Hi All
My names is Col. I have been watching this forum for a while (with a couple of posts) so thought it was time for an intro. I was going to wait until I had some pics of the workshop but will do a seperate post with those.
I live on the Sunshine Coast in SE Qld, Australia. Been here in the sub tropical climate for about 6 years after moving from Canberra's cold winters (not as cold as some parts of US and UK - only gets a flurry of snow a couple of times a year but rarely settles).
I have a Hercus 260 lathe (Aussie version of the boxford) and an Emco FB1 mill. More about those to follow with piccies my next post. Iwas was lucky enought to get a small payout when the Government organisation I worked for was privatised and bought the workshop of an older bloke who was selling up as he didn't have time for the workshop and gardening and travel. The machines came with a fair amount of tooling etc.
Got the machines about 10 years ago but have only recently finished the workshop here following the move from Canberra. Started making a 12" English Dial clock about 10 years ago in Canberra but that got sidelined while building the workshop. I have now fallen into the trap of making tools so I can make more tools to finish the clock. Just finished fitting a Shumatech DRO to the mill and then upgraded a cheap chinese drill press vice to eliminate jaw lift. After a few more tools I would like to get into engines and have been watching some of the amazing happenings on HMEM.
Currently making Harold Halls grinding rest so I can sharpen milling cutters, drill bits, lathe tools etc. Next on the list is a QCTP. Dont get as much time in the shop as I would like as I still need to pay off the mortgage.
I will go into more detail on the machines and shop in my next post.
Col