New Guy

[BoswellMoore@knology]

I have a HF 8 x 12 VS lathe, the small one. Please don't bust my chops, it is what I can afford while I see if this is for me. I just ordered a set of HSS chisels. I know carbide is better but these will have to do at the moment. Seems it is possible to turn center to center, so I will try that to avoid the expense of a mandrel, mandrel saver and bushings. My lathe is a Morse taper 1.
I have two face plates, a 3" and an 8". It has a live center and a dead center with the little gripping things. Don't know if they are 60 degrees or not. Why is that so critical? Seems I need a drill chuck for the tail stock to drill blanks and a chuck with jaws for the head stock to hold the blanks. That sound about right?
I have a digital caliper. I figure I will have to cut the blanks with my handheld circular saw at the moment. Will just have to measure twice and be very careful taking into account the kerf. A couple of really kind folks here at IAP have given me some blanks and some kits, They did that out of the kindness of their hearts so I will not mention their names. I am a Laborer at Tyndall AFB raising a grandson while daughter is deployed. Money is tight. The lathe I had to save for. I am looking for the most inexpensive drill chuck and blank holder I can find. With all of you guys, somebody knows where I can find these things on the cheap. Remember, I don't really know what I need so if you have any suggestions they are Very Welcome.
Thanks,
Boswell

 

[Dan Masshardt]

You will need new centers. It is possible to turn between centers with no bushings using calipers.

Your stock drive center is a spur center meant to grip into wood. This is no good as it won't fit in the tube. Most stock live centers have a small center pin that is likely to be problematic as well.

I don't have a lot of expendable income either but to be blunt, if funds are very tight, this is probably the wrong end of the hobby. You'll be spending and spending.

At this point the hobby is basically self sustaining for me but it took a year.

 

[JTisher]

Try victor machine tools www.victornet.com for a drill chuck and arbor they should be under 30.00. They also have good prices on centers

Joe

 

[Edgar]

Personally, I wouldn't cut pen blanks with a circular saw - a hand saw would be safer & less chance of messing up the blanks. If you don't have a miter box to clamp & hold them square, you can make a simple jig to serve the purpose.

It is certainly possible to get by on a limited budget - most of our fancy gadgets are for time saving, flexibility and improved precision. Only you can decide if those things are worthwhile as you gain experience & skill.

HF has an inexpensive lathe drill chuck but I don't know if they have it in MT1

Edgar

 

[Edgar]

Another thought on the mandrel vs centers..
If you're going to get a drill chuck anyway, you could simply get a piece of 1/4" rod at Home Depot and a mandrel saver and you would be all set for pen turning.

As far as drilling blanks, you can start with a hand drill and a vice or clamp. Holes don't have to be dead center, especially for 7mm.

 

[Rodnall]

Don't worry about carbide cutters if you can sharpen your HSS ones. Yes, you can go a long time without sharpening, but carbide won't cut as clean as a super sharp HSS gouge.

 

[Cmiles1985]

The important thing to keep in mind is tools must be SHARP!! If you don't already have a grinder, send the HSS tools back and look up Capt. Eddie Castelin. He has the parts and pieces for making carbide tools far cheaper than commercially available tools.
HF does sell a drill chuck, but not sure if they have MT1. The drill chuck is not the expensive end of drilling on the lathe though, it is the other end. I bought an $80 pen blank chuck from Penn State Industries before buying a "real" chuck (which I don't use for pen blanks and it was about $180). A 60 degree live center is pretty cheap as is the dead center. Be safe in cutting the blanks. Do NOT use a circular saw. HF sells a miter box and saw combo very cheap. I cut many blanks in the beginning by hand as I just got a bandsaw a few weeks ago. If there is anything you desperately need and want to know about for that lathe, PM me. I have one with all associated tooling. I will dig through what I've got. If I have some spare parts, I can send them to you for the cost of shipping.

 

[loydstuts]

Clark

You are a generous man.

 

[Cmiles1985]

This is easier than another PM on my phone. I have an MT1 dead center that I don't use also.