New to metal lathes: dumb questions abound!

[eranox]

As stated, I have no idea what to look for in a metal lathe, or whether to look for one at all. I turn pens from wood, resins, and natural materials, and I use the HF 8x12 wood lathe with decent results. Now for the deluge of newb questions.

What IS a metal lathe? What makes it different from a wood lathe? I'm under the impression that it can cut threads, although this may be a different machine I'm thinking of. What kinds of tricks does it do, if any, that set it apart from a wood lathe? Are the cutting tools similar, or are they different animals?

Do metal lathes always come with a chuck? Do they have other doodads that set them apart from a wood lathe? What other tools and accessories will I need? Let's make the assumption that I will stick mostly with pens, but may one day go kitless. I'd appreciate any relevant brand/model/tool/accessory recommendations. Lastly, how do I convince the wife to let me buy one?!

I apologize for being probably the 1000th person to have asked this. I could find nothing in the library, and the model I checked out at HF has had everything stolen that other was to steal, and is now essentially just a lathe bed.

I appreciate any help, even in the form of links and cut-and-pastes. I don't want to cause any undue effort.

 

[dgscott]

Dave:

I use a metal lathe almost exclusively these days, and turn much of the same material you do. The difference is consistency and accuracy, since the cutting on a metal lathe is determined by the fixed position of the cutter on the cross slide and compound slide. Yes, most metal lathes will cut threads.

I would suggest that you do a Google search for South Bend's "How to Run a Lathe." It is available in .pdf format in a lot of places. Also, there are plenty of You Tube videos about running metal lathes. Again, start with South Bend's instructional videos -- they're old, but still very good.

Also, there are Yahoo groups for different sized lathes -- a 7x10 group, a 9x20 group, etc. There's enough information to choke a horse there.

Good luck!
Doug

 

[low_48]

Metal lathes are made for low speed, high torque. Often using gears to transmit power since it is low speed. Very noisy when using higher speeds. Nothing comes with a chuck as standard. Metal lathe 4 jaw chucks are traditionally not scroll jaws, but rather independent jaws. The tool is controlled with two axis screws. So any profile work is like using an etch-a-sketch. Metal lathes are heavier, more strength needed to turn steel. A thread cutting tool is a pointed cutter, advanced with proper gear selection to advance it at appropriate pitch. This advancement is through a power feed moving the tool holder along the bed. They have almost no do-dads in your technical speak. Take the wife on a vacation to Europe. But then you will have to wait a couple of years to get one.

 

[randyrls]

Dave; Adding to what others have said;

The chuck on most metal lathes is a three jaw chuck that has jaws resembling a drill chuck rather than the round clamping jaws of a wood lathe. A 3 or 4 jaw scroll chuck centers on the work piece. Independent jawed chucks can hold any shape, but you need to center them manually.

Metal lathes have a lead-screw to drive the carriage holding the tool cutter. You cannot extend the lathe bed like you can with wood lathes. Get a lathe that is long enough to do the work you want to do from the beginning.

If you will be doing metal work with the lathe, plan on spending quite a bit of money on accessories.

There WILL be a learning curve starting out.

 

[BKelley]

I have both metal and wood lathes. I use the metal lathe for pen turning almost exclusively. It has greater precision, the metal lathe has an automatic feed that holds the diameter of the pen barrel to an exact dimension. Little Machine Shop is a good company to do business with. A little higher in cost, but from time to time they have some excellent package deals that include a good tooling selection. If you watch Craig's List, sometimes they have a bargain.

BEn

 

[Dalecamino]

I recommend you go back to the earliest posts in the Metal Lathe forum. From there, you can find tons of info including the difference between a WOOD lathe and METAL lathe. Have fun!

 

[eranox]

Thank you all for the helpful information. I will read/watch the suggested references. As it is, you have already explained quite a lot. Thanks again!