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Welcome to The Phlatforum PhlatPrinter III

Hobby metal lathes

Discussion in 'General Talk Forum' started by KX-5, Mar 17, 2010.

  1. KX-5

    KX-5 Member

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    KX-5, Mar 17, 2010
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  2. 3DMON

    3DMON Moderator Staff Member

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    I have a Cummins 7x14 mini lathe. It's basically the same one at Harbor Freight just a little longer and it came with some extra accessories for the same price the HF one was.
    They are great machines and http://www.mini-lathe.com has a lot of great info and mods for it.
    The first thing I replaced on mine was the tool rest. I put a quick change tool rest on.
    When you get it it will probably have a lot of Cosmoline (grease) all over it. I found coleman fuel works really good at getting it off. You will want to take as many parts of to clean them well.

    Enco is a great place to get steel blanks to grind your own cutters. To get you started though Harbor freight has some decent cutters as well. I'd recommend getting some of the Carbide and HSS ones.

    If you have any questions feel free to ask. I'll try to help.
     
    3DMON, Mar 17, 2010
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  3. Anonymous

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    Anonymous, Mar 17, 2010
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  4. KX-5

    KX-5 Member

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    Thanks for the info. It looks like the Harbor Freight unit is currently the best price. To get started with a lathe, the basic parts in addition to the lathe, are a set of cutting bits, a drill chuck, and what else?? When drilling, are special drill bits used, or, just standard drill bits?
     
    KX-5, Mar 17, 2010
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  5. Anonymous

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    I bought an "independent 4-jaw chuck" for mine, to allow me to work with square or oddball-shaped pieces of material, and a "live center" for the tailstock, as the standard fixed center may not work well with some workpieces.
    A quick-change tool post will be nice, so I can setup and adjust 3 or 4 different cutting bits and they'll be ready to use, zippity-zap.
    Standard drill bits work just fine - I prefer "split-point" drills, as they have less tendency to wander around. High speed steel bits are what you'll need for brass, copper and mild steels. If you're going to work on graphite pieces, you'll need carbide bits and drills. Cobalt is good for working on titanium, which is out of the realm of work for a mini-lathe anyway. :)
     
    Anonymous, Mar 17, 2010
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  6. 3DMON

    3DMON Moderator Staff Member

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    A dial indicator with a magnetic base is a must if you want to make sure your 3 jaw chuck is centered. I use a piece of precision ground rod stuck in the chuck to help me find center. Mine came with the drill chuck that goes in the tail stock, yours may already come with it. If not definitely get one.
     
    3DMON, Mar 18, 2010
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  7. KX-5

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    I ended up with a Harbor Freight 7 x 12 lathe. It came with a live center and I added a drill chuck. My dad was a machinist a long time ago and I ended up with his measuring devices like dial indicators so I'm covered there. The lathe seems to be working well. Has anyone ever cut a groove in a shaft for an e-clip? Any ideas on how this is done? Thanks.
     
    KX-5, Apr 13, 2010
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  8. 3DMON

    3DMON Moderator Staff Member

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    I do it all the time. I use a Dremel with the thin cutoff disks.
    You can make a mount to hold the Dremel on the cross slide and chuck the motor shaft in the jaws. If you don't want to make a mount for the Dremel you can do it by hand by holding the Dremel against the cross slide and use the other hand to dial it into the shaft, just be careful and use a steady hand.

    So did you have fun getting all that nasty Cosmoline grease off the machine. :D
     
    3DMON, Apr 14, 2010
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  9. KX-5

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    Shaun, thanks for the info! I will give the Dremel a try. And what a mess that red grease was :x It has a unique smell to it also and my hobby room still smells like it. But, it's worth the work. Having a lathe opens up many other possibilities for the hobby. Between the PhlatPrinter and the lathe, almost anything is possible. Well, wait a minute, I think I might see a mini mill in the future. :)
     
    KX-5, Apr 14, 2010
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  10. 3DMON

    3DMON Moderator Staff Member

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    LOL, I knew you were gonna love that grease!

    I use my Mini mill just as much or more than I do the lathe. The Harbor freight one is the one I have. I got it because it accepted R8 collets.
     
    3DMON, Apr 14, 2010
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  11. KX-5

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    Was the mill covered in the same grease?? Also, would you mind sharing a picture of how you mounted the Dremel to the cross slide? What kinds of things are you making with the lathe/mill?
     
    KX-5, Apr 14, 2010
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  12. 3DMON

    3DMON Moderator Staff Member

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    Yeah that grease comes on the mill as well. Coleman fuel with a brush worked really well to get it off.
    Can't give you a picture because I still haven't made a clamp yet LOL. I get lazy like that...oops. I use the steady hand holding it on the cross slide method. It works fine for me.

    As far as what I've made...not too much special stuff. I mainly use them if I need to modify something or make a specific part that I can't buy. After getting into cnc with the pp I've been tempted to cnc them as well but that will be on the back burner for a long time I'm sure.
     
    3DMON, Apr 14, 2010
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  13. KX-5

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    Well, there's no way I could make a decent slot while holding the Dremel by hand. So, I made a mount out of wood that seems to work for me. Here are a couple pictures of my attempt at a holder. Thanks for the coleman fuel idea. It could still use some more cleaning.



    Attached files [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
    KX-5, Apr 15, 2010
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  14. 3DMON

    3DMON Moderator Staff Member

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    Great job! After seeing yours, I might just have to make one for mine too. :D

    I found some pics of when I modded my MK1 for belt drive.
    I made these on the mini mill.

    Attached files [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
    3DMON, Apr 16, 2010
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  15. 3DMON

    3DMON Moderator Staff Member

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    A note for safety.
    I see the chuck key sitting in the chuck. This can make for a serious boo boo.
    I was tought to never leave it sitting in the chuck, and when I use to always keep my hand on it so I would remember to remove it. There have been bad stories about what can happen on the big machines so I figure it should translate the same for the small one too.
    Just a heads up.
     
    3DMON, Apr 16, 2010
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  16. KX-5

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    Thanks for the safety tip. :) That's some really nice mill work. I've got to get one of those. I've got some e-clips on order. I was wondering how the thickness of the dremel cut off blade compares to that of a clip? Is it a fairly tight fit?
     
    KX-5, Apr 16, 2010
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  17. 3DMON

    3DMON Moderator Staff Member

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    There will be some play, but when the e-clip pushes up against the bearing it will not matter.
     
    3DMON, Apr 16, 2010
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