Equipment and supplies

This will go into some detail on the range of equipment you need or perhaps may use in machine rebuilding. If you are already using machine tools you probably have much of this already.

Test and Dial indicators

You must be able to measure the initial state of the machine and check as the geometry is changed. This is one area where you must spend some money, do not buy cheap sensitive indicators and expect them to work properly. The rule "Mitutoyo or better" is a good thing to remember. For most tasks a "test" or "lever" indicator will be more useful, easier to fit etc. Something like a 0,002mm test indicator along with a less sensitive indicator will provide most of the require measurement.

With the indicator you will need some quality stands, usually one for the surface plate and another for on machine measurements. Again do not go cheap but here a used hydraulic stand can easily be rebuilt and might offer a less expensive option. For articulated stands HG in Germany is excellent as are other European producers.

It is possible to build your own stand and this can be a rewarding project (Hemingway kits in the UK sells a casting) but cast iron bar would work just fine as well for a starting point.

Radius Gauge

When grinding scraper blades it is useful to have a metal gauge for checking the radius as you work. These can be made, purchased or found such as a metal can of the correct size. One edge of the gauge (hardened steel) is flat and can be used to deburr the surface between passes. This works better on some materials.

Marking compounds

There are a number of names but some means of transferring a colored compound from the reference to the work is required. There are a number of commercial products which work well. It is important to use a non-drying compound, layout blue is not the correct product.

The thickness of the compound is critical and needs to be controlled carefully. Depending on the exact product used this can be done with a rubber roller or some sort of pad.

There are those who promote a certain water based product but its performance and shelflife are less than impressive.

Slip Stones

The process of scraping can raise small burrs on the work surface, before spotting it is necessary to remove these, that can be accomplished with a mild abrasive stone (synthetic india stone is generally used). From Tyrolit I use type 579 stones.

The American school of scraping favors Norton round edge oil stones (Norton part number 61463687150) They should not cost more than 15 usd.

Surface Plates

Surface plates are if not required, very much helpful in scraping, metrology and many other tasks in the workshop. While it is possible to buy them used, it is highly recommended to purchase a new plate, and get the largest, highest grade plate you can afford. A 1000mm x 600mm plate is a somewhat manageable option, in Europe there are many suppliers. The quality of these producers is comparable, going with the closest supplier might be the best option given the costs of shipping can be considerable. The Suppliers page goes into more detail.

The grade, particularly for larger stone should be /00 grade or better. The price difference is not considerable and going up to /000 grade might not be a terrible idea.

What about Chinese plates you might ask? They are better than no plate but by the time you consider the full cost with freight etc they are not cheap enough to justify the risk of lower quality both in production and material selection.

Other options, cast iron plates are fine, but without a known good reference they are hard to check and restore. You could use the "three plate method" but really it is better to just be a new granite plate they are not that expensive.

No you can't use glass, granite countertop or other improvised surfaces unless you have the means of flattening them to within a few microns over their length.

You need a good solid easily adjustable stand for your plate that supports it at three points, a small plate can sit on a bench but to get the full benefit of a large highly accurate plate it needs to be leveled.

Straight Edges

Straight edges are critical to most machine rebuilding, you will need a few. If you also have a surface plate you can check, repair and even produce new straight edges as needed.

They are not always easy to find but there are a number of good sources (see suppliers page)

It is possible to make small prism straight edges from continuously cast iron bar (aka Dura bar) and even longer ones can be used with caution but they start to deflect excessively under their own length. It is best to keep solid prism straight edges under 300mm/12in.

One important note, DO NOT HIT YOUR STRAIGHT EDGE FOR ANY REASON. There is an idea propagated by certain people with with a poor grasp of metallurgy that this will somehow help to reduce a straight edge's internal stresses. At best it will do nothing but it is most likely to actually add surface stresses. The only viable means of reducing internal stresses in cast iron is thermal stress relief.

Precision Level

An accurate level is somewhere between helpful and critical for machine rebuilding and even just setting up machines. You can get away with less but a 0,02mm/m sensitivity is a very useful tool. You can level machines and surface plates but also use it to make measurements of straightness and perpendicularity.

If you have a high budget you can get some extremely accurate differential electronic levels from Wyler in Switzerland which allow amazing accuracy (but cost as much as a new car)

Power Scraper

This will be covered in more detail on its own page but the power scraper, (usually from Biax although there are a few other options) while not required is immensely useful and generally worth the non-trivial cost of acquisition.

If there is anyone interested in collaborating on a self-built design please get in touch.