Just picked up a small Mill and Lathe, tooling?

[NordicSaab]

Hey all,

I just picket up the harbor freight mini mill and "precision" 7x10 lathe for $150 used. Both work and all mechanisms slide smooth.

I'm not new to fabrication, but I've done nothing in regard metal turning. I'm trying to figure out what tooling I need to get some basic experiance, but I'm completely lost.

If anyone can give me some guidance as to what I need to just learn the basics I would appreciate it.

Thanks in advance





And before anyone asks... yes, I got the mill, lathe, 5" USA made vise, and a Delta bench grinder for $150 total [emoji2]

 

[EdT]

Well, you certainly did well on the price. Now comes the expensive part. There are a number of sites that cater to these small machines and a whole religion that has developed around getting the most from them. Just check on Youtube or do a Google search on mini lathe or mini mill and you'll find more than you can easily absorb. In my opinion, the best way to learn how to run the machines is to look at as many videos as you can stand and then pick a small simple project that has a few parts and buy the tooling you find you need as you try to build the project. A small "wobbler" steam engine would be a good choice for a first go. I cannot recommend going out and buying a bunch of tooling that looks like it might come in handy someday even though you don't know what it does or how to use it. A few basic cutters, some decent drills (and a chuck), a way to measure parts ( the $10 HF digital calipers would be a good starter item). You may get a lot of flack about the relative crudeness of these machines, but you can learn a lot and they are infinitely better than nothing. Home Shop Machinist magazine has been running a series on improving the mini lathe for almost a year. You might look into that for info. MYFORDBOY on youtube has a whole lot about casting but also a couple of tutorials on general machining that are pretty good. Different machine than yours, but the basic stuff is good.

 

[WILD-BILL]

littlemachineshop.com is a great source for small starter tooling sets.

http://littlemachineshop.com/default.php

 

[Jbizzle]

That definitely deserves a you ****! I second little machine shop.

 

[Troutsqueezer]

I agree with EdT. YouTube videos are great but forums are even better. Model Engine Maker or Home Model Engine Machinist are two great forums to start with. I have a little information about these small machines on my website.

http://www.goldfinch-acres.com/Steam Engines.html

 

[theoldwizard1]

littlemachineshop.com is a great source for small starter tooling sets.

http://littlemachineshop.com/default.php

+1 !

Some people say you should buy the HF fraction/letter/wire drill set even though they are pretty crappy. Personally, I would buy a fractional Norseman or Chicago Latrobe set. Buy the letter/wire drills as you need then for tapping. Seriously consider "screw machine length" (stubby) drills.

Typically drills are made of "high speed steel" (HSS, a.k.a. M2) The best ones are made ouy of M42 HSS which has 8% cobalt and are sometime simply referred to as cobalt drills. While these will stay sharper longer they are somewhat brittle.

Some drills come with a titanium based coating (makes them look gold) which helps prevent sticking.

You will also need countersinks. I am not certain why there are different numbers of flute (more flutes = faster cutting ?) Materials and coating are the same as drill.