Gil - I wish you luck. This has been a blast so far.
Mike, Mike & Chuck - Well I cut the Phase II post to 3-1/2" (actually it is just a hair over that :redface
. I drilled from the top side 1-3/4" at 5/16" diameter, flipped the post and drilled from the bottom to the first hole at 17/64th diameter. I then did a 1/2" deep bore at 7/16" to fit over the old post shoulder. Tomorrow is a trip to wholesale tool for a M8 x 1.25 tap made of HSS instead of carbon steel. I don't think I will risk the cheap tap. It really isn't worth it since I have not screwed up the post so far. I probably should have drilled the shoulder cut with an end mill but I didn't have one so I used a jobber instead. It shouldn't matter since it will thread onto the old post anyway. So tomorrow will be the tell all day with photos of successful.
Cutting fluid question. I plan on just a squirt bottle to apply the coolant/cutting fluid for a while then set up a pump down the road. Anything that I should look for specific or is a standard commercial spray bottle acceptable for now?
I have been looking for more tool holders. I know these are not the best quality but for what I am using them for I think they should be alright. Let me know what you all think.
Tool Holders