New (to me) lathe and mill, now what are some good projects that will help me learn?

A little different from the using tools to make tools, one of the first projects I tackled was a gyroscope, modeled after the toys I saw as a kid. Picked up the idea from clickspring on youtube. I believe @WobblyHand is working on one or more as gifts for grandkids.

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I'm probably leaning towards 360 brass, 6061 aluminum, 12L14 and 304 steel bars and blocks.
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In my experience stainless is going to be the most challenging to work with, 303 being a bit easier than 304. It tends to work harden so is unforgiving and best handled on larger machines that can fairly aggressive cuts.

Take the time and effort to set yourself up to grind your own HSS lathe tools.
 
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bill stupak said:
A decent 0-1 micrometer and a 6" caliper to start
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The stress must be on "decent". We can't all splash on (say) Mitutoyo all at once!

I winced a bit at the £136 for a Mitutoyo caliper, so I settled for iGaging OriginCal. It seems to be Mitutoyo class quality when it comes to repeatable zero, and tests on gauge blocks. I recall it cost around £55 at the time. It's only downside is it does not have auto switch-off. Many folk just use the $15 calipers from eBay. The better ones can be useful, the worst are just junk! Reasonable are still cheap enough to not mourn when you break them, but I won't buy that sort again.

Getting lucky, I scored a Mitutoyo 25mm 0.001mm vernier micrometer from eBay for £13.50. It took about 5 minutes to find out (and fix) it's sticky barrel problem. Now calibrated, it's great! It's also OTT, and I keep it for critical measuring. 0.001mm is only about 40 millionths in inches.

More useful (in USA-speak) for general use at a machine might be a 0.0005" resolution, or a 0.001" resolution micrometer. Asian import sets are not very expensive. Now, you can get a 4-set of carbide tipped 0.0001" resolution 1", 2", 3" and 4" for around $60. Bill is right. Do not skimp on this basic stuff!
 
A decent set of calipers and a 1" micrometer are pretty much requirements, although you can do a lot with just the calipers.

A hammer with brass and/or plastic faces is useful and a good learning project. Always try to push yourself just enough that some small, recoverable, mistakes are inevitable - you won't learn by picking stuff that's too easy nor stuff that's completely outside your skill set. Hammers are great because you can make them fancier, try for close thread fits, and always, always, work on your finish.

Other great projects that can be scaled to your abilities are machinist's jacks, workstops (vise mounted and table mounted), indicator holders for your lathe toolpost, a lathe tool height gauge, organizers / holders for your tailstock or mill spindle tools, a finger plate, wire bending fixtures, soft vise jaws, any number of clamps and hold-downs, replace any cheap knobs or levers on your tools with quality custom knobs, something to adapt an indicator to your tailstock, a tailstock tap and/or die fixture, custom work light mount, a grinding table or other fixtures for grinding HSS toolbits on your bench grinder, a depth gauge - these are all useful additions to your new shop and can be made as simple or as complex as your skills allow.

A caution on tool recommendations. There are a few tools that are pretty fundamental - like calipers and a mic. Most tools, however, have a utility based upon what YOU work on and how YOU solve the problem at hand. I strongly recommend trying to get by with whatever you have and only buying tools when you find yourself *repeatedly* wishing you had something. This advice will necessarily slow you down on some projects, but I can promise you it will save you a lot of dollars and regrets over time. I still fall prey to the odd recommendation - and don't get me wrong, some of the recommendations I've received have been great - but I've also frittered away money on "indispensable" tools that I end up just not using, or rarely using.

Finally, do your research. Check sizes, machine power requirements, and suitability. This forum, and the internet in general, are great places to help you avoid costly mistakes like purchasing tools of inadequate quality or ill-suited to the work you do and/or the tools you own.

GsT
 
GeneT45 said:
A decent set of calipers and a 1" micrometer are pretty much requirements, although you can do a lot with just the calipers.

A hammer with brass and/or plastic faces is useful and a good learning project. Always try to push yourself just enough that some small, recoverable, mistakes are inevitable - you won't learn by picking stuff that's too easy nor stuff that's completely outside your skill set. Hammers are great because you can make them fancier, try for close thread fits, and always, always, work on your finish.

Other great projects that can be scaled to your abilities are machinist's jacks, workstops (vise mounted and table mounted), indicator holders for your lathe toolpost, a lathe tool height gauge, organizers / holders for your tailstock or mill spindle tools, a finger plate, wire bending fixtures, soft vise jaws, any number of clamps and hold-downs, replace any cheap knobs or levers on your tools with quality custom knobs, something to adapt an indicator to your tailstock, a tailstock tap and/or die fixture, custom work light mount, a grinding table or other fixtures for grinding HSS toolbits on your bench grinder, a depth gauge - these are all useful additions to your new shop and can be made as simple or as complex as your skills allow.

A caution on tool recommendations. There are a few tools that are pretty fundamental - like calipers and a mic. Most tools, however, have a utility based upon what YOU work on and how YOU solve the problem at hand. I strongly recommend trying to get by with whatever you have and only buying tools when you find yourself *repeatedly* wishing you had something. This advice will necessarily slow you down on some projects, but I can promise you it will save you a lot of dollars and regrets over time. I still fall prey to the odd recommendation - and don't get me wrong, some of the recommendations I've received have been great - but I've also frittered away money on "indispensable" tools that I end up just not using, or rarely using.

Finally, do your research. Check sizes, machine power requirements, and suitability. This forum, and the internet in general, are great places to help you avoid costly mistakes like purchasing tools of inadequate quality or ill-suited to the work you do and/or the tools you own.

GsT
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My grandfather gave the same advice when I was young:

"Don't ever ask to borrow a tool more than once. If you need to borrow it more than once, you need to own it."

And then I usually buy the best tool that I can justify.

"Buy once, cry once."

Especially when it comes to metrology.






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graham-xrf said:
The stress must be on "decent". We can't all splash on (say) Mitutoyo all at once!

I winced a bit at the £136 for a Mitutoyo caliper, so I settled for iGaging OriginCal. It seems to be Mitutoyo class quality when it comes to repeatable zero, and tests on gauge blocks. I recall it cost around £55 at the time. It's only downside is it does not have auto switch-off. Many folk just use the $15 calipers from eBay. The better ones can be useful, the worst are just junk! Reasonable are still cheap enough to not mourn when you break them, but I won't buy that sort again.

Getting lucky, I scored a Mitutoyo 25mm 0.001mm vernier micrometer from eBay for £13.50. It took about 5 minutes to find out (and fix) it's sticky barrel problem. Now calibrated, it's great! It's also OTT, and I keep it for critical measuring. 0.001mm is only about 40 millionths in inches.

More useful (in USA-speak) for general use at a machine might be a 0.0005" resolution, or a 0.001" resolution micrometer. Asian import sets are not very expensive. Now, you can get a 4-set of carbide tipped 0.0001" resolution 1", 2", 3" and 4" for around $60. Bill is right. Do not skimp on this basic stuff!
Click to expand...
My pawnshop score of the century was this for $20, A mitutoyo 6 inch digital caliper.


I'll probably never be a good enough machinist to justify needing it's specs, but a deal that good, you can't pass up.
f72d5486c0cbc53a95e5d9f19e690134.jpg


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snoopdog said:
Save the money on a runout bar
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Can I ask why, since I have to reset concentricity every time I convert from lathe to mill, and I have no intention on buying an additional mill?

(My entire wood/metal shop has to fit in one bay of a two car garage, so space is at a premium)



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Ppl, I apologize if your mentions are now a jumbled mess with my quoting you to reply.

The only thing I have less experience with than machining is tapatalk, and this is my first thread.

Thanks so far so much for the amazing replies and advice.



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