my new lathe

[Charley Davidson]

and they can be a lot more fun than the skinny bi***** too. . . just sayin'

There are no such thing as fat chics in Wisconsin there are only corn fed women

Congrats, I too have small HF lathe, I've made lots of small projects on it. However I'm now looking at a Shop Fox 9x20 any thoughts on the FOX?)

If the Shop Fox lathe is of the same quality of their roller stands or machine stands I would steer clear of them, Just saying

 

[cazclocker]

finally, after all this time i bought my first lathe today. dont get too excited, its just a hf 7x10. i know, i sound like im bragging about taking a fat chick to the prom, but i gotta start somewhere, and i dont have much room. this is for me to learn on, and since i dont know enough yet to tell good from bad, i went brand new instead of used. you fellas that dont like the china stuff, look at it this way- im not gonna be screwing up a good USA machine.:LOL: well, gotta get busy, theres lots of cosmoline to clean off.

Congratulations, X-ray! Way to go, you're way ahead of me ... I've been wanting to add a bench lathe to my shop, but so far I haven't been able to do so. You have a great tool there - yes, it has some limitations, but please don't ever forget that the skill of the operator is FAR more important than you might think. You can do better work with your HF lathe than a non-skilled man with the same lathe.

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Congrats, I too have small HF lathe, I've made lots of small projects on it. However I'm now looking at a Shop Fox 9x20 any thoughts on the FOX?)

In the size range you specify, I would take a really good look at the new lathe offering by Little Machine Shop: CLICK HERE. The swing is 8-1/2" instead of the 9", but hopefully it will handle 99% of whatever you might want to do on it. Basically it's a longer version of the already-popular 8.5x16 that they've offered for years. I don't have one, but it's garnered some good reviews.

 

[pineyfolks]

There are no such thing as fat chics in Wisconsin there are only corn fed women



They aren't fat just short for their weight

 

[X-RAY]

thanx for all the replies. family has kept me busy last 2 days, but hopefully today get the rest of that dried ketchup looking **** off and put it back together. then i can take some pics. anything wrong with using white lithium grease in the headstock? im not yet sure if theres anything in it now, and i havent read anything in the book about it.

 

[LEEQ]

You can take the cover loose off the front that has the on off and so on. You will see ground wires in the headstock. You can spray lithium through these holes. Yes lithium is a good grease on these. I recommend going to Little Machine Shop and reading their guides. As you put your lathe back together, they will easily guide you through some alignment procedures. They also have lot's of good mini products at good prices with tidbits of helpful hints. Good service too. I'm not affiliated, but I am a very satisfied customer.

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Next time you are at the parts store you will want to pick up a set or two of feeler gauges for shimming tooling up to center height. They are abt 1/2" x 2 & 1/2" and range in thickness from abt .0015 to .035. These will serve you well until you can't stand it anymore and get a qctp.

 

[cityhick]

My whole family rides motorcycles and I used to have a Sportster. I survived the wreck. The sportster didn't. Anyway when people would ask what kind of bike I had I would always reply..."just a Sportster". My Pop asked one day why I replied with "just a Sportster" like I was almost apologizing for what I rode. He reminded me that I rode everywhere else the boys on the Big Twins rode and to be honest with you it was quite fast. My point is don't apologize or be ashamed of what you have. Right now I have no bike to ride and miss that Sportster very much. Be proud of what you have cause its more than a lot of folks that don't.:thumbsup:

 

[markknx]

My whole family rides motorcycles and I used to have a Sportster. I survived the wreck. The sportster didn't. Anyway when people would ask what kind of bike I had I would always reply..."just a Sportster". My Pop asked one day why I replied with "just a Sportster" like I was almost apologizing for what I rode. He reminded me that I rode everywhere else the boys on the Big Twins rode and to be honest with you it was quite fast. My point is don't apologize or be ashamed of what you have. Right now I have no bike to ride and miss that Sportster very much. Be proud of what you have cause its more than a lot of folks that don't.:thumbsup:

I road Sporsters for many years, some with some nice mods. One thing you can't do with the Dressers and can only be done to lesser degree on a stock Big twin is slam them into a curve. Very nimble bikes. Now that I am older and don't hot rod so much as I cruze I have a big twin, But I still ain't got old enough for a Dresser. ;^)

 

[wrmiller]

Nothing wrong with a 7x lathe. I used my 7x14 to fit 'gunsmith only' Barsto barrels to my 1911 competition guns and make compensators for them. A little imagination is needed on a smaller lathe, but they will do the work.

Bill

 

[X-RAY]

Been playing some with it, ( the lathe), and I see I need a shop vac as my first accessory. Then a belt grinder for sharpening cutters. I really don't mind the standard tool post so far, even thought about just getting extra stock holders instead for now. Actually, the tailstock clamping system is much more annoying to me. And I gotta build a dedicated bench for it, instead of it just sitting on my regular workbench. And then come up with a retractable chuck key, although so far I haven't left it in,it has a spring on it now. Than again for the replies.

 

[David Kirtley]

The shop vac is a great addition.

I did the tailstock lever cam lock conversion. Not too bad. Took a while for me to get it set right.

Save that spring. It is perfect for putting on the tailstock clamp to keep it from flopping around.

Sometimes I use the turret holder. I made a second one that is the right height for 3/8 shank insert holders. Nice and rigid. Only problem with it is a parting tool is hard to use with it.

Don't feel too left out of the big boys club. You can turn some pretty sizeable pieces in the little 7x lathes. You just take smaller bites.