24 replies to this topic

[Isaac S.]

I've been wanting to do some bigger project on the lathe so I decided to get rid of the little Unimat that has served me so well and get an Atlas lathe that come up.

 

Thing was really dirty but came with a really nice table/cabinet so that was a plus. After a deep clean I got everything re-lubricated and it now runs real good.

 

Came with this giant Jacobs drill chuck that threads on the spindle, definitely the biggest drill chuck I have ever seen. Since I got it real cheap I decided to ditch the lantern style toolpost and get a quick-change Aloris. Works much better and is a lot easier. Also got a live-center. 

 

Here's some pictures of the lathe and the metalworking shop. 

 

 

And the Mill, since I haven't showed that yet. 

[Pablo]

   

[Bill from NH]

Looks good Isaac! I could easily get lost in there for 2 or 3 hours. 

[Dave Crevie]

I love old machines. A true relic. 

[dc-65x]

That's great Isaac! You can do more kinds of things and do them easier.  

[triggerman]

Nice lathe! Did it come with a set of change gears? On your mill? Is the drawbar so high you need the ladder to reach it? ROFL

[Isaac S.]

Thanks guys. It will definitely do better than the little Unimat.

Dale, yes it came with all the feed and threading gears. No, that’s what the folding chair is for. I’ll stand on that to change the belts around and all that.

[Isaac S.]

For the first project, I needed to recreate a hardened steel bushing. Found some 1.25" carbon steel rod in my pile and copied it. When it came to parting it off, I found that I didn't have a parting tool and didn't want to buy a whole tool and tool post so I ground one from a tool blank I found in one of the drawers. Worked out really well, and cut it right off. Afterwards I got it red hot and quenched it in some mineral oil. After a file test proved positive, I sanded off the scale on the important surfaces and was done. 

 

Original up front:

The cut-off tool:

 

 

[dc-65x]

[triggerman]

Nice job on the parting tool. It must have taken quite a while to grind all that down! The tool blank looks rough enough that it could be cast cobalt alloy. Are there any manufacturers markings on it?

[triggerman]

Heres a link to the cast alloy tool blanks I was talking about in the post above
http://conradhoffman.com/stellite.htm

[triggerman]

If youre looking for tool holders for your quick change tool post check this link.
http://www.cdcotools.com/

[Isaac S.]

Thanks, it did take a while, probably around 30 minutes. You have to cool it down almost every 30 seconds so it really drags on. I think the roughness is just rust pitting. It is marked Rex AA. This is just HSS but it does have a fairly high cobalt content, around 5.5%. 

 

Thanks for the link Dale. 

[Phil Smith]

That's a fantastic job on the parting tool! Did you do that by hand? It looks machine ground.

[Isaac S.]

Thanks Phil. Just a little Harbor Freight Bench grinder. I need to get a nicer tool grinder, something like a Baldor, but it does well. 

[Phil Hackett]

Thanks Phil. Just a little Harbor Freight Bench grinder. I need to get a nicer tool grinder, something like a Baldor, but it does well. 

 

If you can swing it, look for a (cheap) small surface grinder (with the magnetic plate!!!) and get a pivoting drill press vise. It makes tool grinding *much* easier and more precise. 

 

Used Baldor "carbide" grinders are great tools too but they can cost the same as a used Boyer Schultz surface grinder. Many Boyer grinders have been converted to 110v 1ph too.  It's just something to think about and look for.

[Jay Guard]

Heck just go for the Holy Grail of surface grinders, get a Sanford SG-48.  Awesome little table top grinder, perfect for slot car work and takes up very little space.

[Isaac S.]

Thanks guys, Ill be thinking about that for sure.

[Phil Hackett]

Heck just go for the Holy Grail of surface grinders, get a Sanford SG-48.  Awesome little table top grinder, perfect for slot car work and takes up very little space.

 

 

I personally have a problem with these small machines, not that they're bad machines, but they are limited to what is available for tooling and attachments. In the 40 years I have owned machinery I have learned these small machines *always* cost more to get tooling for and never seem to do what I want to do, which is often not a "hobbyist" project.

 

Since I have bought a series of small machines and ended up selling them later, I now believe in buying bigger than needed. I haven't been disappointed in that decision unlike before believing small was a good fit for what I do. There's resale to consider too. A larger machine is has a much larger market to sell to. There's not too many craftsmen hobbyists at any time to sell to.

[Jay Guard]

Phil I actually agree with everything you are saying about getting a larger machine than needed. Certainly a larger machine can do everything, and more, than a small machine such as the Sanford SG-48.  However in the specific case of a SG-48 it seems to be the preferred machine by hobbyist and many knife makers.  And since there are so few of them to be had (they haven't been made for many years) whenever one hits the market it is instantly snapped up, hence my calling it a "Holy Grail".  The chance of Isaac even being able to find one is practically nil anyway.

[brnursebmt]

I didn't know there was such a thing as a bench top surface grinder.  So now I'm on the hunt for a SG-48!  Or any other bench top model.

[Phil Hackett]

I didn't know there was such a thing as a bench top surface grinder.  So now I'm on the hunt for a SG-48!  Or any other bench top model.

 

Google "benchtop surface grinder" and you will find plenty of them. Enco used to make (market) one.

[Jencar17]

HOW TO REPAIR A LATHE MACHINE BACK GEAR | FIRE METAL - YouTube

 

[Dave Crevie]

That would be the epitome of what we used to call a "hillbilly fix". I certainly wouldn't use a lathe to broach the gear tooth profiles, a spacer in a mill would work better.

 

When I rebuilt a 1920's era Hendy lathe, I was able to get all the gears I needed from Boston Gear. Some needed modification, but it was far easier than trying to renew all the gears. The hardest part was scraping in the ways, since it had a 60 inch bed. I also converted it from flat belt to v-belt drive. 

 

That is a good video, though, from an entertainment perspective. Brightened my morning. 

[Phil Smith]

That video is from India. They do amazing work in dilapidated buildings, if in a building at all, with dilapidated tools and machinery. Look on YouTube for "India machining" and "India casting". I've watched many videos on those subjects. Amazing and depressing at the same time.They are so poor with so little to work with. We in the Western world should count our blessings.