gonna buy a lathe

[skimmerhead]

Danny wants to turn alligators....

ok pat! you got me, you made me laugh

skimmerhead

[skimmerhead]

I probably should have asked this before...
What do you think you will want to cut on the lathe?

Do you want it for doing rifle barrel work? Do you want to make parts from scratch? If so, how big? Do you want to be able to turn brake rotors (which are tougher to do a good job on than a lot of people realize)? Do you just want to have it to fool around with & learn about lathe work? Do you want something super precise like a Hardinge or Potter tool room lathe, or is holding .0005" good enough for most of the work you plan to do? Do you want to be able to turn things that are longer than the bed of the machine? Do you want to do threading? Do you want to cut tapers? Do you want to do repetitive work, where you make 100 or more copies of the exact same thing? Do you want to be able to cut complex curves? There are different tools with different price tags for different jobs.

i'll probably wind up cutting my fingers mostly, but in general i just want to learn as much as i can about doeing machine work in my shop. this is my plan of action, first is to buy a used 12x24 or 12x36, then to completly disassemble and restore it. if you want to know how something works you tear it apart and put it back together, then you know what you have. now the second lathe i'm gonna buy is gonna have a few must have's, it must have a min. 1 1/2" spindle bore, a taper cutting attachment, 4 jaw chuck,3 jaw chuck, follow rest, steady rest, face plate, live and dead centers, quick change tool post, power cross feed, 3 phase variable speed control and many other features. for an example i looked at a leblond 15x55 which i liked and it'll be somewhere in that size of machine. south bend, leblond, logan, hardinge clausing maybe, possibly with a dro. i think you get the picture. once that part of my project is done, restored and operational i'll start all over again on a mill only this time i'll only get one, no practice machine. i figure by that time i'll know how to take it apart. once it is opererateional i'll be able to mill some finger guards so i stop cutting my fingers in the lathe. thats about it for know. i have an old friend thats a retired machinest and former neighbor who passed his business on to his son and they are adviseing me when i have q's and are also teaching me how to grind tool bits for every cut they can think of. also told me what stones to get and what not. so thats the plan and will probably have a machine to disect this week.

skimmerhead

[deltaenterprizes]

Disassembly without proper reassembly can destroy the accuracy of the lathe. Spindle bearings need to be tightened properly. It would not be a good idea to remove the headstock from the bed either.

[skimmerhead]

Disassembly without proper reassembly can destroy the accuracy of the lathe. Spindle bearings need to be tightened properly. It would not be a good idea to remove the headstock from the bed either.

only if nessecery, if its ok will leave it on. been looking at a lot of old machines lately and won't tear one down without parts manual and some help.

skimmerhead

[skimmerhead]

the lathe is in the barn!

skimmerhead

[Char-Gar]

When I bought my 1947 Logan, the guy said he would ship it to me for $100.00 and I said OK. Well, it came UPS in four boxes. The headstock was in one box, the tail stock in another and the tooling in another and the bed in yet another. I almost dropped my teeth, having no idea how to put a lathe together.

My Son was down for visit and he got all of the mechanical ability in the family. In about a hour and a half we had it all together and another half hour to clean all the old grease and oil off.

It sat unused for six years until I retired and moved it to a place where I could run it. I did some electrical work, lubricated it all, tightened everything with a nut on it and turned it on. Nothing crashed and everything worked smoothly. I put a 14 inch length of Krag barrel between centers, turned it on again and engaged the half nuts. After the cut was made there was .004 taper from one end to the other. I moved the tailstock over half a hair and cut again. This time there was .0005 taper in 14 inches. I figured that was good enough and have been using it for two years with no problems.

[akajun]

the lathe is in the barn!

skimmerhead

Make, Model, What, when Where?

If its one I pointed out I want a finders fee.

[skimmerhead]

Make, Model, What, when Where?

If its one I pointed out I want a finders fee.

almost got the finder's fee, got it from a guy in kenner. been going look at it alot in the last couple weeks, wanted to check it out real good before i bought it. got the model and ser.# off it and did some research on it, its a craftsman 12x24 built in 1975, it shows little use only dirty. its been in his shop unused for a long time, it runs good took it for a spin, ran fairly quiet, no vibration, has a 1/2hp dayton set up with a reverse swith, ways look good, no wear on the lead screw and back lash is min. on carriage, and cross feeds. four jaw chuck,steady rest, follow rest, milling attachment, 2 drill chucks 1/2 jacops mt#2 5/8 chuck mt#2 mt#2 and #3 dead centers, mt#2 live center,8" face plate and some tool holder's a box of new 1/4" hss cutters, cutoff tool, threading cutter, boring bars and holder and other stuff. i'll have to pull the spindle out to change the belt, and clean it and paint it. it came with a homemade cabinet and i'll leave on there for now. 900 bucks, i'm happy with it. will try to post photos later. next week i'm going look at a leblond 15x55 again, its starting to grow on me.

skimmerhead

[deltaenterprizes]

Good starter lathe but it does not have V ways and the gears are soft. Good news is parts are available, it is the same as an Atlas.
Does it have a quick change gear box?

[skimmerhead]

When I bought my 1947 Logan, the guy said he would ship it to me for $100.00 and I said OK. Well, it came UPS in four boxes. The headstock was in one box, the tail stock in another and the tooling in another and the bed in yet another. I almost dropped my teeth, having no idea how to put a lathe together.

My Son was down for visit and he got all of the mechanical ability in the family. In about a hour and a half we had it all together and another half hour to clean all the old grease and oil off.

It sat unused for six years until I retired and moved it to a place where I could run it. I did some electrical work, lubricated it all, tightened everything with a nut on it and turned it on. Nothing crashed and everything worked smoothly. I put a 14 inch length of Krag barrel between centers, turned it on again and engaged the half nuts. After the cut was made there was .004 taper from one end to the other. I moved the tailstock over half a hair and cut again. This time there was .0005 taper in 14 inches. I figured that was good enough and have been using it for two years with no problems.

i bet you wanted to pull your hair out when you seen that! in 1972 i met this fellow who was in ww2 and he said he had a harley davidson he wanted to sell because he did not know how to fix it. i said i would buy it i figured i could. paid him the 400 bucks and went to pick up my bike. well there was a bike there only it was packed in box's, so we loaded it up and went home and took the #'s off the frame and engine, contacted harley davidson they sent me all the manuals i needed and i restored it to it's original condition. it was a 1956 hd dresser with the suicide shift on the tank,i wish i still had it. every since then iv'e never met an engine or equipment i could not fix, plus it's more fun that way.

skimmerhead

[PatMarlin]

WHoo Hooo Danny!!!!!!!


AND...

You can still get one of those big gators on there if you wack it in chapters...

Snoop says "Congratulations".




He excited... can't you tell?

[akajun]

You dont wack a gator in the chapters

Troy Landry says you

Choot em, Choot em again!!!

[Char-Gar]

The 12 inch Craftsman/Atlas lathe is a pretty good lathe in spite of the flat ways, which can allow more wobble in the saddle once they are worn. I have known a couple of gunsmiths that made a decent living with those lathes although they had the 36" bed. Most of the gunsmiths I have known (back in the day) used SouthBend, Logan with a Sheldon or two thrown in.

Best of luck with your new lathe.

[skimmerhead]

Good starter lathe but it does not have V ways and the gears are soft. Good news is parts are available, it is the same as an Atlas.
Does it have a quick change gear box?

yes it has the quick change gear. the next one will have the v ways, this little lathe is in very nice condition and has alot of accesserey's, i even have a complete set of gears in case one is needed, checked all #'s and are correct with parts book.

skimmerhead

[skimmerhead]

WHoo Hooo Danny!!!!!!!


AND...

You can still get one of those big gators on there if you wack it in chapters...

Snoop says "Congratulations".




He excited... can't you tell?

snoop looks like he hasn't a care in the world, look at him! he's falling asleep.

[broomhandle]

Hi Guys,


Do you have any info. on a Lathemaster 30 inch? It is supose to cut left or right handed threads. Machine weight is 330 pounds, the price looks good too.

Thanks for any help,

broomhandle

[skimmerhead]

Hi Guys,


Do you have any info. on a Lathemaster 30 inch? It is supose to cut left or right handed threads. Machine weight is 330 pounds, the price looks good too.

Thanks for any help,

broomhandle

i'm sorry i can't help you, but you'll get some help in the am. when they wake up. they are a very helpful and knowageable bunch of gentleman. and will surely give you some helpful info on your quest.

skimmerhead

[akajun]

Hi Guys,


Do you have any info. on a Lathemaster 30 inch? It is supose to cut left or right handed threads. Machine weight is 330 pounds, the price looks good too.

Thanks for any help,

broomhandle

I actually know the "Lathemaster" Bob Bertrand. His products are good and he stands behind his machines. His machines are set up to cut to the headstock, but come with a reversing gear that must be installed to cut to the right. Bobs home shop is filled with his own machinery and he is living proof that Chinese or American machinery, its the operator not the machine.

[broomhandle]

Hi Akajun,


I spoke to him also. Only thing I see (negitive) about his machine is the smaller hole in the spindle. It seems to be better made that others, I have seen.

I know he does not advertise like some of the others do. To me the cost of the machine is real big money. I'm only going to get one shot at a lathe!

Best,
broomhandle

[akajun]

yes its only about 3/4 IRRC, which is bigger than my Atlas. Just means for bull barrels that you will need to break out the steady. I know that he built and chambered 300whisper in an ar-15 from a blank and threaded the muzzle on his larger machine, so it can be done.
His machines are nice.