Old machine tools are cool

[Mr. Cob]

Originally Posted by mike54

Howdy Mr. Cob.

Here a link on evaluating a used lathe.
You may have seen it before.
http://www.mermac.com/advicenew.html

It may not be all you need to know but at least you can pretend you kind of know what you're looking at.

Howdy Mike54,

Thanks for the link.

[Cumminsman76]

Originally Posted by Bake

Sweet! Square column bench model mill/drill with a knee adjustment. I'm seriously tempted to buy a modern version w/dro and a powered table. I can step motor convert it to 2 axis cnc.

Thing is, for the same money I can get a used Bridgeport in great to decent shape, a Series 1 or 2. But the weight of the bench mill is something I can move around when needed, using a rented engine hoist.

From the link Dagwood posted.

http://www.interplantsales.com/images/315/DSC00996.JPG

http://www.interplantsales.com/120.html

[RonS]

Originally Posted by Mr. Cob

Howdy Mike54,

Thanks for the link.

Hey Mr. Cob I'm a noob with this stuff as well but I'm learning very slowly.
Here's a Lathe primer I found useful:

http://www.americanmachinetools.com/...se_a_lathe.htm

This is another one on milling machines that I liked as well:

http://www.americanmachinetools.com/...ng_machine.htm

This is a web site that has a lathe discussion forum:

http://www.lathetalk.com/index2.html

This place has a lot of good video rentals. I've rented most of them and they helped a lot. Makes a lot of difference when you can actually see someone doing it.

http://smartflix.com/store/category/115/Metalworking

[dagwood]

Originally Posted by Mr. Cob

Howdy Mike54,

Thanks for the link.

that guy has it right.

only thing I would ad is take a 3' 2x4. roll the carriage up to the chuck and stick the 2x between the chuck and the tool post. pry on it. any clunks or even "feel" from either the spindal or the apron is a heads up.
if is an older lathe with bronze bearings that could be a lot more work to fix.
if it has tapered bearings it could just be re setting the preload spanners.

it sure is nice though if it is still under power and you can run it up.

And. just about every machine american made you can still get the repair manual online with exploded views.

[Mr. Cob]

Originally Posted by RonS

Hey Mr. Cob I'm a noob with this stuff as well but I'm learning very slowly.
Here's a Lathe primer I found useful:

http://www.americanmachinetools.com/...se_a_lathe.htm

This is another one on milling machines that I liked as well:

http://www.americanmachinetools.com/...ng_machine.htm

This is a web site that has a lathe discussion forum:

http://www.lathetalk.com/index2.html

This place has a lot of good video rentals. I've rented most of them and they helped a lot. Makes a lot of difference when you can actually see someone doing it.

http://smartflix.com/store/category/115/Metalworking

Howdy RonS,

I have run lathes in the past it was part of my apprenticeship, I just never really cared for them so I avoided running them when ever possible for the 26 years I was in the trade. I have no experience with the small lathes such as the type I am looking for so in that regard I just don't know what to look for as it applies to the quality of the machine. I have run all the major brands but they were huge compared to what i am in the market for, the only small lathe I ever ran was a harding chucker and I HATED it, making tiny parts with complicated threads and relief groves.

I was never a small parts kinda guy, I was much more at home on the big mills, largest machine I ran was a horizontal four head planer. The bed of the planer was 8 feet across and 24 feet long, a head on each side would cut up or down, two heads traversed from side to side along the top. I ran that machine for two years while working at FMC Navel Ordinance Division in North Minneapolis Minnesota. I made strike down beams for the Mark 13 and Mark 26 guided missal launchers on the planer, and machined the sealing rings for the top of the Trident missal launcher tubes on VTL that had a table 10 feet in diameter. However most of my time as a machinist was spent in the tool room running a Sip Jig Bore, there I made special tooling used to produce other parts on other machines or did very precision work often times having to hold tolerances of plus 0.0002" minis nothing or the other way around plus nothing minis 0.0002".

[KenR]

Originally Posted by RonS

Hey Mr. Cob I'm a noob with this stuff as well but I'm learning very slowly.
Here's a Lathe primer I found useful:

http://www.americanmachinetools.com/...se_a_lathe.htm

This is another one on milling machines that I liked as well:

http://www.americanmachinetools.com/...ng_machine.htm

This is a web site that has a lathe discussion forum:

http://www.lathetalk.com/index2.html

This place has a lot of good video rentals. I've rented most of them and they helped a lot. Makes a lot of difference when you can actually see someone doing it.

http://smartflix.com/store/category/115/Metalworking

GREAT links! Thanks!

[dagwood]

http://portland.craigslist.org/yam/tls/1584582953.html

http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/tls/1582945058.html

[dagwood]

ugh...
gonna be a long day.


safetythird...

[Bake]

When I decided I couldn't ride the KLX351 without lowering it, I made 3/8ths aluminum dog bones on the mill. I made a little fixture so I could stack the material and cut both at once. Not really too big a deal, finished the end radius on the sander with them bolted together. That lowered the rear of the bike 2"
I put 1" risers on the handlebars, so I could slide the tubes up about 7/8ths. But the tubes have a taper in them right after the clamping surface that fits the upper clamp. They taper straight away to something different. What shall I do?
Bill is the lathe guy around this shop, so I ask him. No problem. We mike the new diamter on the fork. He chucked up some 2.5" 7075T6 bar we had. Proceded to bore out to the tubes new diameter. Then turned down the out side to produce two shims 1.5 inches long and .003" thick, to fill the .006" difference. I split each with a 20K rpm cut-off wheel in my die grinder, so I could spread them enough to get them onto the tubes, and they didn't shear completely open, because of the T6 temper, the stiffness of the alloy. They were a tight enough fit I needed to spread the split in the yoke at the bolt locations with a screwdriver, and use a tap hammer and a piece of square stock, and go around and around a dozen times to get them in. They work great. I was impressed with the shims.

[Cogswell]

Ok guys, I found a 2 y/o used local Smithy-Midas 1220 XL machine for sale. It's a table top mill-lathe combo. Seller has some extras like cutting bits and fly cutter. It does come with the bench/cabinet.

Does any one have any experience with this particular machine ?
What can I expect from it ?
Is this a good starter machine ?

I spoke with the seller and he said Smity Co was always helpful when he has called with questions.

Thanks, Mike

[PunkinHead]

Originally Posted by Cogswell

Ok guys, I found a 2 y/o used local Smithy-Midas 1220 XL machine for sale. It's a table top mill-lathe combo.

I've never heard of anyone with a lathe/mill combo who was happy with it, other than people with serious space constraints and infinite patience do very small work. Get separate tools. Like most combo tool owners, the probable reason this guy is selling it so soon is because it seemed like a great idea but just didn't pan out when he tried to use it.

It's kind of like those combination lathe/tablesaw/horizontal drill press woodworking machines. I stored a buddy's in my shop one winter and it was a complete pain in the ass to use. Clever in a Rube Goldberg kind of way, but extremely frustrating to actually try to build furniture with.

[Cogswell]

Originally Posted by PunkinHead

I've never heard of anyone with a lathe/mill combo who was happy with it, other than people with serious space constraints and infinite patience do very small work. Get separate tools. Like most combo tool owners, the probable reason this guy is selling it so soon is because it seemed like a great idea but just didn't pan out when he tried to use it.

It's kind of like those combination lathe/tablesaw/horizontal drill press woodworking machines. I stored a buddy's in my shop one winter and it was a complete pain in the ass to use. Clever in a Rube Goldberg kind of way, but extremely frustrating to actually try to build furniture with.

I do have limited space in the garage so that is one reason I was looking at small 3 in 1 machines. I don't have much experience with these things but thought it would be handy to make small parts while working on the bikes.

Mike

[PunkinHead]

Originally Posted by Cogswell

I do have limited space in the garage so that is one reason I was looking at small 3 in 1 machines. I don't have much experience with these things but thought it would be handy to make small parts while working on the bikes.

Small machines have their place. I have one of those little 7x12 mini lathes I keep under a bench in the basement. I use it pretty often for making little odds and ends. The key word is 'little'. Stick with small work pieces, light cuts, and soft metals and it works fine and will hold sub 0.001" tolerances. It's handy as hell for making little bushings, etc. Anything larger and I take it to my buddy with a real lathe.

I'd avoid the 3-in-1 unless it's a screaming deal with a lot of tooling thrown in. The mill part of these just isn't very useful. You'd be better off with just a lathe and use a file & hacksaw for your 'milling'.

[LuciferMutt]

Originally Posted by PunkinHead

You'd be better off with just a lathe and use a file & hacksaw for your 'milling'.

Or just get a decent collet set for the lathe, some endmills, angle plates, clamps and fixturing to mount to your crossslide and do the milling ON your lathe. Obviously more limited than a conventional mill but you'd be surprised what you can get done this way.

[JESSEJAMES]

Hell Yes! I'm in!




New Iron......











Pretty cool story on this Hammer you guys might dig.....My friends that dug it out are amazing!......

http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/1485...ashinton-6000/