A FANCY Lathe Tool Height Gauge || INHERITANCE MACHINING

Being an engineer I have a knack for finding problems where they don’t exist, and coming up with over-designed solutions. Combine that with being a wanna-be toolmaker and things can get out of hand real fast. But in the case of this project I think I may have stumbled upon something actually useful! On a metal lathe there are a few tricks of the trade for setting the cutting tool heights. Like referencing a tailstock center, or the centerpoint of a faced piece of material. But these aren’t exactly precise methods. A common (and extremely simple) approach to this problem is to machine a reference bar whose length is the exact distance between the spindle centerline and the way surface. Then setting this on the ways near the cutting tool to set the height. While all of these work just fine as far as resulting in a good finish, I still see room for something a little more elegant. So in this video I’ll be putting together a lathe tool that I’m not sure exists. And maybe for good reason!

#inheritancemachining #machineshop #hobbymachinist

Thank you again to the Micrometer level Patreon members listed at the end of the video!

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 You See, The Problem Is...
2:04 Where the Pencil Meets... the Paper
4:37 Grandfather Was Right
7:44 Boyle's Law
10:19 Lack of Foresight
12:07 Milling Mojo
13:27 If it Ain't Broke
14:49 Highly Eccentric
17:43 Slightly Less Eccentric
19:50 Does it Do the Thing?

FAQ
Editing: Final Cut Pro X
Intro Song: Way Back Way Back When (Instrumental Version) - Gamma Skies

© 2023 Inheritance Machining, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

[matthewdebeer]

"What good is a machine shop if I can't make an over complicated version of a tool I don't really need?" I don't even have a machine shop, and I feel this

[dscroop]

Love your videos, but everytime I watch your drawing, as an ex-drafter (sadly only on CAD), I can't help but thing you should create a 2nd channel dedicated to a complete ASMR style video of just your sketchs.

[giovannicintolo]

You're not a wannabe toolmaker, you've got it. I've been a machinist all my life, was a manufacturing engineer for a few years, and a machine shop teacher for a few as well. I'm really blown away with your talent. The pin or rod through a hole on top of the vice trick can be a life saver. Use it with two holes and two pins and you can get very accurately milled angles, although you may have to skim the top of your vise jaws for the 2 pin route. I have seen a couple of shop made tool height setters out in industry. Typically just an L shaped block that is non adjustable. The Tsugami swiss types screw machines I programmed and ran for a few years came with an adjustable magnetic one, but these were used for the tool stick-out length, not setting the center height. None were as beautiful or functional as this.

[PenumbralFigure]

I really like that term, "magnetically transparent." Your cinematography and machine work is gorgeous as always!

[Boltboy-khyw]

You are the type of machinist that i aspire to be. The ability to not only design but perfectly manufacture anything that you want is inspiring and extremely impressive to me. One day i want to have my own machines and be able to tackle your projects myself

[lilylodon]

The most relaxing 22 minutes of the week, thank you.

[haraldd.]

When something went terrible wrong in the workshop, your channel is there to relax and calm down. Thank you for beeing my therapist!

[Rickd-jhiw]

As a trained Draftsman that learned on a board, it's really nice to see someone doing a really nice hand drawn drawing. The invention of CAD made life a lot easier, but it lost the romance. Drafting standards suffered too as speed became more important than details. With laser cutting and CNC programming direct from the CAD model, some drawings we issue now just have a couple of views with overall dimensions and a note stating "See CAD model for detail dimensions".

[bones]

Civil designer of 30 years and your drafting brings back a lot of memories. Super cool channel

[Jordan-]

You sir are an artist! Thank you for keeping manual machining alive!!! Keep it up Brandon!

[CraigsWorkshop]

And... another fortnightly parcel of machining joy has been delivered to my screen 😁 Thank you Brandon. Really loving these videos.

[BruceBoschek]

Shop-built tools are the sign of a true craftsman. Beautiful work, as always. Thanks for sharing this.

[RonCovell]

Your machining projects are a joy to watch, with some of the most beautiful cinematography on YouTube!

[Horus]

I'll say it again, beautiful. There is something almost surgically about the tools you make. The finish, the style/design, really impressive work. Thank you for sharing your time with us.

[dodojesusrex]

I´ve watched every single video you uploaded, ever since your first one. I was instantly hooked, since even back then you had this mesmerising, soothing and well thought out way of doing things. I´ve seen you fail, I´ve seen you succeed and I enjoyed every second of it. I´m a apprentice machinist and I love my job so much it´s more like a passion. And, It really makes my whole day every second friday, when I come home from making chips and get to see your next project. You´re a talent at making machining interesting and enjoyable to watch!

Keep up this good work, Brandon!

[dibbuk]

It is awesome how you are able to carry an idea from an initial concept to a finished tool. You make it look easy.

[lespacecowboy]

That eccentric flag machined really well. Great to see your manual skills improving in each and every video

[michaelfmarcos]

Where in the world have you been my man, I’ve been checking daily for videos in case YouTube algo hasnt surfaced it. Hope all is well, looking forward to the next installment.

[ChrisS-prhj]

The fact that you reply to nearly every single comment, even a few days after publication, is astonishing to me and certainly is a wonderful show to your character. Mad respect. And as always, great machine work!

[bryanwanek]

Love your builds! Thanks for sharing. Going to attempt this one at some point. Having your tools at precisely the right height makes such a difference in performance.