Gunsmithing Want to learn to use mill/lathe

[buckskin52]

Looking for a good place to start learning about how to use a mill and lathe. I do not know very much at all bout the use or capabilities of either. Looking for a DVD or series of DVDs that would give me the basic knowledge of how to use each.
Thanks

 

[Stokes]

It's going to be very, very hard to learn without hands on. Do you have a vocational school near you that you can take some classes at?

 

[UW Mitch]

It's a bit like saying "I want to learn to shoot, what DVD can I learn from?" As already recommended may e find a vocational or community college class that you could take to learn theory, hands on and most importantly safe practices.

Mitch

Sent from my SGH-T769 using Tapatalk 2

 

[XxWoodsHunterxX]

I just looked at my community college for the same thing. It was under mechanical technology. T,aking the class this spring.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD so lay off the spelling critique. Thanks

 

[ugsly]

There's no substitute for getting time behind a machine.

Kc

 

[skeetlee]

you tube. ive learned a lot from the videos there. i wtch some of the videos as my machines are running. lee

 

[buckskin52]

I don't have the time for a class or I certainly would go that route. I figured the DVD route would show me the basics and features to look for. I know nothing beats time on a machine but that time would be better spent practicing what I have seen prior to getting on the machine. God knows not a whole lot on television now a days. I don't expect to learn everything from a DVD just enough to get me started. I appreciate the feed back. Anymore would be appreciated as well.

 

[broylz]

I dove in head first with a harbor freight mill and jacked up $200 worth of custom engraved 80% lowers and a jig plate...

sometimes that's the quickest way to learn as long as you don't tell the wife the actual cost of lost materials.

just take lots of time, if you feel like youre moving along at an ok pace, you are going way too fast and will tear something up.

 

[Gene Poole]

I personally found Darrell Holland's videos to be very informative though dated a bit:

http://smartflix.com/store/video/570/Professional-Machine-Shop-Course-Lathe

http://smartflix.com/store/video/574/Professional-Machine-Shop-Course-Vertical-Mill

 

[McLarenross]

Get yourself a 7" harbor freight lathe and harbor freight mini mill and some scrap aluminum stock and start making things. That's how I learned. I've spent a lot of money on measuring tools and other assorted accessories and since have replaced my harbor freight equipment with much larger and more capable tools but the basic principals I learned from those little machines remain the same.

 

[MarinePMI]

I use both of these books for students I mentor in the FIRST Robotics competition. They're not gun related, just basic machine shop practices and skill sets. It is by no means a "step-by-step" tutorial, but it at least give the basics and the vocabulary to speak in the same semantics as most machinsts... The kids with the right aptitude and attitude seem to grasp the concepts easily and then from there, its just time behind a machine and letting them work things out themselves with a little bit of guidance when things get a bit dodgey.

Audel Machine Shop Basics, Fifth Edition / Edition 1 by Mark Richard Miller | Barnes & Noble

AudelMachine Shop Tools and Operations by Rex Miller | 9780764555275 | Paperback | Barnes & Noble

 

[E. Bryant]

The Audel books are pretty good reference materials.

Despite having a fairly strong background on the theoretical side of education (and thus being quite comfortable learning by reading or watching), I really don't see picking up much beyond the calculation of feeds and speeds without actually getting in front of a machine and making some chips with one's own two hands. Getting a benchtop mill and/or lathe on Craigslist would be a good way to start.