Heres my new lathe

[Kevin45]

+1 on the LMS kit. But the QCTP for a Chinese 9x20.
They make one specifically for your lathe, which may or may not be the same.
http://www.littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=2486&category=-419988835
Probably the tee-nut that fits the compound is the difference.
call or email Chris wood at LMS and he will get you fixed up.
This is the main thing you need, and you can buy the QCTP kit for $100 from a number of places. Tools4cheap.com had some 2nds for half that, which is what I bought.
2nd is the tailstock drill chuck, with MT2 taper on the arbor.
These are the thing you will use 90% of the time.

Later on you will want a set of change gears for $100, maybe less.
Also the boring bar set, and a steady rest.

What you have is an Atlas 618 Mk2.
The color is very close to Ford Dark Blue engine paint, available at your FLAPS

As for the cover, there are a lot more of those lathes than there are covers for them. I think i would fashion one from aluminum sheet. They only had 2 attachment points.
I have some pics of those at home

Also, you can get a PDF of the factory manual for that lathe in the files section of the Yahoo group for Atlas lathes.
Or email me and I'll send it to you.

Nice lathe at a great deal, bordering on larceny. enjoy

Along with what AR1011 stated, keep an eye out on FleaBay. Parts come up quite often and for a reasonable price. Just make sure you don't pay a lot for what you need. Parts are abundant and not made out of gold like some of the sellers think.

 

[Vince_O]

Man you guys are great! Only once have I been on a site where Ive gotten so much help right off. I think you guys will be stuck with me!

The 100.00 set up I have saved in my favs from a week ago. I was wondering if I should start out with the change able tip type tool. Ive gotten mixed reviews on what I should start with.

I have some thick pvc and I thought Id do less damage with it first. I have visions of me breaking something and it flying threw the air! Ive saved all sorts of round steel over the years and brass to use one day when I got a lathe. The bronze are thick bushings so I thought I could turn them down just to get the feel of differant materail.

I will say that when I get parts in my hands Im starting to look at them in a differant way. Im looking how it was made. Im reading as much as I can so I can just turn the unit on and make one pass. The boys and I have cleaned out a section of the shop so I can set it up. I hope I do well at the swap meet next week to give me some playing money to get the tooling, what ever I decide to go with.

Thanks so much Vince

 

[Hawkeye]

Carbide insert tools are a great thing. They also have their drawbacks when you're starting out. Carbide can't take physical shocks like High Speed Steel (HSS) can. You will read about 'interrupted cuts' on fora like this one. That's when there are breaks in the path of the tool instead of smooth, solid metal. The tool relaxes into the space and then hits the opposite wall like Wiley Coyote. This will sometimes take the edge right off it.

Plan on getting some carbide insert tooling later on, but plan on learning with HSS. Many of us have both. Some use only their carbides (except for some specialty cuts) and others will use HSS for almost everything.

When you're ready to start cutting, play with the plastic for a bit, but get onto steel fairly soon. Plan ahead. Take light cuts. Keep your 'what if's' in mind. Turn the workpiece by hand before turning on the motor, just to see what might hit what. As long as the effluent doesn't hit the air conditioning, you're golden.

 

[7HC]

............Turn the workpiece by hand before turning on the motor, just to see what might hit what.

Very good advice. If you're working close to the chuck it's surprisingly easy to have a moving part (usually a jaw) come into contact with a stationary one. It'll also make sure you didn't leave the key in the chuck (it's easily done!).


M

 

[Vince_O]

Mike

Funny you mention that cut. I just watched a you tube vid on that.

I didnt get a key or the small wrench to tighten the tool in the post. So that said, I like my small fine tooth snap on 1/4 drive ratchet too much to leave it in there! :lmao: Not to mention it cost too much!

I watched some south bend movies tonight. I saw where they had a lathe running with nothing in the chuck showing the auto feed. I think Ill do this too, turn it on and watch how things work and run.

My kids are home schooled and one said to me, "what are you doing"? I simply looked at him and said, "My homework, now go to bed"! :lmao:

 

[Kevin45]

The next time you order anything, invest in a couple of stones. You'll want a medium hand stone, either square or triangular shape, then you want to get a diamond impregnated stone. You will use these to dress the tips of your cutting tools from time to time. If you order a holder and then order carbide inserts, get an insert that has a very slight radius on the tip. A .010 minimum will work great. Reason being is that a cutting tool with a sharp tip with no radius will give you a crappy cut and the metal you are turning will be all furred up. With a slight radius, that same piece of material will be baby butt smooth. On a sharp carbide tip, if you hit the tip just slightly with a diamond impregnated stone, it will break the point enough to give it a couple of thou radius and a super nice cut.

 

[rock_breaker]

Vince,

I overlooked setting the lathe up on a bench, a well built wooden bench will do. It should have cross timbers under the table top where the lathe feet fasten to the bench. A smooth table top really helps in the chip clean-up. You may want to plan for some drawers too. Sturdy and level, again there is a lot written about lathe mounting.

I was raised with a turret (candle stick?) tool holder like you have and have recently gotten into the carbide stuff--carbide works well on uniform cuts but it can't stand impacts. I have read somewhere that early day machinists ground their own bits using milder steels then heat treating it to cut the projct material. I go back to the turret holder when working in close conditions.

Good luck and enjoy.

Ray

 

[Kevin45]

Vince,

I overlooked setting the lathe up on a bench, a well built wooden bench will do. It should have cross timbers under the table top where the lathe feet fasten to the bench. A smooth table top really helps in the chip clean-up. You may want to plan for some drawers too. Sturdy and level, again there is a lot written about lathe mounting.

I was raised with a turret (candle stick?) tool holder like you have and have recently gotten into the carbide stuff--carbide works well on uniform cuts but it can't stand impacts. I have read somewhere that early day machinists ground their own bits using milder steels then heat treating it to cut the projct material. I go back to the turret holder when working in close conditions.

Good luck and enjoy.

Ray

Back in the day they did do that. When I started out as a Toolmaker 30+ years ago, we used to make specialty tool-bits all of the time. This was back before we had CNC's in our department. Most of the tools were made out of 0-1 tool steel. The body of the tool was made out of 0-1 with a 10-32 threaded hole and a 1/8" pin. We could then make the tool with any shape that we needed, harden it, then mount it to the body. Other pieces were cut in maybe a .625 square piece of tool steel, then hardened. It was not unusual to have a complete drawer full of specialty cutters for the lathe. When CNC mills and lathes became commonplace, one didn't have to make special cutters as often. In the last few years, I doubt that I made one special cutter at all. But for a home machinist, it is almost a necessity to do. Any tool steel that you can harden at home will work fine. 0-1 if you have a way to quench it, or water hardening being two of the most popular for home.

 

[Vince_O]

Ok so I took some pics of what is a torn apart shop getting ready for the sale next week. I dont have much room so Im in the prosses of figuring out how I wana add on. Right now Im over whelmed with engines in various states, not to mention the one in the back of my sweedish pick up truck.

I think im going to put the lathe where the black engine is. Im waiting on a friend in Iowa to make me a new drive shaft on his lathe so I can put the eng in. That will free up that corner. Also all the welding rods on the cart are getting moved into a small dorm refrigerator under the work table that the lathe is sitting on now. Im going to take out the shelves and biuld the table or bench , what ever the proper name for it would be. I have a small drill press that Ive used for some years and works well for what I do, but would like one that turned a bit slower.

As you can see I have engines tucked everyware:whiteflag:

 

[Vince_O]

So heres some more questions about my lathe. First the motor, Im thinking I need one with a key way on it as it looks like it has spun before on the shaft.