New lathe

[dpstudios]

Well. I did it, bit the bullet, pulled the trigger, shot my w... you get the idea. I purchased a new metal lathe. I have gone down yet another rabbit hole pursuing this thing we calll turnng, pens or other things.
Picked the one I saw on Ebay as the best deal I could find for what I could afford. Ordered Monday and arrived today. I expected a large, beat up cardboard box. Nope, a (well, not quite a crate) plywood box. Inside the machine is bolted to the bottom and Styrofoam inserts hold the lathe in place. I'd already opened it up when I decided to take pics, hence the torn plastic cover. Included is a toolbox with wrenches, allen and open ended, metal change gears, 2 screwdrivers, outside jaws, 5 carbide cutting tools, and what I would guess is an oil bottle . I also expected it to be covered in grease. Just a light film of oil covers everything. Still in the box for now until the stand arrives Saturday. All in all it seems to be a well built and substantial
The next couple of weeks will be practice, practice, practice until I get a feel for turning on this mini beast. Should be fun.

 

[magpens]

Congratulations !!!

I, and I am sure many others, share your excitement !!

 

[MPVic]

Well. I did it, bit the bullet, pulled the trigger, shot my w... you get the idea. I purchased a new metal lathe. I have gone down yet another rabbit hole pursuing this thing we calll turnng, pens or other things.
Picked the one I saw on Ebay as the best deal I could find for what I could afford. Ordered Monday and arrived today. I expected a large, beat up cardboard box. Nope, a (well, not quite a crate) plywood box. Inside the machine is bolted to the bottom and Styrofoam inserts hold the lathe in place. I'd already opened it up when I decided to take pics, hence the torn plastic cover. Included is a toolbox with wrenches, allen and open ended, metal change gears, 2 screwdrivers, outside jaws, 5 carbide cutting tools, and what I would guess is an oil bottle . I also expected it to be covered in grease. Just a light film of oil covers everything. Still in the box for now until the stand arrives Saturday. All in all it seems to be a well built and substantial
The next couple of weeks will be practice, practice, practice until I get a feel for turning on this mini beast. Should be fun.
View attachment 237699View attachment 237700View attachment 237701View attachment 237703

Just like Christmas morning, huh??? Hope you get lots of enjoyment from it!!!!

 

[More4dan]

Welcome to the dark side!!! Your unpacking experience is SO muck different from mine! I spent hours cleaning packing grease off with kerosine for my little 7 x 10.

Two important things to learn early. Make (grind) some HSS bits. There are many how to articles out there. HSS will give a better surface finish than carbide and is better for roughing something that isn't yet round. Carbide will chip and break with impact loads.

When you get to carbide insert cutters, do some research. After 4 years of using what came with the first set I bought, I purchased some inserts made for the material I'm turning and they work much much better. I especially like some made by Korloy for cutting Aluminum. They cut through aluminum like a hot knife through butter. The also work great on plastics and woods.

Happy to answer any questions as you get set up. Your gonna have a lot of fun over here on the dark side!

Danny



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[Ironwood]

Looks like a fun time coming up.
The first upgrade I would recommend is a quick change tool post. I went with a cheap chyneze job for mine, I am happy with it.

 

[Mach4]

Ah, now comes the expensive part....tooling...upgrades....more tooling....modifications.....more tooling

Have fun! (Get a man a lathe and suddenly everything needs turning)

 

[dpstudios]

Thanks for all the comments. UPgrades in the mail, QCTP, collet holder & 4 jaw chuck. Will get some HSS blanks for bits. Thank you Dan for the link to bang good. I've never used one of these before so the learning is gonna be fun. I plan on burning through a bunch of aluminum figuring this thing out. looking forward to it.
Again, thanks for the encouragement.

 

[More4dan]

www.onlinemetals.com is a good place to take loads of your money too.

Actually some really good information on different grades of materials including those with formulations to make turning easier. Prices are usually competitive too. They have some of my $$ this week.


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[dpstudios]

I've been there Dan. My only problem with them right now is the shipping charge. $27.00 no matter how much I ordered. My money is being spent on tooling for now. I'll settle for Home Depot aluminum in the learning phase. But thanks for the info.

 

[More4dan]

Fastenal carries metal rods too and they are located most everywhere.


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[bmachin]

Rather than Online Metals and Fastenal, check online for local metal dealers. I suspect that you can find better prices and probably get stuff cut to length with online ordering.

Bill

 

[1shootist]

Congratulations
Looks like a great lathe. Can I ask what motor size is on it.

I have a old micromark 7x14 now but have been looking for a new replacement, albeit slowly. Its time for bearings once again, and a few other things... of which I have no interest in doing myself anymore.

Check out "Frank Hoose" on youtube, and his website www.metal-lathe.com (this is still active at this writing ) ..lots and lots of info here, repair walk thrus, accessories compar ,etc..

Have fun with chip production.

 

[dpstudios]

Congratulations
Looks like a great lathe. Can I ask what motor size is on it.

I have a old micromark 7x14 now but have been looking for a new replacement, albeit slowly. Its time for bearings once again, and a few other things... of which I have no interest in doing myself anymore.

Check out "Frank Hoose" on youtube, and his website www.metal-lathe.com (this is still active at this writing ) ..lots and lots of info here, repair walk thrus, accessories compar ,etc..

Have fun with chip production.

Thanks for the comments.
It's an 8x14 with a 600w brushless motor and a 4" chuck. That being said, I finally got it uncrated and on a stand. Plugged it in and fired it up. Egads what an awful racket. I took the gear cover off and checked for worn/broken gears. All looked good and tight though covered in a film of oil and grit. I've taken it all apart and cleaned it all up. Tomorrow I'm going to deburr all of the brackets, polish a couple of rough spots, a little lithium grease and re-assemble. Hopefully that will take care of the noise. Also took apart the chuck and cleaned it. will polish, grease, and re-assemble tomorrow. Another problem is that the included tool post witha 3/8 bit installed is still too low. A QCTP will take care of that (on the way). I've still got a couple of days before I start making chips.
Watching Frank Hoose as I write this. Also found another guy, number40fan, who goes through the tuning of a lathe very similar to mine.
More updates to come as long as y'all are interested.

 

[Bryguy]

I especially like some made by Korloy for cutting Aluminum. They cut through aluminum like a hot knife through butter. The also work great on plastics and woods.

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Dan, Which Korloy inserts do you use for Aluminum?

 

[rykermcdermott]

I'll second what others have said, online metals is one of the best online options, but I have always found cheaper stuff from local steelyards.

 

[More4dan]

Dan, Which Korloy inserts do you use for Aluminum?

I've used two different ones, round and triangle. Here are the ones I purchased off EBay:

10pcs For- Aluminum RCGT1003MO-AK HO1 / RPGT1003MO milling insert | eBay

This is 10pcs. Full grinding with a German machine tool, including the bottom, the side, the surface.

www.ebay.com

10pcs new TCGT090204-AK H01 Aluminum Processing inserts TCGT1.81.51-AK CNC TOOLS | eBay

Model: TCGT090204-AK H01 / TCGT1.81.51-AK. Our Warehouse. Our Factory.

www.ebay.com

Danny

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[dpstudios]

Last update and conclusion. Finally got everything back together. Ended up removing the spindle also and lo and behold , roller bearings. At this price I expected ball bearings. Cleaned them and repacked with grease. Polished the spiral wheel in the chuck and it works very smoothly now.
After putting it together I did some testing. Unfortunately I installed the chuck before testing for run out inside the spindle, but runout on the back plate is virtually nil. Run out on a piece of aluminum in the chuck is a bit more. ( see video). For kicks & giggles I shimmed up a cutter & turned a little. I'm hooked. Anyone want a wood lathe? (Kidding)
In conclusion I would say that for a no name Chinese lathe, this thing is well built. F&f is decent. Motor has plenty of power. Any noise now heard is the result of metal gears. Never having owned or even used a metal lathe before I can't really grade this thing, but it does what it was designed to do and only time will tell how it holds up.
I do have the standard upgrades coming soon And my next post on this subject will be my first(That I'm happy with) kitless pen.
Thanks for reading this.

 

[More4dan]

Just make sure you keep all the moving surfaces oiled, the bed, cross and compound ways. There is a special oil for this, I just use Mobile1 motor oil. It's good to oil the bed after each major use. Also, use a small paint brush for removing chips and debris. Using an air hose is tempting but can blow stuff into the moving surfaces where it can cause damage.

It's GREAT FUN, enjoy the adventure!


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[TonyL]

Congratulations and have lots of fun!