shiccup.

Patch notes

ChipForge updates

Every update to ChipForge, newest first. Now on v0.61.0, updated Oct 27, 2026.

Play ChipForge

October 2026

v0.61.0

Bore it to size

  • New tool: the boring bar (Buy › Tools). Pick it on the lathe's Compound tab, then open a drilled hole to an exact size. Inside the hole the cross dial works backwards: wind toward you to cut deeper.
  • New 1-1/4 in drill for the tailstock. It needs a pilot hole first.
  • New T-11 job: a bearing seat. Turn the outside, drill, then bore a seat for a 35 mm bearing to within a thousandth, with a shoulder at the right depth.
  • The V-36 Pendant now shows the Ready lamp warming up, with the seconds left, and the lamp on the machine lights only when the table is ready to start.
v0.60.1

See the ram swing

  • On the V-36's Ram tab the camera now frames the ram head and its tool, so you can watch the head swing as you set the angle, on a phone held either way.
  • Leaving the Ram tab puts the usual view back; Whole machine still shows the whole V-36.
v0.60.0

The V-36 ram swivels

  • The V-36 vertical lathe's ram head now swivels: unlock it, swing it from 0 to 30 degrees in quarter-degree or one-degree steps, lock it, and the tool feeds along that angle.
  • New V-36 job: a pump impeller shroud in forged 4140, with a 15 degree inlet cone cut on the swung ram. The print shows the cone's angle and length.
  • Millimetre prints now show millimetres everywhere (the V-36 grip-band note used to say 3/4 in).
  • The V-belt sheave's print reads clean in millimetres: the bore size no longer runs into the groove list.
v0.59.1

Prints that read clean

  • Every customer's print is easier to read: no number sits on a line of the part, on an arrow or on another number, in inches or millimetres.
  • Stacked sizes on stepped parts (the step gauge, the shouldered shaft) have more room between rows.
  • Hole notes on the drilled plates and the chamfer and hole-depth notes on turned parts moved clear of the dimension arrows.
v0.59.0

Check a thread over three wires

  • New L-14 order: a 5/8-11 three-wire stud. Cut the thread, then check its pitch diameter over three wires, the way a machinist proves a thread is right.
  • Buy the three-wire set in Buy, Tools: six hardened wires, one for each common thread. Lay the best wire for the thread in the grooves and read the micrometer over the wires.
  • The pitch diameter comes from the thread you cut. The coach tells you to buy the set and names the wire to use.
  • The stud's print shows the wire size and the pitch diameter with its tolerance, clear of the drawing.
  • Thread prints are easier to read: labels never sit on a line of the part or on an arrow, and slide clear of a wider shoulder.
  • The three-wire buttons are as tall as every other button on a phone.
v0.58.0

Compound rest on the T-11

  • The T-11 gets a compound rest on its own Compound tab: loosen the swivel nut, swing the compound to an angle, lock it, then wind the compound wheel to cut a point or a bevel.
  • New T-11 order: a stainless valve stem with a 30 degree needle point. Set the compound to 15 degrees, half the point's angle, and feed it in.
  • The compound and the taper attachment work one at a time, and the game tells you which to set back.
  • The valve stem's print shows the point, with its 30 degree angle and its length, so you can see what to cut.
  • Facing the end with the compound still swung leaves a nub in the middle. The coach reminds you to set the compound back to 0 first, and Inspection names the nub if one is left.
  • On a phone held sideways, the T-11's tabs sit in one row you can swipe, so every control stays on screen.
  • Buttons show their new setting the moment you tap them: the compound's swivel and nut, and the lock on every handwheel.
v0.57.0

Casting skin on the V-36

  • Castings and forgings for the V-36 now come with a hard skin: 0.03 in on gray iron, 0.04 in on ductile iron, 0.02 in on forged steel. The rough blank looks dull and as-cast until you cut under it.
  • Take your first pass deeper than the skin. A pass that stays in the skin dulls the insert, and a dull insert rubs, so the part comes out a hundredth too big.
  • The Turret tab shows how sharp the insert is, and Fit fresh insert puts on a new one (stop the table first). Then cut again to size.
  • The coach tells you the skin depth before the first pass, and after the grooves on the V-belt sheave are to size it tells you to swap the turning tool back.
v0.56.0

Grooves on the V-36

  • The V-36's side head gets a second tool, a V-belt form tool. Swap it in on the Side head tab with the feed stopped and the head clear of the part.
  • Set how deep the grooves go with the groove stop on the Feed tab, then use the Groove feed to plunge each groove to that depth.
  • New V-36 order: a V-belt sheave, a big gray iron pulley with three belt grooves. The print shows where each groove sits and how deep it goes. Pays $1,400, with a tip of up to 20% for a centred part.
  • You can see the grooves on the turned part, and the form tool on the side head when it is fitted.
  • Inspection reads each groove's bottom with a V-belt groove gauge.
v0.55.0

Micrometer carriage stop on the T-11

  • The T-11's Apron tab gets a micrometer carriage stop: set it where the carriage is, then tap minus or plus to dial it in a thousandth at a time. The carriage stops at the same place on every pass.
  • New T-11 order: a shouldered shaft. Set the stop on each shoulder's mark before you cut it, so the shoulder lengths come out the same on every part.
  • Before a shoulder cut, the coach reminds you to set the carriage stop on the Apron tab.
  • Clear stop with no stop set now tells you why instead of doing nothing.
v0.54.2

Get closer to the part on the V-36

  • On the V-36 vertical lathe you can pinch in much closer to the part, so you can see the cut, the jaws and the turned band.
  • The camera stops at the part's surface instead of passing into the metal, even on the biggest parts.
v0.54.1

Fast handwheels are fast

  • On the lathes, the Fast gear now speeds up the handwheel when the tool moves through air. On the T-11, moving the cross slide half an inch in Fast takes about a second instead of more than three.
  • Cutting feeds are unchanged: once the tool meets metal it feeds at the cutting rate as before, and it still never jumps into the part.
  • The L-12 and L-14 carriages move faster in Fast too; Normal and Fine feel the same as before.
v0.54.0

Flip the part on the V-36

  • On the V-36 vertical lathe you can now flip the part over for a second setup: the bottom band the jaws held on the first setup comes up to the top, so you can turn it too.
  • After a flip, set the part again: centre it by the rings, tap it true and torque the jaws.
  • New V-36 jobs check the whole outside, the band included. A V-36 job you had already started keeps the old check.
  • When the top is done, the coach tells you to flip the part and turn the band.
  • Fixed: on the V-36 pendant, Table speed now reads 0 when the table is stopped, and the speed dial shows the speed you have set.
v0.53.0

Taper attachment on the T-11

  • The T-11 tool room lathe gets a taper attachment: set the taper per foot on the guide bar, pick which end is the big end, pull the taper lever, and the cross slide follows the bar as the carriage moves, so the tool turns a cone.
  • New order for the T-11: a taper mandrel, 1.000 in at the big end down to 0.750 in, held to a thousandth.
  • If a taper is set but its lever is still off, the coach reminds you before the cut, so you do not turn a straight bar by mistake.
  • Fixed: on the T-11's Holding tab, "3-jaw chuck" now fits inside its button on small phones.
v0.52.2

Landscape phones see the machine

  • On a phone held sideways, the buttons over the machine now sit in one short row along the top, with a More menu for the rest, so you can see the machine you are cutting on.
  • The button you need next stays in the row: Part done lights up there when the part is ready.
  • The readout stays small but keeps your current step and how much is left to cut.
  • Fixed: on the Knee Mill the readout could run off the bottom of the screen, and on the lathe the coach button could sit under the open readout.
v0.52.1

A better view on the V-36

  • The V-36's work view now frames the part, the jaws and the tool where they meet, in portrait and landscape.
  • The big gear blank no longer looks washed out in landscape.
  • The job name and the blank size sit together in one card, so neither covers the other.
v0.52.0

The V-36 vertical lathe

  • A new machine: the Shiccup V-36 vertical lathe, $9,000 in Buy › Machines, sold used from a plant auction. It goes on sale once you own the L-14 and have shipped 15 lathe parts.
  • Big round parts lie flat on a turning table. Set the blank down, find the high spot with the indicator, tap it true and tighten all four jaws. A loose jaw lets a heavy cut slip the part.
  • Two heads: the ram faces and bores from above, the side head turns the outside and can face the top of a wide part.
  • Slow is right on a big part: 3.5 to 150 rpm in two ranges, and the High range locks on anything over 24 in across. A feed clock runs long cuts up to 16 times faster.
  • Four big jobs pay $900 to $1,600 each: a weld-neck flange, a brake disc, a bearing ring and a gear blank.
v0.51.0

The T-11 tool room lathe

  • A new machine: the Shiccup T-11 tool room lathe, $4,500 in Buy › Machines. It goes on sale once you own the L-14 and have shipped 6 lathe parts.
  • It is built for fine work: three colour speed ranges with a speed knob you can turn while cutting, 24 very fine feeds, a cross dial that reads two tenths, a digital readout, and a collet for small bar.
  • Four precision jobs need it: an alignment pin, a step plug gauge, a 3/8-40 instrument thread and a bronze bushing, each with a key size held to half a thou.
  • The Use button on the lathe steps through every lathe you own.
  • Prints are easier to read: size labels never overlap, and the chamfer and hole notes sit clear of the drawing.
v0.50.1

Starts cleanly on YouTube

  • The game now tells YouTube it is ready as soon as it has loaded, even when the page opens it in the background or paused, so it never sits on the loading screen.
  • If one frame ever hits an error, the game keeps running instead of freezing.
v0.50.0

Some Help

  • Settings has a third way to play between The Old Hand and On Your Own: Some Help. The size helper, soft stalls and auto zero stay on; speed pick, clean vise, saw length snap and the easy chip hook are off, and the helper line starts folded. Hand orders pay +8%.
  • The three cards sit in one row; flip any single helper under Advanced and the row reads Custom.
v0.49.0

A truer CNC

  • VMC-1: real proportions. 16 in of side-to-side travel and a 12 in deep table; the tool setter and vise moved to fit, and the Double vise is now one vise that holds two blanks.
  • VMC-1 on a phone: while a part cuts, every Run button stays on screen. Feed and Spindle sit behind Overrides.
  • Knee Mill and lathes: Part done stays plain until your cuts are done, then lights up; the block size no longer runs under the buttons.
  • Drill Press: Whole machine is bigger on a sideways phone.
  • Knee Mill: when the helper line already says why a wheel won't turn (a lock, for one), the same message no longer pops up on top of it.
  • On YouTube only: a short ad can play after you ship a paid order (from your second order, at most every 4 minutes), and the CNC can double what it earned while you were away if you choose to watch one.
v0.48.0

Hold to see what it's called

  • Hold a finger on any part of a machine to see its name. Let go and the tag stays for a moment.
  • Knee Mill, first job: Up and Down buttons on the knee, a nudge to use Fast while the cutter is far from the part, a labelled Lock, and a clear thud when the cutter sits on the block with the spindle off.
  • When a cut misses the print, the warning now says cut or hole to match the job.
  • The job card no longer covers the Knee Mill's controls when you walk up; tap Job to open it. After the band saw cut, the Knee Mill button stands out.
  • Drill Press: Whole machine now shows the whole machine, clear of the controls.
  • Knee Mill: a fine quill turn with the feed lever out now always tells you the feed lever is why it won't move, even right at a stop.
v0.47.0

Meet the CNC early

  • Buy › CNC is open from the start: see the VMC-1, watch it run, and see what it takes to unlock it.
  • The CNC unlocks sooner: after 5 paid jobs made on 2 kinds of manual machine.
  • Free test drive: after your first paid job, try the dealer's CNC. Load tools, touch off, prove a part and watch a short batch. Nothing you do there touches your shop.
v0.46.0

Read the CNC program

  • CNC: the Program tab shows the job's program as numbered lines under its name, the way a real control does.
  • CNC: during the first part the line being run is lit. With Single Block on, it is the line waiting for Cycle Start.
  • CNC: the tool setter's lamp lights when a tool touches it, and the Old Hand points at Touch off for a tool with no length yet.
v0.45.0

Set the band saw blade guide

  • Band Saw: a new Set up tab with the blade guide. Slide it IN close to the bar, as on a real saw; the gap shows on a readout.
  • Band Saw: a guide left far from the work lets the blade wander, and Inspection sees the cut drift off square.
  • Band Saw: the guide only moves with the blade stopped, and the Old Hand outlines the right setting.
v0.44.0

Feed and spindle overrides

  • CNC: a new Overrides tab with Feed (50 to 150%) and Spindle (50 to 120%) dials, as on a real machine control. Feed changes how long a part takes and how hard each tooth bites; spindle changes cutting speed and tool wear.
  • CNC: the cutting feed tops out at 500 inches per minute, and the readout says when it is capped.
  • CNC: the Old Hand outlines 100% when a dial is left off it.
  • Knee Mill: a handwheel turn that is not allowed now says why the moment you press.
v0.43.0

Coolant on the first part

  • CNC: the coolant switch is on the first-part panel too. It is the same switch as the one on the batch run, so flipping either one flips both.
  • CNC: with coolant off, the Old Hand outlines the switch as a reminder. Cutting dry wears tools faster.
  • CNC: on an upright phone the handwheel steps aside on the Run tab, so the first-part panel and the chip pan fit without scrolling.
v0.42.0

Cut a batch to the stop

  • Band Saw: the length stop has an On / Off switch. Turn it on for a batch and the saw re-arms after each cut, so every bar comes out the same length without measuring each one.
  • Band Saw: the Old Hand suggests the stop for a batch of two or more pieces.
  • Band Saw: the stop's - and + buttons say why when the stop is at the end of its range, instead of doing nothing.
v0.41.0

A real small-shop CNC

  • CNC: the VMC-1 now matches a typical small-shop CNC mill: 12 in of front-to-back travel, 10 in up and down, a 10-tool changer, 600 in/min rapids and a quicker tool change.
  • CNC: a Coolant switch for the batch run. Without coolant, tools wear twice as fast. The Old Hand suggests turning it on.
  • CNC: the first-part run gets the 5% rapid step real panels have: 5, 25, 50 or 100%.
  • Contour Saw on a sideways phone: the readout no longer covers the helper button, and the Slack and Set labels fit their buttons.
v0.40.0

Shop habits: coolant, tension, prove it first

  • Band Saw and Contour Saw: a blade tension switch, Slack or Set. A new blade starts slack, and the saw won't start until you tension it. The Old Hand reminds you before the first cut.
  • Surface Grinder: a coolant switch. Grinding dry heats the part twice as fast. The Old Hand asks you to turn it on.
  • Surface Grinder: a Tug test for the magnet. Give the part a tug before the first pass to check it's held tight; the Old Hand asks for it once per job.
  • CNC: on the first part of a run, the Old Hand suggests Single Block and Rapid 25% with a dashed outline. It's your call; nothing is forced.
  • CNC: Cycle Start, Feed Hold and Single Block now fit on one row on a phone held upright.
v0.39.0

Find your zero, and every machine feels like the mill

  • Jobs show the block size on the print, the job strip and the Job sheet. Mill prints mark the datum corner and the pocket centre.
  • The Old Hand now walks you through Find the edges: touch off with the edge finder before the first cut. The dials start at an unknown zero on each job, and inspection checks where the pocket sits, not just its size.
  • Lathe: the Feed tab works like the knee mill. One big handwheel the mill's size (upright or sideways), pick the axis, hold to feed, Zero and lock. The chip hook sits under the wheel.
  • Surface Grinder: one Handwheels tab with Table, Cross and Down, laid out like the mill.
  • Drill Press: the table handwheels use the mill's panel.
  • A single tap always moves one graduation, on every machine.
  • The lathe's suggested belt gets the mill's dashed outline. The Band Saw and CNC readouts fold away like the mill's.
  • One thud for a handwheel that can't turn, on every machine. Old Hand buttons wrap instead of cutting words off on a phone.
v0.38.0

Every machine, one set of controls

  • Surface Grinder: the downfeed handwheel now works like the knee mill's, with Fine and Fast gears, -1 and +1 (one ten-thousandth), and hold to crank that stops when you let go.
  • CNC: the jog handwheel works like the hand machines. Pick ×1, ×10 or ×100, tap -1 or +1, or hold to turn; a turn that can't happen thuds and says why. The CNC panel now fits a phone held upright.
  • Knee Mill: a handwheel that can't turn now says why (the table is locked, or the axis is at the end of its travel) instead of only thudding.
  • Every handwheel shows its numbered dial face; the drill table, grinder and CNC wheels were a blank black disc.
  • Drill Press, Surface Grinder, Band Saw and Contour Saw readouts now look like the lathe's: lines wrap instead of cutting off, amber while there's stock to go, green on size.
  • One rule for pop-ups on every machine: a message pops up unless the Old Hand's line already says it.
  • On a phone, each handwheel sits beside its buttons, in pairs: the holds, -1 and +1, and the gears.
v0.37.0

Every machine handles like the knee mill

  • Drill Press: the table's X, Y and height wheels now work like the knee mill's, with Fine, Normal and Fast gears, -1 and +1 buttons, and hold to crank that stops when you let go. On a phone you pick one wheel at a time.
  • Lathe: the small lathe's carriage now reaches right up to the chuck, so the Threaded Stud can be cut by hand.
  • Surface Grinder: with Soft stalls on, too heavy a downfeed stops the wheel unhurt instead of breaking it, and Auto zero sets the dial on the first touch.
  • Band Saw: with Soft stalls on, forcing the feed stalls the blade instead of stripping its teeth.
  • CNC: a button that can't work right now thuds and buzzes like the hand machines and says why.
  • When the Old Hand has already told you something, tapping again makes its line glow instead of growing, so it never covers your buttons.
  • Settings now say exactly which machines each helper works on, and that the helpers-off pay bonus is for hand jobs.
v0.36.0

The drill press and grinder ease you onto size

  • Drill Press: with the Size helper on, the quill slows as the hole nears its depth and holds at the last good depth, so following the helper keeps the depth in tolerance.
  • Surface Grinder: the downfeed slows as the part nears its thickness and holds at the last good size, by hand or on Auto.
  • On both, the checklist turns amber as you get close and green with one buzz when you're in, and the Old Hand tells you when to ease off.
  • Lathe: with the Size helper on, plunging the cross slide past the size line is held too.
  • Lathe orders: the chamfered pin's step now always sits where the carriage can reach it.
  • Every machine says the size stop in the same words.
  • On Your Own, or with the Size helper off, nothing changes.
v0.35.0

The lathe eases you onto size

  • Lathe: with the Size helper on, turning a diameter or facing to length works like the mill. The cross slide and carriage run at full speed, slow down as you get close, creep inside the tolerance and hold at the last good size, so following the helper keeps the size in tolerance.
  • The checklist turns amber as you get close and green with one buzz when you're in. The Old Hand says when to ease off and tells you when you're stopped on the size line.
  • The lathe's power feed knocks off at the last good size too, with a note saying why.
  • On Your Own, or with the Size helper off, the lathe is unchanged.
v0.34.0

Every machine pushes back the same way

  • Drill press, surface grinder, band saw and contour saw now answer a blocked move the way the mill and lathe do: a thud and a short buzz, and the helper says why. With the helper open the reason goes on its line; otherwise a short message pops up.
  • The band saw tells you why a held cut is refused instead of doing nothing, and the drill explains a spare bit that won't fit instead of showing a red warning.
  • The Knee Mill now runs on the same wheel controls as the lathe, so the two stay matched from here on. The mill looks and feels exactly as before.
v0.33.0

The lathe handles like the mill

  • Lathe handwheels now work like the Knee Mill's: drag a wheel, tap minus or plus to move exactly one mark, hold the arrow buttons to crank, and switch to Fine for the last few thousandths or Fast x4 to cover ground.
  • A lathe wheel stops the moment you let go. A fast swipe no longer stores up feed that keeps cutting after your finger lifts; the extra turn is refused with a thud instead.
  • When the lathe blocks a move (a lock, a stop, the chuck, the tailstock, the half nut or the power feed), you get the same thud and buzz as the mill, and the helper says why.
  • Turning a wheel while the power feed drives that slide now tells you the power feed has it, instead of doing nothing.
  • The lathe's readout lines and controls fit phones held upright or sideways, with every button full finger size.
v0.32.0

Power feed and a gentler size stop

  • Knee Mill: the quill has a power feed. Pick 0.0015, 0.003 or 0.006 inch per spindle turn, then Up or Down, and the quill moves by itself. It stops 0.010 inch short of the depth stop.
  • A Hand / Power switch on the quill shows the handle or the power feed. The power feed only engages at 3000 rpm or slower, like the real one, and says so if the spindle is too fast.
  • With the Size helper on, the knee no longer stops dead. It runs at full speed, slows over the last 0.010 inch, creeps inside the tolerance and holds at the last good size. The checklist turns amber as you get close and green with one buzz when you're in.
  • Drill press: the table crank moves 0.200 inch per turn and won't move while the column lock is on. The helper tells you to free the lock first. The quill springs back up in about a third of a second.
  • Lathe: 6061 aluminium makes long stringy chips that wind into a nest at feeds up to 0.008 inch per turn, like the real metal.
  • Band saw and contour saw: if something can't move during a cut, they now tell you why and buzz the phone instead of doing nothing.
  • Surface grinder: never says Part done on a practice block or after a scrap, and the part's outline follows the cut so the helper box lines up on phones.
  • CNC: the handwheel's minus and plus buttons are full finger size on phones.
v0.31.0

Indicate the bar true

  • L-14 lathe: a new Chuck tab. Put the test indicator on the bar, turn the chuck round by hand in eight steps and read how far the bar runs off centre.
  • Snug the chuck, tap the high side with the dead-blow hammer, tighten, and read it again until it runs true. The lathe won't start with the chuck only snug.
  • Chamfered pins are checked for runout at Inspection: more than 0.002 in off the bar's centre fails, and Inspection says why.
  • The Old Hand walks you through indicating the bar the first time.
  • Surface grinder: the wheel stays worn from one part to the next until you dress it, like a real wheel.
  • Scrap a part on the grinder and its job clears at once, so the helper stops pointing at a part that's gone.
  • Auto with no stop set feeds down through the part toward the chuck. The Feed tab says so, and The Old Hand warns you before it starts.
v0.30.1

The drill press feels like the real one

  • Drill press: let go of the feed lever and the return spring lifts the bit out of the hole on its own, the way a real drill press does.
  • Drill press Table tab: crank the table up or down to suit the part (Fine, or Fast for big moves). The column lock holds the table steady while you drill, so unlock it only to move the table.
  • The drill's depth stop now sets in 0.010 in steps, and the helper asks for a depth you can actually dial in.
  • The Old Hand explains the return spring and the column lock the first time you meet them.
v0.30.0

Set the tool on centre

  • L-14 lathe: the tool post has a real height setting. A new setup starts with the tool a touch low, so set it on centre against the tailstock point before you face.
  • Face with the tool below centre and you leave a nub in the middle. Inspection now names it and says which side the tool sat on.
  • The helper (The Old Hand) walks you through setting the tool on centre before touch-off.
  • Buy > Machines on a phone: the listing, payment and sell sheets no longer stop halfway with their buttons hidden under the bar. Drag them up or down and the buttons stay in reach.
  • The lathe view no longer twitches when a message tucks into the helper line.
v0.29.1

Grinder crashes are real

  • Surface grinder: drive the running wheel into the magnetic chuck and it crashes. The wheel goes dull, a part you were grinding is scrapped, and one line tells you why. Run the wheel and hold Dress wheel for 3 seconds to fix it.
  • The helper (The Old Hand) warns you when the wheel gets within five thousandths of the chuck with nothing under it.
  • CNC: "Load blanks" shows once, on the Run tab. The Floor card just says "Vise empty".
  • L-12 lathe with no cutter: the helper line says to buy one, without a second pop-up saying the same thing.
v0.29.0

The mill's quill, like the real one

  • Knee mill: the quill has its real controls. The lever moves it fast for drilling. The fine handwheel only feeds with the feed control lever pulled in, and it tells you so if it's out.
  • Knee mill: a depth stop you set to the thousandth. The quill stops right there, so every hole in a batch comes out the same depth.
  • The helper (The Old Hand) explains the feed lever and the depth stop the first time you need them.
  • A button that can't be used right now always answers. Tap it again and its message pulses, so it never looks broken. Before, a second tap showed nothing.
v0.28.2

Machines stop where metal meets metal

  • Drill press: with the spindle stopped, the quill stops when the bit touches the part. With it running, it stops at the vise or table, and a bit driven into the vise breaks. A hole that breaks through no longer drills the table.
  • Lathes: with the spindle stopped, the carriage and cross slide stop when the bit touches the stock. With it running, the carriage stops short of the chuck jaws.
  • Surface grinder: with the wheel stopped, the downfeed stops at the top of the part. With it running, it grinds down and stops just above the magnetic chuck.
  • CNC Run screen: "Load blanks" is said once, on the status line, instead of three times on a sideways phone.
  • The threaded stud print now draws the 1/2-13 thread on the small end, and the threads-per-inch chart shows only the 13 real choices.
  • The CNC helper's first-part advice matches the game: check the first part at Inspection before you trust the batch.
  • A tidier L-14 on a sideways phone: the Start row no longer touches the helper panel.
v0.28.1

Messages stay clear of your work

  • Pop-up messages no longer cover the part you're working on. When there's no clear spot over the machine, they tuck into the helper strip instead.
  • The Buy > Machines sheets keep their buttons on screen (Sell, Keep it, the loan terms and Confirm), even on a sideways phone with a message showing.
  • Surface grinder helper: between passes it tells you to mic the part and how much is left, so a part ground by following it passes Inspection.
  • Fixed a blank screen: tapping a choice while the screen was still fading in (for example picking The Old Hand or On Your Own on a slow phone) could leave you on an empty page.
v0.28.0

Thread cutting

  • Thread cutting on both lathes: pick the threads per inch on the new Thread tab, watch the threading dial, and close the half nut on the right line. Close it on the wrong line and you cross-thread the part.
  • A new job: a 1/2-13 threaded stud. Inspection checks the thread with a micrometer and a thread ring gauge.
  • Chips stand out on phones: they're darker underneath and a shade darker overall, so you can see them on the bed and the table of the mill and both lathes.
  • Drill press: a through hole now has to go all the way through. A hole that stops short fails the job, and the helper tells you to set the depth stop deeper.
  • Surface grinder: the automatic table moves at a realistic 40 feet a minute instead of 6, so a finish pass takes about a minute instead of five.
v0.27.0

The CNC joins the shop

  • Your CNC now works like the rest of the shop: contract parts take about 90 seconds each, and you load and unload every blank by hand.
  • CNC upgrades unlock as your shop grows. First the Double vise ($400, two blanks at once) and High-speed toolpaths ($700, every part in 80% of the time); later the Six-station fixture plate ($1,200), Sister tools ($600) and the Chip conveyor ($800).
  • "While you were away" now only shows up when something actually happened.
  • Two new story moments: your first good CNC part, and your first full batch.
v0.26.1

Chips on the lathes

  • Both lathes now throw chips while they cut. The chips come off the bit and land on the bed, and stop when the spindle stops or no metal comes off.
  • Chips on the mill and lathe are bigger, with darker edges, so they show up better on a phone.
v0.26.0

Your first CNC

  • Once the Old Hand gets curious, Buy › Machines sells the VMC-1 two ways: new from the dealer for $6,000 with a 6-month warranty, or used from a list that changes every shop month.
  • Used machines cost less the more worn they are. Pay $150 to have one inspected before you buy and see its faults.
  • Pay cash or take a loan. Pick the down payment and the term, and the How to pay sheet shows the monthly payment, the total interest and the cash you'll have left.
  • Your credit rating sets the interest rate, and paying on time raises it. Miss a payment and you get a warning, a grace period, then a late fee and a plan to catch up. The bank never takes your machine and never takes your cash below $0.
  • Machines wear. A worn CNC holds size less well and can break down in the middle of a batch. Repair it, or sell it on the used market (any loan on it is paid off first).
  • The bell lists payments due, breakdowns and other alerts.
  • Saves update on their own.
v0.25.1

Clearer machine views on phones

  • On phones, the lathe, drill press, band saw, contour saw and surface grinder now frame the part you're cutting, so it's bigger and easier to see, upright and sideways.
  • The lathe's Whole machine view is much bigger on an upright phone.
  • On a sideways phone, the surface grinder's controls fit without crowding the view.
v0.25.0

Batches

  • Repeat customers now order a batch of 2, 3 or 4 parts instead of just one.
  • Every good part pays as soon as it ships. The customer's tip comes with the last good part, which finishes the order.
  • A scrapped part doesn't count toward the batch, so make another one.
  • The job ticker and the helper tell you which part you're on, like "Part 2 of 3: saw the next blank".
  • If you give up partway, you keep the money for the parts you already shipped.
  • Repeat orders you were already working on become batches on their own.
v0.24.0

The Old Hand gets curious

  • The CNC now waits until you've earned it. After real work on the manual machines (12 paid jobs across most of them, and about an hour in the shop), the Old Hand gets curious about the new machines and goes to take a look.
  • Until then there's no CNC card, no Contracts tab and no CNC for sale, so the start of the game is all hand work.
  • If you already own the CNC, or had already earned it, you keep it.
  • The CNC has the helper too: what you're making, then each step of the setup (load the tools, touch them off, find the zero), proving the first part, running the batch and collecting.
  • Every CNC stop and alarm explains itself, like a feed hold, and says how to carry on.
  • Your time in the shop is now counted. Saves update on their own.
v0.23.1

Polish

  • Messages like Sent to Inspection now sit at the bottom of the screen, clear of headings and buttons.
  • Inspection reads more naturally: each row names the side, what was checked and the result, once.
  • The next step is shown in one place, the job line along the top. Inspection and the band saw no longer repeat it.
  • The knee mill's starting view frames the block so you can see it, upright or sideways, even after a flip.
  • The helper no longer offers a button to the tab you're already on.
  • Leftover old place names are gone: everything says Buy, Jobs or Floor.
  • Machines you can't see stop drawing in the background, which saves battery on phones.
v0.23.0

A helper on every machine

  • Every manual machine now has the helper: the drill press, band saw, contour saw and surface grinder join the knee mill and both lathes.
  • Each one opens with a big You're making card, keeps one line saying what to do next, and has a button that takes you to the right controls.
  • While you work, the readout shows how far you have to go: hole depth on the drill, length on the band saw, distance to the line on the contour saw, thickness on the grinder.
  • Every stop explains itself and says how to recover, from a snapped bit or blade to a bogged motor.
  • The helper's lines use the new place names (Buy, Jobs, Floor).
v0.22.0

Floor, Jobs and Buy

  • The shop is now three places: Floor (your machines and the shelf), Jobs (orders, and CNC contracts once you have them) and Buy (stock, tools and machines).
  • Upright phones get a bar along the bottom; sideways phones get a rail down the left side.
  • Machines open full screen, so nothing but the machine and its controls is in the way.
  • A job line along the top always says what to do next and takes you there. It replaces the old Next button.
  • A bell shows when the CNC needs you, for example when it stops.
  • Each place has a one-line helper saying what it's for.
  • Money shows with commas ($1,200), and inch or millimetre readouts are now in Settings.
  • Bars, offcuts and your tool drawer live on Floor, Shelf.
v0.21.0

Flip the block

  • You can flip the block on the knee mill. The block remembers what you cut on all six sides.
  • On the Chips tab, Flip opens the vise. Pick which side goes up, turn it, wipe the vise, lay the parallels, then clamp. The next button is ringed.
  • The helper talks you through it. When a side is done it says exactly what to do next, and it explains every refusal: spindle running, vise closed, no parallels, chips under the part.
  • Chips left in the vise tip the part, so the next side comes out of square. Inspection says so.
  • New shop project: the 1-2-3 block. Square all six sides to size for the shelf.
  • Prints for parts with more than one side show the block with numbered sides, and Inspection checks each side and how square it is.
  • On phones the readout lists only the side you're working on. The Job card still has the whole plan.
v0.20.0

Helper switches

  • Settings has a list of helpers under Advanced: helpers. Each one has its own switch and says what it does for you.
  • Turn a helper off and every hand order pays more: Size helper +6%, Soft stalls +6%, Auto zero +5%, Speed pick +4%, Clean vise +2%, Saw length snap +1%, Easy chip hook +1%. All seven off pays the same +25% as On Your Own.
  • Four switches are free: the Old Hand's voice and tips, whether the helper starts open, and two CNC prove-out shortcuts.
  • The Old Hand and On Your Own are now quick presets. Any other mix shows as Custom, with your pay bonus on the Office board.
  • Switches work at once, even in the middle of a cut.
  • With the Size helper off, the helper's checklist no longer shows how far you have to go. Measure it yourself.
  • Small fixes: an order with one size now says 1 dimension, and the CNC lock says 1 contract instead of 1 contracts.
v0.19.0

The helper on the lathe

  • The lathe has the helper too. One line tells you what's going on and what to do next, on both lathes.
  • When a job starts, a big You're making card lists every step from the print. Tap Job to see it again.
  • While you turn, the readout shows how far you have to go and turns green when you're on size.
  • Every lathe stop explains itself: gears grinding, the motor bogging, a crash into the work, a bird's nest of chip, the tailstock or carriage in the way, a locked slide.
  • On phones the readout keeps just the step you're on, and the camera moves back so the work stays clear of the helper.
v0.18.0

The helper

  • The knee mill has a helper. One line tells you what's going on and what to do next: load a block, start the spindle, touch off the top, take it down, then stop and hand it in. When there's one obvious next control, the line has a button for it.
  • When a job starts, a big You're making card lists every step from the print in plain words, with what each one means. Tap Job to see it again.
  • While you cut, the readout shows how far you have to go, turns green when you're in tolerance, and red if you go over.
  • Cut something the print doesn't ask for and the helper tells you straight away.
  • Every stop explains itself: a slipping belt, a stall, the spindle turning backwards, the brake on, a locked handwheel, the vise or holder in the way, a broken cutter.
  • The Old Hand starts with the helper open. On Your Own starts it folded to a small ? and keeps it short.
  • On sideways phones the mill's tool buttons sit two to a row, clear of the helper.
  • The Old Hand card now reads: thirty years at these machines, let your experience guide you (helpers on).
v0.17.0

Ray's offcuts

  • Ray, your buddy at a fab shop, drops off free offcuts. A new shop starts with four on the rack, and more turn up after paid jobs (up to six).
  • No order on the board? Make something for your own shop: a steel paperweight, an aluminium step block, or a knob on the lathe. Shop projects pay nothing and go on your shelf.
  • The two ways to play have new names: The Old Hand (recommended: thirty years at these machines, and the helpers guide you) and On Your Own (for experienced machinists: no help, 25% more pay).
  • Your saved shop carries over and gets the welcome offcuts too.
v0.16.1

A solid block

  • The stock block is solid from every side. Before, the wall nearest you never drew, so turning the camera let you see the vise and rails through the block.
v0.16.0

Find the edge

  • The knee mill has an edge finder on a new Finder tab. Fit it, spin the spindle at 660 or 1115 rpm, and crank the table in slowly.
  • The ball wobbles, runs true, then kicks sideways the moment it meets the part's edge. Set the dial there: the spindle centre is half the ball (0.100 in) from the edge.
  • By the Book: the dial is set from where you actually stopped, so a late stop shows up in the part. The Old Hand still zeroes for you and calls the kick exactly.
  • The camera drops down to watch the ball, and you can now zoom closer on the mill.
  • CNC: the status reads Proving first part while you prove it out, and the Old Hand can Single Block one operation at a time instead of every line.
  • CNC on a sideways phone: the job card moved to the bottom left, clear of the cut.
v0.15.0

Bird's nests and the tailstock

  • The lathe carriage now stops at the tailstock instead of driving through it. Power feed trips off with a short warning.
  • Turning aluminium or mild steel at a light feed makes long stringy chips that wind into a bird's nest around the part. A big nest hides your view of the cut.
  • Feed a bit heavier and the chips break short, so no nest builds up.
  • Clear the nest with the new Chip hook on the Feed tab. By the Book: stop the spindle first. The Old Hand warns you when a nest is building.
v0.14.0

Cutters cost money

  • Your shop now has a tool drawer. End mills, lathe bits and drill bits wear as you cut, and the wear stays with them from job to job.
  • A worn cutter needs up to 40% more force to cut, so it loads the machine harder and breaks sooner. A snapped one is gone for good.
  • Buy new ones at the Supplier: end mill $45, lathe bit $18, drill bits $8 to $12. New cutter on the mill fits a spare from your drawer.
  • Out of cutters and out of money? The Supplier lends you a worn one for free, so you can always get back to work.
  • Your shop starts with one fresh cutter for each machine, and older saves get the same set.
v0.13.0

Prove out the first part

  • The CNC's first part is now a real prove-out: press Cycle Start and watch the machine run the new program.
  • Single Block runs one line of the program per press. Feed Hold stops the axes; Cycle Start carries on.
  • Rapid 25%, 50% or 100% slows the fast moves between cuts. Cutting speed stays the same.
  • The Run tab shows which block is running and the distance left to go on each axis.
  • By the Book: you must prove the first part with Single Block or Rapid 25% before it can be approved. The Old Hand can skip it.
  • Pockets now show as cut while you watch, and the job card no longer covers the spindle on an upright phone.
v0.12.2

Lathe fits on phones

  • On the L-14, Start order is a button next to the others. Open it and the six steps take over the bottom panel, so nothing hides a step.
  • Whole machine on both lathes now fits the lathe between the readout and the controls, so the chuck, the bar and the tool stay in sight on a phone, upright or sideways.
v0.12.1

The CNC cuts the block

  • While you watch a batch, the cutter now takes metal off the block: fresh bright strips follow the tool, and every new part starts from a fresh blank.
  • The Watch close-up frames the block much tighter on an upright phone.
  • The toolpath is a gold ribbon you can see on a phone, not a hairline.
  • The Program panel shows the step that is running, such as "Running: T1 face the top."
  • The position readout counts from the work zero you set, including your offset tweaks.
v0.12.0

Watch the CNC work

  • While a batch runs, the VMC-1 follows its program: the table and head move along the real cut at the real feeds, with rapids between cuts.
  • A faint gold line traces the toolpath on the part, and tool changes swing the head home and turn the tool carousel.
  • A Watch camera frames the cut while it runs; tap Whole machine to see all of it.
  • The position readout follows the moving axes in work coordinates.
  • It is all for show: the CNC makes parts at exactly the same rate as before, here and while you are away.
v0.11.0

Repeat customers

  • The job board never runs dry: once the first jobs are shipped, repeat customers bring new work in the same part families, with new sizes, materials and pay.
  • New jobs only use machines you own, and the lathe jobs that need the L-14 wait until you have one.
  • Repeat jobs are marked on the board, and every one has a full drawing and is checked at Inspection like the rest.
v0.10.1

Watch the cut on phones

  • On phones the lathe and mill readouts fold down to the essentials: the spindle, and in Arcade how much is left to cut. Tap Readout to see the full list.
  • With the readout folded you can watch the tool cut the part, holding the phone upright or sideways.
  • Button labels on phones no longer break in the middle of a word.
v0.10.0

Arcade on the lathes

  • Arcade helpers on both lathes: the readout shows how much is left to cut on every size on the print, and the right spindle speed is marked. On the L-14 it also suggests a roughing feed.
  • In Arcade a cut that is too heavy bogs the lathe down instead of breaking the tool.
  • In Arcade the mill and lathe zero their dials the first time the tool touches the part.
  • The lathe screen on phones: the readout sits on the left and the buttons in a column on the right, so nothing hides under the controls, and tips no longer cover buttons.
  • Fixed a few spots on phones where one control partly covered another.
v0.9.0

Arcade and Simulator

  • Pick how you run the shop. Arcade, The Old Hand: twenty years at these machines, so the tedious parts come easy. Simulator, By the Book: every dial is yours, and every job pays 25% more.
  • Arcade on the knee mill: the size still to cut shows as you crank, the right belt speed for the metal is marked, and an overload bogs the spindle down instead of snapping the cutter. Chips never tip the next part in the vise.
  • Arcade on the band saw marks where to cut the blank. Push too hard on the drill press or contour saw and it bogs down instead of snapping the bit or blade.
  • Arcade unlocks the CNC after 3 shipped parts; Simulator after 5.
  • Switch modes any time in Settings.
v0.8.0

Compound rest and tailstock

  • The L-14 lathe gets a compound rest: loosen the swivel nut, set the angle, and feed the compound handwheel to cut chamfers and short tapers. It won't swivel the tool into the work.
  • A tailstock with a drill chuck: slide it up the bed, clamp it, and feed the quill to drill on the lathe. Centre drill first, or the drill wanders off centre.
  • A cross-slide stop: set it once and turn the same diameter again and again.
  • Two new L-14 jobs: a chamfered pin and a drilled bushing. Inspection now measures end diameters and drilled holes.
  • The lathe readout shows the feed per turn, and every lathe tab fits phone screens in portrait and landscape.
  • The top bar and back button are a little bigger on phones, so they are easier to tap.
v0.7.0

Chips pile up

  • Chips from the mill now stay where they land and pile up on the part, in the vise and on the table, until you clear them.
  • A heavy pile on the part hides it and makes your next cut rougher and wears the cutter faster.
  • Clamp a part over chips left in the vise and it sits tilted. Inspection shows the error, so brush the vise before you clamp.
  • New Chips tab on the mill: swipe with the free chip brush to sweep chips into the chip pan. Stop the spindle first.
  • New at the Supplier: an air gun with safety glasses for $40. It clears chips much faster, but blowing them toward the vise packs them into the jaws.
  • Fixed: on a slow phone the cutter could snap during a normal cut. Cuts now play out the same at any frame rate.
  • Phone layout: the top bar and buttons fit fully on screen in portrait and landscape.
v0.6.1

The L-14 in 3D

  • The L-14 now has its own 3D lathe: a longer bed, a taller gearhead headstock with its speed chart, and a feed gearbox panel on the front.
  • Every lever moves on the machine as you use it: the speed lever, colour row, feed direction, gearbox knobs, power feed, carriage lock and cross-slide lock.
  • Watch the carriage and cross slide travel on their own while the power feed runs, and stop at the carriage stop.
  • Whole-machine view is now framed from each lathe's real size, for both the L-12 and the L-14.
  • Switching lathes no longer leaves old graphics in memory.
v0.6.0

The L-14 lathe

  • A second lathe to buy at the Supplier: the Shiccup L-14, a bigger 14 x 40 gearhead lathe with 12 speeds from 36 to 1800 rpm.
  • Pick its speed like a real gearhead: the speed lever (Ls, N, Ms, Hs) and the colour row from the chart on the headstock. Shift only with the spindle stopped, or the gears grind.
  • A feed gearbox with letter and number knobs and a feed chart, a feed direction lever, and an apron power-feed lever: once it is set, the carriage or cross slide cuts on its own at a steady feed for an even finish.
  • Set a carriage stop and the power feed trips off when it gets there. Lock the carriage for facing.
  • The L-14's cross dial reads diameter. The L-12 stays as your first lathe, and you can switch between the two.
v0.5.2

Fits every phone, solid stock

  • Every machine's controls now fit on a phone with no scrolling, held upright or sideways, and every button is big enough for a finger.
  • The surface grinder gets a two-column layout when the phone is sideways, so all its controls fit.
  • The block on the mill is solid: a stopped or broken cutter, the holder and the vise jaws can no longer pass through it. The handwheel stops at the contact and tells you what to do.
  • Cutting deeper than the cutter's flutes, or into a vise jaw, with the spindle running is a crash that breaks the cutter, like on a real mill.
  • The drill press close-up view stays on screen when the phone is sideways.
v0.5.1

Sharper shop art

  • More detailed pictures for every place in the shop, from the Office and Supplier to each machine.
  • Better lighting on every machine, with a proper shop floor under it.
  • The job print looks like a real drawing sheet, with a border, grid and title block.
  • The contour saw's tabs are bigger and easier to tap, and its sign no longer sits behind the blade.
  • Wide but short desktop windows now get the desktop layout instead of the phone one.
v0.5.0

Smoother shop, sharper machines

  • Part done sends the part straight to Inspection in one tap, with Undo if you tapped too soon. Inspection has Measure all and puts the verdict at the top.
  • The mill tells you when it is moving but not cutting, cranks steadily while you hold a handwheel, and has a Fast x4 button for long moves.
  • The drill press pecks properly: lift out to clear the chips and the next push carries on down the same hole.
  • Messages now sit above the machine controls instead of covering them, on every machine including the CNC.
  • On big screens the whole interface scales up from a 1080p layout, so text and buttons stay readable at 1440p and 4K.
  • Every machine was checked for parts passing through each other: the vise parallels follow the jaw opening, end mills have real spiral flutes, handwheels and cranks no longer sink into the castings, and the lathe carriage stops short of the chuck.
v0.4.0

Four new machines

  • The band saw is now a full 3D cut-off saw: clamp the vise, set the blade speed and downfeed, lower the head and hold to cut, with a speed chart and a blade-load meter so you never strip the teeth by surprise.
  • A drill press: pick the speed and the drill, line the mark up under the point, set the depth stop and pull the feed handle. Inspection checks each hole's size, position and depth.
  • A contour saw: push the plate into the blade with one finger and steer it along the scribed line to cut curves and corner radii.
  • A surface grinder: magnet on, dress the wheel, touch off, then let the table run on Auto (with fast-forward), mic the part, take the last tenths and spark out until the sparks die.
  • Six new jobs use them, from a mounting plate to a gauge block ground flat within two tenths.
v0.3.0

The lathe opens

  • A full 3D engine lathe joins the shop: set the belt and back gear, then turn the carriage and cross-slide handwheels with your finger.
  • Lathe jobs work end to end: saw a round blank, it goes in the chuck, turn it to size, then measure the diameter and length at Inspection.
  • The cross-slide dial reads diameter, like a real lathe, and touching the tool to the bar reads its size.
  • A part left half-turned stays in the chuck until you come back.
v0.2.0

Run the whole job: office to inspection

  • Take jobs at the Office: each one comes with a drawing, the pay, and a checklist of what to do next.
  • Buy bar stock at the Supplier, then cut a blank at the Band Saw: drag the stop to the length and hold to cut.
  • The blank you cut goes in the mill's vise. Tap Print for the sizes and Part done when it is cut.
  • Measure every size at Inspection with calipers and a micrometer, and ship a good part to get paid.
  • Handwheel dials keep counting past a full turn, a big readout shows how far the table moved, and a phone held sideways keeps the machine in view.
v0.1.0

Open the shop: a real knee mill

  • A full-size 3D knee mill you run by hand, from the motor switch and back gear to the belt step.
  • Tap a handwheel to bring it up close and turn it with your finger, one-to-one with the dial, with a fine mode, zero and lock.
  • The leadscrews have real backlash: you hear the clunk when the screw takes up the slack.
  • Cut a block of metal and it really comes away, with the load, chip and surface speed shown as you go.