# Beginner lathe projects?



## ttabbal (Feb 9, 2018)

I haven't run one for a while and I'm getting close to getting my PM 1127VF-LB making chips. I'm curious if there are some fun projects you might recommend? I have a couple in mind, but I thought I'd see what people thought. I don't have a mill, so please keep it to lathe only. I'd prefer things that are useful as well as good for teaching. For material I have various diameter 12L14 and 6061 at the moment. 


Layout hammer. I'm told my 5lb sledge isn't a great choice.  

Captive nut toy

Scribe (Clickspring has a good video) 

Gyroscope

Turner's cube

Fire piston (My son would love this...)

Flashlight/lightsaber handle (again, kids)

Chess set (the knight needs to be different, but still..)

Tailstock tap/die holders

Machinist jacks


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## David S (Feb 9, 2018)

That is a nice looking lathe.  What did you originally have in mind when acquired it?

One thing that is easy to make and I find helpful is a tap follower.

David


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## ttabbal (Feb 9, 2018)

The idea is to make parts for my rocketry projects. But I want to brush up on my basic skills before I attempt some of those. And I just like running a lathe, and wanted to get back to it. Thanks for the suggestion!


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## ttabbal (Feb 18, 2018)

I decided to do a scribe first, based on the video Clickspring made.  






Notes... My wife happened to have really small needles. Drilling 20 thou holes is not beginner friendly. There are a lot of sizes, I found 18 to work well with a #54 drill bit. It's about 45 thou and much easier to work with. I shortened it with a dremel cutoff disc. 

I don't have any brass, so I went with aluminum. I was going for a brushed finish and I'm pretty happy with the overall look. Just sandpaper to 320 grit. 

The grooves are decent practice for using the dials to measure. I still want a DRO, but it's not terrible. 

The tip was a good intro to using the compound for short tapers.


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## Z2V (Feb 19, 2018)

That looks really good!


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## mikey (Feb 19, 2018)

Nice job, and glad to hear she's up and running.

May I suggest a tool height gauge for a beginner project? Your compound has a nice flat spot behind the tool post that would be a perfect perch for one. It would allow you to set center height on all your tooling and if faced accurately, it can also help set your parting and threading tools perpendicular to the spindle axis. I would buy some O-1 steel for it, though. PM me if you want details.


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## Ulma Doctor (Feb 19, 2018)

nice work!

maybe a good project would be a bench block from some 3" diameter material maybe a about 2-3" thick
delrin, cast iron, aluminum,steel whatever you can get your hands on
turn both faces, chamfer the edges
add through holes and grooves if you see fit.
pound away at will, and your bench won't get hurt!


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## rock_breaker (Feb 19, 2018)

Center punch, possibly harden tip with propane torch?


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## jlsmithseven (Feb 19, 2018)

Machinist Jacks were my final project my first year in school. They will teach you a lot about threading and mating parts. I suggest that one.


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## mikey (Feb 19, 2018)

jlsmithseven said:


> Machinist Jacks were my final project my first year in school. They will teach you a lot about threading and mating parts. I suggest that one.



I remember that project!


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## ttabbal (Feb 19, 2018)

jlsmithseven said:


> Machinist Jacks were my final project my first year in school. They will teach you a lot about threading and mating parts. I suggest that one.



I've been considering it for learning/practicing threading. I know how to measure an outside thread with 3 wires or a thread micrometer. How do you measure internal threads? Make an external and use it to test?


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## jlsmithseven (Feb 19, 2018)

Yes ttabbal that is how I did it. I made all of the external threads to the right dimensions, then turned the internal threads. Then you just keep checking with the external threads; as you get close it will begin to thread in.


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## Ray C (Feb 19, 2018)

Tap handles:  Everybody has to make a set of tap handles...  

https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/my-favorite-tap-handle.20186/


Ray


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## ttabbal (Feb 19, 2018)

Ray C said:


> Tap handles:  Everybody has to make a set of tap handles...
> 
> https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/my-favorite-tap-handle.20186/
> 
> ...




Nice! But it looks like you need a mill for that one. Maybe I should consider getting at least a milling attachment. My cross slide is 6" with T-slots at 4.5". That should be pretty sturdy mounting...


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## ttabbal (Feb 19, 2018)

jlsmithseven said:


> Yes ttabbal that is how I did it. I made all of the external threads to the right dimensions, then turned the internal threads. Then you just keep checking with the external threads; as you get close it will begin to thread in.



That makes sense. Thanks for the details!


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## Tony Pisano (Feb 20, 2018)

Wow, All of these suggestions are bringing back memories of the early 70s. Our first trade school project was a center punch. It involved turning, tapering, knurling, bardening and tempering. I still have mine. Not sure the order, but there were screwdrivers, ball peen hammers, bench blocks etc. For my final project, I made a spring winder. Two projects I still use often was a spring loaded center for tapping. You'll find yourself using it on the lathe, mill, and drill press. The other I use all the time is a spring loaded tool for marking screw holes for hinges. It has three parts that slide one inside the other. There's the outer barrel, then a spring loaded part with an 82 deg taper that centers itself in the countersunk hole of the hinge. Then a smaller dia springloaded part with a point on the end. One tap with a hammer and you have a perfectly centered punch mark for drilling your pilot holes. I'm at my daughters visiting, but could draw them up when I get home.


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## ttabbal (Feb 20, 2018)

Tony Pisano said:


> Wow, All of these suggestions are bringing back memories of the early 70s. Our first trade school project was a center punch. It involved turning, tapering, knurling, bardening and tempering. I still have mine. Not sure the order, but there were screwdrivers, ball peen hammers, bench blocks etc. For my final project, I made a spring winder. Two projects I still use often was a spring loaded center for tapping. You'll find yourself using it on the lathe, mill, and drill press. The other I use all the time is a spring loaded tool for marking screw holes for hinges. It has three parts that slide one inside the other. There's the outer barrel, then a spring loaded part with an 82 deg taper that centers itself in the countersunk hole of the hinge. Then a smaller dia springloaded part with a point on the end. One tap with a hammer and you have a perfectly centered punch mark for drilling your pilot holes. I'm at my daughters visiting, but could draw them up when I get home.




Thanks, I would appreciate any plans you would like to post.  There doesn't seem to be a lot around for simpler projects. Some of it is just that you can make it up as you go, kind of like the scribe I made above. I can see a hammer being similar that way, you have the head, handle, and perhaps threaded faces if you want to get fancy.


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## tjb (Feb 20, 2018)

Try making some magnet holders.  I bought some 1/2" x 1/8" an


ttabbal said:


> I haven't run one for a while and I'm getting close to getting my PM 1127VF-LB making chips. I'm curious if there are some fun projects you might recommend? I have a couple in mind, but I thought I'd see what people thought. I don't have a mill, so please keep it to lathe only. I'd prefer things that are useful as well as good for teaching. For material I have various diameter 12L14 and 6061 at the moment.
> 
> 
> Layout hammer. I'm told my 5lb sledge isn't a great choice.
> ...


Check out some projects on this website:
http://www.frets.com/HomeShopTech/hstpages.html
Several nifty little projects are lathe-specific and good learning experiences.  I've made several magnets (see his 'Magnetic Stickups' tab) which I use all over the shop (his are brass; mine are aluminum).  Fun to make, easy, a good learning experience, and functional.  Who could ask for anything more?

Regards,
Terry


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## ttabbal (Feb 20, 2018)

The magnet holders look like fun, I'll have to give it a go.


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## British Steel (Feb 20, 2018)

How about a wiggler? It's a slim sprung telescopic cylinder with a point one end, a centre-drilling the other, used for centring punch marks on oddly-shaped parts held in the 4-jaw for drilling, cutting concentric features etc. (tailstock centre goes into the drilling, wiggler point into punch mark, rest a DTI on the wiggler shaft and adjust for zero run-out).

Picture your scriber with a hollow body, and the point backed up by an internal spring and sliding accurately concentric with the outside diameter.

It practices getting a good sliding but non-sloppy fit between the body-cap and the point and also spring seat and inside of the body, taper turning the pretty fine point (and hardening and tempering it), centre-drilling thin shafts (the body). external threading the end of the body for the cap to hold the pointer and internal on the cap itself, knurling or grooving if you want it to look pretty - doable in an evening at most, uses hardly any material.

Dave H. (the other one)


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## ddickey (Feb 21, 2018)

I think Mr. Pete has a good video on making a wiggler.


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## ttabbal (Apr 7, 2018)

So, I made the fire piston with my kids. We got some bad finish on the bore with the HF drill bits. Bummer. I got some better bits and found a decent 10mm reamer I thought I'd try. I made a new outer cylinder, and there's a bit where you bore out a through hole most of the way through. I needed a bit more depth, so I carefully, I thought, ran the reamer down. It ate my threaded section. Sigh. On the up side, the reamer made a really nice finish. I need to make a new end cap with larger threads. It looks like a 7/16 thread should work. Maybe this time it will hold compression and work. 

Also need different o-rings. The plumbing box from HD doesn't have many in the right size range.


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## Ray C (Apr 7, 2018)

ttabbal said:


> So, I made the fire piston with my kids. We got some bad finish on the bore with the HF drill bits. Bummer. I got some better bits and found a decent 10mm reamer I thought I'd try. I made a new outer cylinder, and there's a bit where you bore out a through hole most of the way through. I needed a bit more depth, so I carefully, I thought, ran the reamer down. It ate my threaded section. Sigh. On the up side, the reamer made a really nice finish. I need to make a new end cap with larger threads. It looks like a 7/16 thread should work. Maybe this time it will hold compression and work.
> 
> Also need different o-rings. The plumbing box from HD doesn't have many in the right size range.



Lots of good learning going on there.   It was nice to hear about it.  Stick with it.  You'll get there and if you get in a pinch, post pictures here and somebody will help.

You can never really rely on drill bits to give a good finish.   That's what reamers are for.

Oh, go to Harbor Freight.  They have kits of screws, springs and all kinds of misc fasteners.  One of the kits is big assortment of O-Rings.  For 5 bucks, you'll get about 200 O-rings.   You'll make fire-sticks for the next year or two...

Ray


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## ttabbal (Apr 7, 2018)

Thanks Ray. I hope that posting about my learning might help other students of machining. I could try to pretend that I never mess up, but I don't think anyone would believe me.


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## TakeDeadAim (Apr 8, 2018)

You don't end up with anything at the end but if you have access to some 1" or so cold rolled about a foot long you can do a nice project by dividing the length into 4 equal sections, face and center-drill each end.  Cut the "4 steps" into progressively smaller diameters, say 3/8", 1/2", 5/8", and 3/4".
Cut a thread relief groove between each step then cut NC threads on each diameter.

Lather rinse and repeat for NF threads.  By the time your done you will have learned to cut to diameter, (hold yourself to a reasonable tolerance).  How to cut a groove and how to set up and cut various size threads.  When I was in school we had to do this as an exam each semester and they added things like acme threads, left hand threads and even double start threads.  Of course the cut to diameter got a tighter tolerance as did the length of the steps.  Tools were hand ground HSS and were part of the grade.

Material is cheap and if you screw up you can go to the next size smaller, (at a reduced grade of course!)

This advise, like all I offer is worth exactly what you paid for it.


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## The_Apprentice (Apr 8, 2018)

When I was in high school the thing to make was a Steam Engine-- back when we thought the Western world would still produce products in the future. 

The most interesting project I've heard of as late on the forum here is a yo-yo. I am thinking on toying with that idea myself.

But personally, you could try playing with making some jewelry. Gives you some fun and practice with boring bars, etc. You can even make your own expanding mandrels (or buy them).

Just promise me one thing, if you do make your own rings, please do NOT wear them while machining.


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## tjb (Apr 8, 2018)

The_Apprentice said:


> When I was in high school the thing to make was a Steam Engine-- back when we thought the Western world would still produce products in the future.
> 
> The most interesting project I've heard of as late on the forum here is a yo-yo. I am thinking on toying with that idea myself.
> 
> ...


Making a yo-yo sounds like it could be an interesting learning exercise.  Couldn't find anything on a 'Search', so can you provide a link to that project?

Regards,
Terry


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## ttabbal (Apr 8, 2018)

Thanks for the ideas! 

I'm not sure if I want to do jewelry projects, but it is a good point that it would teach some important skills. And yes, absolutely no jewelry, loose clothing, loose hair, etc. while machining. 

I've considered trying a yoyo, gyroscope, top, etc.. They look like they could be interesting. 

I'm planning on getting the fire piston done next, need to hit harbor freight tomorrow for the orings. Then finish getting my milling adapter set up.


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## Tony Pisano (Apr 8, 2018)

ttabbal said:


> Thanks Ray. I hope that posting about my learning might help other students of machining. I could try to pretend that I never mess up, but I don't think anyone would believe me.


If you have a local industrial supply store, check them out. They usually have a really wide range of stuff at reasonable prices and good quality if they are supplying local shops.  And when you drill and ream, if you cant use a scale on the tailstock  or don't have one, mark your depth on the drill and reamer with a pc of masking tape.


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## The_Apprentice (Apr 9, 2018)

For the YoYo....

*Making a Custom YoYo on the Mini Lathe*





Though you could always improve that by adding bearings, etc.


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## cascao (Apr 10, 2018)

A steam model engine that is easy and funny to make is the Wobbler


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## magicniner (Apr 10, 2018)

My best suggestion is to make tooling for the lathe to expand your capabilities for when you have something you want or need to make. That or take up a hobby which requires machining to support it. 
But that's just me, I bought my lathe over 20 years ago because I needed to make things to support all my other interests and projects and struggle with the concept of not having a list as long as your arm of things you need to make ;-)


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