Which metal working lathe do you have?

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Jim Smith said:
I would love to have a separate metal lathe section here on IAP. I've tried some of the mini metal lathe sites, but many of those guys are machinists that quickly go over my head with their knowledge.

Jim Smith
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Dude am I with you there! I joined a metal shop in your garage type forum myself. Some guy was talking about backlash and adjusting it and his q axis over his y and z to the x with a quill doing something or other and he was going to modify a part to do something but there was a bolt of somesort already there to do what he wanted but couldnt' get to it to take him from .0008 to .0001 ...:question::question::question:

Only thing I know is that if my wife tells me something, I say "yes dear" but I am not actually listening and the backlash will be coming soon!
 
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alexkuzn said:
I've been researching and seems that Grizzly 10x22 G0602 is a better lathe for me.
It is a bigger and for metalworking bigger and heavier is always better if you have space. It has good reviews. Costs $1000 with free delivery.
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I would have gotten the 9 x 19 or that if I had the room. I live in the same city as one of their warehouse / showrooms so the free delivery would have been useless to me, but I've seen them up close and they're fine looking machines.
 
I cut my first pens on my little Unimat lathe then went out and bought a used Craftsman/Rigid lathe. I hunted for a old Craftsman Lathe and bought a Dunlop Craftsman that needs to much $$ to bring it up for use, Bent spindle and trashed chuck. So for $339 out the door with tax and all I have hauled a 7X10 Harbor Freight lathe home. I plan on turning a new shaft on the Dunlop as soon as I get "me and the tool in line". Best of luck, JB
 
better start saving your pennies alex. the machines are just the start. then comes the "man, if i had one of those i could this". or "WOW, thats a cool looking boring bar". "i need to bore a hole thats X big. need something to get a good measurement with". its a slippery slope buddy, but fun. i dont even like to think about what i have tied up in stuff just to measure cuts with, not counting the all the tooling and home made gizmos to make other gizmos. i have lots of gizmos, then you get into the doodads. have several of those too, lol. sometimes i even make something useful. regards, j.d.
 
workinforwood said:
Dude am I with you there! I joined a metal shop in your garage type forum myself. Some guy was talking about backlash and adjusting it and his q axis over his y and z to the x with a quill doing something or other and he was going to modify a part to do something but there was a bolt of somesort already there to do what he wanted but couldnt' get to it to take him from .0008 to .0001 ...:question::question::question:
thats ok, keep at it and pretty soon you'll know exactly what they mean. by then, it's too late, you're hooked. regards, j.d.
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Here is a serious question/ Suggestion/ topic, for just such a separate forum. I woudl really like to use my 7X12 lathe to turn pens. this means a sturdy quality tool rest. I have the attempted version that you can buy that mounts in the tool carriage that you can get from Little Machine Shop. But it is a poor attempt at best. does anyone have a mod that works well or know of a way to mount a tool rest to or next to the machine so that hand turning tools can be used. If not are any of you tool making types up tot the task of dreaming one up. I was thinking of some sort of base that will replace the tool holder with a rest that can be adjusted up and down by at least a little bit. even a half inch would be good.
 
Daniel said:
Here is a serious question/ Suggestion/ topic, for just such a separate forum. I woudl really like to use my 7X12 lathe to turn pens. this means a sturdy quality tool rest. I have the attempted version that you can buy that mounts in the tool carriage that you can get from Little Machine Shop. But it is a poor attempt at best. does anyone have a mod that works well or know of a way to mount a tool rest to or next to the machine so that hand turning tools can be used. If not are any of you tool making types up tot the task of dreaming one up. I was thinking of some sort of base that will replace the tool holder with a rest that can be adjusted up and down by at least a little bit. even a half inch would be good.
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If you have a quick change tool post, you can change the height easily and quickly. I just use a round steel bar mounted in a tool holder. I ground some flats on one end so its a little more stable. Also have the LMS one that I never use.
 
BRobbins629 said:
If you have a quick change tool post, you can change the height easily and quickly. I just use a round steel bar mounted in a tool holder. I ground some flats on one end so its a little more stable. Also have the LMS one that I never use.
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Bruce can you post some pics of the setup?
 
cnirenberg said:
Bruce can you post some pics of the setup?
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Couldn't find my bar, but you could also use one of the HF punches as I did in the photos. Principle is the same.
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Man, that's what I call lateral thinking!

I have had a hand turning toolrest on my "todo" list ever since I got my 9x20 metal lathe.

I have had my QCTP almost as long and it never occurred to me to use the boring bar tool holder (or a standard tool holder for that matter) for this purpose.

I can cross one item of my "todo" list, thank you.

I have a Steelmaster 9x20 metal lathe with electronic variable speed, also an X2 Mini Mill

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I would wholeheartedly support a metalwork section. I'm a once a week penturner since Oct. 08 and have found that the lathe is about a third of my cost so far. I also have been exploring/researching getting a metal lathe and have about 50 bookmarks for it. About 90% of the info is for serious metal turning. (engine blocks and the likes) Even with the 7 X xx sites it really doesn't apply to pens. I want one for bushings and pen parts and precision wood turning. (I don't have a lot of experience in general wood turning either.) I have a pretty extensive wood shop (30 years) and can think of other uses for the metal lathe as well. Besides the wood working and then pens, I also wanted to collect wood species. (857 so far) As if these hobbies weren't enough I started making microscopic slides of these species. That started small also in Sept 07. (first photo) And of course, that went nuts. (second photo) I'm sure that metal turning will do the same. "So much time, so little money" I'm looking at a 9 X 20 lathe and a separate mill, at this time. What started as a $800, 3-in-1 is now $2000 with only basic tooling.

So yeah, let's do it!

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To add to the QCTP idea; Most of them come with a "Boring bar holder". It accepts a 3/8", or 5/8", or 3/4" boring bar. A short bar of HSS or transfer punch will work just as well though..
 
workinforwood said:
Dude am I with you there! I joined a metal shop in your garage type forum myself. Some guy was talking about backlash and adjusting it and his q axis over his y and z to the x with a quill doing something or other and he was going to modify a part to do something but there was a bolt of somesort already there to do what he wanted but couldnt' get to it to take him from .0008 to .0001 ...:question::question::question:
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You mean like this guy? http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/805619-post6766.html :biggrin:
 
I have been thinking about a metal lathe for a while. I just want better fit then the wood lathes I have offer. There is a Clarke 7x for sale down the street new in the box for $600 but it it the same as the mircomark (something like that) HF and 2 others so I would rather save the money if I was going to get a 7x and get the HF but I have been thinking of getting something larger just so I don't think "wow the 7x is way to small, I wish I had a bigger lathe". I have been watching CL for months but I have no idea what I want but if I see a deal I'll be able to jump on it.
Having another forum to read about it would help.
 
I may be out in left field here but aren't some of you going about this the wrong way?

When I decided on which wood lathe to get I had an idea of what I wanted it for, and that was to turn pen blanks, bottle stoppers and small bowls and goblets. Once I established my needs I then went shopping for a lathe to meet my needs and am sure most folks here did basically the same thing.

But, when I hear folks talking about metal lathes, I don't hear things like.... "I need a lathe to do certain pitch threading, the capacity to turn an object 15" long when mounted in a 3 jaw chuck, variable speed, enough power to cut stainless at a certain speed/feed, etc.

Instead I see more along the lines of... "Well, I wanted a 9x machine but the 7x's are a lot cheaper so I think I'll go with one of those instead!" And to make matters worse, those who already have the smaller lathes chime in with the typical... "I love mine!" like that means something or "it does everything, just look at the neat stuff some people make...!"

Not throwing rocks at anyone, I'm just curious why some of you guys want metal lathes and what you think they will do for you? Perhaps their is a notion that they will do magical things a wood lathe won't.
 
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NewLondon88 said:
if that's the guy who is advertising every day on CL, watch out for him.
there's lots of complaints.
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It is. It's actually a store that sells used tools. Its 5 min from my house. I have been in a few times. Prices are way to high on everything in the store. Dewalt scroll saws for $300 beat, I mean beat beat. $350-375 for one that looked ok. They do have some cool old tools that you don't see often. Like a 18-22" skill saw. So I drop in once in a while, just to see whats new.
 
Texatdurango said:
I may be out in left field here but aren't some of you going about this the wrong way?

When I decided on which wood lathe to get I had an idea of what I wanted it for, and that was to turn pen blanks, bottle stoppers and small bowls and goblets. Once I established my needs I then went shopping for a lathe to meet my needs and am sure most folks here did basically the same thing.

But, when I hear folks talking about metal lathes, I don't hear things like.... "I need a lathe to do certain pitch threading, the capacity to turn an object 15" long when mounted in a 3 jaw chuck, variable speed, enough power to cut stainless at a certain speed/feed, etc.

Instead I see more along the lines of... "Well, I wanted a 9x machine but the 7x's are a lot cheaper so I think I'll go with one of those instead!" And to make matters worse, those who already have the smaller lathes chime in with the typical... "I love mine!" like that means something or "it does everything, just look at the neat stuff some people make...!"

Not throwing rocks at anyone, I'm just curious why some of you guys want metal lathes and what you think they will do for you? Perhaps their is a notion that they will do magical things a wood lathe won't.
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George, you make a valid point there. For the most part I knew what I wanted to do with a metal lathe and one of my fairly firm requirements was variable speed. That was one of the reasons I had originally selected a 7x mini metal lathe. Had been doing heaps of reading on the net on all things to with small metal lathes and also looked at the 9x20 type lathes. When I came across a electronic variable speed 9x20 that also had a camlock tailstock (another of my requirements) I decided to go for it.

One can do all the research in the world however but when you have never used one of these machines before you don't really know what they are capable of.

This was clearly demonstrated when I went through the selection process for a mill, eventually decided that an X2 Mini Mill would do everything I wanted to do, so I bought one in preference to a bigger mill (eg X3).

Then when you get the machine set up and you start using it, you get all sorts of other ideas along the lines of "oh if it can do this, I wonder if it can do that?" Long story short, I am now looking for a bigger mill, as I am sure I would have been looking for a bigger lathe if I had gone for the 7x.

Old story, you can turn little things on a big(ger) lathe, you can't turn big things on a small lathe.
 
I bought my metal lathe because I want to do threading. Cut my own, not tap and die. The jet mini can't do it. There's no way I can set it up for that unless I create or contract out for some expensive remodeling of the machine, and mount a larger motor on it. I bought a machine far larger than I needed too, but you never know when you might need the extra length and width and if that day comes and you don't have it, then you are screwed.
 
The Micro-Mark 7 x 14 sure looks nice. I recently received a notice that it's currently on sale for $519.95 (a $120 savings over the normal price). You have to use coupon code W77 at checkout and the sale is only good until noon on Wednesday or while supplies last. Yeesh, I sound like a salesman for them!!
 
I agree with George. I've seen some saying that they want a metal lathe because they can't get the fit they are looking for in a wood lathe. Well, a metal lathe isn't necessarily the answer. When I got my first lathe, the bed was cracked and repaired. I knew it flexed a bit, but I was just starting out and the lathe cost $100. I learned more working with that lathe in how to set up and keep tools sharp because if I didn't I'd apply too much force and the flex would come in to play.

When I bought my Griz, it wasn't perfect. But I learned very quickly where the problem lay and was able to adjust it to get the fit on pens that I do now. Now if I can get great fit on my pens with a lathe that some have described as "one of the worse wood lathes on the planet" (as some call all the Griz wood lathes), then why can't you? I'm not special.

The common thing I've seen in all the thread on metal lathes is, the 7x machine are really capable BUT THEY NEED TO BE TUNED. So if you can't tune your wood to get good results, what makes you think tuning the metal lathe will be any easier?

Another difference I've sen in the two conversations. Most people recommend getting the largest/best lathe for what you may eventually decide to make on wood lathes, "If you can afford it get a PM 3520B instead of the jet Mini. Yes, both are nice, and you may only be making pens now, but you'll want to turn a bowl some day." But when people start talking about metal lathes around here, they never seem to think beyond the pens in recommendations.

Now, I'm not the most knowledgeable person on metal lathes. Or wood lathes for that matter. I've looked into the metal machines once or twice before and didn't pull the trigger because the price and the money I had available. Now I'm back in the looking stage as I think I'll have the funds soon. But I'm not looking for a pen only machine, I'm looking for a machine that will allow me to branch out. Heck, I've looked at a couple that I thought "how the H E double hocky sticks will I get that monster into my shop through a Bilco door?" Hopefully I'll have the funds set aside soon and can actually make the dicision.
 
Russianwolf said:
Heck, I've looked at a couple that I thought "how the H E double hocky sticks will I get that monster into my shop through a Bilco door?" Hopefully I'll have the funds set aside soon and can actually make the dicision.
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Yeah.. those doors can get expensive.. :tongue:
 
A metal lathe for me is what limits what I can do. If I have a small lathe I can turn small items bushings,nibs and spacers. If I have a larger lathe that will thread and accept a boring bar I can do even more plus what the smaller lathe can do, now do I need it bigger? No not really but if I can get bigger at a good price why not? A wood lathe kind of limits you to wood or light metals so you choose what you are going to work on a Metal lathe sets your limits as to what you can do on a larger scale.
 
That would be freaking awesome to own. But you think for that price they could throw in some of the tooling for free, lol. At least the shipping is free, that thing weighs a lot.
 
ldb2000 said:
If all I needed to make Skiprat quality pens was that lathe , I would buy two !!! :biggrin:
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I did not say it was all that needed. :)
There is a common concept that a "newbie" does not need good equipment and only when he reaches some level of proficiency he is "qualified" for good equipment.

Totally wrong concept, if you ask me. A beginner needs good equipment even more than a seasoned pro.
It is another question if it makes sense for a beginner to invest in better equipment. In most cases probably not.

In my opinion the only positive side of starting with crappy tools is that you learn to appreciate quality tools. Ask me how I know :)
 
alexkuzn said:
I did not say it was all that needed. :)
There is a common concept that a "newbie" does not need good equipment and only when he reaches some level of proficiency he is "qualified" for good equipment.

Totally wrong concept, if you ask me. A beginner needs good equipment even more than a seasoned pro.
It is another question if it makes sense for a beginner to invest in better equipment. In most cases probably not.

In my opinion the only positive side of starting with crappy tools is that you learn to appreciate quality tools. Ask me how I know :)
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Very true. I had a very good friend who thought very much like me... if he wanted something he bought it! He didn't think... "Will I use this enough to justify the purchase" or "Am I good enough to utilize the capabilities of the machine".

I hope you have lots of fun learning how to drive that baby! I wish I had gotten a better lathe now that I am starting to do more threading on the lathe and having to change gears every time I want to change a thread pitch. My hands look like I'm a grease monkey!
 
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