[Newbie] Advice for Lathe Purchase

Gaffer said:
I got her home yesterday. Gave her a quick and dirty cleaning while she was on the trailer. It revealed a sticker near tailstock that she has the induction hardened ways. That was an additional cost option from the factory. I still need to level it and inspect the wiring. One of the previous owners wired in a welding plug. The lathe comes with a coolant pump but doesn't look as though it has worked in a long time. I'm glad all else works and I can get to using it. I might tackle the coolant component at some point but I doubt I'll use it. All the chips I cleaned out of it were aluminum - I'm stoked with this setup. Now I have to put my SB 9A up for sale. I sure hate having to sell it, but I won't need it and for sure don't have the room for it. I kept my Shoptask 1720 3-in-1 for small stuff because it's on wheels and doesn't take up too much space.

The purchase came with a bunch tools, holders and things I don't recognize. A lot of it isn't for this lathe. If you recognize the things in the metal box, I'd like to know what they are. It appears incomplete. the 5 machined pieces are stamped 1-5 on their tops. I'll go through everything next weekend - these are just overalls of the haul. I compressed the pictures for web using Publisher - let me know if it helps with the 'pictures are too large" issue. It reduced the resolution more than I liked, but you get the gist.

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You sir, truly suck ;)

keep the pictures coming!!!!

john
 
First: great purchase!
Second: all that tooling stuff will come in handy, one day - no rush.
Third: Tool up your 4 way toolpost and get started. Someday in the future you might want a more modern one, but it isn't a rush right now.
-- If you have a mill, you can buy oversize insert tools and make them fit perfectly to centre height. Then no shims!

Fourth: You might consider making a lathe centre height standard. It isn't hard, but it will be invaluable for getting your tools to centre height quickly.

You got the best of all worlds: a heavy, sturdy lathe that runs well - for cheap. Well done!
 
Thanks Dabbler. I just about have my mill running. It runs, but only via the VFD. I temporarily hooked it to ensure my repairs were good. I think I've about figured out what I need to control the VFD with the stock drum switch. I'm going to ask mksj to sanity check me. Once done, I'll work on your #3 suggestion - a great idea I didn't think of. And for sure I'll make a center-height standard. Thank you!
 
Just make sure that you have POWER OFF when you switch the drum. Opening/closing the contacts can be hazardous to your VFD if switching occurs when there is power on the output stage. Even very well protected commercial VFDs an be damaged by this.
 
Dabbler said:
Fourth: You might consider making a lathe centre height standard. It isn't hard, but it will be invaluable for getting your tools to centre height quickly.
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I made one about a year ago. I can't believe I worked all those years without having seen (or even heard of) one.
 
Dabbler said:
Just make sure that you have POWER OFF when you switch the drum. Opening/closing the contacts can be hazardous to your VFD if switching occurs when there is power on the output stage. Even very well protected commercial VFDs an be damaged by this.
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The drum switch hookup was slick. No power runs through the switch. The only connection is from the switch to the VFD's digital inputs. One wire for forward, one for reverse, and one for a 0-volt reference. It works great.
 
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