Tooling Question?

G

Gfrost

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Well, I purchased a Tida TD5A Saturday, my first lathe!!:grin:
I have wanted a lathe for a very long time, I like to play with rifles and want get into hobby gunsmithing and assembling my own rifles as precise as possible on my own!
Now I am in need of some other items, Live Center, tail stock drill chuck, high speed tooling, dial indicators and a machinist level. These are just to start with that I figure I need right away or as soon as I can afford!


Question is where to start? Are the cheap ebay products a waste of money or are they ok? Or on what items should I spend more money and what items can I skimp on?


Gary
 
Assuming your lathe came with a chuck, I would start with a bench grinder and some HSS bit blanks. Add a live center, tailstock chuck, and center drills when you can. While there are some very good (expensive) ones available, the cheap ones are a good start. A harbor freight dial indicator on a reasonably good stand will probably serve better than a Starrett on a lousy stand.
 
You can search Ebay for lathe tooling, sort out what you want. don't buy the cheapest, nor the most expensive. In general you can find what you want for less than retail, search for free shipping, too.
 
Gfrost said:
Well, I purchased a Tida TD5A Saturday, my first lathe!!:grin:
I have wanted a lathe for a very long time, I like to play with rifles and want get into hobby gunsmithing and assembling my own rifles as precise as possible on my own!
Now I am in need of some other items, Live Center, tail stock drill chuck, high speed tooling, dial indicators and a machinist level. These are just to start with that I figure I need right away or as soon as I can afford!


Question is where to start? Are the cheap ebay products a waste of money or are they ok? Or on what items should I spend more money and what items can I skimp on?


Gary
Click to expand...
Don't skimp on Drill bits or taps
Buy the very best you can
And you want be sorry for that
They will out last everything cheap
You might pay three times as much
But I promise you you want regreat it
 
Congrats on the new lathe. The TD5A is very similar to Jet 1024/1236, Grizzly 12x37, and other lathes. If you need manuals you can find them here: http://www.hobby-machinist.com/resources/categories/jet.636/ Each of the manuals from the various mfg's often has info not covered in the other manuals. I put a group of manuals together as a "super manual" for my lathe. The Grizzly manual is the most thorough.

Grizzly still sells parts for their 12x37 (even though they no longer sell the lathe), which is same as the Jet 1024/1236 lathes and from the looks of the TD5A manual, also your lathe. So if you are missing any parts such as treading gears, you may be able to get them from Grizzly. My Jet 1024 was missing some of the treading gears, the gears I got from Grizzly were a perfect fit. http://www.grizzly.com/products/12-x-37-Belt-Drive-Gap-Bed-Lathe/G9249

If your lathe didn't come with one, I'd would consider getting a Quick Change Tool Post. I have a wedge style, AXA size, Phase II+ on my lathe. The QCTP's make life a lot nicer. I got mine as a NIB set on eBay for ~$200.
 
Actually the lathe came with 3 and 4 jaw chucks, an AXA plunger style tool post with assorted tool holders, a steady rest and tail stock.
Also the a drip pan, but the gentlemen that had the lathe had built a heavy 1/4" top table for the lathe that he included as well!

It is good to know that the Grizzly 12x37 may have be a close cousin, I may want to get some change gears to cut Metric threads??
I did check all the gears on the entire machine and did not find any broken gears, there are some corners that look a little marred here and there which I figure is to be expected with a machine of this age.
The gear in the #1 position(the smallest gear) in the quick change gear box is a little NOISY, but doesn't look damaged!

I have a bench grinder. There was a small piece of HSS .250" tooling that was broken in one of the tool holders that was ground for threading, I went ahead and ground the other end for cutting and was playing with it on a piece of aluminum round stock:eagerness: That being said I need more!

So what I gather I can skimp a little on the live center and the drill chuck but not on the tooling or drills etc.

So you think that the inexpensive dial/test indicators are safe to go with??? From say Grizzly, Harbor Freight, or Ebay???


Thank you all for all the replies, this is going to be fun!!:encourage:

Gary
 
Again, I highly recommend "Anytime Tools" as a manufacturer. They're quality is just superb for what they're asking. They have a center drill set for like $12 that is very accurate and very nice. I'd get that as soon as you can because you will always need center drills. Good luck with the lathe!
 
I have found the Harbor Freight indicators to be satisfactory, They are built with plastic parts, but they are cheap enough that if they start to stick, they can be replaced. What is more important to me is the holder. If it takes 5 minutes to set up, or sags the least bit, it is pretty useless. You need a holder that is easy to secure to the lathe, and is absolutely rigid if you are going to use an indicator to set up work in a 4 jaw chuck, or use it to control the feed. If the holder lets the indicator move a tenth of an inch, it really doesn't matter if the indicator reads to the millionth.
 
Gfrost said:
Actually the lathe came with 3 and 4 jaw chucks, an AXA plunger style tool post with assorted tool holders, a steady rest and tail stock.
Also the a drip pan, but the gentlemen that had the lathe had built a heavy 1/4" top table for the lathe that he included as well!

It is good to know that the Grizzly 12x37 may have be a close cousin, I may want to get some change gears to cut Metric threads??
I did check all the gears on the entire machine and did not find any broken gears, there are some corners that look a little marred here and there which I figure is to be expected with a machine of this age.
The gear in the #1 position(the smallest gear) in the quick change gear box is a little NOISY, but doesn't look damaged!

I have a bench grinder. There was a small piece of HSS .250" tooling that was broken in one of the tool holders that was ground for threading, I went ahead and ground the other end for cutting and was playing with it on a piece of aluminum round stock:eagerness: That being said I need more!

So what I gather I can skimp a little on the live center and the drill chuck but not on the tooling or drills etc.

So you think that the inexpensive dial/test indicators are safe to go with??? From say Grizzly, Harbor Freight, or Ebay???


Thank you all for all the replies, this is going to be fun!!:encourage:

Gary
Click to expand...

Gary, if change gears for your lathe are available, get the entire set. One day they won't be available and you'll wish you bought them. Many of us feel that a lathe is not complete without a complete change gear set.

When you consider the accessories for your machine, think about what they contribute to accuracy. A live center can determine how accurately you can turn. Ask a guy who owns a Royal or Skoda live center if it makes a difference. The larger the work piece, the bigger the difference it makes.

Your choice of drill chucks is less of an issue but even here there are good and less good choices. In my opinion, the best keyless chucks are made by Albrecht and you can get a good used one on ebay for almost what a cheap Chinese chuck goes for.

As for indicators and other measuring tools, keep in mind that you can only cut as accurately as you can measure. I know, I know, for hobby guys cheap is good but there is good cheap and junk cheap. Ebay has made it possible to buy some of the finest metrology tools for very near what a cheap Chinese tool costs. You just need to know what to look for. Go here to learn about these tools:http://www.longislandindicator.com/

Welcome to the Slippery Slope!
 
Well, since I already have an 1 SPI indicator, I opted to order another that is identical and just bought cheap magnetic bases at Harbor Freight for $12 each.
While ordering the Indicator I also ordered and inexpensive Live Center and Arbor/chuck as well, spent less than $100 for all four items shipped.
Initially nothing needs to be real precise, just want to be able to use the lathe and build ability! When needed I will probably get a different Live Center!

I do have another Question, in regards to HSS and boring bars! What size do most of you use when it comes to the HSS Stock? Am I correct in thinking that, the project dictates the size of the tooling??
And I imagine the size of the stock determines the size of the Boring Bar??

My first project is probably going to be a Spider for the Lathe, so you can see where I am going at least initially!


Gary
 
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