Metal Lathe How to?

[johno]

I just bought a small, old lathe.
I have no idea how to use it or any info with it.

Can anyone recommend some reading material that would help keep from doing something stupid?

How to operate it, and how to do basic machineing, would i think cover what I need to get started at least.

Thanks

 

[383 240z]

For a decent basic bunch of info watch this guys videos. http://www.youtube.com/user/mrpete222?feature=results_main

He is decent, he was an old shop teacher. He talks in basic terms and is pretty good at getting his point across. He does however make a few mistakes, and gives a bit of bad info. But it is a decent starting point.

Tjat being said, sell your lathe!! It will make you drag home a mill, once you have those things you will spend a fourtune on tooling and layout tools, it however is a great feeling to make metal your *****!!! Keith

 

[OccupantRJ]

Here you go.

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

 

[stonewellmark]

mrpetes' videos are great! Very simple, slow enough, and clear. Start at the oldest and go from there. Hope your ready to learn and spend some money..HaHaHa

 

[larry_g]

Small is a relative term when it comes to lathes. Could be for turning watch parts to locomotive parts. Give us a bit more info on the machine you have. pictures would be nice. You tube is a great source as well as some of the machining forums. http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/forum.php is nice to beginners.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[IndyGarage]

I don't know if you can find a copy, but there is a great old book by South Bend called "how to run a lathe"

The version I have is from 1963, so it's pretty outdated, but it does give you the basics. I think you can locate a used one on Amazon, and probably there are online PDF's available

The thing you don't know when you first start is how to properly hold a part, which direction to place the pressure from the tool and what speeds and feeds to run to get a good finish.

 

[lilredex]

Do all of the above and then get a copy of SB's book. It will answer ALL your questions.

 

[930dreamer]

X2 on what lathe you bought?

 

[johno]

Here's a link to the lathe i bought with a couple of pics.

Thanks for all the advice , I'll check it all out.

http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-tools-other-Metal-lathe-W0QQAdIdZ394482001

 

[itsnoyfb]

Safety First:

A few tips.

Safety glasses or face shield.
No loose hair anywhere near rotating parts.
Never leave chuck key in the chuck, if you take your hand away from the chuck for any reason take out the chuck key.
Swarf is quite often razor sharp, avoid handling it.

Cheers
Jamie

 

[lilredex]

Hope you did not invest $600 in that!!

It has virtually no accessories with it, and that is where the fun begins........who has ever heard of a Sebastian?

You should have asked here first.........there are better (for the $$) out there.

Sorry, just my opinion.

 

[OccupantRJ]

You will be fine starting out with that. It has a 3 jaw chuck, which will get you started turning parts. If you like machining, later you may decide to upgrade anyway, and if you do, you will be able to sell that one. Think about it, YOU bought it, right? Someone else will later also if you decide to sell it. I could sell that lathe in 10 minutes, with a few phone calls, as most all people starting out want "a small metal lathe to tinker on". Small lathes around here at an auction are like a buyer feeding frenzy. That's $600 worth of learning and entertainment, even if you never complete a part on it.

 

[johno]

Well I didn't pay 600 for it, and if i learn some basics, Ill be happy, and can sell it all day long for what I paid. So I'm happy with it.
There is also a drawer full of accessories.

Thanks for the saftey tips as well.
I ordered a couple of books from Amazon, including the south bend book above.

Google Sebastian lathe if you want learn the history lilred.

 

[lilredex]

That KIJIJI ad only showed part of the story, so you probably did OK.

Have fun with it and you will enjoy that SB book, it'll be your friend.

 

[NASTYZEN]

Safety First:

A few tips.

Safety glasses or face shield.
No loose hair anywhere near rotating parts.
Never leave chuck key in the chuck, if you take your hand away from the chuck for any reason take out the chuck key.
Swarf is quite often razor sharp, avoid handling it.

Cheers
Jamie

Keep your toung in and your mouth closed. Seriously.
Maybe do a little sheet metal work to keep swarf and other things out of the gear head.
Have fun!

 

[MTBob]

Johno: After looking at the photos, I'd like to restate a couple of safety items.
- That open gearing & belt drive is a relatively dangerous setup. Be really careful about having any loose clothing, particularly on your left arm. If, by chance you have long hair, be really careful about getting it near those gears or belt drive.
- I see the lathe has a reversing switch - If the chuck is a thread-on type chuck, and you try cutting while in reverse, you can run the chuck off the threads. You can likely cut in reverse direction, but only take very very small cuts.
- You may be inclined to use sand paper to remove the surface rust on the components. Grit from using sand paper on a lathe can ruin the "ways" (the long runners that are under the carriage). You might try wire brushing the rust, but be sure to cover the ways and other components to minimize the amount of rust and grit that can get into other areas.
- You can probably find lathe operators books on eBay, Or, in addition to reference given previously by others, you can rent lathe operation video from Smartflix.com

 

[Kevin54]

Keep your toung in and your mouth closed. Seriously.
Maybe do a little sheet metal work to keep swarf and other things out of the gear head.
Have fun!

I just spit all over the keyboard. I know a few people that once they get busy, there tongue is out like an old houndog that hot. One guy I was teaching on the lathe had his tongue out and caught a hot chip with it. Score., two points

My biggest pet peeve of anyone running a lathe, and I'll jump their *** whether it's a supervisor or not, is leaving the chuck wrench in chuck. Out LeBlond lathe had a few digs in the table because of incompetence. Our Leblond had the screw on chuck. One of the more so called experienced toolmakers left the large chuck wrench that is used on the spindle nut hanging on the chuck while he went to ******** with someone else. It was left hanging on the backside because the back shield was dropped down. All I can say is that he was lucky he used the R.H. switch to turn the lathe on instead of the L.H. switch.

 

[johno]

I just spit all over the keyboard. I know a few people that once they get busy, there tongue is out like an old houndog that hot. One guy I was teaching on the lathe had his tongue out and caught a hot chip with it. Score., two points

Thats pretty funny:

I don't work with my tongue hanging out, so i should be ok.

I do however drool in my sleep , will that be a problem,any advice?

 

[darkzero]

This is a popular very informative set of videos:

http://techtv.mit.edu/collections/ehs-videos/videos

 

[dladcock]

SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY!!! This can not be overstated. A good day in the shop or at work means going in the house just like you left.

We use this link as a training tool at work. When new guys come in the shop it's sometimes difficult to convey just how important it is to pay attention to what you are doing and the consequences. It is also important to be reminded from time to time that even experience can't replace your LIFE or a limb.

THIS LINK IS EXTREMELY GRAPHIC, HAVING SAID THIS UP FRONT, PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL OF THE SERIOUS NATURE OF THE MESSAGE. IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO GORE DO NOT VIEW.

Be careful. Have fun, but be careful and safe.

http://www.silencertalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=41444

 

[fomocoforrester]

........who has ever heard of a Sebastian?

Lots of good info here....

http://www.lathes.co.uk/sebastian/index.html

 

[Ric in Richmond]

Well I didn't pay 600 for it, and if i learn some basics, Ill be happy, and can sell it all day long for what I paid. So I'm happy with it.
There is also a drawer full of accessories.

Thanks for the saftey tips as well.
I ordered a couple of books from Amazon, including the south bend book above.

Google Sebastian lathe if you want learn the history lilred.

Search Google books. Most of those books are so old they are public domain and on line.

 

[Kevin54]

SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY!!! This can not be overstated. A good day in the shop or at work means going in the house just like you left.

We use this link as a training tool at work. When new guys come in the shop it's sometimes difficult to convey just how important it is to pay attention to what you are doing and the consequences. It is also important to be reminded from time to time that even experience can't replace your LIFE or a limb.

THIS LINK IS EXTREMELY GRAPHIC, HAVING SAID THIS UP FRONT, PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL OF THE SERIOUS NATURE OF THE MESSAGE. IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO GORE DO NOT VIEW.

Be careful. Have fun, but be careful and safe.

http://www.silencertalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=41444

I've seen that before, and yes it should be shown to anyone unfamiliar with machines. We had a guy where I used to work that was running a screw machine. Somehow, one of his strings off of his shop apron got caught. A coworker next to him saw what happened and got the machine shut down but by that time, the apron had grabbed the guys shirt and tightened up around his neck. It was a freak accident and luckily the guy wasn't killed by it, but it had deprived him of oxygen long enough that he was never right after that and had to go on disability.

My brother-in-law used to run lathes at the same factory. One part they had to run, you had to be very careful because if not put in the lathe fixture just right, the part could come loose. He ran thousands of those parts over the years. One day though the piece kicked out of the fixture and hit him in the head. They had to put a plate in. He had to learn to talk all over again, learn to walk again. His right arm is paralyzed, he right leg is getting worse all the time because of nerve damage. Now he walks with a cane and is starting to develop a speech problem. And this happened probably 40 years ago.

The guys that I trained to become either machinist or toolmakers, I told them right up front, "If you are afraid of the machine, let me know and I will double check everything" which I did anyways, I also told them, "If you are afraid of it, you will get hurt. You have to RESPECT the machine and know what it is capable of doing" The guys that never paid attention and took the machines fro granted were ALWAYS the ones that fucked up first. After two or three mistakes, they did learn to respect the machine. the one toolmaker I was talking about that left the t-handle in the chuck, he also forgot to tighten the chuck one day because he was to preoccupied with ******* off and talking with coworkers. A three jaw chuck dropping off of a lathe @ 1800 rpms, hitting the floor, spinning for a moment in place before taking off and slamming into another wall is something to see. I just shook my head.

 

[grego]

Holy cow! I saw the mention of a safety or deadman switch and also looked at the math and how long it would take to pull him in like that and I have to almost think that he did hit the switch but since it happens so fast and the time it takes to stop the machine, it still pull him in that far. If he didn't hit a switch, maybe it might have continued to pull him in until there was nothing left but the clothes and his arm going around with the work piece.
We always need a reminder to be safe, too bad it has to be this terrible to make us sit up and take notice.
I can only hope that his death will help to save people in the future.