Help me pick a tool post for my SD300 lathe

[Dinsen]

Thanks for the info, I will be reading this tonight.





Thank you for the kind words, and you're welcome. I will be selling the SD300 in the future as I have acquired a brand new SD400, two of them actually. Ill be selling off one of those as soon as I'm finished with the repairs and modifications I plan on doing and keeping the new one to modify as well.

As to the part in bold, please do. The more information we can gather here the better it will be for everyone involved.

ETA, just now seeing your thread.

Congrats on the new lathes. Just skimmed through your thread. Very cool work and machinery!

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Congrats on the new lathes. Just skimmed through your thread. Very cool work and machinery!

Thanks, I’m having a blast with these.

There is a tool company in Europe, RC tools? That I wish we had access to over here. I mean, I’m sure they would ship items to me but shipping would easily double the cost.

I can’t for the life of me find a link right now. They have some of the nicest home shop tools I have ever seen.

ETA: found it, RCM

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[Dinsen]

Thanks, I’m having a blast with these.

You should!

There is a tool company in Europe, RC tools? That I wish we had access to over here. I mean, I’m sure they would ship items to me but shipping would easily double the cost.

I can’t for the life of me find a link right now. They have some of the nicest home shop tools I have ever seen.

ETA: found it, RCM

Machines

Machines ✓ Our NEW assortment with over 20,000 articles ✓ Discover our wide assortment with monthly OFFERS ✓

www.rcm-machines.com

Wow yeah, they have some very nice stuff! Luxemburg is far from me, but shipping costs seem fair as long as I'm not buying a whole machine (which I will not anyway as I prefer getting something used). I have a local metal distributor that will supply scrap metal. I'll go there tomorrow to pick up some stuff to play with.

 

[Pevehouse]

The BF500 is the geared head mill, and I believe your lathe IIRC is the SD300

Yes sir, I am pretty sure the mill is the BF500, just wasn’t sure on the lathe. It’s tiny to have such a large mill on it. I measured the swing and it’s like 2.5” from bed to center of spindle. So I guess that makes it a 5” swing

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Yes sir, I am pretty sure the mill is the BF500, just wasn’t sure on the lathe. It’s tiny to have such a large mill on it. I measured the swing and it’s like 2.5” from bed to center of spindle. So I guess that makes it a 5” swing

Yes they are a 5" machine, but when set up correctly they will outperform much larger machines out there.

They're literally miniaturized industrial machines.

 

[Pevehouse]

Yes they are a 5" machine, but when set up correctly they will outperform much larger machines out there.

They're literally miniaturized industrial machines.

Awesome, this one needs a lot of tinkering. It’s bone stock and has never had any kind of upgrades done to it. It most def needs some handles on the carriage locking screws. Sucks having to tighten it to move the carriage and loosen it to lock it if you follow me. Would not be so bad with some custom handles

 

[Pevehouse]

Yes they are a 5" machine, but when set up correctly they will outperform much larger machines out there.

They're literally miniaturized industrial machines.

Any chance you know the guy that’s parting one of these out on eBay? I could really use the tail stock he has on there but he’s got a handsome price tag on it. I may end up buying it anyway. The one that came on my machine was imperial and the one that’s on it now is metric. I would like to put an imperial back on it.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Any chance you know the guy that’s parting one of these out on eBay? I could really use the tail stock he has on there but he’s got a handsome price tag on it. I may end up buying it anyway. The one that came on my machine was imperial and the one that’s on it now is metric. I would like to put an imperial back on it.

Kinda?

I've bought and sold with him on occasion. I just looked for the tailstock and saw things I sold him for sale last year, its kinda his business. He does have just the ram and screw for sale also, but TBH I wouldn't bother unless your stuff is broke.

I would instead make a digital tailstock readout from an old set of calipers.

As to locking/unlocking the carriage, I just set mine so its stiff but movable and use it like that. You want to be careful with the "Fixing screws" as you can crack the carriage if you misapply tension on them.

 

[Pevehouse]

Kinda?

I've bought and sold with him on occasion. I just looked for the tailstock and saw things I sold him for sale last year, its kinda his business. He does have just the ram and screw for sale also, but TBH I wouldn't bother unless your stuff is broke.

I would instead make a digital tailstock readout from an old set of calipers.

As to locking/unlocking the carriage, I just set mine so its stiff but movable and use it like that. You want to be careful with the "Fixing screws" as you can crack the carriage if you misapply tension on them.

Yes sir I understand about the tensioning screw. When I bought the machine the tailstock had been cracked in that manner, hence the metric tailstock,lol. I assume that’s what happened to it. I was extremely upset at the guy I got it from but what do you do? Had a friend of mine that works in Germany get me one from over there but it’s metric and I have not checked to see if the height of the tail stock casting is the same therefor I could really use the entire tail stock just in case

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Yes sir I understand about the tensioning screw. When I bought the machine the tailstock had been cracked in that manner, hence the metric tailstock,lol. I assume that’s what happened to it. I was extremely upset at the guy I got it from but what do you do? Had a friend of mine that works in Germany get me one from over there but it’s metric and I have not checked to see if the height of the tail stock casting is the same therefor I could really use the entire tail stock just in case

I dont think you will find many outward differences between the two. I would suspect the difference to be in the quill screw pitch and the depth dial.


Any more than that would only add to the production cost.

I actually have an MD200 quill and screw in mine as it turns the "correct" way from my perspective. I could have probably used the whole tailstock, but just swapping the guts was easier and works fine.


ETA: I just went back and looked at a post I made about the tailstock I made last year. Its likely you do not even have a graduated handwheel on your tailstock. Buy you could get one by swapping out the quill and screw from an MD200, like I did.


Half way through this post it where I talk about this.

RBW's adventures in tiny Industrial machines. Prazi lathe and milling machine score.

I have lusted after machine tools since 9th grade shop when I made a working cannon, and much to my shop teachers dismay set off all of the car alarms in the neighborhood with it outside of the shop doors in the faculty parking lot. He thought this was impossible for a kid like me, but I had...

www.hobby-machinist.com

I swapped out the quill/screw from that machine and sold it complete with no trouble, as most people don't actually care how the handwheel turns on a small machine like this. Its really only once you get into a shop and start working on a wide variety of machines that this will be noticed.

Watchmakers lathes (Like the MD200) often have unique features that differ from the norm.