# Some sort of lathe wanted? I think



## Wuffles (1 Jul 2016)

Alright metalwork people. Looking for (and I have no idea of the names of these things so apologies in advance) a lathe for milling mild steel and/or brass. Ideally second hand so figured I'd keep my eyes peeled in the usual places, but what is I am searching for?

Resizing mild steel round, knurling, the kind of things that keeps appearing in the lovely pictures in this sub-forum really.


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## Wuffles (1 Jul 2016)

Just had a mooch about on Axminster and it seems some sort of "mini lathe" might be in order?


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## Bm101 (1 Jul 2016)

LMAO


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## Wuffles (1 Jul 2016)

Bm101":1d3mu4ug said:


> LMAO


This dis-heartens me, greatly.


























Drunk yet?


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## Bm101 (1 Jul 2016)

Screw cutting lathe?

No. Just liked the cry for help mate. X


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## sunnybob (1 Jul 2016)

A milling machine mills. 
A lathe turns.
Easy peasy.

look for "swing over bed" as being the widest piece you can turn, and "distance between centres" as the longest piece you can turn.


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## graduate_owner (1 Jul 2016)

In addition to swing and distance between centres, consider things such as 
1. How much space do you have available? A mini lathe may be portable but something like a Myford will be too heavy to put away in a cupboard when not in use.
2. Cost vs quality - British or American made lathes such as Myford or South Bend were well made and therefore not cheap. Far East imports may be affordable even when new but do the research first. So consider accuracy requirements as well as cost.
3. Accessories - turning tools, chucks, faceplate, measuring kit such as micrometers etc.

So your first expense should be a decent book on metal turning, plus some time spent on youtube etc. Then you will have some idea of what to get.

K


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## Wuffles (1 Jul 2016)

I'll try the YouTube route and see what I can glean. This might be a step too far in the "finesse" department for what I need/want to do going forward 

Cheers.

Oh, and I already have a wood lathe, but it rarely gets used so was considering selling that to finance it and retake some real estate back now I'm playing with metal a little more.


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## porker (1 Jul 2016)

graduate_owner":19z7w23r said:


> In addition to swing and distance between centres, consider things such as
> 1. How much space do you have available? A mini lathe may be portable but something like a Myford will be too heavy to put away in a cupboard when not in use.
> 2. Cost vs quality - British or American made lathes such as Myford or South Bend were well made and therefore not cheap. Far East imports may be affordable even when new but do the research first. So consider accuracy requirements as well as cost.
> 3. Accessories - turning tools, chucks, faceplate, measuring kit such as micrometers etc.
> ...



+1 to the above - Have a read up first. Harold Hall has some good cheap books on the subject http://www.homews.co.uk/. Another good book is The Amateur's Lathe by Sparey

woodpig may also help. He's made some lovely looking tools.

I have a Myford S7 and a Bridgeport J head mill. Myford is nice to use but I would also like a larger machine. My Bridgeport weighs around 1 ton and was tricky to move.Don't underestimate the costs for tooling either. 

On youtube I like John 'doubleboost' Mills as he has some nice projects he's made originally on a Boxford and now a bigger Harrison lathe


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## woodpig (2 Jul 2016)

It's hard to recommend a particular piece of equipment without knowing exactly want you want to make on it. I have an 8 x 14" Lathe and have found its a good size for what I do. 9 x 20" is a popular size if you have the space and the money but it's quite an investment if you're not sure what you want to do with it.


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## Wuffles (2 Jul 2016)

woodpig":131vxjhq said:


> It's hard to recommend a particular piece of equipment without knowing exactly want you want to make on it. I have an 8 x 14" Lathe and have found its a good size for what I do. 9 x 20" is a popular size if you have the space and the money but it's quite an investment if you're not sure what you want to do with it.


Yes, I have a vague idea of what I'd need now, so will keep my eyes peeled, or at least ride it out until the desire subsides.

Cheers.


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## bugbear (2 Jul 2016)

sunnybob":21f3z7xg said:


> A milling machine mills.
> A lathe turns.



An amateur's lathe does everything!

There's a classic book, "Milling in the Lathe Paperback" by Edgar T. Westbury.

Is a lathe the best way to mill? No, of course not, that's why the milling machine was invented.

But; if all you have is a lathe, can you mill? Yes.

BugBear


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## woodpig (2 Jul 2016)

If there's no other way of doing it milling small jobs on a lathe can be done but it's not much fun.

My milling machine is much bigger and more expensive than my lathe and makes milling a pleasure.


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## graduate_owner (2 Jul 2016)

I've never tried milling on a lathe because I was lucky enogh to get a 1/2 ton milling machine at an affordable price. I then bought an old Myford / Drummond M series but almost before if was set up I was offered a nice Colchester Master Mk 2 so the old Myford is now gathering dust. I have been thinking of trying some simple ornamental turning on it since the spindle thread is the same as my ML8 and so I can use the same accessories. On the other hand, instead of creating some ornamental turned work I might just sell both Myfords and create some space. I posted a while ago - 5 lathes? That is just too many, but I'm not sure I want to part with them - yet.

K


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