Hi Torque LMS 3536 bench lathe!

Latheskip said:
Thanks again Ruben!
please find attached a drawing of the slim scales from drokits.com
Could you find out for me, if they would fit on the 3536 lathe? (Don't worry, you don't assume any responsibility whatsoever :)))

They have them from 9.25" up.
Click to expand...
I checked their website. Awsome price! One "Gotcha" is that they only have scales in lengths of x times 100 mm. The Carriage would need the 500 mm (you'd crash the readhead if you ever used the full travel with the 400, especially with the tailstock removed)

Slammed jam up against the motor mount on the spindle end, it would "just" fit, if you trimmed the spash guard enough to clear the read head at the spindle end, and trimmed off a big chunk of the splash guard where it mounts to the bed at the tailstock end (makes 25.375" available, you'd use 25.0 of that). You'd probably need to mount near the top of the motor mount, as below that the readhead would be in danger of crashing into the motor. Space at the top of the motor mount is very tight, about .750" between the motor and the bottom of the carriage. A scale about two inches shorter would be much better, although still very tight. Space on these compact tools is really at a premium.

Another approach would be to make a support the the scale that would run behind the motor buildout of the splash guard, then make an extension of five inches or so to connect the readhead to the carriage. I think that would actually work better, lots of room that way, the 500mm scale would work great that way.

The cross slide would require the 200 mm scale, which again is about two inches longer than needed, but the 100 mm is too short. It would stick way out on the splash guard side, but there's plenty of room, due to the shape of the splash guard, so it should work OK.

I had my sights set on the DRO-Pros http://www.dropros.com/DRO_PROS_Lathe_Digital_Readout#DPLathes , which allows me to use a 450mm (vs the 500mm) for the carriage, and a 150mm (vs the 200mm), which is still a bit tight on the cross slide, but gives me close to those two inches. A lot more money though, $692.00 US vs drokits.com $419.00 US, both including shipping and the one micron scale on the cross slide. Very tempting!

Hopefully, someone with experience with one or the other, or something else that would fit, will enlighten us.

Let me know how it turns out, I get by fine with the Igaging setup on my mini mill for now, but my lathe deserves a REAL DRO! LOL
 
Ruben said:
SNIP ... Another approach would be to make a support the the scale that would run behind the motor buildout of the splash guard, then make an extension of five inches or so to connect the readhead to the carriage. I think that would actually work better, lots of room that way, the 500mm scale would work great that way....Snip the rest..
Click to expand...
I disassembled my lathe tonight to do some better eyeball planning. The low priced DRO with 500mm scale really has me tempted, the difference in money from the DRO-Pros would let me purchase a set pretty much now.

So, I'm not sure this brainstorm will even work. It looks like the backsplash would allow too much movement side to side, destroying all accuracy. I think I'll round up some 1.5" angle iron Saturday, and weld up a reinforcing "box" that would prevent any movement of the backsplash, and then fasten the scale to that. The 500mm scale is 25.0" overall length, mounting out in the splashguard makes 25.5" available. Even if i keep the angle iron brace as short as possible, that's still pretty tight. I begin to see why many use the magnetic scales, much more compact.

If I'm not 100% sure I can make the cheap glass scales work, I'll order the high priced magnetic DRO (seems nuts to pay almost a much for a DRO as I spent on the lathe!), or the shorter DRO-Pros glass scale if it'll fit for sure. The Igaging set works decent on the mini mill, but having radius readout instead of diameter readout on the cross slide is more of an issue for me than I'd thought it would be. At least this thread has prompted me to "get 'er done, soonest"! :)) The Igaging stuff will be off the lathe tonight, I can use it for spares on the mini mill, if needed.

Good thing I've got nothing planned for the lathe for the next few days, my current projects all involve milling, welding, and woodworking.
 
I bought the SC4 (LMS 3536) a couple of months ago. It replaced a Jet 9x20 that I had for 7-8 years. I love it!
That being said, there are some pluses and minuses to consider.

Pluses:

Variable speed motor with a tachometer ( no belts to change )
Capability to cut left-hand threads
TIR on my spindle was 0.0004!!
Lower minimum speed of 100 RPM ( wish it was 50 RPM for threading )
Better design of compound slide than any of the 9x20s
Covered lead screw
Splash guard included

Minuses:

Quality of Paint coverage so-so ( typical of chinese-made machinery that I have seen )
Included 3-jaw chuck is not great( TIR on mine is about 0.003" ) I bought a 4-jaw and don't use the 3-jaw
I bought an MT-2 collet set and collet closer that requires a 1/2 x 13 TPI draw bar. This lathe does not have
the change gears to cut a 13 TPI thread! I had to buy 1/2 x 13 TPI all-thread rod at Home Depot
to make the draw bar.
All chucks are mounted on the spindle with 3 screws. There is only about 3/4" between the spindle flange and the
lathe chassis to jockey the screws into position ( I wish the spindle was threaded instead ).

All-in-all this lathe is quite accurate right out of the box and I hope to be using it for a number of years. Most of the minuses
can be compensated for one way or another. My first project is a ball turner that uses the compound hold-down as a base.

Puzzler_ken (Ken Veto)
 
puzzler_ken said:
Minuses:

This lathe does not have the change gears to cut a 13 TPI thread! I had to buy 1/2 x 13 TPI all-thread rod at Home Depot
to make the draw bar.

Puzzler_ken (Ken Veto)
Click to expand...

Ken -

First off, I *don't* have one of these lathes. But because I'm seriously considering it, I've studied the manuals for the LMS 3536, Procon TL9000 and Travers 87-116-020. Surprisingly, the Procon manual does not include a thread setup chart. But the Travers manual does, and indeed it's missing any 13TPI information. Luckily, the LMS manual, Page 33, comes to the rescue!

First off, I compared several threading setups in the Travers manual to those in the LMS manual, and they all matched, so at least they're both talking about the same hardware. And on Page 33 of the LMS manual, it gives the following setup for 13TPI: A=50, B=94, C=90, D=49.

Assuming you have all the required gears, you can probably cut that thread on any SC4.

For anybody who has a non-LMS SC4 and wants the LMS manual, you can download it from:
http://littlemachineshop.com/gallery/ug/3536 Bench Lathe Users Guide.pdf

Hope this is of some help!
 
I tried to get in contact with Ruben via PM. No luck.

Does anybody know him personally or does anybody owns a LMS 3536 here in Florida??
Before i make a decision, I'd really like to see one in action first.

Cheers
Latheskip
 
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