machine shop basics?

[koyote]

koyote....
this lathe was in worse shape than that one , and my neighbor spent a great deal of time bringing it back to life , but she runs true , tight and was worth the effort. He did get it extremely cheap though. Davis 14x40

If I was looking at about half of what he's asking, I'd probably do it, but I'm seeing - not a pit- but not something I'll be able to use for basic tasks for a long time. Unless I can fix the leadscrew problem right off and figure out an accurate tailstock. WIthout the tailstock I have... no ability to drill/bore/ream I think.

 

[12345678910]

keyway's??? How would one go about that(endmill in chuck, stock clamped in toolpost?)??? I have a 12x36 gear head import lathe, But I bought it more for general fabrication/screwcutting/gunsmithing, but If I could slot gaurds that would be nice!

Would a milling attachment on a lathe be worth having??

Exactly...

It's not a mill, not as handy to setup, but works fine as long as you want to do it that way.

I think even the first mills looked alot like a lathe...

Would a milling attachment on a lathe be worth having?

It's your decision...
many people can rig up something that suits their needs..

-you need a vise and vertical movement mounted on the toolpost

this video demonstrates it.
Advanced Aspects of Machine Lathe Operation - Rudy Kouhoupt

 

[12345678910]

koyote....
this lathe was in worse shape than that one , and my neighbor spent a great deal of time bringing it back to life , but she runs true , tight and was worth the effort. He did get it extremely cheap though. Davis 14x40

That's beautiful old iron, AND it does have quick change gearing..
useful too

 

[koyote]

If I went with the commodity starter seig 7x12 lathe, I'd have the gears but not quick change gearing. My main concerns are all with being able to handle reaosonable shop workloads. I have a friend up in the foothills who is an airgunsmith and does production on one and it works fine for the sizes of parts he's turning- he's even managed a few custom 10 inch barrels. (not my goal, but interesting to note). I'm trying to figure out what things over a 4 or 5 inch diamter I'm going to want to work on, and aside from making my own contact wheels or disc sanding plates, i'm coming up dry right now.

 

[koyote]

Well, the mill should be in thursday.

I realize I can't afford a decent production lathe right now, and I'm making a compromise, but I've found a COMPLETE craftsman 901 lathe, with gear box for thread cutting and an extra pulley reduction system, 2 spare beds, 3 spare headstocks, extra chucks and center and misc spare parts.... for 1/3 the cost of a 7x12.

I'll have to mess with it, I'm sure, but it's going to be better than anything I can realistically budget and still have money for the rest of my tooling.

I'll probably have photos soon

 

[12345678910]

Sounds like you found something there.

I'm glad you found something you can work with.

 

[koyote]

Everyone can figure out what a 7x12 goes for new, with shipping. For about 30-40% of that, this is what I've got in the van. Gonna take me an hour to get ready to unload:

If anyone wants to point out special parts in the photos, feel free.

And yeah, the guy threw in a predrilled 1/4 inch steel top table on wheels that's the perfect height. nicely made shop table. pretty flat, too.

4 jaw chuck on the replacement spindle (1/2x20 thread instead of the original 1940s- which is included! with a 1/2x24 or something)

compound:

reduction pulley system. I forgot to take photos before we started disassembling for travel. But I ran it, it's smooth and nivbration free and has a good speed range:

TOOLS AND PARTS! dead center, live center, chuck is on the tailstock, extra tailstock and base, extra spindle, wheels, relatively complete gear set, drive pulleys.......

 

[john0270]

I have one similar to that(atlas 109), the spindle is just not stiff enough to get anything done quickly. It's to bad they don't make the 7x12 imports with a 1.5" bore spindle, then its short length wouldn't limit it to much. I have been thinking of turning mine into something that would let me cut fullers with a small beltgrinder.

 

[koyote]

I have one similar to that(atlas 109), the spindle is just not stiff enough to get anything done quickly. It's to bad they don't make the 7x12 imports with a 1.5" bore spindle, then its short length wouldn't limit it to much. I have been thinking of turning mine into something that would let me cut fullers with a small beltgrinder.

Oh, the model 109 has 2 main "issues"- the weak spindle, which is just too narrow for really heavy work, and 24tpi threading.

it's not a production machine.

I'm told that if I just treat it with the same amount of force (meaning gentle) as I would a 5x9 inch lathe, it will be fine.

the 1/24 threading is bizarre, but 1.5 turns is .0625, which is something I can use as a base for figuring things out. I'll just mark the collars in eigth circles and 3/8 of a turn is 1/64 inch. *shrug*- I can work in fractions for a year or two.

Since I have enough spare parts to probably keep this running for a few more decades, and if I grab a self centering 3 jaw chuck, spare half inch chuck, and spare spindle or two, I can extend that to another 60 years (have spare beds!) - it's worth keeping going since my son will learn on it. and it's going to be a joy for turning pommels,pin/tube stock and facing guards.

My list of stuff to keep an eye out for now is the larger atlas, any of the larger sieg lathes, and any logan, southbend, or sherline at a great price. no pressure, I can wait a few years now