CAMS Review of 18 May 99 Meeting

CAMS

Chesapeake Area Metalworking Society

Review of 18 May 99 Meeting
Mason District Governmental Center
6507 Columbia Pike
Falls Church, VA

Things must be slowing down for the summer. There were 22 people at this meeting. Below is a picture for posterity.

Mason District Governmental Center gave us the big room with the white board this time. It has plenty of space but the downside could be fewer tables and the glass wall to the lobby so everyone can see what us strange folks had dragged into the meeting. As before there were no problems with staying late.

The meeting got under way a little after 7PM. We went directly into our first presentation so the Rod Stephens could get back on the road to Richmond after his talk on tool grinding. Actually very little business was discussed.

No members of the "charter" committee were present to report on the investigation into becoming a more formal organization.

The change in our web site address was discussed and the new phone answering machine was mentioned. The web site address change happened because the Internic, which manages Internet addresses, had dropped our entry from their database for over two weeks. It proved faster to get a new address than to correct the problem. The new web site is at http://www.cams-club.org and the old address will become a mirror site. The answering machine will have club meeting data and will take messages. The phone number is 703-644-6983.

Eric Nystrom offered to set up meeting dates for both locations for as far into the future as would be allowed. Thanks Eric.

Program ideas for future meetings were discussed. Suggested topics included thread chasing on a lathe, measuring/metrology techniques, and silver soldering/brazing.

The first presenter of the evening was Rod Stephens, who operates a tool and cutter grinding business from his home near Richmond.

Rod talked about techniques for grinding drills, endmills, and lathe bits. He included methods usable in the home shop as well as the more elaborate equipment used in his shop. Below is a picture of a standard bench grinder and of an endmill flute sharpening fixture used during his explanations.

Rod answered questions from many members. The whiteboard came in handy for drawing diagrams such as the one below which was used to illustrate the concept of a chip breaker on a lathe bit.

There was not nearly enough time to cover all the issues and answer all the questions. Rod has expressed an interest in visiting us again sometime in the future.

The second program was Terry Elder speaking about methods and machines for cutting off metal stock. The different types of machines, chop saw, band saw, power hacksaw as well as types of blades were discussed.

Terry also explained how to do some of the adjustments on machines such as the small power hacksaw below.

In response to my request, Terry demonstrated how to roll a bandsaw blade for storage.

Many additional issues were covered, including the relative merits of the $199 wonder imported bandsaws and when to buy cheap and when it is worth spending the extra money for quality blades.

After the scheduled programs, members at large were offered the floor for any presentation that they wished to give.

Bill Lewis showed a hand drill and asked if anyone knew more about it and what it might be worth. Bill Therry was able to identify it and give some history of the company.

As usual there followed a general discussion period. Folks gradually drifted away until the truly hard core retired to the parking lot around 11 PM..

Thanks to Rod and Terry for their programs. Thanks to all who made the effort to come.

Cheers,
Steve Stallings