What's new
By:
Filters

If you have a mini lathe...

Provience said:
that is like the ultimate size

16-36 might be the only other great one to start with, but shorter beds are hard to find
Click to expand...

26x96 is where it's at :flipoff2:


billdacat said:
OP... You need some really deep pockets to play.... Fucking 4-jaw can set you back north of $800 and not even offer a reach around. Oh shti, I forgot; you need dial indicators to center that bitch. Good luck.. :smokin:
Click to expand...

Fuck that. I've never paid more than $100 for a work holding device. Nobody with a brain is buying this stuff new.

Deals are there if you're patient, especially on "slow" things that have no place in a modern CNC shop like 4-jaw chucks and rotary tables. Cheap Chinese dial indicator is more than accurate enough for anything automotive.

[486 said:
;n98394]

stick to internet rage, bud
if the chips ain't coming off blue, you're wasting your time
sometimes bright red and sparky is good too
Click to expand...

Spoken like someone who doesn't have to pay for their own tooling.
 
arse_sidewards said:
Spoken like someone who doesn't have to pay for their own tooling.
Click to expand...

more like spoken by someone who sharpens their used up carbide inserts

ETA: seriously, low surface speed causes terrible surface finishes for me
even threading; run that shit at least 100sfm on soft steel and something like 50 on alloys
 
arse_sidewards said:
Spoken like someone who doesn't have to pay for their own tooling.
Click to expand...

The way newer inserts are designed, the chips should be coming off blue/purple. If your doing it right the heat leaves in the chip. The part will be slightly warm to the touch. We do a lot of dry high speed milling in steels this way.

But get it the slightest bit wrong and your tool holder is toast. Fortunately if you buy enough inserts, they give you the holders.
 
Fishnbeer said:
Well this machining hobby may have to wait until later in life, not due to lack of interest but due to the costs involved. I talked to a freind of a relative who has a small lathe and makes handles for things and misc small parts and it looks like all the random tools for the lathe end up costing more than the lathe itself. He was adding up a couple chucks, live centers, holders, cutters, knurlers and various measuring devices and quickly got to over a grand not including the lathe. Taking that into account and thinking of the things I would want to make, it would cost substantially more than I can spend right now.

I geeked out on yootoob vids and it really makes you think differently about things. I was looking at an output shaft I had kicking around and was thinking of how many different tools it would take, how many different steps and what order to do them, and how many hours it would take to produce that part. You really start to appreciate these things once you realize the amount of work that goes into them
Click to expand...

Dude I feel your pain... I was able to befriend the folks at Cook Machine Tools when I lived in New Jersey (yeah it sucked). I scored a fucking nice drill press and a mess of clamps, indicators and various whatnots. My GF dad recently passed away and left her with some really nice tools. Thank god she has a real interest in learning how to use his stuff. No shit; she has a fucking Bridgeport, lathe and crazy ass band saw in her garage (3-phase inverter purring in the corner). I have just scratched the surface of all the tooling her dad has; we have a lot on our plate with his estate right now. Hopefully she will be able to settle down and start learning how to use his tools.
We are both retired and have the world by the fucking balls.
 
Fishnbeer said:
Well this machining hobby may have to wait until later in life, not due to lack of interest but due to the costs involved. I talked to a freind of a relative who has a small lathe and makes handles for things and misc small parts and it looks like all the random tools for the lathe end up costing more than the lathe itself. He was adding up a couple chucks, live centers, holders, cutters, knurlers and various measuring devices and quickly got to over a grand not including the lathe. Taking that into account and thinking of the things I would want to make, it would cost substantially more than I can spend right now.
Click to expand...

Is your friend located in a shithole that never had any manufacturing and therefore doesn't have people's basements and garages chock full of used tooling?

Also, a grand isn't that much in $5-50 increments over the course of years. It's pretty rare to need more than $100 of tooling for any given new job and over time that will happen less and less frequently.
 
[486 said:
;n98515]

more like spoken by someone who sharpens their used up carbide inserts

ETA: seriously, low surface speed causes terrible surface finishes for me
even threading; run that shit at least 100sfm on soft steel and something like 50 on alloys
Click to expand...

I run my Niles lathe this way. I’ll back the feed off just a bit if it starts to spark. Usually run my Noga mini cool on the large parts that see half and hour or more run time.

The Niles is a 32” x 168”
 
arse_sidewards said:
Is your friend located in a shithole that never had any manufacturing and therefore doesn't have people's basements and garages chock full of used tooling?
Click to expand...

He definately lives in a shithole. Hes a crotchety fat old bastard after his wife left him some years back. His place looks like after she left he forgot how to throw anything away. He invited me inside but I said I had to go. I figured he was going to try and make a lampshade from my skin or something.

My new plan is wait for him to die. Hes not that old but does not take care of himself. Or anything else for that matter.
 
Don't be afraid of tooling cost. Used domestic tooling is everywhere, and on ebay for cheap. Check out victor machinery or enco for dirt cheap import stuff.
 
Fishnbeer said:
Looking into getting started with machining small parts. Been eyeing a Taig for a while now....

I did not sleep much last nighg, but lets say you had a small lathe, could you use it to make a larger lathe? And use that one to make another larger lathe?

Same with 3d printing. Could you 3d print another 3d printer? :smokin:
Click to expand...

How do you make gears with a lathe? Use the feed like a shaper with the turret locked?

Used equipment is too plentiful and cheap for it to be a good idea to even consider what you're talking about unless your hobby is making lathes the hard way.
 
larboc said:
How do you make gears with a lathe? Use the feed like a shaper with the turret locked?
Click to expand...

By doing paying work and using that money to buy a mill, indexing head and gear cutters. :flipoff2:


I saw a kickass setup where a guy mounted stock on a spindle on the tool post and then stuck a tap in the 4-jaw and used that as a hob to cut the stock into the wheel for a worm gear combo. Then he used a bolt of that thread pitch as the worm shaft.
 
I have a 12 X 30 lathe and a Lagun 9 X 48 mill. I tell people that the cost of the machine is only half of it. Tooling is the other half. Once you get proficient with the machines you can start to make some of your own tooling.

Don't be afraid of Chinese tooling (other than shipping these days). I have had pretty good luck with it.
Speeds and feeds are dependent on what type of tooling you are using. High speed steel, you need to be pretty careful. If you are using carbide inserts, you can get away with a lot more speed and heavy cuts. You need a very rigid machine to do it correctly. Even with a 3hp motor on my lathe, I stall the motor before I can over power the insert.
 
I've got a hokey ass 3n1 shopmaster mill/lathe/drill combo with power feed and DRO. Bastard is handy as fuck and I use the shit out of it. Its a 17x20 lathe (yes it swings 17"). If you can get a hold of a lathe do it. The tooling doesnt have to be expensive. A holder, grinder and tool steel you shape to cutting form is all you need to begin. Cheap triangle insert tooling can be had at harbor freight... its poopy but it works..

Want to make pins and bushings for an offbrand tractor... Done
Want to make a rotor hub opening fit a currie axle.... Done
Need a custom bushing/spacer... no problem
Want cam bearing or input shaft bushing install tool.... wham instant gratification!

IMG_20140201_111638_293.jpg

IMG_20140201_111646_903.jpg

IMG_20150905_125133_472.jpg

IMG_20150905_130127_908.jpg

IMG_20150905_133203_405.jpg
 
Wolfe_Man said:
I've got a hokey ass 3n1 shopmaster mill/lathe/drill combo with power feed and DRO. Bastard is handy as fuck and I use the shit out of it. Its a 17x20 lathe (yes it swings 17"). If you can get a hold of a lathe do it. The tooling doesnt have to be expensive. A holder, grinder and tool steel you shape to cutting form is all you need to begin. Cheap triangle insert tooling can be had at harbor freight... its poopy but it works..

Want to make pins and bushings for an offbrand tractor... Done
Want to make a rotor hub opening fit a currie axle.... Done
Need a custom bushing/spacer... no problem
Want cam bearing or input shaft bushing install tool.... wham instant gratification!





Click to expand...

17" swing, that is pretty impressive. I looked at several of those things (although much smaller than yours) when I was getting into machining. I passed on them because many don't have powerfeed or the ability to cut threads. Only reason I mention this is for others that may be interested. Cutting threads is a must for me. If you get a machine that can't cut threads. You will regret it at some point. Even if you don't know how right now.

If that one cuts threads then that would be a great machine choice. Especially for someone that doesn't have a lot of room to work with.

Many times you can pick up machines that are 3-phase because most folks don't want to deal with the hassle in a home shop. I have 2 phase converters and several machines that run on VFD's so I wouldn't pass on a 3-phase machine. I had a Buddy pick up a $2K bandsaw for $250.00 at an auction becuase it was 3-phase and no one wanted it. We put a static phase converter on it and it works great!
 
oldRAT said:
17" swing, that is pretty impressive. I looked at several of those things (although much smaller than yours) when I was getting into machining. I passed on them because many don't have powerfeed or the ability to cut threads. Only reason I mention this is for others that may be interested. Cutting threads is a must for me. If you get a machine that can't cut threads. You will regret it at some point. Even if you don't know how right now.

If that one cuts threads then that would be a great machine choice. Especially for someone that doesn't have a lot of room to work with.

Many times you can pick up machines that are 3-phase because most folks don't want to deal with the hassle in a home shop. I have 2 phase converters and several machines that run on VFD's so I wouldn't pass on a 3-phase machine. I had a Buddy pick up a $2K bandsaw for $250.00 at an auction becuase it was 3-phase and no one wanted it. We put a static phase converter on it and it works great!
Click to expand...

It'll thread metric and SAE no problem, but its a PITA. Have to swap gears and keep the feedscrew engaged and run in reverse to back out (no half nut etc). I do it but mostly I machine to size and slap a die on and power feed it.
 
The first machine tool I purchased was a Monarch model A lathe. It came with a 3hp 3 phase low voltage motor. I use my 50 amp 230v outlet to a VFD to power it.

It’s a early 1900’s flatbelt lathe, 14”x54”. I’ve made a ton of parts with it. I paid $500. Also included was a tool post and a set of carbide insert holders, live and dead centers, dial indicator and magnetic base, 14” 4 jaw chuck.

Don’t afraid of the old stuff. There’s deals out there. Owning your own machine tools is every bit as rewarding and therapeutic as wheeling. At least to me.
 
There is a book by David J. Gingery call Building Your Own Metal Working Shop From Scrap. It shows you how to mine the ore, build a forge, cast your own parts.... so yeah anything is possible.
 
Wolfe_Man said:
AK is right, thats a toy and way too much for it too.
Click to expand...

There's some moron/asshole in Queens that keeps listing the same mini-lathe for $1800. It's been showing up in my "lathe" search for like 2yr now. :laughing:
 
Hit Cooks Machinery in New Jersey (yeah it sucks). While your in the neighborhood; head over to Fazio's. If you hit them right; (excess inventory and slow moving) your going to score. Don't forget your going to need riggers to move your shit! :smokin:
 
billdacat said:
Hit Cooks Machinery in New Jersey (yeah it sucks). While your in the neighborhood; head over to Fazio's. If you hit them right; (excess inventory and slow moving) your going to score. Don't forget your going to need riggers to move your shit! :smokin:
Click to expand...

You dont need riggers for home shop stuff. Just a little redneck engineering. Hell I moved my bridgeport with a pallet jack, tilt deck trailer, spud bar, 2x4s and a 2500lb harbor freight winch. Granted its only a series 1 and 2200lbs but still I did it by myself.
 
arse_sidewards said:
x2 on not needing riggers. Also for home shop stuff good fucking luck finding riggers who want to move your shit in tight spaces for a reasonable price.

http://www.4x4-16.com/glacially-slow...1018525-5.html

A Bridgeport is an easy move. You just un-bolt the turret and move it as two assemblies.
Click to expand...

Machines under 10k can be done usually by myself. I did hire riggers on the last move. I used Hopatcong Rigging in NJ. They did a great job moving this 30k brake up my steep gravel drive and up onto my dock. Price was great and i will certainly use them again.

20200717_200555.jpg
 
Wolfe_Man said:
It'll thread metric and SAE no problem, but its a PITA. Have to swap gears and keep the feedscrew engaged and run in reverse to back out (no half nut etc). I do it but mostly I machine to size and slap a die on and power feed it.
Click to expand...

Not bad! My 1230G is the exact same way when doing metric threads. I even have to change the gears.
 
oldRAT said:
Not bad! My 1230G is the exact same way when doing metric threads. I even have to change the gears.
Click to expand...

If you do lots of threading a geometric die head is awesome. I got a bunch with a turret lathe i bought and its so easy, one pass and you have a perfect finished thread.
 
Dethmachinefab said:
If you do lots of threading a geometric die head is awesome. I got a bunch with a turret lathe i bought and its so easy, one pass and you have a perfect finished thread.
Click to expand...

Off to the Googles I go for some research. Thanks!
 
arse_sidewards said:
x2 on not needing riggers. Also for home shop stuff good fucking luck finding riggers who want to move your shit in tight spaces for a reasonable price.

http://www.4x4-16.com/glacially-slow...1018525-5.html

A Bridgeport is an easy move. You just un-bolt the turret and move it as two assemblies.
Click to expand...

Why unbolt the turret? Turn the head 90° and rotate it about 20 so the motor is centered over the knee and lock it. The way its supposed to be transported. I levered it up a little at a time till I got 2 2x4s stacked at the front and back and rolled the pallet jack under it. Dragged it up on the trailer with the winch and lowered the pallet jack legs down onto 2x4s so it wouldnt roll. Strapped it down and off I went.
Did the opposite at the other end. Easy peasy.
For the big lathe I built a crib on a pallet rolled it under the lathe on the pallet jack and lifted it and winched it onto the trailer.

Riggers? I dont need no stinking riggers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Back Refresh