I have been interested in getting into machining for a while now, and the idea of being able to fabricate my own parts and eventually projectiles seems appealing. I have two questions, first, how hard is it to pick up some basic machining skills? Secondly, can anycone recomend a good quality benchtop lathe with between 14 and 18 inches od work space? My budget is about $700 for a full setup, not including a table. Any help is much appreciated.
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Getting into Machining and a Desk Top Lathe
- Thread starter mountainman308
- Start date
Buy old stuff and make sure you get the tooling with it. Be careful of the electrical requirements of these type of machines. Alot are 3 phase.
Community college is a good place to look for machining classes.
The grizzley lathes and mills work well
The machine is above your price point when you add on all the extras
Craigs list is another good place to look for used gear.
The grizzley lathes and mills work well
The machine is above your price point when you add on all the extras
Craigs list is another good place to look for used gear.
pretty much all you're going to learn with your 'desktop' lathe, (a friend of mine has one, and lent it to me) is what all it WON'T do.
They're great for making earrings, pen nibs, and pencil eraser holders, but not so great in the things of interest on this site. You're either in the wrong place, or going in the wrong direction. (yes, that's my opinion) For that, it's up to you to choose.
They're great for making earrings, pen nibs, and pencil eraser holders, but not so great in the things of interest on this site. You're either in the wrong place, or going in the wrong direction. (yes, that's my opinion) For that, it's up to you to choose.
If the little desktop lathe will do what you want then get it. If you hoping to do rifle work on one, save for a bigger lathe. I was going to buy a smaller lathe because of space and funding. It came down to it wouldn't do what I wanted and I would of been throwing good money after bad so I hung tight till I could get what I wanted. Then I had to buy tooling, my ass was sore for awhile.
Kc
Kc
Do a you tube search for mrpete22. Buy yourself an old lathe in good shape that takes 5c colletes. I am always on the lookout for a decent south bend heavy 10
I'm not a machinist, I'm a lot like the OP, except that I have known and spent some time in machine shops and even worked in a few when I was younger. I agree, community college classes will likely be the best (and you'll likely be able to make some things you'd like on their machines and have the instructor there to assist you). I'm also likely a good ways off from being able to do this, getting the machines I mean.
We'll be turning the carport into a shop (soon) and I'll be able to rewire and pipe it how I please. I plan on putting a vertical mill in eventually with (hopefully --I'll probably have to give in for smaller) a 24x48" table, and a bed lathe in it, I'd like 4'. Manual machines converted or updated to at least have analog/digital displays (NC?). I'll likely take a year or so before I actually get one after I get the shop done.
What I'll mostly be looking for is a situation where grandpa died and the family has no idea what to do with the stuff in the garage. That's where you'll get the best deals and all the tools and, hopefully, whatever upgrades he may have put into it. Maybe even some raw materials thrown in.
Auctions may be worth looking at, but you may have to frequent a few until you find one where nobody shows up hellbent on getting a new machine for their business and willing to pay for it.
Another would be a machinist retiring and selling his home setup, but that may cost you since he'll still be alive and he'll know exactly what it's all worth and will be likely trying to get all he can.
Whatever you do, stay away from the 3 in 1's or 2 in 1's. The mini lathe/mill setups. I've heard from a few good folks I trust that those aren't made well enough to do precise work and last. Even the Grizzly models, even made in USA stuff.
I'm aiming for Bridgeport gear if I can find it, and I know I'll have to save for it. And I have to look for absolute rock bottom prices, but patience and persistence is what pays off here. I may go look for one at DRMS when I'm ready. They may have one to give away. You hear "you pay for what you get"? Well, it goes for this too, just that you can find really good deals on good machines IF you look for a long time.
Luckily there are LOTS of machinists here. Good luck.
We'll be turning the carport into a shop (soon) and I'll be able to rewire and pipe it how I please. I plan on putting a vertical mill in eventually with (hopefully --I'll probably have to give in for smaller) a 24x48" table, and a bed lathe in it, I'd like 4'. Manual machines converted or updated to at least have analog/digital displays (NC?). I'll likely take a year or so before I actually get one after I get the shop done.
What I'll mostly be looking for is a situation where grandpa died and the family has no idea what to do with the stuff in the garage. That's where you'll get the best deals and all the tools and, hopefully, whatever upgrades he may have put into it. Maybe even some raw materials thrown in.
Auctions may be worth looking at, but you may have to frequent a few until you find one where nobody shows up hellbent on getting a new machine for their business and willing to pay for it.
Another would be a machinist retiring and selling his home setup, but that may cost you since he'll still be alive and he'll know exactly what it's all worth and will be likely trying to get all he can.
Whatever you do, stay away from the 3 in 1's or 2 in 1's. The mini lathe/mill setups. I've heard from a few good folks I trust that those aren't made well enough to do precise work and last. Even the Grizzly models, even made in USA stuff.
I'm aiming for Bridgeport gear if I can find it, and I know I'll have to save for it. And I have to look for absolute rock bottom prices, but patience and persistence is what pays off here. I may go look for one at DRMS when I'm ready. They may have one to give away. You hear "you pay for what you get"? Well, it goes for this too, just that you can find really good deals on good machines IF you look for a long time.
Luckily there are LOTS of machinists here. Good luck.
I agree with the previous comments, 1 or 2 beginner community college courses will help you in leaps and bounds, both about safety and operations of all the tooling. Also pick up a machinist's handbook, theyre pretty much a must and will be your bible. As far as tooling goes....don't skimp out, bad/low quality tooling can ruin parts and in the long run is a waste of money.
Feel free to PM me any other questions. Dont have a tool and die degree, but I work in a machine shop and run manual mills and lathes daily, as well as taken several machining and CNC courses at school.
Feel free to PM me any other questions. Dont have a tool and die degree, but I work in a machine shop and run manual mills and lathes daily, as well as taken several machining and CNC courses at school.
Ok so when you do drop the coin on machines remember this little bit. Some have been run into the ground and that was the reason they are sold. Backlash on lathes is nonexistant with a spindle that will not hold parts centered makes everything junk. Spending the money on a decent new machine is hard to do but quality of parts you can produce is so much nicer. A new Haas TM1 Tool Room mill CNC will do more then you could imagine and cost less then a new manual mill with digital readout. Used gear now is also picked over with most on the market in need of repair or rebuild. Machine rebuilders do have waiting lists for decent used gear.
Whilst I agree that more lathe is better.....Lester Brooks whom is an incredibly talented smith who is retired has built entire rifles, nice rifles at that with a 7x20 lathe out of his rv. Good tools help......but talent and patience are key.
With new equipment your budget is going to be a problem. For the space you have (very small at 14-18 inches) the only lathe I can even think of is a Sherline lathe. You'll only be working very small parts, however, they are useable machines within their limits and some folks do amazing work with them (check out Tryally on youtube: tryally - YouTube).
Within that space constraint, I don't think there's a Grizzly machine or even an older machine (even a small atlas 6" swing machine is going to be larger than the space you're working with). The next issue that will come up is tooling...but considering that you will be just starting out, you should be able to afford some small High Speed Steel or cobalt steel bit blanks for a Sherline lathe. Grinding your own bits will be just another useful skill to develop.
As a side note, if you watch Tryally's videos, you'll learn a heck of a lot about using a small machine. I'd just love to see what that guy could do with one of the new production South Bend 8k lathes or even one of the larger lathes like an SB 10k
.
--Wintermute
Within that space constraint, I don't think there's a Grizzly machine or even an older machine (even a small atlas 6" swing machine is going to be larger than the space you're working with). The next issue that will come up is tooling...but considering that you will be just starting out, you should be able to afford some small High Speed Steel or cobalt steel bit blanks for a Sherline lathe. Grinding your own bits will be just another useful skill to develop.
As a side note, if you watch Tryally's videos, you'll learn a heck of a lot about using a small machine. I'd just love to see what that guy could do with one of the new production South Bend 8k lathes or even one of the larger lathes like an SB 10k
.--Wintermute
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Running a basic mill and lathe is actually pretty easy. Getting all the tooling and assorted crap will run you as much, if not more than the lathe itself...
If you want to work on rifles the first thing you'll want to do is look at Youtube and watch the videos from the home shop machinists. There's also a magazine at Barnes & Noble by the same name.
Search Craigslist for the largest metro area near you and look for mills and lathes. They're out there for under $1000.
