What's wrong with me?

[Glen Vassallo]

Hi all. Maybe someone out there can give me some advice. About 12 years ago I bought an old but beautiful Cincinnati lathe because I had wanted one for quite some time. I don't have much experience with machining, so the lathe just sat there and got very little use. After about 5 years of owning the lathe I sold it to a friend. As soon as I sold it I started itching for another one!! Time passed by and I was always on the look out for a lathe that I could afford. About 6 months ago I found an old Stanley lathe. Ok condition but not perfect and I bought it. I should be quite happy now, right? But now I find myself watching welding videos all the time and searching welding forums. All of a sudden I have taken a great interest in welding instead of machining. I work on airport equipment during the day and rebuild old car engines in the evening and weekends. What should I do, keep the lathe and try to learn more about machining or trade it for a tig welder? I guess it's true that, you always want the things you don't have. Thanks and any advice will be appreciated.

 

[OccupantRJ]

Listen to this.

 

[Glen Vassallo]

Lol

 

[derosa]

You just need to come up with a project that requires the lathe, turning and machining of any kind is addictive. Just something about seeing an object come to shape before your eyes.

 

[930dreamer]

I too have been looking at/for lathes, I have zero machining experience but the machine itself fascinates me. I'd have no practical use other then learning something new, I guess that's practical enough in my book.

 

[2oolhound]

Nothing's wrong with you, you just haven't woke up to the fact that a guy needs a mig, a tig and a stick welder as well as a lathe and a milling machine. Don't worry, it will sink in before long.

 

[EOC_Jason]

The machines you want / need should be dictated by the projects you work on...

Find a few projects first, and then figure out what you need to get the job done...

 

[TURNA]

Why can't you just have both?

 

[TheGrooveking]

I recommend getting a lathe and a welder, learn to use both, since the key to life is being prepared. I live by the motto "It is better to have and not need than to need and not have".

TheGrooveking

 

[Teenager with old tools]

My old Sheldon lathe that I got free from my uncle has sat quite a bit all I did for a while was practice different skills on pvc pipe. And then I found a project that it was great for and am so much more glad I have it. Even taught me how to cut threads on it.

It's very good to have probably would have been very expensive to have this part made and it's likely I'll have to make more things on it too in the next months


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[sberry]

Mig welder first.

 

[SantaAna12]

Sounds like your in the right place.
Lathe? Yes.
Welder? Yes.

I hope I keep on keeping on too.

 

[LXCam]

Hold on, you rebuild old engines but you never use your lathe? How could that be. I build new motors and I couldn't even do half of what I do without a lathe. Shirley you can't be able to buy everything you need or refurbish off the shelf for those old motors right??

 

[The Cobbler]

Lathe is handy as heck. Ionly have a foggy memory of them from secondary school but always liked them. I bought one a few yrs ago and have used it several times. the cost is unimportant to me.
There's a difference between want & need.
I don't need the lathe, but I want it. and I can do stuff that would be impossible without it. DO I aspire to be a precision machinist? no, but I enjoy using it .
My father was a machinist , worked on a lathe that was about 35' between centers. if he was around he could show me lots, and he would be out there everyday fiddling with it I'm sure.

 

[ddawg16]

It's called a tool addiction
About par to women's shoe addiction

 

[Bellaireroad]

Lathe is handy as heck. Ionly have a foggy memory of them from secondary school but always liked them. I bought one a few yrs ago and have used it several times. the cost is unimportant to me.
There's a difference between want & need.
I don't need the lathe, but I want it. and I can do stuff that would be impossible without it. DO I aspire to be a precision machinist? no, but I enjoy using it .
My father was a machinist , worked on a lathe that was about 35' between centers. if he was around he could show me lots, and he would be out there everyday fiddling with it I'm sure.

Well put


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[Roberts210]

I stood at a Warner Swasey turret lathe, in a hot machine shop, for many months back in the day and that cured me forever of any lathe addiction.

 

[Glen Vassallo]

Hey guys, thanks for your input, all of it makes sense. Some of you mentioned that I should find a few projects, well according to my calculations I have to live to be 567 and a half years old to maybe complete the projects that I have!! I have a couple old cars that need some work, a few old tools that need some work and truck load of pedal cars that need work. LX cam, you mentioned that I need the lathe to rebuild engines. When I rebuild an engine I send the parts to an engine machinist and they take care of the machining. If I need a small part made I take it to a friend of mine who owns a lathe and a milling machine so I would rarely need my own lathe. Though it would be convenient. The problem that I have, is that I am obsessed with whatever I do and I want it to be near perfect and like I said before I have little machining experience. So it will take some time to learn. Thanks again guys and keep the suggestions coming. I will let you all know what I decide.

 

[Packard V8]

I guess it's true that, you always want the things you don't have.

If you got it, done deal. Having a machine in the shop is like having a significant other in the bed. Appreciated, but doesn't stop the thoughts next day on the street when a really beautiful other walks by.

I haven't ever come across a machine I didn't want. Some get used more often. When asked, "How many machines do you really need?" Answer, "Just one more!"

Jack Vines

 

[ddawg16]

Listen to this.

RJ....showing your age....

 

[fartymarty]

What ever you have (condition/disease/mental abnormality) I have it too. I really want a Bridgeport mill in the corner of my garage that doesn't really have any room for it. I almost never use the little mini mill and lathe I have now...but I keep looking at used vertical mills online. I need a welder more than I need a vertical mill.

I've always wondered what a weekly program would be like where a project is given to a machinist to make (who can't weld) and a welder to make (who can barely drill a hole) and the results are compared at the end of the show. Am I the only one that would watch...oops sorry off topic...what's wrong with me?

 

[OccupantRJ]

I stood at a Warner Swasey turret lathe, in a hot machine shop, for many months back in the day and that cured me forever of any lathe addiction.

That would cure me to, and I am a machinist. Damn a bunch of production machining, give me the one-off prototype stuff to make. I rarely make more than 40 parts of something, and usually one of a kind.

 

[OccupantRJ]

RJ....showing your age....

I represent that!

 

[Glen Vassallo]

Hey, farty marty. Yeah that's another thing. The lathe does take up a substantial amount of space and yeah I would watch that kind of show too. You are not alone. One thing I do like about machining is that it is a lot "cleaner" than welding. Keep your suggestions coming guys.

 

[stioc]

Nothing's wrong with you, you just haven't woke up to the fact that a guy needs a mig, a tig and a stick welder as well as a lathe and a milling machine. Don't worry, it will sink in before long.

x2

Don't forget the plasma cutter, bandsaw, grinders, tooling, lift and hundreds of of other fabrication, automotive and woodworking tools. Yep, guilty as charged

 

[zendriver]

What should I do, keep the lathe and try to learn more about machining or trade it for a tig welder? I guess it's true that, you always want the things you don't have. Thanks and any advice will be appreciated.

Wow, I think I just read my life story.

Keep it all and you will build up your shins, from banging into all of it, every time you step into the garage.

I once purchased a whole bunch of wood tools, to make real "mission style" furniture, until I found out how much a piece of white oak costs.

Flyfishing, Deer hunting, raising sheep, restoring cars, restoring tractors, the list goes on and on.

Someday I will be dead and then it won't matter.

Go for it!

 

[Packard V8]

Someday I will be dead and then it won't matter.

Go for it!

But then some religions say, "Pay heed to that which is a problem in this life to avoid it in the next." Of course, define problems; too many machines or inefficient use of time?

jack vines

 

[zendriver]

But then some religions say, "Pay heed to that which is a problem in this life to avoid it in the next." Of course, define problems; too many machines or inefficient use of time?

jack vines

It's not a problem - at least for me.

I try something, get somewhat good at it and when I get tired of it - which I will, I try something else, a big part of my OCD.

Eventually I'll clear out my garage, then fill it up again with something else.

If it's a bad habit, I could certainly have ones that are much worse.

 

[PelicanPines]

You are infected... there is no cure... resistance is futile... you are one of us.

 

[ovrrdrive]

Buy another lathe and learn how to use it... Buy a good welder and learn how to use it too.

The first time you do a project and use both you'll have a ***** for weeks. It all goes hand in hand. Working with metal amazes me.

 

[doogdoog]

There is nothing wrong with you except selling your lathe. Since you work on old cars and engines, lathes, welders, tools, etc. all go hand in hand. Keep what you got and buy more tools but not so much that you lose your working space.

Mahalo,
doogdoog

 

[Glen Vassallo]

Hey all, thanks for the kind words and convincing me that whatever disease/infection/abnormalty that I have is normal and ok!! I only consider selling the lathe to be able to focus a bit more on learning tig welding. I already own a mig and a stick welder. Oh yeah and because of the space it takes. In my garage I already have a 4ft bender, a 3 and a half foot guillotine, two pillar drills, two bench grinders, a workbench, a welding table, engine stands, a parts washer,power tools and quite a few tool boxes so space is tight. But I think many of you are right, with the majority of work that I do on engines, learning to use the lathe properly probably makes more sense. Thanks again guys.

 

[2oolhound]

[Quote:Originally Posted by Roberts210] View Post
I stood at a Warner Swasey turret lathe, in a hot machine shop, for many months back in the day and that cured me forever of any lathe addiction.

That would cure me to, and I am a machinist. Damn a bunch of production machining, give me the one-off prototype stuff to make. I rarely make more than 40 parts of something, and usually one of a kind.

A big difference I see here is home users often are inspired to make a project from start to finish for some reason of their own. Then they hit a road block but their lathe allows them to proceed and complete the project. In the end they look at the completed piece of work and have a great deal of satisfaction and pride.

This is different than building things for other people that don't mean so much to you and I don't want to demean the trade because I know there must still be a great deal of pride and satisfaction in completing complicated work for anyone. It's just that amateurs are involved in the project from start to finish.

teenager with tools is a great example. He needed something, realized he could make it on site and now will have a sense of pride and satisfaction every time he uses it.

 

[visedog]

Try ordering any tools from Amazon.in or any other online seller here in India ... that will surely cure you of your tool addiction! (Hint: What you see isn't what you get). I learnt my lesson after sinking money into these sham online sellers.

Now I say I have all the tools I need for the rest of my life