Sorry XCB

[btroj]

Sorry XCB, you just got shoved to the back burner. A new toy is in the garage and it demands some attention.

http://i1348.photobucket.com/albums/p733/Btroj/imagejpg1_zps9a84cbb8.jpg (http://s1348.photobucket.com/user/Btroj/media/imagejpg1_zps9a84cbb8.jpg.html)

Now to learn how to make it work. buckshot and Theperfessor gave me some good insight into what I need. Thanks guys, I really appreciate the help.

I was pleasantly surprised at how easily the preservative cleaned up. It wasn't bad compared to what I expected.

[RED333]

So whose car is in the rain? LOL
Nice piece, I learned the lathe in Jr high, I still remember some of the things I learned WWwaaay back then.

[btroj]

The garage in my home doesn't ever see a car. Way too much, umm, "stuff" in the garage.

[MBTcustom]

Congratulations Brad!
Now, I'm going to tell you some things that I tell everybody who finds themselves in your position:
Do not leave the chuck key in the chuck. Ever. You're going to ignore my advice, and if you're lucky it's only going to cause you a near miss. SO DON'T IGNORE MY ADVICE!!!! Just don't do that. It cost many a person a clean pair of shorts, or a pretty face.
Remember all the stuff about tight clothing, tuck in your shirt, wear aprons with leg ties etc etc etc.

Do not underestimate that machine's ability to screw up your world in .02 seconds.

Now that I've said that, again: Congratulations! You just bought the most versatile piece of reloading equipment on the market.

[btroj]

Thanks Tim. The chuck is a well known rule, I spent enough time with a drill press. This one will hopefully never go flying.
My wife is already on me about safety. Glasses are a must. Loose clothes are also a big no go, I have no desire to get wrapped up by the lathe.

I have are a pretty healthy respect for motor driven devices. I have seen what my father learned about table saws, he was lucky to not lose a thumb.

I have much to learn. I have lots of ideas, now to develop the skills to make them happen.

This is something I have wanted for many years, I was fortunate enough to have ,y wife say to go ahead with it. She did say I spent more than she hoped but she didn't want me to buy something smaller and in a few years want more. Good wife she is!

[RED333]

I wont get on to you about safety, will ask about tooling.
Have you picked up any, your wife will freak on that cost.

[btroj]

I have very little, Keith gave me some advice. That is the next purchase.

I see see lots of needs and wants. Good thing Christmas is coming.

[geargnasher]

Congrats, Btroj!

Gear

[jmorris]

Do not leave the chuck key in the chuck. Ever. You're going to ignore my advice, and if you're lucky it's only going to cause you a near miss. SO DON'T IGNORE MY ADVICE!!!! Just don't do that.

That is a pet peeve of mine. I have thrown them across the shop when I have come across them, the the guy comes back looking around for it. I actually suggest making a holder for it, if it is not in your hand it should be in the holder.

[btroj]

Good idea. Makes perfect sense to me. Like shooting, safety must come first. I should do well with it, I still check every gun for a loaded chamber every time I pick up up. Heck, I even look thru the bore with the bolt removed before I chamber a round at the range.

[btroj]

Congrats, Btroj!

Gear

We have a spare room if you want to come and visit. The cats don't bite.

[BNE]

Looks cool. This probably means you won't be shooting for a while....

What are you going to start on first?

[btroj]

Learning, lots of learning. How fast, how deep, how to operate the controls. Just lots of playing around.
Once I get the hang of it I see lots of size dies for the Star being made. And some neck expanders for seating cast bullets.

[kenjuudo]

The chuck keys with the spring loaded plunger are a good investment for the beginner!

[freebullet]

Wow, congrats!

[Any Cal.]

I have a very strong magnet on the edge of mine, it holds the chuck key and a tuna can with cutting oil in it. Very fast to remove and replace the chuck key.

I like the PM site, had been drooling over some of their stuff for a bit.

[geargnasher]

We have a spare room if you want to come and visit. The cats don't bite.

Heheh, need some wiring done now, do we? :kidding:

Gear

[btroj]

Nope, wiring is all done. They were in and out in about 5 hours yesterday. She is all up and running.

I could use an oil change and stand to have my tires rotated though.

[MOcaster]

Nice! Now you can start chambering your own barrels. :)

[osteodoc08]

So what's gonna be your first "project" on your new toy?

[RED333]

So you gona make your your cutter bits?

[runfiverun]

I made up my mind long ago not to get a lathe.
i'd never leave the garage except to go to the range or the reloading room.

[Eutectic]

I made up my mind long ago not to get a lathe.
i'd never leave the garage except to go to the range or the reloading room.

:bigsmyl2: In all honesty Lamar; I don't know how a cast boolit shooter/experimenter can do without one!!! It's worth having a little one just to do "professional" hollow points!

Eutectic

[detox]

Your wife asks....... "How much did that damn thing cost?"

[cbrick]

119574

[oldred]

Now ya dunit!!!! I hope you have room for that milling machine, BTW are you looking for one yet? :mrgreen:

Then of course there's all the necessary accessories and other toys, in fact you and the UPS driver will become very acquainted in a short time. This is an insatiable addiction, even worse than pouring lead if you can imagine that, there's no cure and no turning back! JK of course, actually the only regret you are going to have is not buying it sooner.



If I may I would like to add another safety tip, one that I have known to cause two injuries. Using sandpaper or a sanding strip can be very dangerous (also REALLY bad for the lathe!), in both cases the guy was pinching down on a cloth sanding strip when it grabbed his hand. One guy was fortunate and only caught the tip of his thumb resulting in a rather painful but not permanent injury, the other guy lost a finger and had several other broken bones in his hand but both could just as easily have lost an arm or even been killed. Sanding or grinding grit can be death to the ways on a lathe anyway and if sanding or grinding is done on (or even grinding near) a lathe care should be taken to prevent this grinding/sanding grit from ending up anywhere on the lathe especially on the ways!

[geargnasher]

A drill press will wind your clock too doing the pinch-method sand/polish. I think we lost Brad for a while :bigsmyl2:

Gear

[cbrick]

I think we lost Brad for a while :bigsmyl2:

Gear

Yeah but he hasn't used it yet, he's too busy standing over it drooling. :mrgreen:

Rick

[oldred]

A drill press will wind your clock too doing the pinch-method sand/polish. I think we lost Brad for a while :bigsmyl2:

Gear



Any spinning stock is like a snake about to strike! Those sanding strips (and even sandpaper) can cause a person SERIOUS hurt in the blink of an eye! Besides it gives me the bejeebers just thinking about getting grit on my lathe although I have been guilty of using sanding strip on occasion. The way I do it is to first cover the ways and cross slide, make sure the cover itself can't get snagged, so grit can't get on the lathe, then I use a long piece of cloth strip held only at the ends several inches away from the spinning stock with the ends held several inches apart so there's no possibility of the strip grabbing.


A tool I would highly recommend that's sort of along the lines of using something besides a lathe bit/cutter to remove metal is a lathe file, a long angle lathe file is way less likely to gouge the work than a regular file plus it clogs a lot less and cuts faster. A light touch with a good sharp long angle lathe file that has been freshly chalked will often leave a finish as slick as sandpaper, one of those files should be near the top of the goodies list for tooling.

[btroj]

I will look for a lathe file this week.

Gear, I'm not lost, just in a different dimension.

If weather looks right I may shoot Tuesday, until I get some tooling in it is hard to make much.

Anyone want some Chinese cosmoline? I have a bunch!

[btroj]

http://i1348.photobucket.com/albums/p733/Btroj/Mobile%20Uploads/AA87BEBB-4BBF-4C1F-88DC-C37D92B4FE4B_zpscmfhdmcm.jpg (http://s1348.photobucket.com/user/Btroj/media/Mobile%20Uploads/AA87BEBB-4BBF-4C1F-88DC-C37D92B4FE4B_zpscmfhdmcm.jpg.html)


Made a punch for a Lee push thru sizer. Other than the fact it is .010 undersized it turned out well enough.

What did I learn?

Cheap steel rods from the hardware store aren't easy to turn with a decent finish. It will take some learning to see what feed rate and depth of cut with give a smoother finish.

Learned to measure more often and remove metal slower as I get close.

Learned lots about tool angles, power feed, and general lathe use.

I'm pretty happy for a first attempt. Will get some better steel and try again.

[MarkP]

Nice addition, I need to start looking as home projects are becoming a thing of the past at work.

12L14 (leaded machine stock) will machine well for you as will resulfurized or free machining steels. I make my Star dies out of O1. If you do polish on your lathe place a cloth over the ways to protect them from the abrasives.

An expensive but nice option are collets.

There are several stories about lathe operators with pony tails getting snagged within the check jaws. I am bald so need to watch loose clothing. Always use a file handle, the file can a will instantly bite into the material without notice.

[btroj]

Long hair is not an issue for me.

Is is there a good place in Omaha to get a variety of steel for turning?

Mark, since you are in Omaha I may need to invite you over for a few hands on lessons.

[runfiverun]

:bigsmyl2: In all honesty Lamar; I don't know how a cast boolit shooter/experimenter can do without one!!! It's worth having a little one just to do "professional" hollow points!

Eutectic

hollow points pshaw,, your gonna have to come up with sumthin better than that.
now if I cast much colder than I do now and had sprue nibs to turn off..

[btroj]

Come on Run, you can find an excuse to get one. You know you want one, just go do it.

[country gent]

LOng angled lathe files are great for a finish and removing stock but will grab occassionally and the travel fast as the angled teeth pull them ussually the chuck. Another trick is to set an indicator on the ways to the tool holder and learn to take play out of gibs threads and to see if .001 on the diall is .001 on the dia. 0-1" indicator should read .0005 for .001 on dial. Old machines dials read .001 and gave .002 on dia. .001 on a side. A little time moving crossfeed and compound watching the indicators measured movement helps alot.

[btroj]

I need to get an indicator and magnetic base for same. Learning how much to move the dial will help a bunch.
Right now it is mostly a game of "what happens if". I am learning new things daily. Is weekend it is chuck tear down day to clean them up. If the chucks have metal shards like the rest of the lathe did then they need it.

I can see that we really don't own a lathe, they own us. Almost like a wife.

[cbrick]

I can see that we really don't own a lathe, they own us. Almost like a wife.

Really? Has that lathe asked you if those chucks make it look fat? :mrgreen:

Rick

[btroj]

My wife doesn't me that either. She knows better and he father broke her of such stupidity long ago.

Good thing is that I can rest assured the lathe won't ask for new shoes!

[cbrick]

hehe, by the time you really get into buying tools you'll wish it was just shoes. :shock:

Rick

[btroj]

I know, trust me, I already know.

I really need to make up a list of what I need now, what can wait a bit, and what might be nice down the road.

Just in case anyone is wondering, I don't need help spending money, I'm doing fine with that all by myself.

[dilly]

I know if I ever got a lathe I'd start looking into making all sorts of swaging dies once I got oriented.

[RED333]

Good thing is that I can rest assured the lathe won't ask for new shoes!
Would you bet your last dollar on that
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SOUTH-BEND-9-LATHE-COMPOUND-SHOES-/141429809268?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20eddfa074
A lathe shoe goes under a set screw to hold a set tolerance and still allow movement of the part.

[woodbutcher]

:bigsmyl2: Now the fun begins. Actually,his deepest,darkest desire is to build a MA Duce from scratch.Hehehe.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[crabo]

I welded the key to a chain and bolted it to the drill press at school. I also weld a pair of mig pliers to a chain and fasten it to the mig welders. Haven't had a kid loose a
the chuck key or misplace the pliers since then.

[alrighty]

Congratulations , you will be amazed at all you can do with a lathe.I would suggest you find a copy of the old Southbend "how to run a lathe" manual.Lots of good information that still works all these years later.You can find new reprints in a bound version as well as on C.D.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/How-To-Run-A-Lathe-42nd-Edition-South-Bend-Lathe-Works-1942-Woodworking-Book-/131326184254?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e93a68b3e

[btroj]

I just got a CD copy in the mail today from a member here. Thanks Keith.

[woodbutcher]

Might also want to give a look at Grizzly Industrial a look.They have some great books on lathe work and operations.DVD and
book form.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[btroj]

http://i1348.photobucket.com/albums/p733/Btroj/5ED5C65A-01A4-4C6D-B7D6-4B6B3389E404_zpsejwiwz2g.jpg (http://s1348.photobucket.com/user/Btroj/media/5ED5C65A-01A4-4C6D-B7D6-4B6B3389E404_zpsejwiwz2g.jpg.html)

Working on a Lee style push thru sizer. Top is a Lee, bottom is my work in progress. A lock nut threads on nicely, that made me very happy.

Now to get the right size drill and reamer then hone to the final size.

I am learning to think things thru to get everything done in the right order.

[country gent]

A light touch with a fine file accross the threads will remove the burrs and chatter you see making the thread look more professional/ finnished. Tirning a 7/8 thread .005-.008 under will leave that small flat on the point of the thread and also leave a little clearence so the thread rides on the flats better.

[btroj]

A small file I have on hand. I was pretty happy with the threading for my first attempt. I was wondering if I took too deep a cut when threading. It took about 10 cuts to get the threads to the point where a lock but threaded on easily.

I am learning about chatter. Started with too much sticking out from Chuck and took too heavy a cut. Lots of chatter. Mover it closer to the Chuck, took lighter cuts, not more chatter.

[freebullet]

We need a learn to run a lathe subforum lol. Btroj you can moderate.

Looks like your doing purty well already with your new toy. So how soon can I get my orders in?

[btroj]

No orders at this time. No sub forum either please, I don't want to rile the waters. I figure on making for just myself for now but I'm sure Paul will get a few toys soon.

Youtube is a big help. I don't listen as much as I observe, so much is learning how to set the tools.

I will say that some members here have sent me very valuable information. I greatly appreciate the help guys.

[country gent]

I spent roughly 35 years as a tool and die maker. We cut threads in 3 to 4 passes normally, but we had heavy solid lathes. Monarchs, Hendi, logans, Shippleys were the norm. Was that a hand ground threading tool on High speed steel or an carbide insert? We used HSS had a fixture for sharpening in a surface grinder, and we ran depending on Dia 400-600 rpms. With practice its good. Lightly stone the HSS bit and a very small radious over the point helps alot also. Compound set to 29 1/2* zero crossfeed and feed on compound. Another trick is put tool in upside down and run machine in reverse, a right hand thread then cuts towards the tail stock. We had aloris tooling and this worked good allowed oil to run into cutter easier and chips dropped straight down allowing you to see what was going on better.

[MaryB]

If you ever work with copper look out, it likes to grab. I flung a piece across my shop the other day and a 6 pound block of flying copper does damage. Left a dent in my lawn mower. Drill bit grabbed, ripped it out of the vice and tossed it just missing me. Glad that piece is fine with a couple surface dents. Next one I make needs a perfectly flat surface for heat transfer. Local machine shop will do that part for me but then I have to drill a dozen mounting holes and tap them.

[btroj]

That was a brazed carbide tool. I ran it at 80 RPM as I don't want to crash anything while I'm learning. I did feed using the cross slide set at 30 degrees.
I have some HSS bits, I just have not yet ground a thread cutting tool. Thst should be a project here soon.

[webradbury]

I bought a Grizzly about 8 months back and love it! I've only turned aluminum so far. I do plan to attempt to chamber a barrel blank for my upcoming rifle project but I have to make a spider attachment to hold the blank concentric in the bore first. Congrats on your purchase!

[Ben]

That was a brazed carbide tool. I ran it at 80 RPM as I don't want to crash anything while I'm learning. I did feed using the cross slide set at 30 degrees.
I have some HSS bits, I just have not yet ground a thread cutting tool. Thst should be a project here soon.


Brad,

UUUmmm, seems we have a top shelf machinist on the horizon here.

Looking Good !

Ben

[btroj]

Brad,

UUUmmm, seems we have a top shelf machinist on the horizon here.

Looking Good !

Ben

Ben, I wish I could accept that compliment.


I have learnd a ton already. I am still learning that the lathe was the cheap part, it is the tooling that gets expensive. Twenty here and twenty there, next thing you know you have a few K in reamers, drills, inserts, and what not. Add in measuring devices and it gets expensive.

Ben, you need a lathe. With the tool skills you already posess you would learn quickly. You also have a mind that comes up with new ways of looking at things, I can only imagine what you would be able to make.

[Cap'n Morgan]

That was a brazed carbide tool. I ran it at 80 RPM as I don't want to crash anything while I'm learning. I did feed using the cross slide set at 30 degrees.
I have some HSS bits, I just have not yet ground a thread cutting tool. Thst should be a project here soon.

From the look of it you didn't use a 60 degree profile on the thread cutting tool, but I guess it was just a test?
Back in the good ol' HSS days I used to grind threading tools from HSS parting tool blades. Much less material to remove...

[btroj]

No, it is a 60 degree carbide threading tool.

Part threads into the press fine but is a bit looser than I would like. I prefer to think of it not as loose but as a floater sizer!

[country gent]

The relief angles on the carbide bits are shallower ( 3-5* ) and dosnt make as sharp an edge. HSS is around 7*-10* and a much sharper edge. I have a centergage made for 55* threading tool this tool allows cutting to depth and a narrow thread for when you want to grind the thread after heat teatment or for a true gage thread. Grind lathe threading tools on a cutoff blade makes a nice stiff tool that fits into thread reliefs nicely. We always cut the square bits to allow a narrower point too. Much after 13 tpi the cuttoff blade may not be deep enough. use alot of good oil when threading. I perfered black sulfar oil when possible. A little single serving soup can and acid brushes work great ( and when the brush is grabbed your not out alot LOL) A Hss bit ground correctly and lightly stones is incredibly sharp and cuts very clean. Bump one with your hand and you will see quick.

[btroj]

I need to get some cutting oil for next time.
I need to grind an HSS bit too. I have some on hand, just need to make the time.

Thanks for the advice, it all helps