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Building a New Lathe
Joules:
Or just look at it as the tool for the job. Not all of us are blessed with the skill nor the patience to make our own machine. Mini lathe is a good start. You can have something that works, then slowly replace it like the old broom in the corner.
mattinker:
An interesting alternative is the Emco compact 8, the grand father of the 9 x 20 series at 8 x 18 it has many advantages like a more rigid cross slide. These lathes can only be found second hand now, but are well worth looking for. I got really lucky, I was given one that was virtually brand new, missing the motor. It is a nice tight basic little machine, thread cutting and feeds with change gears is a bit of a draw back, but it is still very capable!
Regards, Matthew.
Jonfb64:
Hi Steve,
This may be just the ticket for you http://www.lathes.co.uk/stepperhead/
There are also Woking videos on YouTube.
I have often considered it myself. Perhaps one day when my abilities catch up with my dreams.
Jon
Brass_Machine:
If the 9x19 is pushing it, have you considered the 8x16? Grizzly has a version as does little machine shop. the LMS Lathe is more money but has added features ie bigger motor, power cross feed.
OFC, I think you are itching to build on deep down. :beer:
vtsteam:
Matt, thanks, that would be one more to consider, though that would get into used machines, and with it being very unlikely to turn up in this area, would be hard to check out. I guess with a new machine bought unseen, at least wear and hidden damage are eliminated, and with a responsible dealer like Grizzly or LMS, a damaged or defective part would be replaced.
Jonindigoman, Holy Cow that is REALLY close to what I was thinking about. I have been interested in David Urwick's round column traingular gib machine ever since I saw it in old issues of ME. And I was wondering if I could add some of those features to a lathe if I built one. I was just thinking about that this morning as a matter of fact.
I also was thinking of a rectangular double beam ways -- similar to the Craftsman I have.
That's a beautifully finished machine. I do wonder if the stiffness is what I hope it will be. The proportions of the elevating head makes me wonder about how chatter resistant the lathe is. Also the cantilevered overarm supporting the tailstock is round section -- Urwick's was a sort of T bar cross section. I don't know what the comparative modulus of those sections is or the section size, but I have a feeling Urwick's design might have been stiffer.
I often look at proportions of things by eye, again, and kinda feel in my imagination what it's like with the forces involved. I'm thinking that doesn't have the stiffness I'm looking for. Maybe I'm wrong. Well, anyway, the overhead supported tailstock is one of those things that didn't appeal to me in the original design. Maybe I'm just stuck in a too traditional view.
But anyway, That's a beauty, and really close to what I was imagining. Great to see it like that, and how nicely it can be done! Thank you for letting me see that.
Yes Eric, I kinda do want to build a lathe. I do keep thinking it sure would be nice just to place an order and have a crate show up here with a lathe in it that I could just plug in and go.
But then I spend another hour daydreaming about what I'd do if I were to build one. How I'd do everrything on it.
I checked and a finished mini-lathe spindle from Little Machine Shop is around $40+. Hard to imagine not going that route if I built a lathe.
I wonder if the 8x16 and 9x20 use different spindles, or do they use the same, since the other specs look similar...?
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