# Just got my first lathe hooked up, now what?



## mfaith (May 19, 2014)

Just finished hooking up my first lathe. Its a g4003g. I have no experience what so ever with a lathe. Any suggestions on some simple projects to help build differant lathe skills. Great forum by the way.


----------



## stevecmo (May 19, 2014)

With absolutely no experience, I would recommend you buy some PVC pipe to play with.  Size doesn't matter.  Chuck one end up and since it's hollow and a little flimsy, support the other end with either a dead or live center.  Just practice making some cuts.  Try different speeds and feeds.  

It cuts easily and tool shape isn't critical.  You can make some various threads - although you probably won't have any nuts the right size to try them out.

Have fun and get to know the lathe and it's controls.  

Steve


----------



## 12bolts (May 19, 2014)

get in the habit of 
1) before switch on, *EVERYTIME* give the chuck a spin by hand. This will ensure you havent left the chuck key somewhere you shouldnt, and that the chuck/work can rotate without hitting something, ie the carriage.

Cheers Phil


----------



## 428Bird (May 19, 2014)

12bolts said:


> get in the habit of
> 1) before switch on, *EVERYTIME* give the chuck a spin by hand. This will ensure you havent left the chuck key somewhere you shouldnt, and that the chuck/work can rotate without hitting something, ie the carriage.
> 
> Cheers Phil



I do this every time as well, to make sure I haven't pulled a bonehead move and left the key in the chuck, or left the back gear engaged with the pin locked in the cone pulley.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk


----------



## Jamespvill (May 19, 2014)

Not to scare you away, but I would check out the safety section of the forum. It's always been my opinion that pictures make things very real. With that said, I would read up on speeds, feeds, and depth of cuts for different materials. It's also very worth reading up on different types of cutters; shapes, orientation, carbide and HSS. That way you know exactly what you need for the job. It's not always the operators fault if something just isn't working out, sometimes its the tool that's giving you the problems. 

Steve's suggestion for getting PVC is a good one, It's also worth getting some cheap solid rods of plastic from online distributors, I like Onlinemetals, They have a great selection of just about any type of stock you want. For plastic, I like UHMW its cheap and cuts really nice. 

Besides that though, to get started I would suggest something like a threaded bolt. This cover facing, OD turning to a shoulder, threading and parting. It also uses a live/dead center depending on how long your threaded rod is. Draw up a sketch and try to keep everything within a tolerance. 

I'm sure you know, but eye protection is crucial!

Past that though, Just enjoy it. If it's for a hobby, treat it as such and don't get too stressed if problems arise. That's what the forum is for!


----------

