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Machine Shop: Make a Nut (Intro to the Mill)

The class you want to take for your first time at a metal-cutting vertical mill.

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Machine Shop: Make a Nut (Intro to the Mill)

Machine Shop: Make a Nut (Intro to the Mill)

The class you want to take for your first time at a metal-cutting vertical mill.

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About

This class dovetails with Machine Shop: Make a Bolt (Intro to the Lathe) because the bolt you make in that class will thread into the nut you make in this class.

Making a square nut will help you gain an understanding of the three principal motions of the table in the X-, Y-, and Z-axes, how to make use of the DRO (Digital Read Out), how to control the speed of the spindle, use collets, and the different cutters used. You’ll practice layout, using the cut-off saw, “finding” an edge, facing and squaring on the mill, drilling, tapping, and filing a chamfer. 

Details

Skill level: Suitable for both beginners and those who are fairly new to the shop and wish to gain experience.

Details

A $5 materials fee, included in the class cost, covers all the materials you'll need.

Prerequisites

You must have completed Machine Shop: Orientation.

Class Policies

  • Wear closed-toe shoes, tie back long hair, avoid loose-fitting clothing and jewelry, and roll up sleeves.
  • Wear hearing protection when warranted and safety glasses (bring your own or use BARN's).
  • Ages 14 and up are welcome.
    • Instructor
    Eli Backer

    Eli Backer is an artist, composer, and engineer who works in a wide range of media and is constantly making. A Bainbridge native, she holds a master's degree in glass from the Rhode Island School of Design, and a bachelor's in computer engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Her work can be found in the Cynthia Sears Artist’s Books Collection at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, at the Center for Book Arts in NYC, and at the Fleet Library in Providence, R.I. She finds setting type and working with the presses quite meditative. In the Print and Book Studio, this monitor can certify people to use these pieces of equipment: metal type setting, wood type setting, the Vandercook proof press, the provisional presses, and the Challenge press.

    Instructor
    Andy Dupree

    Andy is a harpsichord maker, professional woodworker, and business consultant based on Bainbridge Island. Originally working as an organ builder in Ohio, he later trained as a harpsichord maker before opening his own shop. He has built instruments for such institutions as the Eastman School of Music and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Andy moved to the Northwest, working for Microsoft before turning to management and leadership consulting. Over the last few years, he has been honing his skills as a machinist and now focuses on tool making and building small steam engines.

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