Metal lathe Question

[Silverado]

Probably a dumb question but here goes. Can you put a normal tool rest on a metal lathe and turn pens with normal wood turning tools.

 

[lorbay]

Yes you can. You can make all sorts of adapters for the metal lathe.
Lin

 

[KenV]

The down side is cleaning the dust and woodswarf that gets everywhere before going back to precision metal work.

The lathe does not care!!!

 

[magpens]

Yes. . You will have to make an adaptor to hold a tool rest, both of which will probably be of your own custom design to fit your particular metal working lathe.

If you go for a Taig (micro lathe) you can buy the necessary hardware from Lee Valley but your work will be restricted in size to things of approximately pen size or a little bigger.

 

[Silverado]

Thanks, Guys

I am asking the question for a friend that is just getting into pen turning.
Myself the only metal lathe I have used is a Brake Rotor and Drum Lathe.

He is looking at this lathe www.proxxon.com/en/micromot/24150.php

Is this a good choice for turning pens on.
He wants a small lathe that is 230 volt because he lives in Israel.

Tim

 

[magpens]

According to the specs in the link you shared:

"Distance between centres 150mm. Swing 55mm."

I would say that this lathe is BARELY adequate for pen turning. . Yes it will work but ....

150 mm between centers is only 6". . "Standard" pen blanks are 5" long

55 mm swing is only 2"+. . That dimension is OK for the turning part, but does not leave much knuckle room for sanding, polishing, etc.

Proxxon is not a very common brand name for lathes even in USA. . There could be problems buying parts, as well as accessories like other chucks, dead and live centers, quick change tool posts, maybe even cutting tools .... this friend is in Israel ... I see that Proxxon is in Germany but they do have an office in Israel but they don't seem to list an online catalog for Israel

Oh, by the way, if you have a metal turning lathe, you can turn pens without buying wood-turning cutting tools and tool rests. You can use standard metal-turning tools, including replaceable carbide tip tools, in the supplied (and pictured) tool post.

 

[TibetanDeathSausage]

yes you can I have one for my sieg c3

 

[Artisan iron designs]

Thanks, Guys

I am asking the question for a friend that is just getting into pen turning.
Myself the only metal lathe I have used is a Brake Rotor and Drum Lathe.

He is looking at this lathe www.proxxon.com/en/micromot/24150.php

Is this a good choice for turning pens on.
He wants a small lathe that is 230 volt because he lives in Israel.

Tim

I dont want to be a downer but don't expect to turn too much metal on that lathe the alum. head stock will be out of spec the first time it drops when changing the chuck as well as accidentally hits it with the compound. the belt drive also worries me with slipping. however if that is all your friend can get go for it. I out grew my 9" before I got it but at the time that was all I could get

 

[Silverado]

Thanks Mal
I didn't even check the specs on that lathe but I will tell him to stay away from it.

Does anyone know a make of a 230 volt Bench-top wood lathe that one can buy overseas.
All the 230 volt lathes I come up with are floor models.

Thanks for your help Guys!

Tim

 

[magpens]

Try this ...

Made In Israel | CNC Machining

http://lathes.co.uk/

http://www.lathes.co.uk/maxnovo/

http://www.lathes.co.uk/meccanica/

http://www.lathes.co.uk/csepel/

http://sherlinetoolsdealer.blogspot.ca/


I found these links by googling "lathes made in israel" although I didn't get any exact hits.


I also googled "where to buy lathes in israel" and got that sherline link


Here's another couple with a plant or rep in Tel Aviv

http://www.zayer.com/en/sales-network/israel/28

http://www.intertool.co.il/home

http://sherline.com/sherline-worldwide-dealers/

http://www.mtmarchetti.com/en/rete-di-vendita/isralele.html

Post #62 here: http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general/small-but-good-lathe-313884/index4.html

Youtube video with possible references: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvubIhUC9Qg

Weapons/systems manufacture; would have lathes and may sell used at auction: https://www.ashot.co.il/

http://www.jerusalemonline.com/news...-seize-4-lathes-used-for-making-weapons-24676 - police auction


Surely Israel has several machine manufacturers and vendors. Even Australia does and they don't have anything like the military-industrial complex that Israel does.

 

[Penultimate]

Greetings
Little machine shop sells three tool rest attachments for metal lathes. I rigged one up used it a couple times then decided that it was just as easy to use lathe tooling.

http://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=1685&category=

Regards
Mike


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[magpens]

Although I like Little Machine Shop and have bought a lot from them, I don't find the product mentioned at this link to be very satisfactory because of toolpost instability issues on the particular lathe I have (Sieg C3 ... very similar to several LMS lathes).

Mal

Greetings
Little machine shop sells three tool rest attachments for metal lathes. I rigged one up used it a couple times then decided that it was just as easy to use lathe tooling.

Woodturning Tool Rest | Mini Lathe Tool Rest | LittleMachineShop

Regards
Mike


Sent from my iPad using Penturners.org mobile app

 

[More4dan]

Or you could make your own manual tool rest for your metal lathe.

I've since shortened the width of the rest. I'll make the next one a bit more sturdy but this was made of materials I had on hand. There is a threaded plate below the ways that the bolt goes through to tighten the movable rest.

Danny


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[magpens]

Used lathes for sale here. . Most look pretty big, if not huge, but your friend might find a small one:

https://www.machinio.com/lathes?gclid=CMz5_rLDmdUCFYF-fgodaKkCmQ#results