New to me welder and lathe

[WhoWhatNow]

It's been a busy few months so I haven't posted too much. I picked up a few things off Craig's List. First was a Lincoln Weld Pak 175HD. It looks like it was never used. I had to cut the zip ties off of the plug to test it. No gun, ground or regulator, but I think I did alright for $200. Over the past two weeks I picked up all of the missing bits and a 60cf tank from my LWS. Going to fire it up this weekend. I had no intention of getting a mug, I already have a Linclon AC-225 and a really cheap flux/mig that kind of works. But when I saw the ad pop up I couldn't resist. I know it is one of the Home Depot units but beside the rollers they are supposed to be the same as sold at LWS.





The second purchase was one I had originally decided to put off for a while. But again when I saw the ad I couldn't resist.





It is a little Harbor Freight 7"X10" lathe. I know they aren't great lathes but I figured that it would be good to learn on. There are a few good Yahoo groups and appear to be multiple vendors who supply tooling. This one was also $200. I am not sure this was a great deal because there wasn't any tooling besides the 3 jaw chuck. My local community college offers an Intro to Machining course that I am going to take. What tooling and machinists tools should I buy to start with? It only came with the 3 jaw chuck. The only tools I have is a cheap digital caliper. Any suggestions?

 

[onthefence777]

Awesome scores dude! Kinda funny, I just picked up the same tools in that order over the last couple of months! A Miller Thunderbolt, and an older HF 7x10 Mini lathe too. Got my lathe for $270, so you did real good at $200 IMO!

My mini lathe came with 1/2" tools which place tool way high of center...did some facing to test, but the chatter convinced me to wait for my 5/16" blanks to show up to do any more turning. Lots of things to learn with welding and machining!

 

[509frank]

I like those little lathes. I would start out with a turning/facing tool,a boring tool/boring bar, acutoff or parting tool and a drillchuck and drill bits for in the tailstock, those are the basics of lathe work.

 

[Zeke]

Nice welder. I have the 135. Maybe you can get the steel rollers if that's the difference. Mine has steel. The bottom one is reversible to run up to .035 FC or down to .023 solid.

 

[Shadowdog500]

I love my lithe lathe for small home projects. It has done everything I've ever asked it to do.

You may want to look into a mini lathe tool kit from the little machine shop. It is $159 and has a USA made quick change tool post, along with a few other things.

Here is a video I made that shows what you get:

Chris

 

[WILD-BILL]

I love my lithe lathe for small home projects. It has done everything I've ever asked it to do.

You may want to look into a mini lathe tool kit from the little machine shop. It is $159 and has a USA made quick change tool post, along with a few other things.

Here is a video I made that shows what you get:

Chris

I bought the same set for my Atlas 6" lathe. Best move I ever made.

 

[Falcon67]

I'd have 'em for $200, no problem. New mini on sale is $500. I'd like to have one for my smaller stuff to free up the 9x20.

 

[blasto9000]

An HF 7x10 was my learner's lathe. One of the last things I did before selling it was to put on an "A2Z" brand quick-change toolpost from Little Machine Shop. It was bar none the best money I spent on tooling for that thing. (Come to think of it, I got almost all my tooling from LMS.)

That lathe does a lot better with HSS tools rather than carbide. I think it's a horsepower issue. There were few instances I was able to get a successful fine finish with carbide.

If you have the budget for it, the LMS steady rest with optional roller bearings is a big help for anything with more than a few inches of chuck stickout.

 

[sberry]

You do not need to replace anything on the MIG, contrary to a lot of hearsay there is nothing wrong with the set up on it, it is a very good little machine and the rest of your welders will get jealous and become dust collectors.