Thank you very much! That's much faster and more efficient than some of the other techniques I've seen. I was brought up as part of the CNC generation - taught at school to program CNC machines long before we learned about manual machines - our teachers were very good and doing the best they could to prepare us for the future, money and resources were very tight and it saved a lot of money if we wrote CNC programs that our teacher could assess on a simulator instead of making parts from stock on manual machines - but when I only need a prototype for development and testing or 2 or 3 copies of something then making it on a manual machine is much faster than writing a program and tooling up a CNC machine. For my generation your videos are hugely valuable!

Hi Joe. Erik Louw again from South Africa. I never but never found any one of your lessons not very interesting. As a hobbiest I can follow and the way you explain make it also understandable for the novice. What I like most is the fact that you don't try to get a long video with all nitty gritty information. It is right to the point. Sometimes I battle with inch measurements, because most of the time we work here in metric. Keep up the good work.

I am watching a 7 year old video. It is still a gem. 😊😊😊

You describe my problem exactly, my tools are too high. Thanks for showing me, this is the most important lesson to learn, when new in lathing and owning a lathe. Mine will not cut properly, and it feels like I'm pushing the material. Thanks again for this.

Old Austin hobby machinist here. I made a custom height gauge years ago, but I'm glad I watched until the end. That file handle trick is just what I need! Thank you.

Great post my friend. This is likely the most important thing when setting up to use a lathe. If I ever find out who took the piece of metal straping from my tool tray I will declare a hanging, LOL. That trick of using an old, dead file as a hardware holder on the tool post id brilliant. THanks big time teach. Yer full of neat tricks for us tonight. Ya rock fella ! Take care teach. Your mentormship is so vry much appreciated EH !

File trick is a nice bonus. Never know what I’ll learn when I hit the play button. Thanks Joe.!

Perfect! Thank you for sharing. I like that you don’t talk down (or up) to your audience..

Love the simple logic. 30 years a welder fitter, I trust my fingers more than my eyes. This is now to the top of the list of needed tools. Thanks.

very good, have seen quite a few of your videos and they are all excellent., toolmaker for 30 years.

You are one of the best with helpful & usable information. Thanks and God bless!

Greetings Joe, Yes, I am a fan. Please keep up the good work. Iam a hobbyist willing to learn. I would like to make a recommendation in regard to the "Setting the lathe tools on center" video. In addition to feeling the tool height, which is neat, I lower the work light behind the standard and bridge a scale to the tool. Now setting the proper height is easy. Now I see the light! Regards, Rod D.

One thing I have noticed mostly is how clean your shop is!!! Impressive! I work with a bunch of engineers and they always leave things lying around. Keeping a shop clean and organized saves frustration and is so functionally useful whenever you walk in!

Hi, I've got to say that I love your channel. I have had my lathe about 5 years and my mini mill for about 2years and I only found out about your channel this year. I would say that I have learnt more this year than in all the time I had my machines thanks to your teaching technique. I am a "why is it so" type of person. I enjoyed this video and will shortly be making one for my lathe. I liked the dial gauge holder that you have and looked to purchase one myself but they are no longer produced and while others make a similar one they don't appear as good. Also by the time I get one in Australia the cost looks like being over $300 for a magnetic mount. I saw that someone else asked if you could give us a breakdown of yours so we could machine one and I to would like to ask that and I am sure that there are others you would like to do it too. Cheers Mark

I can't express how much help you are and the simple and easy to understand teaching methods you employ to make it easier to understand. I'm looking at property around Austin wanting to move from the Kansas City area. Retired from Bayer Corp. engineering maintenance machine shop area after 37 years. Maybe I'll get to meet you, you have definately been a great help as I have a small machine shop I built in my downstairs. Thank You very much.

Every time i watch one of your videos, something like this tip comes up and i feel like an idiot. Why didn't i think of that. Like the videos almost as much as reducing material to chips!!

Sunday afternoon job, sort out tool centering once and for all, after 45 years of faffing about! Brilliant Joe thank you.

Great Video, Great Tip - I even bought that US General 387 magnetic base (@ 5:53) Great tip (@ 7:57) on using the old file tang, too! Thank You - Joe Pie - you have taught us all a lot! Please keep posting the great videos.

Hey Joe You are unbelievable. For many years I've been at the lathe, and still before the youtube channel file. So, I'm not inexperienced and not so young anymore. Here and there I see a different way of solutions. And that's exactly what I like most about your movies... Hugo - Belgium - W-VL

Another great tip, Joe! Made one in less than 20 minutes and wonder how I got along without one! I have not commented before, but this little tool tip is so basic and so useful I finally had to say something. Thanks!

As someone who has made a career of fixing pointless complexity, I have a special appreciation for simplicity. This tool does just one thing, but does it perfectly. Half an hour's work; good for a lifetime. Great idea

Great video,Joe.I made the tool height gauge from 1 1/2 yellow brass because, it was easier than turning down a 3” bar of aluminum and,it’s heavier. I keep it in a pvc pipe with foam rubber glued inside the end caps.Thank you for the video.

going out to shop to make one now for my brand new lathe ....thanks Joe keep up the great work and videos.

Awesome! And that "end of an OLD File" trick, was like frosting on a Cake!

Joe, my name is Carlo Piaia one of the places I used to work at was Tydeman Machine Works in Redwood City and they had a tool height adjustment tool, that was approximately an inch or so in diameter, after they found the Center Height they attached another piece of material the same diameter, and offset it by about a quarter inch and reattached it with a 1/4-20 cap screw the so you could measure right side- up tools and upside down tools. Thanks Joe I like your videos

This is an issue I've had as a hobby machinist for years with lathe work. Best centering method I've seen yet. Love the little "File" trick as well.

Thanks Joe. That is a good way to do it. Adding to that theme, you can add a little overhang, even with the top of your reference pin, to help you reach to where the cutter is. No more than 1/2” or so works well.

Hey Joe, Love your channel, I am a very experienced machinist but there is always something to be learned from others. This video shoes a great way to accurately set center height on tools, I agree it is most important. When I had a production shop I had exclusively Hardinge machines and they made an adjustable center height tool similar to yours, it had a top piece that folded out for setting upside down tools. Your method of setting the gauge is so simple and easy, great job.

Joe I gotta say after a long day at work I love sitting back cracking a beer and watching your tutorials/Tips and tricks.Keep them coming sir!

Good vids. I've run machines for long time and I've learned many things from you. Many thanks.

I like your work Joe, direct and to the point, no stuffing around.

Great idea Joe! I've been using an old height gauge I found laying around our shop to center the tools for my protrak lathe, but need one for my bigger lathe too. Im making one of yours tomorrow! Like your videos!

Thanks Joe. I learn something every time you post a video, no matter how simple.

This is an excellent tool. The best I could muster (for those tools which permit it) was to trap a thick shim between the tool tip and the workpiece to form a tangent. When it was on center the tangent was vertical, off center off vertical. I like your idea better. Thank you again.

I'm glad I found this channel. Fantastic tips and tricks.

Another good one Joe Nice white-board and live demo, it's not the length it's the content especially when you're not gloating about new tools, new stuff, look at my machines, ya ta, ya ta. There's a place for that but it's about gettin things done. Come'on guys let's get those subs up for Joe.

Another spot on production from Joe, all these tips and tricks are really helpful for me and a colleague, thank you from the UK.

Brilliant , thanks a mill for all the fabulous vids, As a coded pipe welder obviously I know everything but its nice to see it done right....;-)

Great tips Mr Joe! Thanks, for sharing your knowledge!

Once again you make, what seems to be a difficult set up, appear easy. Thank you for all your videos.

Joe as usual yet again another great and simple add on for us Home machinists THANK YOU JOE. Martin in the uk

Thank you so much for taking the time to really explain your methods, they are so hopeful in learning

Great tips from a veteran machinist. Makes lots of sense. Thank you

Hi Joe, love all your videos, clear precise & exacting! Keep it up. I'm just a humble beginer strugling for precision. Fantastic

So direct and to the point of the function. Will be watching you more, a lot of people are over complicating way things with a lathe.

Joe, you always explain things so clearly! Hardinge lathes used to come with a similar post specific to each particular machine, only those had a cap on them so you could use the underside to see if the tool was too high and the top of the post proper if it was too low. I once saw a guy use a neat trick to center a tool - take your 6" scale and trap it between the tool and the work. Look from the tailstock toward the spindle. If the scale is vertical, you're on center. If the upper end is toward the right, it's too high. To the left, too low. Not as precise as Joe's method, but really quick more effective than it would seem. Of course, Joe's method is dead nuts accurate and very quick once you have your post.

Hi Joe, This was one of the first machining projects I did, and still to this day is one of the best centering tools I own and use. Love the cut file tip, priceless man, thanks for sharing! Regards, Ray

Your explanation of the geometry cleared up a lot questions I have had, as a bonus I learned how to be more in control of the machine. Outstanding.

B.Fox, Thank you for THE very best description of the importance of center height ! Been using this for 20 yrs. Great video,Thanks.

Another brilliant idea/video!! I've had the live centre in the middle of a part and needed to set/check tool height (which of course I should have done before chucking up the part). Thanks

Another solid video. Keep them coming. All these little tricks are great.

Hi Joe, I love your videos - such innovative thinking please don't stop making them. I was a design engineer on the space shuttle main engines for Rocketdyne. We had a special projects machine shop that had three guys that were master machinists. I dropped in there any chance I got just to watch how these guys did things and to pick their brains regarding how to change a design to make the part as efficiently as possible. You would have fit right in there with those guys. One fellow was an old German tool and die maker - he thought outside the box just like you. Thanks for all the time you spend making these videos - I've been machining parts in my side design and prototype parts business for about 45 years now and you have taught me some great tips - which goes to show you're never too old to keep learning. Thank you.

I got one of these standards with one of my lathes & was going to make one for the other lathe - now I know a quick way to do so!

There is so much good information in this clip -- absolutely excellent!

Another great video Joe, I have learned so much watching your channel.

Another great tip, I'll make one of these, many thanks for your expertise Jack from over the pond

Joe, I am an apprentice to the machine trade and find your videos very helpful. Thank you for sharing your great tips and vast experience with all of us . Looking forward to future videos.

i made this tool and have found that my tools cut more easily and longer without needing to be touched up. A great addition to the inventory

It may have been one of your shortest videos but I gleaned several important bits of machining wisdom from it.

Long time viewer/subscriber. Once I got done cracking up over how obvious the two ball trick is but *only in retrospect*, I felt like an 2x idiot for not having watched this when it came out - I needed that. Thanks again, Joe!

Excellent tool Joe. I made one of these yesterday and reset several of my tools. Some of my BXA quick change blocks won't go down quite far enough to center the tool and I may have to grind the bottoms a little to lower the tools on center. But at least now I know for sure what the height needs to be! Thanks, and please keep the videos coming!

/Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge and tricks of the trade. Very much appreciated!!!

Simple but clever. Thanks Joe

nice technique for setting tools, another quick way i found is to lightly pinch a small piece of sheet stock between the cutter and your part then adjust tool height until the sheet stock is pointing vertical.

I like your idea but what I did was turn a piece of stock in the lathe and measured the diameter divided that by 2 and wrote it down. I then set a height gauge on my cross slide and measured the distance from the top of my cross slide and the top of the stock I turned. Next I took the number I wrote down and subtracted that from the distance I measured, that is the center of the stock in the lathe. It was 3.781. Now all I have to do is use my height gauge to set my cutting tool at 3.781. Works better than anything else I have done and it is very fast. Parting is a breeze now. Thanks for you videos they are informative and from someone that knows what they are doing.

So simple, so smart. Thank you!

Little tools like this are real time-savers. I made a square-U with the base of the U flat and parallel to the tips. I hold the tips against the face of my lathe chuck, straddling a jaw. The base gives me a parallel surface I can use to align the angle of my QC toolpost, especially the parting tool. I also made a dedicated little jack for my dividing head that lets me set the chuck exactly horizontal in a snap. The list goes on! Now that I'm old and senile, I need to label all these tools so I will know what they're for when I haven't used them in a year! Love your channel.

Excellent. The tips are really great for those of us who are on a steep learning curve. The white board preps are vital to my understanding. I watch your video, move out to the garage and use the demo once again, as needed, to attempt to repeat your demo. While doing this I also keep a notebook of certain things I wish to recall. Your videos are well designed for this type of learning. Many thanks.

Hi Joe I am a newby to machining. self teaching. I am glad you make these simple videos. the things that are stupid simple for an experienced machinist are priceless for some one starting out. The explanation and showing (chalk board to machine) are great!!. Idea for another video. I wanted to get some collet's. What I thought would be a quick just find the size and order. HA. I found out not. Some are for short pieces only some are for long pieces, some are need special adapters, ect. Keep these coming not forgetting the new guy

Just discovered this channel. Great videos! Am going one by one through all of them.Thanks for all the hard work producing them.

New guy on the block. Can't wait to see what's to come...great content!

Hey Joe, I found a very similar indicator holder to yours and love it. Mine is called "Erick Magna Model 200" They can be found on Amazon as well as other vendors. I just wanted to pass the work along in case someone would like to pick one up. I have found them easier to use than the Noga style that seem so popular now. Thanks for all of your great content.

Great advice and the file tang trick is a gem and why I have started watching your channel. I made a Hardinge-style tool height gage knock-off and use it every day for the tool setups. I like your short and to the point videos.

As always straight to the point and no BS, thanks again!

Great tip, thanks Joe you earned yourself another subscriber. I will be making one of those as soon as I get home from work today.

Hey Joe Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. Again you have a great way of explaining and showing things for us green guys to understand. the more I learn the more I love my lathe. your videos are fantastic! Tim Ditmore Matrix Gunsmithing Lake George, CO.

Thanks Joe from over the pond in Craven Arms, UK. Great ideas.

Joe, thanks for another awesome video. I’ve been watching your very informative content for only a few weeks now and have learned so much already. I look forward to exploring more! Keep up the good work! 👍

Another short-cut master piece Joe,thank's

I use this tool all the time as from seeing this video 2 years ago. Kind of the "Occams Razor" approach of keeping things simple. Thanks Joe

The more I watch your video's the more I'm starting to get great work come out of my work shop it so good to have some one that is will to show the tips of the trade and the reasons why for the do's and don't that make all the difference when seeing it done -thumbs up from me and please keep on making these vedeo's.

Good info and video. We were on vacation in Mobile Alabama and I got a chance to observe two machinist working on two 15" swing lathe's with lantern style tool post. They both had a standard like the one you made but the had a small piece of steel, bolted on the top, that overhung on one side so when they changed to a different tool they could swing the compound over and under the overhang. That set the tool height, then lock the tool down, then swing the compound back to the part and lock it down and start cutting. Thanks again. You can use a small drill drift to lock that knurled nut also.

Looks like one of those tools that are so simple to make and even easier to use .... Fantastic job !!!

Hello Joe, great tool tip. I made one for my Mini-lathe. Works perfect and quickly. Keep the tips coming. Kurt Kenyon, Seattle Wa.

I love your measurement techniques...when you starting out in engineering these tricks are invaluable. Top marks for being short and to the point.

This is really neat - as are all your videos. I trained as a woodworker, and now run a brass instrument making business - I'm learning learning learning machining...

More expert tips. Thank you! For me, the reason I find these tips so valuable is that you include simple to understand, yet very detailed explanations and descriptions. You are an amazing craftsman and teacher. I really appreciate the effort and time you take to organize your thoughts and share them in such a seamless way. That only happens for those who really know the subjects they are presenting. All the best to you! Joel.....

Joe, Really new at this and looknng for all you'r you tube vidioes i can find. You are one of the finest teachers i have heard from in a LLLLOOONNNGG time. You are very knowlegable and well spoken so that even a ROMPERROOM dropout like me can understand most of it. Just wanted to say, keep up the good work, and GOD Bless. Hank.

Joe... You never cease to amaze me

Joe, you are a Great teacher and machinist/ inventor. Thank you.

Joe, these are really great - hope you are still at it!

Like what I see here. Thanks for the teaching. Been using the tailstock center for years. Will build a height gage next chance I get.

Joe, that pin method is sheer brilliance in it's simplicity! And that file tang taper squeeze play is a good thing to remember. When I was manufactured engineer at one of the companies I worked at.... I had this one machinist that kept all of his nails trimmed except one pinky nail - which he usually let grow out to one quarter of an inch. It was his "educated measuring nail". He could run along the surface and tell the surface finish as good as the surface finish standard would do..... And he would use it for matching surface heights like you did with your finger. Personally I prefer my index fingernail! 🤗

Have one sitting beside my lathe, made after first watching this tip some years back daily use thanks Joe

Brilliant videos Joe I'm a toolmaker for 30 years and I have learned great tips from you

Found your Video I've always had problems finding the center after changing tools. Made a jig just like yours. Works great. Thanks

The height tool is neat. I made mine out of two 1/2 inch bolts. Of course I faced the bolts off. I joined them in an extra long nut used to join all thread. I put two jam nuts on it to lock it in place. I'm not a "machinist" but have operated lathes for 20 + years. This little trick makes my life easier.

Thanks again, Joe. Just made one of these center gauges today for my 40's Atlas 10", and you're right - it's a simple solution that works great! It took me some time to "sneak" the 6061 round stock to the precise length a few thou at a time, but I can't thank you enough. Most precise gauge I've ever used for setting tool height!

such a simple idea that just makes sense. I watched this video last night and ran right out and built one for my Ole SB 13. thanks!

What a time saver. Well worth the upfront effort to make this. Great idea and great vid. Thanks