Stiffening A Mini Lathe Bed

[MSD0]

Pretty cool project. I was thinking about doing something like this with my MicroMark 7x16, but there's so much flex in the cross slide and carriage it didn't seem worth it.

 

[petcnc]

Pretty cool project. I was thinking about doing something like this with my MicroMark 7x16, but there's so much flex in the cross slide and carriage it didn't seem worth it.

MSDO, One thing at a time!
Start with fixing all problems with cross slide and carriage and finish with lathe bed.
We all followed that same road!

Petros

 

[petcnc]

If you are going to continue to spend all this money and time to try to improve your lathe, why not bight the bullet and buy a bigger better lathe. Every time time you fix one fault another will follow it. Putting a bigger motor on it will only overload the drive train and induce even greater twisting forces on the bed You might get a way with going from 300 w to 500 w but to go any further would be asking for trouble. Lengthening the bed would be fraught with danger and probably not very successful.

Good luck,

Bob

Bob, sometimes "bigger is not better". In my case I have to build a bigger shop to accomodate a bigger lathe!
As you can see my tiny shop is filled up to the ceiling!

Petros

 

[wrmiller]

Bob, sometimes "bigger is not better". In my case I have to build a bigger shop to accomodate a bigger lathe!
As you can see my tiny shop is filled up to the ceiling!

Petros

Nice shop Petros! I had a similar one many years ago. My wife called it my "Rat's Nest".

Yea that seems to be one of the most frequently used statements in this hobby. Sometimes, "bigger" just isn't desired or possible, for any number of reasons. A friend who makes parts for R/C cars and planes (and other small parts for his projects) just laughs when I tell him he needs a lathe like I have now, as he too doesn't have the space for one. Although, he as been quite happy with that modified 7x16 lathe I gave him. After we lapped in the saddle and cross slide's surfaces (and the tapered gibbs he made) the machine took on a whole new personality. Last I heard he made a new compound mount for it that really seemed to make a difference. Of course it doesn't perform like a larger, more rigid lathe, but it apparently works quite well for his current needs and shop limitations.

 

[petcnc]

Nice shop Petros! I had a similar one many years ago. My wife called it my "Rat's Nest".

Yea that seems to be one of the most frequently used statements in this hobby. Sometimes, "bigger" just isn't desired or possible, for any number of reasons. A friend who makes parts for R/C cars and planes (and other small parts for his projects) just laughs when I tell him he needs a lathe like I have now, as he too doesn't have the space for one. Although, he as been quite happy with that modified 7x16 lathe I gave him. After we lapped in the saddle and cross slide's surfaces (and the tapered gibbs he made) the machine took on a whole new personality. Last I heard he made a new compound mount for it that really seemed to make a difference. Of course it doesn't perform like a larger, more rigid lathe, but it apparently works quite well for his current needs and shop limitations.

My wife calls it "Cave" as she does not know most of the things in there.

Petros

 

[Sk8ter]

I find the little my lathe 7x16 to machine most small stuff OK what it really does not like is interrupted cuts thats when you really can tell it flex's ....whats interesting is you can actually machine some stuff much faster then with a larger lathe....I have had several larger lathes ...my Hendey and colchester ...both large lathes....there is something nice about the little lathe its much more quiet for one...and will machine most round stuff pretty good...guys it has a lot to do with knowing your machine then if its bigger heavier etc...it just takes longer....I do like my little lathe its a sometimes love hate thing ...

Lawrence

 

[Charles Spencer]

Lawrence I'm not an expert but I think that a flat plate does not provide the stiffness you are after.
Geometry teaches us that forces distributed to different shapes differ tremendously try a solid thick flat cardboard and a pizza box (with cover glued) ! The pizza box is way less flexible!
I suspect that if you make a box out of your two plates, the distance between them and the new geometry, will make it many times stiffer compared to two of them one on the top of the other!
See here for some details!

Petros

Sounds correct. Remember, the Greeks invented geometry.


Petros, I love the excellent use of space and organization of your shop. I'll bet that you can get a lot done quickly with that set up.

 

[petcnc]

Petros, I love the excellent use of space and organization of your shop. I'll bet that you can get a lot done quickly with that set up.

Charles, thanks for the kind words!
My shop makes two people a crowd.
Use of space: I think is ok
Organization: there is room for improvement!
A Funny thing is that every friend not associated with tools and machines (most of them) comes in, think my shop is a mess and they wonder how can I find anything in there!
To be honest, sometimes I wonder myself!

Petros

 

[kevin.j.lovall]

Very interesting....Since I am going to be starting a bed extension on my mini-lathe maybe I will need something thicker than what I was going to use for the base. Will have to think about this for a bit. I will be posting pics as I go along. Right now I need to clean up both beds and check some dimensions. So far the dimensions I checked look good for the donor bed to work.

Sorry to hijack this thread but have you gotten your extension done yet? I'm planning on extending my bed of my 7x10 HF lathe with a donor bed and am looking for more info.

Thanks,
Kevin


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Billh50]

I haven't yet. Life has gotten in the way. I have only gotten as far as taking all dimensions from both my lathe and donor bed. They should match up height wise with just a slight bit of milling on the donor and adding a foot plate at the mounting end. I had to stop there as I had to go through my drill press because it wasn't milling too good. Still isn't perfect so I was hesitant to do any milling on the lathes. Then life got in the way. But will be getting back to it soon. ( I hope )