically replaced. Because no original specimens have survived with the cars, at least as far as I am aware, I first had to interpret the drawing. For that reason a few weeks ago I asked the question what materials would appear to be the most logical at the next markings: 



Eventually the answer presented itself, more or less, because I found this quite similar looking spark plug:



Except for the knurling at the top and bottom of the spark plug, it resembles the drawing remarkably well. So I was almost certain what parts were supposed to be steel, what parts porcelain and what parts brass. 

 

Replicating the original spark plugs was a conscious decision. It will make my model unique (even if others who want to model the Delage 15-S-8 will do something similar, which I'd welcome wholeheartedly by the way). I want to show the car as it was during one of the 1927 races (all of which, by the way, were won by this car... this is still a historic unicum; closest result was in 1988 when Team McLaren won all races safe one with the MP4/4. After that, Team Mercedes who, in 2016, won all but two races. Of course it's unfair to compare, because in 1927 there were only four races, but factually that does not influence the record. By the way, not only did Delage win all races, often they also finished second and sometimes even third as well). 

 

So far for this historic excursion. Although I'd like to show the car as it was during one of the races I don't know which race, yet. Even at that time there were differences in the way the car looked from race to race, because the cars were improved all the time and the racing numbers changed (!). 

 

For that reason I took extra trouble, because the spark plugs as seen on photo 130 are considerably easier to make (as mentioned before). Unlike the vintage spark plugs, the newer ones can be easily made out of one piece and the machining actions are uncomplicated. I reckon I would have needed less than one hour per spark plug. But I must say that I am happy to have chosen the complex / elaborate route because the result is more satisfactory and I learned a lot more. 

133. To ensure the parts will not get lost easily, but mainly to check whether the spark plugs's relative positions and size approximately correspondent to those on the photo, I milled an aluminium base and drilled holes in it. This is approximately scale 1/12: 


 

To compare:

134. Looking more closely and comparing size and position of the spark plugs as modeled on the on the one hand, and pictures of the real engine on the other hand, it got slightly exciting and tense. The scale spark plugs appeared to be too large after all.

 

However fortunately after remeasuring and comparing drawings with one another, it finally appeared that the vintage spark plugs were slightly larger than its modern equivalents. That's quite nice as a matter of fact, because that way there is a remarkable difference between the look of the engine in 1927 (which will be replicated) and the 'known' look as it is today. 

 

I started work on the engine 'work order' drawing. According to the drawing there are already 300 parts and I'm not even at one third. I think that the engine will eventually turn out to have approximately 1,000 parts (including bolts and other small stuff). Measurements to follow in a few months.

[larchiefeng]

This is great work and your attention to detail is pretty amazing! I'm really enjoying seeing your lathe and mill work pictures and narrative as you go through the process of making each part. I'm sure that there's a few of us that own a lathe and, picking up tips and tricks as you journey through this ambitious project are going to be intstructive. I'm already starting to understand the process a little better and I'm sure that, before my journey on the F40 is done, I will be having to make a few parts myself. So, besides this being a great build it's a good tutorial on how to use the lathe and mill.

[Roy vd M.]

@larchiefeng Thank you for your kind words. I like to see this build report as a 'how to'-guide for beginners, by a beginner.

 

It's the combination of an introduction, text, pictures, videos and, especially, commentary by experienced machinists that will hopefully prove to be the value of this topic. 


136. To make the part at the bottom of Drawing 135, I made a schedule based on coordinates in Gimp. The numbers before the komma are the Y-axle coordinates (milling table is moved toward the back), the numbers after the komma are coordinates of the Z-axle (milling head is moved downward).



137. The coordinates (in pixels) are entered in Excel (1st and 2nd column). By means of a formula the coordinates in millimeters in scale 1/12 are calculated and rounded off (3rd and 4th columns). To the right there's a graphic, to ensure that there are no mistakes in the coordinates. The graphic shows the part upside down. 




138. The Excel document shows that 68 precise cutting movements have to be made, after having done 14 coarse cutting movements. These are indicated by the handwriting. 

 

Due to problems with Flickr I can't show you all photos. Fortunately most of them have made it through. 

Because i don't have rectangular pieces of aluminium (yet) and I wanted to get going I used a round thick aluminium rod. I carved a rectangular out of that, which by the way took much longer than I had anticipated. Not a good idea, but eventually it worked... 





139. Alternative use of three parallels to ensure that the machining clamp isn't damaged during milling:



140. The height is now correct. A small error can be seen near my thumb, because I think it's important to have at least one mistake in every build update . Fortunately this is milled 'away' at the next step.



141. First the coarse lines of the 'slide' shape are cut.







142. Then height and depth are reset to zero, and finer cutting is performed. Starting from the top, here I'm almost halfway:



143. My five year old daughter was allowed to have a go. Not very smooth, but that doesn't matter much here.
 

 

144. Before and after:



145. Plenty of sanding to be done...



146. After 45 minutes of sanding here's the result (except for the ends, they will have to be cut off).





Making this part was one of the most fun experiences I had during modeling, ever. It's very nice to see the end result arise out of the raw aluminium, slowly but surely.

Total build time: 43h. 
Total measurements study: 29h.

[hendie]

3 minutes ago, Roy vd M. said:

It's the combination of an introduction, text, pictures, videos and, especially, commentary by experienced machinists that will hopefully prove to be the value of this topic. 

 

Roy, I started a Mini Lathe Thread over in the "Other tools" section of this forum in the hope that fellow modellers would pose questions and help contribute to the thread allowing other modelers to take advantage of the combined knowledge of the forum.  I love the work you are doing here and it is very impressive.

[Roy vd M.]

@hendie Welcome in this build report and thanks for the link. I will post three sources of information that have been very important to me.

 

 

147. Coming back to paragraph 137, I forgot to explain how I had set up the Excel-sheet.



Step 1: measuring and noting coordinates in columns A and B
First, using the software program Gimp I measured the blueprint and noted the coordinates. The outcome can be seen in image 136. Y is the number before the komma, Z after the komma. I submitted the Y-results into the first column of the Excel-Sheet, the Z-results into the second column.

Step 2: making column C, enter formula
In the third column, field C1, I put this formula:

=ROUND(A1*0,37959184/12;2)

That means that in that field the result must be calculated of:

- A1 (that's the number in row 1 of column A);
- Multiply with 0,37959184 (the number of pixels, mentioned in column A, is hereby multiplied to get the number or millimeters on the real car);
- Divide by 12 (to get the number of millimeters on scale 1/12);
- 'Round' means that the result will be rounded off;
- The number 'c' behind the semicolon means that the rounding off will leave two digits behind the komma.  

**Example**
In the first column, fifth row, you can see for example the number '13'. See the image above.

Applying the formula, the number '13' is first multiplied by 0,37959184. The result of that is 4,9346934. To get the right scale this has to be divided by 12. The result is 0,41122445. The computer will round off, two digits behind the komma, resulting into the number 0,41. That will be the value of the fifth row of the third column, so C5.  

Step 3: fast-copy formula
It is very simple to apply the formula to each of the 68 rows of column A, onto column C. To do that, first the formula is filled out in C1. Next, all of column C is selected, including C1 in which the formula was just entered. Using the keyboard combination 'ctrl-D' will result into all 68 calculations being made and neatly filled out in column C.

Step 4: making column D
Exactly the same formula, but applied to column B, is used for column D. Also here ctrl-D is used to swiftly and easily copy the formula. 

Step 5: making the graphic
To generate the graphic in Excel, choose 'chart' in the 'insert' menu. Select columns C and D. Choose 'scatter' and then 'smooth lined scatter'. This will make Excel draw the graphic.

[Jnkm13]

Most excellent. Fantastic that you even made the effort to explain how this was done in Excel. Much appreciated.

 

Regards,

Jeremy

[Borez]

Some seriously nice precision work going on here, wish I had the workshop space and tools to take on projects of this nature.

Edited April 19, 2017 by Borez

[Roy vd M.]

@Jnkm13 I enjoy writing those things down, hoping it will be of use to someone. If not someone else then perhaps even for myself, as I sometimes forget how exactly I did stuff. 

 

@Borez Welcome to the thread and thank you for the compliment. I hope you will at one point get yourself a lathe and / or a mill, they are a great joy to work with. It's a satisfactory experience to work with these machines. 

 

 

148. Time to practice brazing aluminium. First I successfully, but with the ugliest imaginable result, got to braze two pieces of aluminium together. Today I tried to imitate a somewhat more realistic building situation: filling a hole. More realistic, because I plan to make the aluminium parts as well fitting to each other as I can. 

 

Using a hard-soldering set (3300 degrees maximum)... 



149. ... the piece of aluminium, two holes drilled into it, is slowly heated to approximately 400 degrees:  



150. Alutight (=aluminium solder) is added to each of the drilled holes, until they are more or less filled. Using the torch I try not to make the aluminium too hot (it will melt at 660 degrees). Using a screw driver to scratch through the liquid Alutight and aluminium, the oxide is cut. The result could be slightly neater (lol) but hey it's just an exercise



151. Here you see the backside of part (which is air-cooled for 10 minutes).



152. After filing and sanding one side, I was disappointed to see a difference in colour: Alutight turns out to be a tad darker than aluminium.



153. Surprisingly the colour difference became largely undone by applying engine turned metal swirls.  





154. Especially regarding the thin borders / patches of Alutight that will cover only small surfaces (much smaller than on this test specimen) I can't quite imagine the colour difference would eventually be a disturbance to me, if it will be at all visible.

 

In all I'm a happy man! 

 

 

 
Total building time: 44h.

Total measurement studies: 29h.  

[Codger]

You are taking us on a magical journey - far beyond mere model building. You have made your learning experience ours, with much thanks from me.

 

That engine turn work will be wonderful...

[Roy vd M.]

@Codger I am not that positive about the engine turn work. What you see is 2mm. swirls whereas they should be 1mm. That is a very difficult thing to do, or it is for me. That small a diameter will almost always transform the turning bit into a drill bit. But there is also another problem.

 

 

155. After twenty-four hours the Alutight has darkened. Partly (at its weakest border) it has loosened as well. I will test whether the discoloring can be prevented by using a layer of lacquer. 



156. Here the difference between the darkened piece (to the left) and the piece as it was freshly filed and sanded (to the right).


 

 

I'm already thinking of different solutions, as discussed on the first page of this thread. 

157. After having attempted numerous methods to try turning the 1mm. diameter swirls, today I found a non-ideal but possibly acceptable solution: a Dremel engraving bit. I'll keep trying and looking for a better method, but this is a start and an emergency solution. Not ideal, but I'm running out of ideas... 



158. There's also good news: the independent milling machine table has arrived and was installed. To those who'd like to know the disadvantages of a two-in-one lathe/milling machine, please let me know and I'll share my thoughts. 



Total building time: 45h.

Total measurement study: 29h.  

[Roy vd M.]

159. And then suddenly there is a twist of thoughts that finally effectuates result. As always, it is very simple... looking in hindsight. 

 

The mill's drive belt was detached. 



160. Manual control!



161. This is the very simple procedure:
 

 

Manual rotation ensures that the cutting action of the thin steel onto the aluminium is kept to a minimum. 

162. I think I'm finally happy with this result. For the purpose of engine turning on curves I'll turn off a separate 'swirl tool' on the lathe. 



The result is seen on the right hand side of the photo. To the left: a less fortunate plot 'o' swirls.

163. To see what the effect will be like on the engine part, and to compare (size-wise) to a spark plug:



I'm relieved to have finally found a functional method.

[PROPELLER]

20 hours ago, Roy vd M. said:

158. There's also good news: the independent milling machine table has arrived and was installed. To those who'd like to know the disadvantages of a two-in-one lathe/milling machine, please let me know and I'll share my thoughts. 

 

Good news indeed! One tool, one function, it's a rule...