Buying a lathe!

[moejosteve]

So I've decided I'm going to buy a machine lathe. Of course I joined another forum (or 2) to do the research and am getting close (no comment Rick, yes sleep is overrated). Anybody here have any experience with the mini lathe population?

What about your needs? I read a thread once about some adapters or collars or something needed for a DW or something. What's the missing link for the KREW? Who needs what machined on a lathe?

I love making big stuff smaller, then welding it back together into something medium sized! :punk:

[rickairmed]

Steve my only ( coment ) :D would be to ask alot of questions over in the Machining forum over at SFT . Theres alot of knowlege in that roup of peaple when it comes to welding and machining . I am a hobby welder although I have done it to earn a living in the past . Alot of the guys over there weld or Machine things everyday for a living.


Rick

[moejosteve]

Thanks Rick. I have been following the SFT trail prety well, joined a mini-lathe user group, and have benn observing another full-size lathe user group and what they talk about.

Looks like the mini lathe guys have a pretty good thing going with the Asian 7x lathes, with a lot of shop built mods and support. Kind of suprised me that they can actually use those cheap HF (et al) lathes to make accurate work. Apparently once you get them set up, tuned and add a couple of mods, they do a pretty good job. Go figure...

THEN, I found this (http://tool20895.homestead.com/VideoPrices.html) (scroll down to "What! You don't have a milling machine?") instructional video series on how to build a relatively good performing vertical mill for around $300. I'm ordering the DVDs as soon as I hang up the phone here with you, er, a well at least when I stop polluting to web with my blathering idiocy:1eye:.

Peace

[rickairmed]

Steve I will have to hunt for it but somewhere around here I have the Gingery plans on how to build a lathe from scratch :D. I will have to hunt for it its on one of the puters somewhere;D . Then you could get into foundry work and casting as well in order to make the Lathe . I have a small woodlathe that started out life at some point as a lathe kit.

Rick

[moejosteve]

Steve I will have to hunt for it but somewhere around here I have the Gingery plans on how to build a lathe from scratch :D. I will have to hunt for it its on one of the puters somewhere;D . Then you could get into foundry work and casting as well in order to make the Lathe . I have a small woodlathe that started out life at some point as a lathe kit.

Rick

Foundary work! PERFECT! Heck, I might as well go out and start mining the ore now to get a head start! You are one helpful guy! Anyone have the foundary recipe for cast iron?:punk:

[rickairmed]

Steve as I recall from reading the instructions most of the casting is done in aluminum and aluminum cans worked fine for this.

Rick

[greenevegiebeast]

why is it alwas miss the fun when i have to close.

steve be carfull on how and where you aquire the new toy. my dad bought a metal lath(he wont tell me how much he payed for it) but we think he payed some where in the nabordood of three grand for it. for what little he uses it its about 2.5 grand to much. and it only has a 12 inch bed, and about a 4 in throw.

[blupe]

Steve I will have to hunt for it but somewhere around here I have the Gingery plans on how to build a lathe from scratch :D. I will have to hunt for it its on one of the puters somewhere;D . Then you could get into foundry work and casting as well in order to make the Lathe . I have a small woodlathe that started out life at some point as a lathe kit.

Rick

I ordered that series of books! Right now I am waiting for them to arrive-- and hoping that they haven't already arrived and someone else took the package... (the building has a shelf below the mailboxes for packages-- and the mailboxes are on the wrong side of the security door!)

I went with the cheapest shipping, so they say I should wait four weeks before I get worried-- on the other hand, Illinois IS just south of Wisconsin, and Kanakee (sp?) is only about two or three hours from Madison...

[savarin]

Steve I will have to hunt for it but somewhere around here I have the Gingery plans on how to build a lathe from scratch :D. I will have to hunt for it its on one of the puters somewhere;D . Then you could get into foundry work and casting as well in order to make the Lathe . I have a small woodlathe that started out life at some point as a lathe kit.

Rick

I've got most of the castings done for the gingery lathe.
I cast two at the same time and a friend finished his off but without any finesse or care and it vibrates like billyo. lesson learnt - take pains to fit everything with the absolute minimum of play in any dimension.
Casting aluminium is very easy to do, old cans are a waste of time, too much dross but pistons and ally wheels are brilliant.
I have a small pattern ready to cast for a clamp to go over the teeth on a standard freewheel so the 80 tooth chain ring for the electric motor on the trailer can be fixed a lot more neatly than the present 4 coach bolts.

[moejosteve]

Did anyone hear that? It was a long escalating whistle followed by a huge explosion! Oh, I know what that was... It was my "budget committee" shooting down my lathe purchase order! DAG! Turns out the youngest long term project needs some in-home services that are not covered by the insurance... Services in, cash out, tool budget reallocated... I "think" my mill project is safe. I have the DVDs on the way and already have some materials secured.

Oh, by the way, a cat on another forum hopoked me up with this link (http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/common/displayCoupon.do?week=409&campaign=RetailB&page=409_retailB.html&cust=77982336759&keycode=0000) to a coupon for 20% off at Harbor Freight (for those of you with a store locally. Enjoy!

[rickairmed]

LOL Steve I also appropriated the coupon and linked it down in Greenhorns SWMBO thread . I sent him a pile of coupons the other day and figured the 20% would help on things I didnt have the coupons for . I guess I need to dig up that link for the Gingery Lathe for ya now :D.

Rick

[moejosteve]

LOL Steve I also appropriated the coupon and linked it down in Greenhorns SWMBO thread . I sent him a pile of coupons the other day and figured the 20% would help on things I didnt have the coupons for . I guess I need to dig up that link for the Gingery Lathe for ya now :D.

Rick

While you're digging, toss a little dirt on me... I'm still smoldering a bit...

[rickairmed]

Steve I have wanted a plasma cutter for several years now however with a new business and my 2 oldest moving back home bringing the Grandson with them and another grandson on the way I havent gotten it yet . I know I will have one but otherthings will have to be handled first . I look at it this way when I can actually afford to get one the business will be doing well enough I will actually have more time to play with it and yes a Lathe is also on my list just further down :D.Did I mention I have 5 kids at home and soon 2 grandsons as well also at home anybody need a kid I have spares most of them potty trained :D.

Rick

[macka]

I know a guy up here who could use a wife. Does one of the older daughters know how to cook? Is she of legal marriage age? Does she mind -40 degrees in the winter and black flies in the spring? I can get you his number if you want.:cheesy:

[Wood Butcher]

So I've decided I'm going to buy a machine lathe. Of course I joined another forum (or 2) to do the research and am getting close (no comment Rick, yes sleep is overrated). Anybody here have any experience with the mini lathe population?

What about your needs? I read a thread once about some adapters or collars or something needed for a DW or something. What's the missing link for the KREW? Who needs what machined on a lathe?

I've owned a Harbor Freight 7x10 minilathe for about eight years and find it it an indispensable tool for many projects, not just bike hacking. I've used it to machine cassette spacers, modify steerer tubes, make seat stay clamps, modify fasteners and machine hubs.

I've also built a Gingery lathe (and metal shaper) from the books sold by Lindsay Publications. It's a very worthwhile learning experience and the machine that you get is exactly proportional to the amount of care that you put into it. It hasn't seen much use (expect as a patternmaker's lathe) since I acquired the HF lathe and began making tooling for it (faceplates, collet chuck, steady rest, quick-change toolpost and tool holders, knurling tool, angle plates).

Most of the tooling that I made for it was using ideas from the Gingery series of books, so it's somewhat of a HF/Gingery hybrid machine. I found the patternmaking and casting process to be quite enjoyable, as well as finishing the tooling on the lathe and actually using it afterward.

The HF minilathe has a lot of tooling available from different suppliers, is much more rigid than the Gingery lathe, and can cut threads right out of the box. An excellent source of tooling for the minilathe (and minimill) can be found here:

http://www.littlemachineshop.com/

The conclusion that I can draw from the experience with both...if you need a lathe, buy it. If you want a lathe, build it. The same thing goes for the milling machine.

Here's a few links on Gingery machines:

http://isobevel.com/gingery_lathe1.htm

http://isobevel.com/gingery_milling_machine.htm

http://www.sredmond.com/machine_projects.htm

http://backyardmetalcasting.com/guest_bruce.html


A support group for Gingery machines:

http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/gingery_machines


A support group for 7x10 minilathe enthusiasts:

http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/7x10minilathe

Caution: this group has a lot of traffic and gets off-topic quite easily with discussions of various subjects, mostly political in nature.

Some excellent minilathe sites:

http://www.gadgetbuilder.com/index.html

http://www.mini-lathe.com/

http://www.varmintal.com/alath.htm

That's just my $0.02 worth, based on experience. YMMV.

Mike

[Wood Butcher]

Steve as I recall from reading the instructions most of the casting is done in aluminum and aluminum cans worked fine for this.


PMJI, but the main issue with cans is the amount lost in the melting process. Since they are so thin, the cans, even when crushed flat, tend to disintegrate into a powdery residue on the the top of the melt that builds up fast. My personal experience was that you yield only 72% of your starting material in the end--1 pound of dry cans (crushed flat) results in a 0.72 pound ingot.

IMHO, not worth it (time and cost of fuel) to melt cans exclusively. If I have some laying about while I'm melting some other aluminum, I'll toss them in the crucible.

Mike

[moejosteve]

The conclusion that I can draw from the experience with both...if you need a lathe, buy it. If you want a lathe, build it. The same thing goes for the milling machine.
A support group for 7x10 minilathe enthusiasts:

Some excellent minilathe sites:

Mike

Thanks the opinions and experience Mr. Mike.

I have been all over the mini lathe sites you mentioned over the past 2 weeks and am pretty up to date on the potential of the equipment and resources for tooling and mods. It really looks like a fun addition to my shop. Thanks for sharing how and for what you use your machines. Thanks also for the opinion on building vs. buying. I have built a lot of jigs and fixtures over the years and tend to balance the time to build the jig against the time saved in fabrication, or very often, the gains found in leveraging the tooling over the life of the tool. A lathe seems like a buy vs. build no brainer to me... I guess it's just a matter of budgets around my house; time and money...

Thanks again.

[rickairmed]

Steve dont forget to go over and tell Dubby on SFT how much he sucks for his recent lathe purchase :D.

Rick

[moejosteve]

Steve dont forget to go over and tell Dubby on SFT how much he sucks for his recent lathe purchase :D.

Rick

Done did. What a deal! Some guys have all the luck... I am a bit behind on the SFT site posts. Sheesh you guys hit it hard over there. I've been spending a bunch of time on some mini sites and out getting the shop ready for the SF project. I am CLOSE! Then it's: DON'T STOP ME NOW! I'M ON A ROOOOOOLLLLL:punk:

[rickairmed]

Well Steve there is 3 times the membership and usually 5 times the active members over there so the place tends to move pretty quick :D. I have been cleanin g my shop for several years . I am still cleaning it everytime I think I am getting close more stuff magically appears :D. I am looking forward to your project the more the merrier . I hope to have the BabySF done next week so I can start on the next one its gonna be LOWSLUNG :D.

Rick

[John Lewis]

Wel I have built both the Gingery lathe and shaper. Good value I thought for a modest commitment in time. Old pistons were the best ali I could find. Cans and other scrap are useless. Aluminium wheel rims are great if you can break them up. Wheelium and Pistonium.:jester:

I have plans for a bolt together lathe from old Popular Mechanics. I built one years ago. No longer have the magazine but I found a PDF of it on the net some time back. Try a search. If all else fails and you want a copy then PM me with an email address and request and I'll send you a copy. Its dead simple and works ok.

John Lewis