# New here, have some questions.



## Euclid (Oct 22, 2020)

Hi all,

I just joined the site, glad to be here. I just decided to get back into all of this and came across what I hope was a good deal. Haven't got everything sorted out yet, but I hope someone would help me get things going.

I have a background in machining (AS9100 certified for Boeing Defence) but only delt with CNCVMCs (HASS Makino SNK) and the occasional manual lathe and bridgeport. These things are so tiny I don't quite know where the limitations are. I've seen the belt drives and metal gears and would like to know what options I have to achieve the most accurate and repeatable results while increasing it's productivity and capabilities.  I may want to do the CNC router down the road for the mill but for now just a recommendation on a good DRO system and QCTP for the lathe (I intend to buy the larger bed from little machine shop) and a recommendation for a larger cross-slide DRO and potential motor swap for the mill. I plan on cutting 7075 60% of the time (spindle is really kinda slow for aluminum) and mild steel to stainless the other 40%

Also as I didn't get any documentation with this, what should I be looking at as far as PM before I begin running them?

I found all of this from a guy who's girlfriends dad had passed away and let me walk away with everything for $500. Said the guy use to make RC parts with them. I dug through the box when I got it home and was pleased to find the tooling that I did. I think I made out alright but I hope that it wasn't all a bust. Again I never had such faith in Chinese tools.

Here is everything I got.


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## RJSakowski (Oct 22, 2020)

Welcome to the forum!  It looks like you made quite a haul.

PM is to a large extent common sense.  The machines and everything else for that matter appears to be well maintained so if it were me, I wouldn't strip everything down for cleaning.  The Central Machinery are from Harbor Freight,; the Klutch is carried by Northern Tool.  This should be the manual for the mill.  https://www.northerntool.com/images/downloads/manuals/49657.pdf

Try this for the lathe; https://manuals.harborfreight.com/manuals/93000-93999/93212.pdf

There are two manuals listed for the drill press.  Select the one with your model number.  The link to the manuals is at the lower right of the product overview section. https://www.harborfreight.com/power...ses/8-in-5-speed-bench-drill-press-60238.html


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## Janderso (Oct 22, 2020)

Oh it's a slippery slope my friend.
Looks like you are getting into model building.
Try out some of the Stuart or PM steam engines.
Just my 2 cents.
A hearty welcome sir!!


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## Euclid (Oct 22, 2020)

Thank you for the links to the manuals. I guess these things aren't too particular when it come to the type of oil and grease you use. I still plan a full teardown once I decided on the upgrades. They seem ok'ish for what they are but I can see a lot of room for improvement as to the fit finish and rigidity. I don't see these things holding + - .001" the way they are. 

As for the slippery slope, I just hope that I don't bust my a** on the way down lol..
I wasn't intending to use these for model building, but it would seem like a good test project. Like I had said I was a machinist years ago (sadly sold all my Kennedys that were full of tools when I got out of it) but with my other Hobbies I frequently find myself needing to have the equipment to make parts or modifications, that and I am a product developer at my current job so I have already struck a deal on doing some small prototyping.


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## matthewsx (Oct 22, 2020)

Hi and welcome.

I think I see a small VMC in your future, at least if you hang around here for long....

$500 for all that stuff....



John


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## Euclid (Oct 22, 2020)

matthewsx said:


> Hi and welcome.
> 
> I think I see a small VMC in your future, at least if you hang around here for long....
> 
> ...


Lol, yeah honestly the guy just wanted to get rid of it and didn't think twice about what all the tooling was worth. I wasn't expecting quality but I did find a few gems





	

		
			
		

		
	
 ..


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## DavidR8 (Oct 22, 2020)

Welcome to the rabbit hole! 
It's a great place though, really it is


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## NCjeeper (Oct 22, 2020)

I believe the yellow face DTI is a counterfeit. I have one too I got as a gift in some Chinese tooling. I like the way they misspelled Mitutoyo.


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## Euclid (Oct 22, 2020)

NCjeeper said:


> I believe the yellow face DTI is a counterfeit. I have one too I got as a gift in some Chinese tooling. I like the way they misspelled Mitutoyo.


Well I'll be dam.. the commies got me lol.. I ain't never seen such a thing. Should have known when I seen it was metric. At least the other still has the calibration sticker. And let me find out they cloned the Starrett edgefinder I got with it too and I'm going to be ******. Lol


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## addertooth (Oct 22, 2020)

On the Lathe, add up the cost of:
Brass Gibs, Longer cross travel Saddle (black DRO version), offset compound (for less chatter), LMS DRO kit, Longer 16 inch bed kit, cam-lock tail stock, Steel gear set for feed screw, steel gear set for the Headstock, tapered bearing set for the headstock, OXA Quick Change Tool Post, Saddle lock, Saddle Stop, 4 inch 3-Jaw Chuck, etc.

The existing 3 Jaw chuck which comes with your lathe can only open up about 1.15 inches with the inside jaws.  If you put on the outside jaws, it will open up 2.75 inches.  You may wish to put a larger outer diameter in your lathe than 2.75 inches.  You may wish to chuck up something larger than 1.15 inches without swapping the jaws.  The extended saddle will allow you to move your tool one inch further from the center line, which helps with some cuts on larger items. The brass gibs, tapered bearings, and offset compound all work together to give you less chatter. The OXA post makes tool change a breeze.  Set the height once on a tool, and never have to touch it again (as long as you leave it in the same tool holder). Replace the plastic gears in the headstock for greater reliability.  Replace the plastic feed screw gears with steel gears for better reliability.  The saddle lock is great for when you are doing facing cuts, and you don't want to have to put the feed transmission in neutral (and engage the feed screw handle), to lock the position of the saddle.  The saddle stop allows you to hit the exact same "facing" mark with great accuracy.  

If you are into neatness, LMS sells a cover for the lathe, as well as steel wheels to replace the black plastic ones. 

If you do nothing else, the OXA post is a good choice.  it accepts tools up to 12mm or 1/2 inch in diameter.


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## Euclid (Oct 23, 2020)

addertooth said:


> On the Lathe, add up the cost of:
> Brass Gibs, Longer cross travel Saddle (black DRO version), offset compound (for less chatter), LMS DRO kit, Longer 16 inch bed kit, cam-lock tail stock, Steel gear set for feed screw, steel gear set for the Headstock, tapered bearing set for the headstock, OXA Quick Change Tool Post, Saddle lock, Saddle Stop, 4 inch 3-Jaw Chuck, etc.
> 
> The existing 3 Jaw chuck which comes with your lathe can only open up about 1.15 inches with the inside jaws.  If you put on the outside jaws, it will open up 2.75 inches.  You may wish to put a larger outer diameter in your lathe than 2.75 inches.  You may wish to chuck up something larger than 1.15 inches without swapping the jaws.  The extended saddle will allow you to move your tool one inch further from the center line, which helps with some cuts on larger items. The brass gibs, tapered bearings, and offset compound all work together to give you less chatter. The OXA post makes tool change a breeze.  Set the height once on a tool, and never have to touch it again (as long as you leave it in the same tool holder). Replace the plastic gears in the headstock for greater reliability.  Replace the plastic feed screw gears with steel gears for better reliability.  The saddle lock is great for when you are doing facing cuts, and you don't want to have to put the feed transmission in neutral (and engage the feed screw handle), to lock the position of the saddle.  The saddle stop allows you to hit the exact same "facing" mark with great accuracy.
> ...


Outstanding, that the information I was looking for. So pretty much it's a complete rebuild. Judging by the cost, would it be best to upgrade to a 8x 250# or more rig? I'm afraid the same amount of work would have to be done to it as well. Bringing the overall cost up along with it. I don't need a huge machine and 3/4 spindle bore is fine. I don't plan on turning anything more than 2.25" dia and 10" overall which can be done on a 16" bed. Call me crazy but I like 4 jaws. Just how I was taught. Yea it takes a little longer but you can do alot more with them. 

What is your take on a motor upgrade or possible VS auto feed?


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## addertooth (Oct 23, 2020)

Your admiration for 4 jaw chucks are well founded, you will receive no scoffing from me on that point.  I just bought a 4 inch 4-Jaw chuck for that very reason.   As for the ten inch length, that is very doable, provided you have no intention to drill or do Internal diameter cuts with a 16 inch bed.  A 16 inch bed is 16 inches center (where the chuck is) and a center in the tailstock.  Once you put a chuck on, you lose some length.  Then, unless you will use a Morse taper drill (to avoid the length of the MT2 to Jacobs chuck adapter, the length of the Jacobs chuck, and the length of the drill itself).

I have a 7 X 16 lathe (it pretty much has all the add-on features I want), and would tell you that ten inch Part lengths would be decided by how stubby your drill bit is.  Four Jaw chucks have the advantage of opening wider than their 3-jawed brethren.  The lathe I am using has a 500 Watt, (about 5/8ths Horsepower), it seems to be plenty of power.  It had no problem boring with a 3/4 drill bit, or working 2 inch diameters with a replaceable carbide tool.  It is well understood that a well shaped and sharpened High Speed Tool Steel cuts with lower HP than a classical replaceable Carbide tool.  As a general rule, you seem to get more useable torque out of Brushless motors than Brushed motors (if the controller card in the lathe compensates for load). 

I ended up buying an LMS 7350, but still added steel feed gears, and other features to "max it out".  It came with a 4 inch chuck, brushless motor, DRO, BUT purchased a carriage lock, brass gibs, extended travel saddle and offset compound. Like you, I have no intent of doing parts larger than 2.5 inches in diameter, and and most are under 10 inches Long.  The exception will be items under 3/4 inches in diameter which can be fed THROUGH the spindle.  For that I purchased a "spider" to support rod which sticks out beyond the back side of the spindle.  I have friends who do custom chain mail, and they want custom diameter mandrels made to make rings of a very specific size. I also have a "Bearing Center rest, which can support those rods without the use of the tailstock to maintain center.  The combination of the spider and the bearing center rest allows me to do mandrels of 36 inches or longer (provided I cut the Outer Diameter about 12 inches at a time.


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