Announcement

**DiverRay** · 08-10-2005, 09:46 AM

TC;
It's been a LOT of years since I worked in a machine shop, but I can answer a few of your questions.
1. "Swing over saddle" is the clearance in diameter you have between the center line and the travelling part of the tool holder, or the "saddle".
2. "Swing over bed" is the clearance in diameter between the center line and the "bed", or the two rails the tool holder slides on.
3. The chuck size is the maximum diameter of the chuck. a 4" will only hold up to a 4" diameter stock.
4. The smaller lath MAY hold a larger chuck, but it will be determined by the "swing over bed" and threads on the tailstock, or the piece that holds the chuck.
5. Jet and Grizzly have a good reputation for inexpensive tools. You may want to look in the phone book, and see if there is a local shop that sells used machine tools. You may be able to get a lath with the chuck you need for less than you think.
Good luck, and happy hunting.
Ray

**jeffe** · 08-10-2005, 12:52 PM

You may want to see if you have a Harbor Freight close to you, or see if they have a web sight. They sell all kinds of things.

**planedick** · 08-10-2005, 04:46 PM

Machining answers

TC,
The numbers you reference 9"x12" means nine inch swing from center to ways and 12" the longest piece. (Between chuck and tailstock) I have equipment here that will do the job. $600 mill lathe combination from Harbor freight. These kind of machines have the power that the mini lathe doesn't have. The mini lathes with a variable speed are actually DC powered and are really gutless. Any of these kinds of machines require a real experienced machinist for any kind of accuracy. I highly recomend you find someone to do it for a good price that has the proper machines and experance. Then after you get the machine you better plan on spending that much again for tooling, holders, and such before you can start making parts. Remember that this plate MUST be used with an oil cooler adapter as replacing the center bolt means that the only bypass left in case the filter is plugged is in the adapter. The other one is in the bolt that holds the filter cover in place.

**LoserShoes** · 08-11-2005, 07:20 AM

I have a Harbor Freight 9x20 and it is great for the price. Needs some tweaking to get it right.

ALL the 9x20's are made in the same factory in China. The ONLY difference is price and color.

When looking at prices you need to take into account shipping, Harbor Freight shipping is very little. You can get a real good deal at a Harbor Frieght store -- see the 9x20 group for details.

There is an excellent group on Yahoo groups that supports the 9x20 (9X20Lathe). Look through it to see if your willing to do whats nessacary to get it up to speed. IF you get a good one, it's not much.

A 7x12 would be too small.

Steve

**TopCatGr58** · 08-11-2005, 08:06 PM

Hey Richard, and others,

I went and visited my machinist tonight, and after a modest discussion, he also agreed that the smaller lathes wouldn't be suitable to what I want to do, or it would take a LONG time to cut parts down. Then we talked about his previous machines. And he had this very old machine that he had tossed out into the back yard. But it is a decently larger machine, like 9x40. He tossed in a 4 jaw chuck, the tail piece, the gear head/spindle, but I'll need to get a tool holder, and make a mount for the motor. It's a belt drive tranny, but with a larger pulley on the machine and a small one on the motor, I'll be able to gear it down to a very nice slow speed. So...hopefully it'll let me experiment without putting too many $$ into the project!

I appreciate the input from everyone, and I'll let you all know how I get along! Lots of reading and learning to do!
T.C.

**LoserShoes** · 08-12-2005, 07:24 AM

Hey -- good luck, and get a Machinerys Handbook.

Aluminium usually requires a fairly high spindle speed for a good finish. You will also want to look into how to grind a lathe tool. Forget about carbide inserts and get some HSS bit and start grinding. Lots of info on the net on using a lathe. I don't have the URL handy, but there is an Army document out there on lathe operations that is recommended for all beginners. Can dig it up if your interested.

Steve

**Bud Manley** · 08-16-2005, 08:31 PM

Is THIS the manual you were refering too?

**gerkenbruce** · 08-16-2005, 11:02 PM

BIGGER SHOP

HI T.C.
Dose this mean a BIGGER SHOP ?The place I work for started by making bikes

XSivly
Bruce

PS if you need help call me

**TopCatGr58** · 08-17-2005, 07:15 PM

Hey Bruce,

No, not a bigger shop, just need to clean more out of the Garage. SWMBO wants me to build a separate work shed, so that she can have the garage to park her car! Imagine, that, parking a car in a Garage!!

Another question! I've got the tail piece, it has a tapered inner part, but I have no idea what type, Morse #1, 2,3, etc.? It's a very old lathe. The max inner diameter is ~.91", and it's about 3.2" deep!? I don't know if it's even a Morse taper, vs. Jacobs, or any of the other styles? I need to figure this out so that I can get a drill/chuck for the tail piece!

I've been taking it apart, the Carriage and Ways sliders are rusty, as were the Lead Screw, the cross slide, the tool post, compound rest, etc.!! I've got to make some handles for it, several are missing! And I've still got to mount the head, the motor, pulleys, etc.!

Thanks Bud, for the manual link, have already saved it to harddisc, will be reading it soon, as I have to learn how to make my own cutting bits!!
T.C.

**procamper** · 08-19-2005, 11:01 PM

T.C.-- I hear Naval jelly will help clean up rusty ways.

**procamper** · 08-19-2005, 11:08 PM

Bud-

The 'Machinests Handbook' is the "bible" in the industry. It has EVERYTHING you will ever need to know about making parts.

check it out at amazon

**TopCatGr58** · 08-20-2005, 07:14 AM

Hey ProCamper,

This lathe is VERY OLD, it has triangular sitting on top rails, not round chrome like finished cylinders. The whole thing is cast iron, so that's why I've used a sanding/grinding disc to remove the bulk rust and corrosion. I'm using my wire brush drill bit for cleaning up the more critical surfaces, like the cross slide contacts, the jack screws and such. It's coming along fairly well.

The more precise movement needed will be obtained from the cross slide and tool slide, not the main bulky carriage slide.

STILL wish someone knew what size and type of tail piece taper I have, from the info I posted earlier, the opening being .90" diameter, and about 3.2" deep. Being an old lathe, possibly 20, 30, 40 or more years old, I'm hoping that the "morse" taper was the primary design of the era, and that the other styles came later. I found a web site with descriptions of the sizes and depths of the different styles of tapers, but my measurements don't match EXACTLY to any one of them, but is closest to a Morse Taper #3? I'm assuming that the taper part that fits into the holder needs to be a bit larger so that there's something to hold onto to be able to remove it?
T.C.

**xswilly** · 08-20-2005, 09:09 AM

hey topcatgr58
i'm a toolmaker, its the weekend right now
but when i get back to work i will look up the taper for you
the taper will stick out from the hole some
so the specs will read a little bigger than your measurement
what brand is the lathe
and be careful with the sand paper, don't remove any materal
because that will effect the od when you turn

**turbopete** · 08-20-2005, 01:35 PM

Hey Topcat.

You're quite right a small lathe will never be able to take off the amount of material you are talking about in any sensible time, also it will wear out the machine in short order.

I bought a lathe about 15 months ago, it's a 1936 model Atlas 10. It's just about perfect for my little workshop, and has seen many hours of use. I couldn't do without it and will never sell it while it is serviceable.

Announcement

Question for Machinists!?

Question for Machinists!?

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment