Lathe will set you free

[303Guy]

I bought a new bench top Chinese lathe. It works but the graduations on the fees are worse than useless. They do not have anything to do with actual measurements! But I fitted a a digital readout to it. It's OK but not great but a whole lot better than nothing. And yes, a lathe sets you free.

Just a word of caution - be very aware that it only takes a small slip to damage or destroy the thing! Learn the safety rules before you start. A feature found in older machine shops are dings in the ceiling and everything else around the radius of the chuck. That's from the habit of taking ones hand off the chuck key while it's still in the chuck! That's just one of them.

[Catshooter]

I never had the room or the spare cash for the big lathes/mills.

I've been using a Sherline lathe and mill for more than twenty years now and love them. No good for rifle barrel work but they do everything else. They don't take up much room and the tooling isn't costly either.

I'm just about done with the latest project. I couldn't find an extractor for an H&R 22 Hornet that I re-chambered to 219 Zipper. So I'm making two (one spare).


Cat

[smokeywolf]

Smokeywolf,
Would you happen to know of a source for bearings for the old DuMore spindles?

Doughty,
Sorry for the delay in answering your question. No, don't know a general source for specifically DuMore spindle bearings. However, if you have the old bearing, you can just measure it and usually find the replacement based on size and class, rather than the brand and model device from which the old bearing was removed.
Most, if not all bearings in grinder spindles are "class 9" or "ABEC 9" and are usually sold in sets of 2 or 3 "matched" bearings in a set.

smokeywolf

[Sensai]

I have no idea what you are talking about.

Now that's just sooo wrong ! I know better !!

[Doughty]

Thanks for the reply smokeywolf.
A couple years back, when the bearing went out, I tried at Dumore who referred me to Sopko. The man there said that he had not had bearings for my spindle for many years. He also said that he didn't know of any alternate bearings that would work. Said I might be lucky enough to find some setting on some guys shelf, somewhere. Other than that he suggested a new spindle which cost more than I paid for the whole grinder set. I did what I could to refurbish the ones I had. Got a few more months out of them, but they're froze up again. Just hoping to have that lucky day sometime.

[Gtek]

What about matching ID/OD and possibly making sleeves and shims for ID/OD or width?

[TXGunNut]

Too many toys, not enough time as it is. I barely know how to use a drill press so I'm probably better off without one...at last until I get my shop built.

[bangerjim]

"There's ALWAYS room for Jello".............and more tools!!!!!!!!

banger

[Pinsnscrews]

So Bangerjim, I have this TC Barrel lug than needs a couple thou milled off it...

Someday, I will be able to pull that trigger and have a lathe and mill.

[paul edward]

Just a word of caution - be very aware that it only takes a small slip to damage or destroy the thing! Learn the safety rules before you start.

After working in the university's engineering machine shop, my son observed that there are two kinds of people, those that had a pocket knife as a kid, and thus grew up as tool users and everyone else. His goal was to keep the non-tool users from breaking the machines.

[jlchucker]

I used to run a lathe at work. It was a J&L #2 Universal lathe. I loved running that machine. Just wish I had access to it now. I once used to make a sizing die to neck size 50 bmg fired brass, just so I could reseat a bullet in it, and make a dummy round. Used the lathe as a press.

The absolute best part of my working life was when I worked at the J & L factory in Springfield, Vermont. I miss those days. They produced lathes, grinders, and optical comparators. A lot of great machine tools were produced in the US. Most of those companies are history now, but you'd be surprised at the amount of those old machines, right up through the CNC models they were making, are still around and in daily use.

[smokeywolf]

In some ways the shift from conventional (manual) lathes and mills to "computerized numerical control" machines has been a boon to the home shop machinist. The '80s and '90s threw a lot of commercial level machinery out into the consumer market. We are still benefiting from that.

One of the down sides to many of the NC operators and programmers is that they didn't learn to be machinists before they started programming and operating the computer controlled lathes, mills, grinders, etc.

You can't become a machinist by taking a couple of classes.

Sorry to stray a little from "lathes setting you free".

Can't imagine being without my lathe and mill. Someday I'd like to do a NC retrofit on my Bridgeport.

smokeywolf

[Doughty]

Gtek,
I intend to try that when (if?) I get some free time.

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

I would love to find one of them little Southbend shapers. The rhythmic
kachunk, kachunk, kachunk, sound they make while running is mesmerizing

[smokeywolf]

Doughty is there any way you can get a fairly accurate measurement on the spindle bearings in your DuMore grinder? For two years, I was purchasing manager for MGM (Metrocolor) Film Laboratories and sourced and purchased upwards of $90,000.00 worth of bearings per year. Kinda like to take a stab at identifying your bearings based on their dimensions.

Unless your bearings are proprietary to DuMore, their size can be translated to a bearing number(s) which identify them to the bearing market. This may enable you to buy the same bearing, classified by dimension and class in the bearing industry, rather than DuMore part number.

smokeywolf

[JeffinNZ]

Certainly does. The other weekend I fixed the Lyman 55 powder measure by building a new handle. Last evening I made a new firing pin and striker for my side be side 12 gauge.

[Doughty]

Boy, I kept getting that database error page. Talk about withdrawals. Anyway, since I had dug the grinder out, thought I might as well tear into it again. Got to talking to a friend here in Missoula about it and he knew a guy. Went to see the guy and took one of the old bearings with me. He hears my sad story, then goes back into his office for a while. When he comes out he says he found a source. $250 a bearing if I want them exactly the same. $160 each if I can use slightly less precision. But, and there's always a but..., he says my bearings LOOK like they're okay. He thinks I may be getting the pre-load on them wrong. But... neither I nor he know what the preload should be or how to set it. The spindle is a Dumore Type T on a Model 5.021 grinder. I checked the Dumore website and found a manual for a Model 57 which is apparently a newer version of mine but.... has a different type spindle. So,,, anybody got anymore ideas. (Talk about thread wander.)

[MBTcustom]

Boy, I kept getting that database error page. Talk about withdrawals. Anyway, since I had dug the grinder out, thought I might as well tear into it again. Got to talking to a friend here in Missoula about it and he knew a guy. Went to see the guy and took one of the old bearings with me. He hears my sad story, then goes back into his office for a while. When he comes out he says he found a source. $250 a bearing if I want them exactly the same. $160 each if I can use slightly less precision. But, and there's always a but..., he says my bearings LOOK like they're okay. He thinks I may be getting the pre-load on them wrong. But... neither I nor he know what the preload should be or how to set it. The spindle is a Dumore Type T on a Model 5.021 grinder. I checked the Dumore website and found a manual for a Model 57 which is apparently a newer version of mine but.... has a different type spindle. So,,, anybody got anymore ideas. (Talk about thread wander.)

Doughty,
I build exceedingly accurate bearing assemblies.
First of all, you can't tell jack just by looking at them. They could look perfect, but run like dog.
Second, $250 is a worthy pricetag for a precision bearing. Divide the cost up over the hours you will be apreciating them, and it doesn't look so bad. I rebuilt the spindles in my machines and didn't go any less than ABEC7 and yeah I paid through the nose for them, and was very happy to do it.
Third, the preload is exceedingly important to proper function and long life of the bearings. If you over load them, you ruin them permanently. If you underload them you ruin them permanently. This is about knowing what the pressure is you are trying to hit and hitting it right on the nose the first time by using a torque wrench, or free weights etc etc etc.
If you can't find the specs on your particular bearings, shoot me a PM, and tell me what number they are, and I'll find out for you, or I can take a pretty good guess at it. Matter of fact, just shoot me the numbers and I'll drop a dime to a buddy of mine. He can probably get the info you need, and I might be able to score you some spinners for less coinage (no obligation of course). A buddy of mine found a bearing for his ancient Ferguson tractor that was numbered "2" or something. There was a local place that had that bearing on the shelf covered with dust IIRC.
Point is, I think that if King Solomon used a steel ball bearing on his LE King Tut low rider chariot, that there is somebody in the south that has that bearing on the shelf! LOL!

[Ghost101]

Smokeywolf and Dutchman,

I remember the machine shop over at MGM. I was doing "Party of Five",(camera), when they were selling everything off. It had become Sony by then. The camera dept. machine shop over at Warner Bros. was very nice as well as the machine shop at Panavision. Always was interested in the machine shops, but never learned how to use them.
Sad thing is that none of the studios have their machine shops anymore. As well as the Mills, SPX shops or camera and sound depts. Glad I retired.
Several years ago I bought a Smithy combo. Had two buddies over trying to get it sorted out and ended up sending it back for a refund.



Ghost101

[Any Cal.]

Well, I got a metal lathe so I could make tooling for the wood lathe. Of course, the metal lathe is no good without tooling, so a 4 jaw chuck, qctp and holders, and some carbide bits appeared in the garage somehow. Later, I realized there is no point in cutting metal unless you know how big it needs to be, and how big it is; that is when the 0-4" mics, spring calipers, telescoping gages, small hole gages appeared. Other things like the huge drill index, dial indicators, machinist square, taps, just kind of showed up somehow.

Laying out a larger project showed how badly I needed a decent loaded square, and then a set of inside and depth mics showed up, as well as a small machinists chest. I picked this stuff up at nice prices, but I am not sure how much longer I can go on saving all this money...

I say all this half in jest, I very much like the lathe and what it can do, but it looks like it would be very easy to spend far more for the capability to build things than just buying what you need outright. I have less than $1k into the lathe and tooling/measuring equipment, but it still would have cost less to buy everything I have built, and probably will build for a while. Consider the lathe if you already have hand tools, taps and dies, files, grinder, saws, maybe a welder or three, oxy torch or forge, etc., and not before then, in my not-so-expert opinion.