Ordered my first lathe. Any recommendations for gear/add ons?
- Thread starter Sqwirl57
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Get a decent bench grinder, most all your high speed cutting tools and drill bits can be sharpened on a bench grinder. In the learning process, you will probably need to sharpen fairly often.
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Exactly, if you don't learn to sharpen HSS you'll never use your lathe to it's potential. I've operated a lathe over 50 years. On my light lathe I never even use carbide. I don't normally need it for anything. HSS works better. It's cool making your own tooling too.
I think Blondihacks is your best bet for a beginner's youtube teacher. Quinn is a really sharp girl. Gets right to the point unlike "This old Baloney". Joe Pie is excellent once you have more understanding. MrPete222 was a shop teacher. Also great for newbs.
I think Blondihacks is your best bet for a beginner's youtube teacher. Quinn is a really sharp girl. Gets right to the point unlike "This old Baloney". Joe Pie is excellent once you have more understanding. MrPete222 was a shop teacher. Also great for newbs.
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been doing machine work for 35 years.. one piece of advice, especially if you are using anything that doesn't work harden.. slow is better than fast.. light cuts until you get familiar with your machine.. I've ran 4 different lathes and they were all different.. I'd recommend getting some cold roll steel and practice turning down, feed rates, threading, assuming you have a gear head lathe.. boring.. I prefer carbide inserts, most of mine have 3-6 edges on each insert and one insert will last a long time.. unless you use hardened steel or stainless steel is very hard.. aluminum and brass is fun to work.. aluminum is tricky to tap thread though..
just get some cold roll steel and practice and play.. you will find it easy to learn, if you actually enjoy it.. myself the best fun I could have was to turn on the mig welder and weld after breakfast until lunch then repeat and it was disappointing to have to call it a day.. I tell everyone who is looking at some type of work.. pay is just a bonus for having fun on the job
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I mostly use carbide inserts on my 12x36.. just take it slow and easy to start with.. like he said above.. keep your hands clear of all moving parts.. ..
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This is the finish I get on mild steel with properly ground HSS. Not even touched by any abrasive. The slitting saw arbor is made from scrap steel. Silky smooth. The two threaded parts are single pointed with hand ground bits. Last picture is a close up of the Acme thread I cut with a hand ground form bit. I only used a piece of 400 grit to debur the edges. It's an Acme feed screw when assembled has only .002 backlash.
One HSS tool bit blank has 1000 edges. HSS can finish Stainless almost like a mirror. No need to polish. Aluminum and brass are child's play.
One HSS tool bit blank has 1000 edges. HSS can finish Stainless almost like a mirror. No need to polish. Aluminum and brass are child's play.
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Another scrap steel project. Muzzle brake. Beeman replica brake in steel. None polished. All done with HSS.
A fine finish in scrap steel separates the men from the boys.
A fine finish in scrap steel separates the men from the boys.
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The metal shaper uses HSS bits similar to a lathe. See the reflections in this aluminum part. You can't do that with a milling machine.
I'm adding this shot of the finish on the aluminum block. See the reflectionof the bolt better
I'm adding this shot of the finish on the aluminum block. See the reflectionof the bolt better
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Took me years to find a lathe this good. Was modified for a factory use then put on a shelf and stored for many years unused. I saw a diamond in the rough and bought it at auction for about $200. All of the ways were barely touched. Has very rare for a South Bend 9a hardened 3 ft. bed. Took some work, parts, and custom matched original color paint. The original tailstock was missing but I found it and bought it separately at the auction. I almost missed it.
Last picture is my 4ft South Bend 9a made in 1947
Last picture is my 4ft South Bend 9a made in 1947
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It’s amazing how much can be done with traditional equipment. That said, I am disappointed that more isn’t being done today in the Airgun space given how much more affordable self manufacturing has become. We have 3D modeling, CNC mills and 3D printers now but much of the design skill that was prevalent in the USA years past is disappearing and most of what I see is people making phone holders/stands or figurines. I’m sure there are some folks out there pushing the envelope but not as many as I would expect…
Edit - I’m thinking of springers not necessarily PCPs.
-Marty
Edit - I’m thinking of springers not necessarily PCPs.
-Marty
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She is a good teacher and her videos are interesting. She gets a little racy once in a while!Blondiehacks on Yubetube is awesome
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I just scored these for my lathes and metal shapers. Most won't know what they're for or what they're worth. The Armstrong 39 shaper planer tool holder often sells for $200. The Armstrong S 50 spring tool holder is worth about 70-80$. I'll resell the other 4.
Atlas 10" Lathe Lantern Tool Post Style Tools | eBay
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For learning and practicing... Can't beat HSS tooling... EZ to maintain a good cutting edge...
Once you get over that learning curve, Indexable Carbide tooling is hard to Beat!!!
But I still will fall back to HSS tooling for certain jobs......
Once you get over that learning curve, Indexable Carbide tooling is hard to Beat!!!
But I still will fall back to HSS tooling for certain jobs......
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Most folks not intimately involved in the machine tool industry have no idea on the level of investment required in tools and machines to make things. Nor do they understand the expected lifetime of a machine tool assuming no neglect. For manual tools like lathes, milling machines, grinders and shapers, it is about 100 years. When it comes to CNC stuff, 15 to 20 years at most. The reason being is that software support and electronic parts availability will be exhausted.in that time frame..
Further, it is very hard, if not impossible, to amortize the cost of CNC for either a hobby or one off requirements. It is also a fact that the machines themselves reflect only 50% at best of the total investment required for the ability to make parts. I have only spoken about the financial investment, but the time investment to acquire the required skill set is a lifetime. These skills are no longer being taught like they once were in schools and will soon be lost to the ages. Young people appear to have little interest. Most want to sit behind a desk and never get their hands dirty. It is a shame.
Further, it is very hard, if not impossible, to amortize the cost of CNC for either a hobby or one off requirements. It is also a fact that the machines themselves reflect only 50% at best of the total investment required for the ability to make parts. I have only spoken about the financial investment, but the time investment to acquire the required skill set is a lifetime. These skills are no longer being taught like they once were in schools and will soon be lost to the ages. Young people appear to have little interest. Most want to sit behind a desk and never get their hands dirty. It is a shame.
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I have my own machine shop. I hesitate to call it a hobby shop, because it gives the wrong impression, but I am generally the only customer. I state it this way because I have multiple lathes, mills, grinders, shapers etc. I have a simple rule. Make only those items you cannot buy, because, if you can, it is always cheaper.
When it comes to tooling, HSS is much less expensive, than insert carbide tooling. I have many cutters that are well over 30 years old and still going strong. Carbide tooling requires lower relief angles, blunter nose radiuses and higher cutting speed than HSS. All of that requires higher machine stiffness and horsepower usually not found in small hobby size lathes. Then there is HSS, which consists of a broad range of alloys and brands. They are not equal in performance, because over the years, like everything else, many improvements have occurred. I restrict HSS tools to cobalt alloys, like T15, M35 and M42. There are others as well, but generally they all have between 5% and 10% cobalt. These alloys take longer to sharper, are much more shock resistant and keep an edge better. In a commercial production based application, insert tooling is king. ......time is money. In a one off prototype environment HSS is king. The downside to HSS is it requires an investment in tool grinding skills and equipment.
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I can use a lathe, mill, press, and grinder and welder.. always wanted to get a plasma table for cnc plasma cutting.. but the computer part is over my head not to mention the price.. I used to build hydraulic sliding axle gooseneck trailer, one a month for nut harvesters and the plasma table would probably have saved time, but it was a step I was not comfortable with, so I just carried on by hand.. done it over 35 years.. it's sad that none of the younger people want to work.. had a kid (20years old) in the shop. and I could grind all the welds and polish it in a hour.. took him all day and I couldn't tell he did anything..got tired of trying to find something that he would do without babysitting him..
nice work.. but it doesn't seem to matter to me if it's scrap or new.. you always machine off any imperfections anyway.. only time scrap steel makes a difference is if you are trying to Tig weld.. that has to be perfectly clean.
Mark
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Here's a brand new one for sale in Southeast PA
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Sadly two things are stopping me, my skill set on a lathe is pretty miserable and I'm still not sure I have a concrete floor in my garage, haven't seen it in almost 20 years.Here's a brand new one for sale in Southeast PA
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