Any machinists here? Ive got some questions about a lathe.

>>1162610
you buying a lathe?

3 jaw - good
4 jaw - good
quick change gearbox - good
tailstock - good
stand - good

watch mrpete222's 'buying a lathe' series
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MqYOgtQGdA

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>>1162613
This local is selling this.

Basically I dont know shit about machining at all other than what a lathe, end mill, and drill press are.

I have no idea what to look for or what to avoid.

Thanks for the link, will watch.

>>1162610

Not a professional machinist, but I know some things.

Like the other guy, going to hazard a guess that you're interested in that lathe.


My only concern would be how worn the bed is. If it's fucked, the same fuckery will show in your work. You can recondition them, but it's very labor-intensive.

Quick-change gearboxes are attractive features. Manually swapping out gears to thread is absolute garbage. That's half the reason I'm working on converting my mini lathe to CNC.

What's the asking price on it?

>>1162615
That is a seller's plate. That is to say, the store that sold it put it on the lathe. Hence the "merchants" bit. Kind of like how a car dealership sometimes does that with cars. They are not the manufacturer. Did the seller post more info or is that all you've got?

>>1162620
He said 800usd OBO.

How exactly would I go about checking the bed?

How do I know if the gears are easily swapped.

I kind of want to get into experimenting with firearms.

>>1162622
Thats it, no motor plate, no manufacturer plate.

>>1162623
>How exactly would I go about checking the bed?

Stick a dial indicator on the carriage and run it along a straightedge. And I mean a machinist's straightedge, not what you find at Home Depot.

Ideally, you'd also check the spindle and chuck with a cylinder square, but that's more specialized equipment and those are much easier fixes than the bed, anyway.

>How do I know if the gears are easily swapped.

I meant it has one on there, not that you should check. See that odd series of holes on the left, below the pulleys? They're used for selecting gears, along with a couple other levers nearby.


$800 sounds fair (again, assuming it proves to be in serviceable condition upon closer inspection). It's not a spectacular deal, but it's on the mid-to-lower end of the $700-1000 I would have guessed.

>>1162635
Sounds like the guy doesnt know what he has, wonder if itd be worth offering up around 500 and see if he bites.

What can you tell me about this lather just from the one pic, or general lathe info I guess?

I know its old as fuck but thats about it.

So I suppose using the machinists straight edge is pretty easy huh?

>>1162610
anyone guess the mfr of this thing? i don't think i've seen an old one where the quick change gearbox is part of the headstock

>>1162637
>Sounds like the guy doesnt know what he has, wonder if itd be worth offering up around 500 and see if he bites.

$800 is pretty solidly in the range I'd guessed, so he well might. No easy way to tell, really.

Not much I could say about the lathe itself. Needs work, obviously. Belt's missing. Wonder if the 3-jaw chuck comes with a set of outside jaws. Wonder if there's any damage to the gears, from either normal wear or a crash. Headstock bearings might (probably) need replacing. Does it run? Might have power crossfeed, hard to tell.

One thing to ask is if there's any included tooling. I wouldn't expect anything other than maybe some home-ground HSS bits/blanks, but if it comes with extras, that can end up being a pretty big bonus. Machining accessories in general aren't cheap.

>using the machinists straight edge is pretty easy huh?

Set up the straightedge parallel to the carriage's line of travel. Do this by ensuring the indicator sits at 0 on both ends. Run the carriage along its length; out-of-parallel error will be shown by the indicator. ~0.001" is worn, but usable for relatively imprecise work. >0.005 or so is really worn, and it won't be usable for precision work without reconditioning. If it's only a few ten thousandths ("tenths"; 0.0001") out or less, it's in good shape.

Remember to check both horizontally and vertically. Check for looseness/play while you're at it; try and wiggle the carriage/cross slide perpendicular to its direction of travel, with the dial indicator sitting on the bed and touching the relevant part. The indicator shouldn't move much, if at all. Usually you can mostly eliminate this slop by adjusting the gibs. If you can't, either the ways or the gibs are heavily worn. Some play parallel to the direction of travel is expected, though not in excess.

Look up terms like "inspecting lathe" and "repairing machine tools". Even if this lathe doesn't pan out, it's information you should know if you're interested in machining.

>>1162652
>Look up terms like "inspecting lathe" and "repairing machine tools". Even if this lathe doesn't pan out, it's information you should know if you're interested in machining.

In that vein any recomendations on literature for getting started, I checked out that guys channel btw content for days.

From the little bit ive read spending 700 to 1000 bucks is about normal for a hobbyist lathe.

End mills are pretty important too right?

If I were only to purchase one would it be a lathe or an end mill.

>>1162652
Oh and the dial that will be providing me with a value, is it part of the lathe or a separate peice of equipment?

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>>1162658
>In that vein any recomendations on literature for getting started

Obligatory "Machinist's Handbook" mention. Other than that, no. I learned on my own and with help from the internet.

On the YouTube vein, though, mrpete (as you've seen), This Old Tony, and Stefan Gotteswinter are good to watch before bed. Machining (and metal fabrication in general) is one of those things you just kind of occasionally and perpetually accumulate little tricks of the trade for. Hard to pin them all down at once.

>End mills are pretty important too right?

Not sure what you think an end mill is, but, for a lathe, they're a non-issue.

End mills are the most common "bits"/cutters you use in a mill. You can use them in a lathe for some odd, niche work, but that's more of a pinch fix thing rather than typical practice.

If you mean lathe tools then, well...those are just "lathe tools". Not too important when starting out, just get some HSS (high-speed steel) blanks, look up how to grind lathe tools, and get to work.

>Oh and the dial that will be providing me with a value, is it part of the lathe or a separate peice of equipment?

Pic related. You cannot do good work without a dial indicator (or several). They can be had cheap, luckily. Most are graduated in either 0.001" or 0.01mm increments.

0.0001" and 0.001mm indicators are more expensive and have less travel, but are necessary for high-precision work. Not much point in buying one unless you need it (I personally don't [yet]).

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Professional machinist here. OP, based on your questions and responses I would highly recommend you go to your local college and take a few classes first because you're going to buy this thing and either ruin it, ruin your interest because you don't know how to use it, or seriously hurt yourself.

These things aren't toys, they were built to cut metal and they don't give two shits if a bit of bone, flesh or fabric gets in the way. I'm not trying to discourage you from learning this, this is just a fair warning to learn how to use one safely before you go out and buy one.

>>1162669
The "end mill" im refering to looks vaugley like a drill press, im not sure what it is.

What kind of store will have the machinist straight edges and dials?

>>1162671
Im not worried about hurting myself, im more than cautious considering im an industrial electrician im used to being 1 fuckup from becoming BBQ.

Im not going to jump in head first, i mean i dont even know what the "end mill" tool is I mentioned above.
Im just trying to get familiar at this point.


Ill check my local community college and see if they have a beginners class, however my work schedule may not allow me to take a course.

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>>1162675
This is an endmill. You'll need a straight edge from a company like Mitituyo, Starrett or Brown and Sharp. Most colleges offer machining courses at nights and on weekends.

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>>1162677
Noice, thanks m8.

This is the tool i was refering too.

Once im not a newbie what should I look for in a used lathe, or in a new starter machine?

>>1162680
That's what's called a knee or vertical mill. Don't buy new, you just get cheap shit unless you pay tens of thousands.

>>1162682
The old shop at the mine I work at has a lathe that came off a navy ship.
I guess they had machinists on every ship to make replacement parts while at sea.

Was the first time I ever saw a lathe up close, and ive always wanted to make stuff from metal.

What kind of shop do you work in?

>>1162683
>I guess they had machinists on every ship to make replacement parts while at sea.
It's not every ship, but yes most larger ones have a machine shop for that kind of thing. They're called Machine Repairmen in the US Navy.

>What kind of shop do you work in?
I work at a CNC job shop but I've been trained to do manual work as well.

>>1162610
I'm a machinsit, i'm making my own shop now after like 8yrs working for others

Nice lathe, a little bit short, but is a screwcutting i think wich is good
Looks a little bit old, may need some maintenance.

>>1162692
Does your shop just contract work out everywhere or is it more of a specialty shop?

>>1162695
Neat, one thing was was thinking about is how heavy these things are too.

I dont think this thing can be moved by hand very easily.

Machinist reporting in. The lathe doesn't look bad, and everyone here is giving you some good advice/info. Besides what's been mentioned my concerns would be the the motor. Those old electric belt drive do wear out over time. But even if it is shot a replacement isn't that expensive.

Also as an amateur that tool holder is going to be a pain for you. I would look into a quick change tool holder just to make life a little easier. Also the tool option are going to be better for you.
GOOD LUCK!

>>1162927
>Also as an amateur that tool holder is going to be a pain for you.

are those aluminum quick change tool posts/holders any good?

Yes. It's a worthwhile upgrade. It really cuts down on tool changes and time between processes.

>>1162928

IMO, even a cheap quick-change post is better than that ancient style of holder. If not in the rigidity department (which it should be), then definitely in terms of ease-of-use. Adding a quick-change post was the very first thing I did to my lathe. No regrets.

>>1162697
for OPs pic, well over a quarter ton. probably closer to a half ton if it still has the matching motor.

and it's top-heavy, end-heavy, off-centerline weight. there's no lifting eyes and no castors, so it's a cunt of a thing to move.

rent a drop bed trailer and some johnson bars.
and tarp it up after you strap it down to catch any parts that fall off while you're going down the road.

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Do I need a lathe to make a table like pic related?

>>1162697
>Does your shop just contract work out everywhere or is it more of a specialty shop?
What? We're the ones who get contracted. We make bullshit widgets for like 80 different companies.

>>1162981
yes.

>>1162981
yeah, but not a 700$ engine lathe like OP is getting.

I donno you guys, that lathe doesn't really seem like a great deal to me. Looks old as fuck, does it even run?

It probably hasn't seen oil in years, surface rust on the ways can be stoned off but the headstock bearings are probably fucked as well. Hell, does something that old even use AC bearings or is it just a bushing?

There is no way that lathe is a better tool than a midrange import lathe, and these days those things are dirt cheap.

>>1163137
What would you recommend then?

>>1163333
A wood lathe. This isn't hard, anon.

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I have this shopsmith... It was my grandfathers. I never use it. Gimme ideas.

>>1163642
This ain't Pinterest kid.

>>1162927
>>1162695
>>1162671
Machinists! I'm fairly knowledgeable about cad and cam software. I have a budget of around 15-25k for a turnkey milling machine, and tooling and I was looking at the tormach 1100. Is there any reason I should consider something else?

>>1162669
>Obligatory "Machinist's Handbook" mention

"Machinist's" or "Machinery's"? Google gives me multiple hits on the latter, but not the former.

>>1163664
The latter

>>1163646
Oh it's not? Thanks for pointing that out faggot.

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>>1162697
They are really heavy, but you can move them.
When i bought mine i have to move it thru a corridor (yes, worst place to install a shop, i know)
The lathe weights about 800kg (1700lbs) and we move it using a Pallet jack and a few steel tubes (like the egipsians)
I took us 2hr to make the first 4 meters, then we start accelerating and finish before night.
You have to use more your brain that your muscles to move such heavy things, and take it easy. But totally you can move really heavy lathes.

The worsy part to me was that i have to go thru grass with the lathe to put it into the shop and then rise it 10cm (4") so it can rest in a creinforced concrete plataform (so it wont vibrate and also is more confortable to me because i'm 6'1")

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i've only got pliers and cutters.
how do i make a thimble out of a sardine tin?

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>>1164542
easily doable with listed components but not sure if srs

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>>1164591
oh i'm serious. i wanna repair some clothes, but my fat fingers won't fit a normal thimble.
should i draw a pattern first?
i'm concerned it might have sharp edges and damage me or the fabric.
i have a big shifter spanner as a hammer and a couple off-cut pieces of 2 by 4 if that helps.

How much torque should a decent motor provide to be usable as a lathe motor? My workpieces include up to 2" diameter steel/aluminum parts and wood ofc.

>>1164770
Use a stone to sand down the edges on the outside. On the inside don't worry about them and use a piece of cloth to protect your thumb.

>>1164782
5hp

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>>1164789
cool idea anon
thanks for the help

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Here's how to move a lathe safely. They tip easily.
I've moved three lathes and two mills like this. (Self and bros work as a team to outfit our shops.)

First pic is a grinder, not a lathe, but shows the outrigger setup made of channel, heavy duty casters, and attached with quality allthread to raise and lower the load with wrenches. Note the channel UNDER the grinder! Lift lathe, mill or whatever using a mattock, pry bar etc then support with wood or metal shims. Insert channel under machine and attach using allthread through existing holes in machine base normally used for levelling. Then use allthread to lift machine. If you can manage to lift it enough to just use the outriggers that works too but I prefer a base under my machines for ease of movement and positioning.

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Bridgeport milling machine on same outriggers but with heavy angle iron base which stays with the mill and happens to fit my pallet jack. If u no have jack, rent. They are worth it.

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WARNING:
Lathes carry their weight high and are dangerous to try to balance on pallet jacks etc.

Here's another way to go. Orange channel is bolted to base, gray pipe slid underneath then soundly tack welded to channel. We couldn't use casters to move from a rotten borrowed trailer to a weak floor we had to cross to reach solid floor, so I came up with the pipe skid method. It's inspired by oil field skids.

Note the forklift jack. You can rent them. They are wonderful and also work for lifting and shimming ISO containers to level.

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A better view of the late itself. It weighs about 4500 lbs and cost us only 350 bucks because no one else wanted to move it. It runs fine and the gunsmith owner is pleased.

Every aspiring machinistAnon should collect all the heavy scrap metal such as channel, box and beam he can manage. Pipe is good for rollers. 4x4 and larger wooden blocks are wonderful. You want many.

Collect jacks too, and pry bars. Mattocks work well. This one isn't mine but the design is good tho his welds suck.

http://www.truetex.com/mattock.htm

>>1162680
>Once im not a newbie what should I look for in a used lathe, or in a new starter machine?

Look for use industrial mills and lathes. Three phase is no problem since you can convert from single phase using a RPC or VFD. Three phase cuts smoother and is easy to reverse hence it's use in industry.

You have a LOT of homework to do if you want to be happy and a lot of SYSTEMATIC Craigslist and auction searching.

Read heavily in the Practical Machinist forums and watch videos on how to inspect machine tools.

Be prepared to move it as shown in my pics so you can avoid paying a rigger. You can rent hydraulic drop deck trailers in some areas. Google "moving a Bridgeport" for many pics.

>>1162675
Honestly just watching a couple machining YouTube channels religiously for awhile will be more than enough to get 90% of the concepts figured out, of course that's coupled with the willingness to go and look up terms and things when said youtuber mentions them.

>>1162981
In addition to skill and knowledge, yes.

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>>1162610
ask him if it requires 3-phase power

and pic related + a magbase is your friend

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>>1162610
whew lad, that tailstock looks a little scrawny

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>>1166696
and no that isn't the tailstock quill sticking out all rusted, just an extension to a larger taper with a dead-center in the end of it

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note, the 3-jaw chuck is on and there's a random rod stuck in it, the runout is expected.

put the indicator on the nose of your spindle (no chuck) and check the runout there.

afterward, put a chuck on and check the runout on the chuck body, and apply force to one direction or another to see if the spindle moves an appreciable amount.

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>>1166707

>>1166693
where the fuck can I find one that isn't 300$?

>>1166714
https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/62498175

+ a magbase, don't buy a Chinese magbase either the handles will break off and it will be practically useless

>>1162610
I'd do $650.

It looks like a fucking woodlathe to me, the tailstock is tiny, I don't know what is going on with the saddle but there's a 3-jaw sitting on it, possibly minus backplate.

It's also not a Southbend/Pratt&Whitney/Pacemaker/Victor/Logan

>>1166733
4-jaw*

and it probably comes with little or no tooling right?

looks like a lantern toolpost too.

If it ain't heavy as fuck it isn't a good machine.

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>>1162610
I would keep my eye out for a bigger lathe, possibly 10 or 20 years newer.

t. guy with 1950s Pratt & Whitney

and pay someone to move it for you, you'll fuck it up.

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>>1162610
We would all also be quite remiss if we didn't warn OP of the many dangers of operating a metal lathe.

Go learn how to not hurt yourself or the machine.

Billions of dollars of equipment were produced with lantern toolpost lathes. They are not as convenient as modern toolposts but they do work. OP could buy it, clean it up, lube it and paint it then sell for a profit when he finds a newer machine, or relegate that to a secondary lathe. It's 100-percent better than nolathe.

>and pay someone to move it for you, you'll fuck it up.

Not if you do it my way as shown in pics, and that's much cheaper than paying a rigger to load and unload it plus you get to keep your outriggers or skids for your next lathe, mill, grinder or fat chick. >>1166284 is a several thousand pound Bradford Metalmaster but there's no real limit to what you can move on skids or wheels for cheap. If you do everything so you CAN'T tip your machine then you won't tip your machine. My method lets you easily position your new toy in your shop. It's stable enough for safe transport using a car or equipment trailer.

BTW use good cargo straps when tying down your machine for transport.

If you can rent one of these it makes life easier:

http://www.fallsway.com/uploads/jlg-drop-deck-trailers-triple-l-trailer-2.jpg

>>1166760
that tiny tailstock tho

>>1166762
It's little but unless you are turning something large-ish between centers that's not a huge deal for a hobby lathe.

We don't know OPs budget or what's locally available. If he/she/it is in the US Rust Belt I'd pass but lathes aren't going as cheap as they used to unless you find a big heavy bitch and can move it (like the Bradford in my pic).

Cleaned up lathes are easy to sell because hobbyists are desperate for lathes. Of course nobody posts location on 4chan because muh dox or something.

If he's got the space then he can go large easily if he's not intimidated by the move. I had to hunt for a year before I found my lathe and mill. If he gets pic related he can be making chips and learning then sell it off at a reasonable profit. The Recession is over even in the Southeast. I hit and monitor auctions all the time.