metal lathe

[Harley]

How many of you out there have a metal lathe? I have no training on one and have the chance to purchase one. Would this be a worthwile addition to a smithy? and what are the advantages to owning one. Those of you who do have one ...how often do you use it ? Any other input will be welcome?
Thanks,
Harley

[Timothy Miller]

I have a lathe it is one of my favorite machines. It is one of the most important and basic machine tools. After a saw and a drill press it is the most common machine tool you would find in a blacksmith shop. You can use it to drill holes, make shafts to exact sizes, make bushings, make nobs or finals. It is a whole area of metalworking unto its self. Some people just do lathe work. I recommend you get a copy of "how to run a lathe" by south bend lathe.

[petere76]

Hey harley,

I got an old 1930s SB bench top 36 in in the shop and it serves me well. I don't do a lot of large or long pieces.

Where you are located there a lot of good old or newer machines available at reasonable prices. My wife came from Attleboro and I used to see excellent equipment for sale at fire sale prices every week in the local papers. All the old machine shops were closed or going out of business. The tooling is sometimes more valuable than the lathe, try and make the deal on both. If you get a lathe make sure you get all the gear that comes with it. A fully equipped tool room lathe is a valuable set up. A good set of collets can run you a thousand dollars or more. 4 jaw chuck, steady rests, etc it all the gear adds up fast.

Ask yourself what you plan to do with it and be guided as to the price accordingly. if you are going to make a set of candle sticks and the set up costs 2k, just buy the candesticks. At the min you need clean and square ways, tight head stock (check with a dial indicator, up and down), clean lead screw and a minninal amount of lash if you plan on cutting threads. Quick change gearing is better than the bolt in gears but they both work. In my own humble view, the american older machines are far superior to anything coming out of china. Price point, availabilty and tooling are always the deciding factors. As a suggestion, check with the high school shops, they frequently let machines go cheap. No one takes IA courses anymore so the schools let the machines go for scrap prices or they go out on sealed bids. They (school rigs0 may look bad, in regards nicks and dings, but they aren't used real hard, i.e. no operating hours. By comparision, if you buy something out of a real machine shop its probably been used hard and on its last legs.

Dont forget about the cost of 3 phase vs single phase power set ups. Most residences don't have 3P coming from the street. Most reversable machine tools are 3P. You can do the converter deal but it's just another hoop and expense you have to jump through.

Good luck.
Peter

[mike-hr]

I'll second Southshore's recommendation for the South Bend book. I was borrowing a friends, I looked on amazon and found original copies are fetching upwards of US$80. There is a reprint available on the same page, which I ordered for $12. The reprint is indeed the same book, in case anybody's wondering.

[Fe-Wood]

Buy the lathe and don't look back The south bend book is an excellent primer. Once you have a lathe you will never understand why you took so long to get it. Make sure you get as much tooling as you can with it. I have a 10" logan I got for $700.00. There were 2 of them, one was in a box. Now I want a bigger and more heavy one. I use mine for making tools for spinning and any number of other bits an pieces as I need them. I don't use it for long periods then I will use it a bunch. For a blacksmithing application, using it to make the positive for small hardware spring fullers is essential.

[kpotter]

What kind of lathe is it? How big is it, is it american made or import. I would get a lathe it is hard to survive in this world without one. I have 5 of them ranging from 9x20 to 18x40 with 2hp-10hp and wouldnt get rid of any of them, you can do alot with a lathe and then you will want a mill and a shaper then a bandsaw and a surface grinder and then you are stuck you can never move from your house because it will cost a fortune to move the shop.

[fciron]

I use my lathe several times a week, Just a little less than the drill press. It is very handy to have around the shop and you will find numerous uses for it; bushings and pins for other machinery, punches and bolsters, little ornamental knobs or positives to make swages for knobs. It opens up the door to making much more accurate and reliable tooling (for instance, pivoting parts of bending jigs that turn smooth and square instead of wobbling around in a pipe).

I have a big piece of 6" angle iron that I bolt to the cross-slide and then I can use the lathe for drilling big holes. I also really like my cheap import quick change tool post. It allows me to have a variety of tools ready to go, so I can do a three minute job on the lathe without spending five minutes on set-up.

Knob turned on the lathe, die produced with the knob, finished forging

Master, die, and proofs by fciron, on Flickr

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

My small home lathe is an 18.5" x 54" Monarch.

I use one everyday since I am a tool maker, and use one far more than a milling machine.

You can do small work on a big lathe, but you can't do big work on a small lathe. Make sure it will do what you want it to do.

Threading is a major use of a lathe, so make sure it has that capability. I would always go with a quick change gear box over change gears.

Taper attachments come in handy for long tapered items.

3 jaw, 4 jaw, steady rest, follow rest, etc

If you only have one chuck I would say make it a 4 jaw since it has more versatility, and can be dialed in for 0 run-out.

It is very easy to run 3 phase on single phase. A rotary converter is best, but another 3 phase motor can also be used as a quasi converter.


More info on what you are looking at, and $ would be very helpful.

[Ric Furrer]

I have a lathe (9" southbend) and two milling machines..I can count on two hands the number of times I have used them.
This may change,but more often than not the job can be solved several ways.
That said I may get a lathe just to turn some rolls next year as finding a reasonable quote for such is proving troublesome..9" solid round x 48" long roll stock.

It all depends upon what job you have to do and the best use of the tools (and skills) you have.

In general I tell folk that if you have the room and the funds then get all the tools you want. Like many here I have tools I have not used because I thought I would use them when they came into the shop.

Ric

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Ric,
9" refers to swing over the ways, not the carriage, which is a bit less. I believe my 18.5 Monarch's swing over the carriage is only 9".

[pkrankow]

A lathe of decent quality can sub in for a large number of other machines. It can run a buffer mandrel, it can be used as a milling machine, it can be used for sanding and grinding, with platters and drums. Protect the mechanisms and ways when using abrasives. It can be used as a lathe and turn metal, and a metal lathe can be used with wood and plastic both with metal working style tools, and with hand held tools and a steady rest (bar stock clamped into the tool post is often fine as a steady rest). You can also spin sheet metal.

A lathe can be quite a ways out and still hold tight tolerances with simple adjusting, especially on small cuts/parts. If the carriages travel without binding and the wear on the ways does not catch your fingernail, and all the parts are present and function you probably have a winner.

Set a budget, look at new import lathes in the size you are interested and then start shopping around for used. There are a couple blogs on buying used lathes including what to look for.

I got a "free" lathe that the previous user (my father in law) swears is wore out. The ways have no perceivable wear, but are stained. A large number of the zamac parts are worn out and simply need replaced. Spares for many came with, and I need to figure out what I have and install them. My biggest problem is the chucks went to a cousin by mistake with the wood lathe, and the cousin won't give them up. (and hobby money)

If you have the space, and the budget, and can find a machine that is worth while, get it. Do your research first.

Phil

[edge9001]

I just got my lathe, I have a combo unit (lathe/mill/drill press) I must admit I use the mill more than the lathe, but I do find it invaluable. I got my for a song. a lady who lives a couple of hours from me told me her dad died a while back and thing piece of machinery was in her way and just wanted rid of it so if I came and got it she only wanted $200. my partner in crime, otherwise known as my cousin's husband, is alway working on one project or another with me, wants to use my new lathe to make a gun barrel. I might just let him...lol and after testing if he is still around I wanna try to shoot it....lol

if you have a chance to get a lathe or any piece of machine shop equipment, don't take the guys arm off when you get you reciept.

tim

[SmoothBore]

You can do small work on a big lathe, but you can't do big work on a small lathe. Make sure it will do what you want it to do.

AMEN.



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