Lathe or Mill…I can't decide and I'm going nutz

[richl]

Little by little you will learn the strengths and weaknesses of your machine, as you learn the art of machining metal. Congrats! Enjoy your purchase!

Rich

 

[BobC]

Re: By no means is this meant to demean anyone with inexpensive machines, just a viable alternative.

That is a wonderful long term strategy but assuming the lathe was the first, then you have been at it over 50 years.

Just starting out from scratch, you have to get to a position of being able to do basic work unless you just want to wait and make nothing until the right deal comes along to purchase first class tools. I bought a $15 dial caliper, a $30 DTI, and a $15 mic, and a $5 automatic center punch to start with, mostly from Harbor Freight. I used them and was happy.

Over the last month, I came up with a nice Brown and Sharpe DTI that just needed a new stylus, a practically new carbide jaw Mitutoyo dial caliper that some idiot over extended it and lost the gib strip out of, a decent .0001 micrometer that someone unscrewed the ratchet thimble and lost the screw, and a nice Starrett automatic center punch that was put together wrong. All for free from a pile of stuff being sent to the trash. I ordered a new stylus for the DTI, made a new gib from brass shim stock for the caliper, put the center punch together right, and fixed the micrometer with a torx screw from an old hard drive and turned a SS washer. Nearly $600 dollars worth of tools for nothing. I fixed several other items and gave them away. Some other items like the wheelchair drive gear motor will just wait for a project, mine or someone elses.

Do I regret buying the cheap tools? Not in the least. I still have them. They work fine. Taken care of, they will probably last the rest of my life. I will probably take them and have them as spares in my desk at work. They make great loaners too.

If you are on a budget, I think you should start with what you can and then over time you can acquire or make the rest. The deals do come, but not overnight. You have to start somewhere.

Congratulations on the great mensuration score! Careful though, the good ones might turn you into a snob.)
Good guess David, yes I started a long time ago but like you say, you have start somewhere and I'm glad that I started young. It gave me the time to do it right.

I too buy things at Harbor Freight, they have some great values but their machine tools don't fall into that category. But they can syphon off money that could have been much better applied to a great machine at a great value and well worth the search.

I might have a different viewpoint if my first job hadn't been in a small but first class machine shop, starting at 16, in 1955, after school and weekends. There I was introduced to Kearney and Treker, Cincinatti, Monarch, Bridgeport, (3 new J models, which had only been introduced 2 years earlier in '53) and other top, job shop machines. It spoiled me. That's not snobbery, that's from experiencing truly great machines and then later, the few times that I had to use a lesser machine, it was so disappointing. I knew I'd never bring one home.

Early on I got that 12" lathe, made a milling attachment for it and before too long, I got a great deal on a small but truly industrial class vertical mill, a Benchmaster. Then I was pretty well covered and free to work my strategy. It worked so well that I'm sharing it here, before the last of our remarkable machine legacy disappears off-shore forever.

Bob
Below the Benchmaster that I outgrew many years ago and sold a just few years ago to another old guy that's delighted to have it.

 

[David Kirtley]

That is a screaming deal for the lathe and the toolbox of goodies. Looks like you have plenty of tooling to get going right out of the gate.

Don't rush out and buy all the attachments at first. There are many sources of plans and ideas for stuff you can make yourself. I think they are excellent little lathes and you can have a blast making little mods and attachments for it. The only thing is you will definitely want to get a set of short stubby drill bits. It gets kind of crowded when drilling. A faceplate would be really useful for the type of work you showed. Also have a stock of fuses. I burned out a few when I first started.

The one thing that I really advise as a high priority is to make or buy a hand crank for the spindle. I use mine a lot and love it. It makes some things so much easier. Tapping. Threading up to a shoulder or any single point threading for that matter becomes a leisurely activity with no hurry or fuss. I am kind of sad when I have something long in the spindle and can't use it and have to thread under power.

My two favorite luxuries for mine are the ER32 collet faceplate and my tailstock die holder for threading with a die. The collet holder is available from arceurotrade.co.uk much cheaper if you are patient. I wasn't.

 

[Cadillac STS]

Ok. I just found an HF 7x10 lathe on Craigslist with a bunch of tools, a nice tool chest and stand. He wanted $400 and said he'll take $300 so I said I'll take it. It's not ideal, but I think it will be a good start and I can always sell it down the road if I want to get something bigger. I'll get a milling attachment for it and that should keep me going for a while.

Here's the link: http://albany.craigslist.org/tls/4512777347.html

Steve

That is a good deal. Now lets see how to best do quick production keys on that drilling precise holes in your flat stock quickly with repeatability. Not to criticize and I would have bought the lathe too for that price but you can see you still need a mill. Unless anyone else can enlighten me.

 

[Cadillac STS]

Here is an idea that wouldn't be as expensive as a mill (Still always keep your eyes out.) Get an X Y table and a vise for your drill press. Maybe a larger drill press for low cost. Than you place your part, count over precisely the desired measurement using the inch indicators on the wheels and make your holes. I was able to get a small X Y table from a small mill and it worked great.

Making them and selling is a great idea, using the machinist suggestions for vintage look and function even better.

 

[george wilson]

I'll tell you how to get a cool looking surface on your brass plate: Make the brass as smooth as possible,polishing it,too. Take a piece of 600 grit Wet or Dry paper and wrap it around a file. Hold the file tilted so that only the edge of it is in contact with the brass. Push the file forward and backwards on the brass,at the same time as you are moving it slightly sideways,say 1/8" per stroke. Proceed all the way across the surface until you have completely covered the surface with the sanding. It looks like curly maple.

This is easier than "spot facing",also known as engine turning,if you don't have an accurate way of moving the brass plate to make each spot with your abrasive stick chucked in a drill press. It is also more unique looking,as everyone ELSE spot faces. On this plane,spot facing would not be appropriate anyway,though it would be on your telegraph key.

I did this to the steel bodied plane that I made,in the picture below.

This is a 19th. C. style "infill" plane,"stuffed" with rosewood. The body is dovetailed together. Most of the work is by hand here. This is a small plane,about 4" long. I made it after I saw a very rare half size salesman's sample in a wealthy guy's tool collection. I can confuse people with it by telling them the plane is made of the very rare "curly steel."

 

[Shadowdog500]

That is a good deal. Now lets see how to best do quick production keys on that drilling precise holes in your flat stock quickly with repeatability. Not to criticize and I would have bought the lathe too for that price but you can see you still need a mill. Unless anyone else can enlighten me.

I agree that the lathe won't be any good for locating holes, but for the price, HE STOLE THAT Lathe. At that price he can get the mill in no time.

The two things I would highly recommend getting for that lathe is a quick change tool post and the lever tailstock lock mod (currently on sale at LMS). I did a bunch of mods to my mini lathe and those were the two big ones that I liked the most.

Here is a video I did after I got the QCTP kit from LMS. I was so busy filming that I didn't notice the compound overhang (I like to think I know better than that)

http://youtu.be/VReP3XoTnoE


If you are making multiple code keys that are identical, couldn't you make one master plate with all of the hole locations, and use it as a transfer punch jig to quickly and accurately locate all of your holes on subsequent code keys.


Chris

 

[chuckorlando]

Guys find all kinda creative ways to get it done. I'm sure this will be no exception. He'll get it done

 

[blacksmithden]

First off, that's a very nice piece you've created there. Excellent workmanship. If I were you, I'd go with the lathe and milling attachment first. I did quite a few things with mine before I got my mill. The other thing to think about is, making code keys isn't the only thing you're going to make with a lathe. If you have it, you WILL find other things to do with it. As stated by someone previously, a lathe is the most versatile machine in a shop.

73 de VA6WW

 

[Cadillac STS]

Something to think about is if you go the milling attachment route with the lathe then get a mill you would never use the milling attachment again. If you go the X Y table route for the drill press you will use it forever with the drill press even after you get the mill so no wasted money. Lot of those tables on ebay.