The impossible, done on a metal lathe?
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- čas přidán 9. 09. 2024
- A friend once tried to convince me that it is impossible to make multiples of a part on a manual lathe because it would take too long and you can't hold the tolerances. This video is to prove that if you have a short run of parts, not only is it possible, it can be done quickly and efficiently.
well it's a lathe czcams.com/users/postUgkxN9zrzkkhnjUF5PQbuA_B1gYdsfCu9k6z but it wasn't what i would have anticipated. Headstock, tailstock, carriage apron are manufactured from aluminum now not cast iron. The spindle diameter for the bearings is too small allowing for a few play in the spindle so I am using some blue Loctite to take out the play.
Very good work, I enjoyed seeing your working process. I started in machine shop work about 1953, all we had were manual machines, not like today. Must have made 20,000+ aircraft parts on them in volume production, from 50 part lots to as much as 1000 parts, holding +- .0005 many times. In 1980 I bought my first CNC lathe and what a difference!
Thanks, Paul
Wow, what negative people seem to make comments here. This is a well though out and executed piece of machining with the assistance of a DRO. This type of task IS fairly impossible for a beginner and the inexperienced. A very nice demonstration, well filmed and clearly spoken in decent quality English, unlike some of the ill-educated exposing themselves for what they are in the comments below. I have been using a Myford ML Super 7 for 60 years. My workshop is well equipped with a wide range of tooling (much of it self-made). About 30 years ago I added a small plastics injection molding machine for which I have produced may moods to make various things that I use (and some that I sell). I have a small CNC machine too and I am happy to give it the space that it takes. It has its place and is something I wanted to learn how to use before I am too old.
Well, let me answer @wana bear. There is nothing wrong with stringy swarf, other than that it might cut the fingers of children if they are improperly instructed as to its correct handling. You say you are a beginner, so I will tell you the VERY simple way of getting 'chips' if that's what you want. Grind a groove behind the tip of your cutting tool. It's called a chip-break. Also you could use free-cutting aluminium which is easier for beginners to obtain a decent finish. I think they add some lead to make it free-cutting.
I dislike the attempts to drag down someone who is actually doing something, and doing it well. Better that you go out and drag your own techniques up to his level. What's that old phrase? Oh yes ! Put brain into gear before opening mouth.
Have a nice day everyone and make something useful.
Hi David. I think your comment is my favorite,
Thanks!!
Dale D
When I was younger I used WD-40 and tapping fluid for cutting oil. When I went to work in Aerospace I switched to coconut oil. The reason being it was much healthier and in zero gravity it didn't come out of the material that had been machined. Griddle fry also works as it is mostly coconut oil.
Hi R. Johnson, I'll have to give Coconut oil a try. thanks for the suggestion.
Dale D
Not sure how I ended up on this channel, but seeing a metal lathe used, to create a part like this, was pretty cool.
Not impossible! Actually back in the day I have done hundreds of the same part in an engine lathe. I also held a tolerance of +/- .0005 on large runs over 200 parts. This is how it was done back in the day before CNC. It is also done this way quite a bit today even. On an engine lathe you don't have full containment of coolant as you would on a CNC. Nor do you have an infinite range of RPM or feed rate. So the most ideal speeds and feeds isn't going to happen. You do the best with what you have as he has done in the video. I say good job!
Hey bozo28able,
Those stat are impressive. I will admit I like doing things old school.
Thanks for your positive words.
Dale d
In the 60,s i was a capstan lathe operator.The capstan setter would set up the lathe with turning tools parting tools and numerous tools on the turret. Once set, the operator (me),would then spend the next week turning hundreds of the same item out,only stopping for tool sharpening and the inspector checking tolerances.Depending how good you were,the speed you attained was incredible coupled with accuracy.All on a manual lathe.
Evelyn Myrmidonis I'm a toolmaker and I've always wanted to use a capstan lathe. My grandfather who also was a toolmaker used to use them in the 60's. he used to set them and operate them. He gave me a few books on them and I love reading through them at work
Your videos, along with Adam Booth, Steve Summers, Keith Rucker, Tom Lipton and Mr Pete, along with many others have taken my machining skills into the stratosphere. Nine years ago I had been machining for 12 years, but you guys made me into a machinist. Thank you!,
Had the guy that said this wa impossible ever been in a professional shop? It at least used to be done every day in shops all around the world. These days people are too impressed by cnc and end up using more time writing a program than it would have taken to make the parts on a manual lathe.
+rimmersbryggeri
I work in a factory making parts for heavy duty machinery. One of my jobs is running a lathe that's not too dissimilar to the one in the video (it's beefier though). And yes, I make batches of identical parts all the time.
Yeah you do and you showed that it is possible and faster to do it on a manual lathe for a small batch. From my understanding someone else sais this was impossible?
I work on an NC Lathe every day. We don't do a big numbers of parts, we're specialized on not specializing, you could say. If I got a series of 10 items it's one of our larger ones, most of the time I manifacture one, maybe two items of a kind. And to say things would go faster and easier on a manual lather (on which I worked before) is just plainly wrong. Sure, it's not CNC, but the basic cycles it has save so much time already. On CNC lathes you type in a cycle to lathe down a shaft from a diameter of 100mm to 20mm on a length of 50mm within 30 seconds. All done with non-sharp edges, all done with a single tool, rough cutting as well as finishing. The whole thing takes less than half the time you'd need on a conventional lathe. Not to speak of the fine contours you can do on a full CNC lathe, and even those take little to no time to type in.
Other than milling, simple, 3-axis CNC lathing is quickly programmed, done with optimal cutting conditions, plus more often than not you got a stable supply of cooling agent applied to the process, minimalizing wear on your tools. Not to speak of, large companies as Daimler and Volkswagen rely solely on CNC technology for their huge amounts of items the manifacture every hour. But even in small workshop such as mine, CNC lathing saves a shitton of time. The only people not using at least an NC Lathe like mine, with basic cycles but also 'conventional style' manual controls, are people who either have no access to such expensive tools or aren't skilled in using them.
So yeah. Even small batches are done faster with (C)NC lathes.
Lykhon Odinson
In the case of my production environment, we use the simple old manual lathe in conjunction with cnc. In my area, I have a large bandsaw, which is largely automated, and a lathe. I can use the bandsaw to cut parts from bars and then set up the bandsaw to run something time intensive while I move over to the lathe to do whatever needs to be done to those parts. This is about reducing the amount of workload on the CNC machine which is pretty much running constantly as is.
Yes, the company *could* shell out the money for another CNC machine, but they would also have to shell out the salary for another worker, driving up production costs. Worse, if orders go down and we have a slow season, one of those CNC operators is going to get laid off and the machine is going to sit idle.
ColonelSandersLite
Exactly. Manual work is under rated in this day and age. A god manual machinist is invaluable in the shop. I have seen that when my dad was working in aerospace production some of the tighter tolerances were actually done on a manual lathe and the machinist that made those parts was taken out of retirement and hired as a consultant more than once.
I really love that people show there passions on you tube and share them with every one out there, people watch for fun or maybe to get an idea of how to try something new.but then you read all the comments from the haters or the " real engineers " . really people cut the man some slack hes got the ass to make a video and show what works for him. my hats off to you dale good job man.
Ehst "works for him" will get someone's fingers amputated.
Impossible?? Been in a manual machine shop environment for 30 years now this is just every day machining. Go back 30 years and do it with dial indicators, bed stops, and braze on tools. Then show us how great you are.
Bret,
I think you are missing the humor here. "Impossible!" as in most of today's "machinists" are button pushers and the idea of making multiple parts on an engine lathe is inconceivable. A chucker would be more possible but who has one of those anymore?
"Go back 30 years and do it with dial indicators, bed stops, and braze on tools."
Really? With the quality machines made 30 years ago making a quality part with a dial indicator and brazed tools was actually easier than todays hot garbage machines fresh of the boat from china. I would take a quality 30 year old machine any day. In fact I still use them.
I can do it on my 10EE, you might need to go back a little further lol
I agree.
I'm doing it for 12 years now and i discover new things, awesome! Greetz from Belgium. Metric system rules :-)
I never would have guessed Nicholas Cage could use a lathe.
Thank for the comment it made me smile
I was put on a drill stem lathe on the first day at Svedala / Denver equipment in the 90s.
My first production job was a 6" stem coupling... left hand, tapered, internal, 3 lead acme on hastaloy spray over steal. I worked there for 6 years on that machine.
This video was fun and simple. Two thumbs up from Colorado. Cheers man!
i love how this video shows all the unsafe things you can do with a turning machine :P
it would be a good demonstration video of things you should not do :D
For people who never saw a lathe before, you might list the unsafe things and the times at which to view them.
You mean Health and Safety gone mad.
Nothing unsafe in video its done that way by pros.
The obvious no-no is the left arm over the head and chuck to file. Lathers need to learn to file left-handed. Other than that it looked like an everyday job. Nice to have NC. We did it the old fashioned way. Masking tape on the slides or aprons and pencil (alignment) marks with the dial setting. Cursing if the dial set screw came loose!
perf52 Totally the wrong unsafe way, how are you supporting yourself I guess your not and there lies your answer.
Unsafe to diyer/modelmaker/bodgers the real lathe users know better.
Nicely edited video and great use of a DRO. I've pretty much always done this for multiple parts. Use the DRO just like CNC and "set your offsets." Some DRO's (like Anilam) even have multiple Zero's. Reading the comments, not every person owns or has access to a CNC machine. You explained and demonstrated the process very well. That "stringy chip" is called a ribbon chip and is all but unavoidable - even with the "right feed and speed."
Your video was surely helpful for many people, I hope some of the less than grateful comments don't hinder you from making more. Good job.
HI Jlw1911,
I think I'm going to have to develop a thick skin if I'm going to keep doing videos. :-) I just have to keep in perspective that out of the thousands that have see my videos only a dozen or so find fault.
Thanks for your positive encouragement.
Dale D
*****
Dale - if only the idiots could be persuaded to play in some reserved corner of CZcams then the rest of us could use it for good purpose. Anyone with enough guts to put himself in the frame deserves credit whereas those who like to chip in a random purile statement dont deserve credit - constructive criticism is a good thing of course but thats another thing.
The guys that said you cant do it must be from the milling department.
get yourself an empty tomato sauce can to hold your oil and apply it with an acid brush. reduce the speed and increase the feed so your chip breaker works to get rid of the stringers. Nice little lathe you have there, good video.
Well folks ! Why do people need to bash every video that runs ? If you have nothing good to say about someone's effort move on .Some of us are not pros and are new to the game but doesn't mean we can't take something of value away from it ! I've worked in the mechanical trade my entire life and I learn every day !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1: how is this even close to "impossible" its what a lathe is for...
2: these parts are not even small or intricate...
I agree. I,m a retired tool room turner who earned his living at the lathe for 46 years and what we see here is no big deal for a skilled machinist. Why it's considered impossible to to repeatedly turn out a batch of components I don't know.I did it,and no digital readout either,just graduated dials on the hand wheels.And we ran to very small tolerances too....-0005"(one half thousandth of an inch was quite normal,) I wasn't paid to say 'No l can't. The manager of the company I worked for back in the late fifties was once asked why they didn't have finish grinding machines.His straight answer was,'If our turners are worth their salt,we have no need of them.' How times have changed!
crankbv1 EXACTLY... I am a manual machinist my self most orders i worked would probably be around 50 pieces or so. mostly precision gears, we would turn gear blanks on tolerances of plus or minus .0001 or .0002 everyday easily.
***** Yes the guy probably did read description....It is just that its a plain daft description.
RedSkin SanDiego Now I have seen people say ''That's the dumbest post ever...'' and they never are, of course. But as I read yours I have to say...comes closer... it is just a belief you have formed at some time and not really thought about and then posted...again without thinking about it. It makes no sense at all.
D-railed manjit Singh riat
Your videos are both informative and fun to watch because you exhibit an energy level I wish I still had. Thank You! JD
I've the utmost admiration for highly skilled machinists, but all you've demonstrated here is what I was taught in metalwork class at school aged 12-14. I didn't witness the impossible.
This should be called simply; "dude uses lathe".
He had to say something to get us to watch. However I have learnt quite a lot from novices because they aren't constrained by the normal rules of machining.
of course you can do multi parts and hold tolerances how do you think they did production parts before cnc
Finally someone who uses a proper mic set up for a how to video. Good quality video, viewing angles and editing as well. Video or photography obviously is a hobby for you as well. Just wanted to offer kudos' on that. Subscribed. I am a machinest- video hobbyist as well.
+tc104x
Thank you
I have had to make many duplicate parts on an engine lathe using a magnet on carriage ways as a reference not the most efficient, but when your employer thinks a JET lathe is the bomb you do what you can. When I would approach the magnet would switch to manual and creep. Verify with homemade T shaped depth gauges. Nice video wish we had the DRO unit.
I moved to Sandpoint when I was 13 back in 1969.. I remember your mountain top when there was not a single house up there.. . Sandpoint is still one of the greatest areas and I've been around the world, its always nice to come back across that bridge and see the Cabinets and Selkirks..
One thing I can honestly say that I hate about the machining community that there is way too many know it alls acting like their way is the right and only way to do something ... If what he's doing is working for him , just sit back and enjoy the video
Thanks for your positive comment :-)
I too like these kind of runs. Great idea on the whiteboard! Thanks for posting and keeping it short (concise).
Never file components on a lathe right handed, always left so you're less likely to get hurt.Your watchers will pick up bad habits looking at this.
Steve Chancellor i
It's really nice to a erase board, it's easy to track down, what you are doing. I'm just getting started with a DRO. I makes life, so much easier!
For those who asked what is a good cheap lathe, a used Jet GBH 1340A with fully enclosed gear head is much better than any new import from China of the 12 x 36 size or smaller. It can handle a 8 inch chuck and with D1-4 spindle mount it is a solid cheap lathe. The old South bends are OK but offer little in feasibility on speed and feed options with change gears instead of enclosed gear head,
Parting tool trick taught to me by an old machinist. Mount cutter upside down and run lathe in reverse or mount upside down from the rear using another tool post. Takes all the chatter out and changes how the cross slide loads up.
Hi Nathan,
Ill have to give it a try.
Dale
If you have the $, the tools meant for cut off are well worth it. Saves your other cutters.
WTF so you take all the load off the slide? otay buckwheat let me know how that work out for ya
To someone who does a lot of mass production, this seems pretty basic, but to those who don't (intended audience), it's useful information. This is basically how your run a CNC.
A better (slightly less misleading) title for the video would probably be "Mass production on an engine lathe"
I was expecting to learn an advanced technique, but i still appreciate the video, as i'm sure it taught some people a new trick or two.
You make it look easy! The only thing different from this compared to the old days, is, back then we had "number clips" on the crosslide and hard stops on the carriage. And instead of using a KDK tool holding setup, we used a 4-way tool post. And if you're lucky , you'll be running a turret lathe that can really put out the work, and you'll never waste your time on an engine lathe. Give me a #3 Warner Swazey or a #5 J & L and I can make the world over again.
When did the impossible bit happen.?
Nice click bait! I've had students with less than one day experience of lathe work produce work a
lot more complex than this. It is basic turning, 2 diameters, 2 grooves, part off , job done.
I do this every day, in a job shop that has runs from 1 or 20 or 40 pieces. Sometimes small sleeves or pins, sometimes shafts with multiple ODs, tapers, radii, bores, groves, threads internal and external. It is day one DRO use, or even dial indicator. But I guess the video is for home shop guys so maybe they can take something away from this.
So how does that friend think we got to interchangable parts tollerance long before numerical control was even thought of? I'd say he needs to read up a bit about our industrial history. A very good and repetable quick change tool post and the dro certainly helps, but it was still done even before those were invented. Anyone who thinks it can't be done really doesn't know much about machine tools.
Love that "up and down" tool holder with the wedge action to lock it, when I was at Tech school in the dim darks safety glasses were unheard of.
on a plung cut you can reduce vibration by making the cutter thinner than your grove requirement and plunging twice. I like the video!
i have no experience in turning any kind of metal on a lathe, but what is so impossible about what's happening here?
+Warren Buitendag Nothing impossible at all. Standard centre lathe turning, nothing special.The title is a bit misleading.
Eddie J. Parsons
thought so :)
+Warren Buitendag he is basically saying its (nearly) impossible to turn out a batch of 4 or 5 or 6 or more components and have them the same within a certain tolerance but it can be done on a conventional lathe without a DRO (digital read out) to within a few thousandths of an inch on simple components like these as any conventional turner will tell you. The quick change tool post is a big help in repetitive turning and the DRO would definitely make it quicker to.
madeljacky
oh ok, i understand now. he's referring to the quality of the end result not what he actually doing. it makes sense now :)
+Warren Buitendag that's it, you have it now.
I'm pretty sure you're correct when you say that you don't have the room for a CNC in my shop. My shop is 10 feet by 5 feet and I don't think it will hold much of any of your tools. (Sorry, couldn't help it!) Enjoyed your vid. I wish I did have more space in my shop though; I would love to learn more about machining amd I enjoy watching and learning despite not having the tools.
watching you use the wd-40 straw to catch that part made me think of times i could've saved time by doing that.
Dale, that time lapse has me convinced that we lived in the very same house! We rented a beautiful home with a massive stone fireplace in a living room with 20+ foot ceilings and a wall of windows facing the lake. It was at the top of Eagle Crest Drive. We rented it from 2010-2011, our first year in Sandpoint. I’ve got hundreds of photos from the deck and the tree in the right top corner of your time lapse is in many of them..
Just as a reminder to the viewers...it's a good habit to always have your hand on the chuck key! NEVER LEAVE IT IN THE CHUCK! These things can kill you if you turn on the lathe with the key in it.
GUILTY! Took a job with a small engineering co and did just that. Left the key in, put my left hand on the bed and hit start. Top of my middle finger, left hand was smashed. Still attached but used a knife to lift it off the bed. No pain at first but then just a tweak that I just knew would be climbing up to agony pretty quick. Got lucky being close to a hospital that could do microsurgery. Got very lucky that the finger was rebuilt and I can still feel....and play guitar. Oh yea, it hurt like crazy. Thought I might be having a baby. Like the man says : Take your time and take the key out.
I appreciate the video. However, there are a few things you have done which could get you mangled. The biggest was when you filed and had your left arm OVER the spindle. NEVER do this. Either way, my job is setup, programming, and operating of CNC lathes as well as machining centers and I WISH we had a manual lathe to do one off pieces like this. Cutting some soft jaws to get correct lengths of each part wouldn't be viable for something of this small of quantity...but we do sometimes take the job if it pays right.
Dale... I have that. same lathe and have considered a quick change tool post. however I have never found one with specs that would appear to work out. Would you share the make and model info on yours? Thanks.
+sbirdranch
Its an Aloris and the size is AXA. There are many clones available at a very good price.
+Metal Tips and Tricks (Dale Derry) Excellent. Thanks for the reply.
I used to produce thousands of identical parts on a Herbert 2D capstan lathe, no problem. LOL
Hi,Simple enough for the lay man to understand,Don't let the so called tool makers bring it down.Nice work .Ever thought of doing two on end to end basis.I'll bet you have!.Metal is my name too..SLAC , Nice job editing and every thing.BonZ
Shouldnt these shavings be short and broken? this looks very bad. When I am turning I ever try to get very short shavings because I dont want to struggle with these long uncontrollable shavings that can hurt you. What type of material are you working with? (sorry if you said that in the video) Im just a 17 year old german guy who has an apprenticeship as a cutting machine operator, so I may have no idea what im talking about.-yet ;)
1) 16 parts would never see our CNC machines unless the complexity, material being machined (ie Inconel, Monel, or other exotics) or tolerances dictated otherwise
2) running 16 parts impossible? That's what dros and quick change tool posts were made for.
3) some good tips here if you haven't run a lathe for more than a week in your life.
Ya know having been a machinist more than 25 years when I saw all the reviews about safety breaches I watched intently.
You can really tell from the comment the what we call “Tech-School guys”You know the ones. They went to tech their hat 16 weeks, got the first job the school promised them through job placement.Now they’ve move on to working in a real shop with old school job shop atmosphere with the real machinist that can take it from the materials delivery, to the saw, weld it ,turn it , mill it, grind it, coat it , inspect it , wrsp ut up print the delivery slip snd drop it iff at Bob’s big house on way hone. Well instead of taking the opportunity to learn from “ real” machinist they try and show their advanced knowledge or lack there of by citing “ safety violations” that didn’t exist. The guy never leaned over the chuck.I may be wrong but stopped the chuck when he removed the debris from the tool( not chips ) furthermore anyone thats ran a lathe at all knows you don’t operate a machine in gloves that have rotating shafts and exposed gears.
Hey but my tech school teacher . Lol
Fuck ya teacher
You can can shut down lathe when plunge cut is at depth to eliminate chattering finish. You also can put lathe in neutral and spin chuck by hand it you really have to. Just some old tricks that save time.
I was not aware the the sole purpose of cutting oil was merely friction reductions against the tool bit. I won't be making so much of a mess perhaps on my next lathe project. I had been "painting" the parts with a brush. I will give this a try.
You can do lots of things on a normal lathe but the difference in time to a turret lathe is considerable, Turret lathes are simpler to use once setup, especially for screw cutting. They have interchangeable lead screws so no lining up lines to engage the lead screw any position is correct. The turret stops can be adjusted for each tool instead of looking at a dial or using feel. But the difference is time. If screw cutting. At the end of the stroke the tool post moves out by itself whereas on an engine lathe the tradesperson does this. However on a universal style of machine the job size range is far greater. A HMT lathe has tee slots on the top edge in the cross slide to mount extra tool post which can increase the qty of tools loaded in the machine saving time too. Some of the more expensive engine lathes have similar features like a turret lathe but its all about cost.
One of my apprentices made me watch some of this and don't know where to start. Remember this person is not a professional but a hobbyist.
Dir sir. is wonderful that you share you kwowledge!!!
Great video. Especially for those guys starting out.
As a day in, day out job shop machinist... part of the game is bringing the next generation on.
Very Nice video and use of the DRO. Wish you had put Manual DRO in the title I would have watched it long ago. I'll remember your lesson. Thanks. Best Wishes n Blessings Keith
+Keith Noneya :-)
I know that particular lathe and I have to grit my teeth saying this but its a particularly accurate machine. Surprisingly accurate. Make a threaded tube at the other end of the spindle with provision to fit a circular saw blade or gears for indexing plus it can be filled with oil and remain in position to act as a damper on the spindle. Unscrewed when longer stock is used, screwed back when not. Only saying.
Good video. I use all manual lathes and mills where I work, and LOVE those D.R.O.'s! Our shop started installing them on the machines about 12 years ago.
Be very careful grabbing those shavings with your bare hands, man.
JDSly1, I love my DRO'S. and will watch be more careful about reaching for this chips :-)
Great video Dale, very well done and with lots of little tips! Thanks.
Rens Patch,
Thanks for your positive comments
Dale
As Andrew Wilson said "where is the impossible", I started work in a tool-room at 15 in 1956 and I was taught nothing's impossible and we never had DRO's as they hadn't been invented then, I wonder how you would manage without yours!, ,I'm 75 now and still working on a lathe in my garage making small parts for the military much more complex than what you have there with tolerances within two tenth's of an thou, and no DRO to help me ether, also you mention that you kept braking the parting off tool so made a thicker one, what do you expect when it's sticking out more than needed for the cut-off point, some advice, put lathe in reverse turn parting tool upside down with the cutting edge a tad above centre, problem solved.
60 years experience just saved the day, well, saved the guy some material costs and tooling expenses. Thank you for sharing the knowledge sir.
I might unscrew the chuck on my 13" south bend! But seriously, I did learn a suggestion similar to yours- cut off tool upside down on the back side of the part and lathe engaged forward.
Where i used to work that part would have a minimum order of 50 or so to justify cnc programing. Smaller orders, were whipped off by the very talented machinists on engine lathes with similar tooling.
One day that lathe's going to rip your arm off sanding like that :) That sounded like 700-800 rpm?
I need to make the arbor the gear cutter on my atlas lathe (12") that I a having us==issues with=movement. I don't want any vehement at all--any ideas has to make this thing without movement/?
Eh. Nice vid, thumbs up and whatnot, but I did this in High School Metal Shop. We made some much needed castor wheels for the ancient A/V carts. It was a good project for the class because they needed about 60 or so of them for 20 of the 50 carts. So, no. Not impossible
Fifteen students on four lathes punched them out in one class period.
The next day, we made the dozen or so raceways for the bearings. The same day, we made the cast for the rubber part on the outside of the wheel - basically just a funny looking cup - to demonstrate inside turning.
The rubber part was cast by mounting the cast facing up on the disc sander, pouring the molten rubber and turning on the sander, spinning the rubber to the outside. It was held on by a pair of ribs on the wheel hubs and a coating of rubber cement. I forget which class did the rubber.
At the end ot the week, we also used the press and saw to make a half-dozen yokes in one go, using a stamp made by the Senior class on the CAM machine.
Anyway, I think the parts we made were a lot smaller than this. Also, they still use those carts, the press stamp and that rubber-wheel spin-caster thingamawhatsit to this day.
Another random cruise around YT! Love finding these videos that show people with skill.
Nifty idea. Maybe you do this but just didn't show it, but I always lock down the axis that doesn't move when making the final cut, to eliminate error from backlash. Or, does the DRO allow for backlash? Never used one, might just get one of those toys.
Also, I second the upside-down cutoff idea mentioned down a ways, which I first saw in one of Guy Lautard's Machinist Bedside Reader books. It's one of the tools you can just leave in place on the backside without having to stop the lathe for reversing.
Thanks for sharing this!
No! Most DRO's don't have offsets to compensate for backlash, they just display position. CNC machines can be programmed to compensate for backlash but these are usually set by service personnel who have the necessary instrumentation to set it up and the settings are usually found in the parameters of the machine which are not usually accessible to the operator.
That's some dangerous chip formation with the automatic feed isn't it?
Will Federowic looks like aluminum to me not too dangerous?? All cutter are designed different a standard insert has a chip break but u have to take soo much off chip break on finish pass is no concern... not all inserts have chip breaks either
Need to increase feed rate.
Great video except for the hand finishing. My machine shop teacher filed right handed. I instinctively learned to file left handed to keep my hands away from the chuck. The sanding sponge looks ok, but keep it and hands away from the jaws. They bite. Try emery using left handed rule for deburring.
I appreciated watching the video. Some were saying to increase speed but it looked fine to me with aluminum. You have a nice lathe there it looks to run really nice and you seem very familiar with things. The file step was a bit scary to me, not sure if you have a gear box drive but if you even could have slowed down by tossing it into back gear you still could have had the work rotating to chamfer but would have only been moving slowly. You are young and sharp as you age protect yourself more by developing good habits now. We must all be so respectful to the potentials with these tools.
Hi Douglas,
Thanks for the positive comments, especially for the one about looking young. :-)
The vibration could be from the tool not being perfectly on center. If you get chatter that you can't avoid, when you are .001" from the finish dimension shut off the lathe feed in and try to back the tool back off before it stops the work. If your lathe has an automatic brake when you shut it off don't do this though.
Dear Mr Hale. For some reason I can't reply to you post, anyway. I have two lathes, a big 10inch and a small Sherline. Sherlines are only small lathes (3.5x17) but if standing at a large lathe all day becomes a challenge, consider a Sherline, they are the best small lathe by very a long way and can be used seated. I've turned 2 inch cast iron on mine, no problem and despite a hard life is now 20 years old and as good as new, nothing has ever failed, not even the belt (made in USA). Perhaps too small for your application but great for small work, very accurate and an absorbing hobby. Lots of good advice on their site as well.
Wana Bear,you should always look to get 'stringy offcuts',as this tells you your tool is sharp,set at the right hight,and you've got the speed and lube spot on.hope i have been of some help.(30 years a toolmaker UK)
Hi! May I know what type or model of that milling machine is?
all these safety opinions. everyone citing their experience and degrees, his home, his rules, awareness is the best safety there is. at work yeah safety goggles, ear plugs, e stops. but if you're not a big sissy in the home shop as long as you're not too drunk or falling asleep who cares if you cut the corners you're comfortable cutting.
Thanks for your comment.:-)
OSHA cares, and the ER doctor cares. You want to be reckless with human flesh? You going to reimburse the insurance company?
Totally agree with you.
...he's a photographer AND a machinist; that's rare.
Thats like me i have two jobs that i love im an apprentice chef AND an apprentice builder :D
Not quite as rare as you might think.
if he's a lousy a photographer as he is a machinist none of his pictures would be viewable.
lol ...im a semi professional photographer 5 years and an engineer 26 years ......... ill not go into my other hobbies unless asked :) ...... its not rare at all m8 sorry to say...... this video is nothing but a basic insight into manual turning an a center lathe......
The quick change tool post is definitely your friend in this instance. I've done this at work when I've had occasional "homework" to do and need to be fairly quick. ;¬)
Try running your tool upside down and the spindle in reverse. The tool vibrates much less, the oil or cutting fluid sticks to the piece and ofter the cut clears the swarf into the swarf tray and not on your lathe bed.
Ive learned while grooving to set the machine at an extremely slow speed, it helps reduce chatter on the initial cut and will result in a much cleaner finish in the end
MegaUnceunce. Great suggestion, I'll try it next time.
Dale d
is each type of lathe purpose built for a specific material or can a single machine be used for metals. plastics, and timbers?
and is the reason a lot of people stick to one or the other to avoid upsetting their work flow?
+Matt W A lathe like this one can cut anything, as long as you can get a hard and sharp enough tool (the tool must be harder than the material. Softer materials need sharper tools generally). I'm sure you could cut a lot of stuff on a wood turning lathe too. However the tools are always hand held, so making precision parts is more difficult. On the other hand, doing aesthetic free form shapes is much easier with hand held tools. Also harder materials need greater forces on the tool, which is somewhat limiting for a wood turning lathe. There are other differences too that makes them more suitable for different kinds of work, but these are the main ones.
Loved it! Great production and great speaking.
the view with snow was cool it would be awesome if your lathe were in front of a window with that view
I have been a toolmaker for over 35 years and have made some observations on what you have done. While what you have done is correct in principle did you change you speed at anytime? The vibration with your form tool is probably due to speed and seeing as you are using HSS for tooling I would just decrease the speed and as a rough guideline what ever speed you use for HSS you triple for carbide. Give or take. The only other thing is when you use a file on a lathe you NEVER put your arm over the turning chuck cause it is a quick way to get a trip to hospital.
just a suggestion with the part off tool. I work very closely with tooling company's that manufacture these and I used to have the same problem with them breaking all the time. the solution is use the auto feed to part off. Part off tool like a consistent pressure on the tool and if manual feeding this is not achieved. Just some food for thought.
Very nice camera work and sound control levels.
You have inspired me to buy a better lathe love the one you have
Hey, LowCostCncRetrofits. I love my lathe, My wife and I almost moved to New York city, and I told here I'm not selling of my Lathe. She replied it will make a good conversation peace in are apartment. :-)
Dale d
A few years back I made 500 Tokarev pistol cases from Federal .357 brass.
Had to cut the rim off, cut-in an extractor groove and cut each case to length.
Made a little cutting tool that was part parting-tool, part chamfer tool.
Once I had the process, it took me less than 45 seconds per case.
Why? No ammo or brass available at the time.
And holding accuracy was not a problem.
For goodness sake don't get your fingers in there with the oil can like that. A few moments later, the swarf curls round there and it would strip your fingers to the bone if it wrapped round. Things like that make me cringe!!!!
Name of the video could be more descriptive because that would make it easier to find...
I like the set-up ,like the idea and you work-methods are yours to develop as you go on your way as you do.
Please stay on your path your perfect as it go's. (the basics are good to play with)
Enjoy, keep playing and also import end share as muts as you want !!!!!
Only then, you stand up like a real pro in the morning.
I have worked in shops that did runs of things, we used soft jaws which were bored out and each part was held in exactly the position so you would do 50 on that position and then on to another operation. I have never used a CNC in over 50 years till I retired and still haven't . Seen some amazing stuff done in them tho'.
If only we could all have access to a Computer Lathe that could run those parts off in 5 minutes.
have you thought of turning your cutoff tool upsidedown and run in reverse?it takes all the slack out of your compound making a better cut
Michael Clark my machine has a normal 4way tool post and at the other side of Chuck it has a parting off tool post blade upside down .
I worked in a machine shop for 5 years , this is standard procedure ,where is the impossible bit?
You can slow the head speed down to get rid of the vibration on the plunge cuts
I follow a similar process at work when I have to turn out ~50 silver "bullets". It's all just reference measurements. Cut the piece, cut it off, move up the stock, repeat. Simple enough. The DRO is a nice touch, but not required (personally I prefer going by dial on the lathe). Also, I laughed when you brought out the cut-off tool. Unnecessarily beefy, but it does the job all the same.
Oil / WD40 , and not suds . Why ? The water gets the heat out , and keeps tips / cutting faces alive .
I am human CNC lathe, try to get on a real CNC when I can, great for more than 10 on an ISO machine, otherwise I can beat most set up times on a manual tool room lathe up to 10. A basic pre tooled teach CNC is faster for basic pin or bush, even as a one off, and pre tooled Okuma One touch will do even complex forms faster for one only component. (For multiple components at high speed I recommend saturation coolant as it will greatly extend tool life and aid in chipping, as well as give a much better finish and keep your machine clean and lubricated. Keep increasing depth of cut, feed and speed till it chips. Don't whimp out. I often have had to beef up setups with bigger chip geometry and tools, and create jigs to hold components more rigidly to get it to chip and have had feed rates as high as 2.5mm per rev at 20mm depth. Streamers are dangerous. They remove fingers and other body parts. It is not acceptable.)