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**XEMON** · 02-05-2022, 01:00 PM

Thanks for the help, found everything I need 😁

THis lathe made it's first chip in the last 3 decade ... Super smooth!

Now I need to get an AXA tool post ...

**netsurferdude2** · 04-06-2022, 02:24 PM

I finally got may lathe running over the past month.

2 weeks ago I installed the DRO to match the one I have on my mill.

I did my first threading on a lathe.

(no commenting on my thread profile. The nut fit, thats all that matters)

Made a chuck key for my 5C collet chuck.

Also I nabbed this from work for the price of scrap.
Mostly 0-1 but also D2, S7, 6061 and 12L14 (I think I need to invest in a heat treat oven)

**cougar20th** · 04-06-2022, 02:39 PM

Nothing spectacular. Its old. Its ugly. Just the way i have come to love wood or metal tools. They were just built so much better back then. Not the crap of today.

So here it is. A 1940/1950s Craftsman Minilathe (2-3 feet long total) which I am told is a rebranded Atlas. The ways have surface rust from sitting in a garage for 30 some odd years and need cleanup and possibly a very light sanding. Don't know when or if I will use it but I have it and all the parts like the motor and gears for threading. Currently it is stored in a old wood box until I figure out what to do with it.

But it being in that wood box is far better than it being scrapped which is where it was going if I didn't take it.

Attached Files

**DocsMachine** · 04-06-2022, 03:46 PM

THis lathe made it's first chip in the last 3 decade ... Super smooth!

--Noice!

Next step, ditch the lantern and the brazed carbide for a cheap AXA Aloris clone and a couple bits of 3/8" square HSS. That SouthBend book mentioned earlier has a section on grinding the tools, and with a good wheel, and a few minutes with a whetstone or oilstone, you can get some pretty darn good finishes on aluminum.

And keep that spindle oiled!

I finally got may lathe running over the past month.

-What is it? It looks vaguely Colchester-ish, but also maybe a bit Graziano? Looks pretty sturdy either way.

Also I nabbed this from work for the price of scrap.
Mostly 0-1 but also D2, S7, 6061 and 12L14 (I think I need to invest in a heat treat oven)

-Do yourself a heavy favor and mark each bar extensively and carefully. Otherwise at some time in the future you WILL find that you just spent all day making a nice part in what you thought was O1, and when you go to heat-treat it, you find it's 12L14 or mild or something.

Ask me how I know.

And if you haven't turned 12L14 yet, you're in for a treat. I love turning that stuff- perfect chips, you almost can't get a bad surface finish unless your tool is crap...

The ways have surface rust from sitting in a garage for 30 some odd years and need cleanup and possibly a very light sanding.

-I think I mentioned it earlier in this thread, but the trick to removing rust from the machined surfaces is simply a razor blade.

Get yourself a small pack of single-edge razor blades, and if you feel fancy, maybe a handle or holder of some sort. Simply scrape the rust off like you're scraping the frost off a windshield- for you sunbelt types, like you're scraping gun off a sidewalk.

The blades dull in a hurry, and DO NOT flip them over to use the other side. Toss it and get a fresh one, they're cheap enough. Once the bulk of the rust is gone, use some green Scotchbrite wetted with WD-40 to scrub the rest off. The ways will never be as smooth and bright as they originally were, but they'll be perfectly usable again.

And be sure to actually take the carriage/saddle off and do the underside, as well as the underside of the tailstock.

For things like that tailstock chuck and the leadscrew, try white vinegar or Evap-O-Rust.

Doc.

**XEMON** · 04-06-2022, 03:56 PM

Originally posted by DocsMachine View Post

--Noice!

Next step, ditch the lantern and the brazed carbide for a cheap AXA Aloris clone and a couple bits of 3/8" square HSS.
Doc.

That's literally the first thing I did after I had it running, I hate those lantern 😅
also added a tachometer, and printed a few dial holders to make life a bit easier ...
Next is to get a DRO (at least for the Z axis ...) and a collet chuck (thinking about an er40)

Attached Files

**Chachi** · 04-06-2022, 04:14 PM

PM1030 on order! should be here sometime late spring

**cougar20th** · 04-06-2022, 05:45 PM

Originally posted by DocsMachine View Post

-I think I mentioned it earlier in this thread, but the trick to removing rust from the machined surfaces is simply a razor blade.

Get yourself a small pack of single-edge razor blades, and if you feel fancy, maybe a handle or holder of some sort. Simply scrape the rust off like you're scraping the frost off a windshield- for you sunbelt types, like you're scraping gun off a sidewalk.

The blades dull in a hurry, and DO NOT flip them over to use the other side. Toss it and get a fresh one, they're cheap enough. Once the bulk of the rust is gone, use some green Scotchbrite wetted with WD-40 to scrub the rest off. The ways will never be as smooth and bright as they originally were, but they'll be perfectly usable again.

And be sure to actually take the carriage/saddle off and do the underside, as well as the underside of the tailstock.

For things like that tailstock chuck and the leadscrew, try white vinegar or Evap-O-Rust.

Doc.

Thank you. That is awesome advice.

**netsurferdude2** · 04-07-2022, 08:41 AM

Originally posted by DocsMachine View Post

-What is it? It looks vaguely Colchester-ish, but also maybe a bit Graziano? Looks pretty sturdy either way.

Graziano SAG 12. 2200lbs of sturdiness. It leaks oil like crazy but if it is leaking, that means it has enough to leak. I need to repair some of the seals.

**Reddlman** · 04-13-2022, 04:28 AM

I'm not quite to the point of owning any machines myself yet, But I have some of you guys to thank for getting my mind set on a career path. Probably 10 years ago I made a thread asking on how to become a masheenist, and I got lots of good advice. I'm currently in my 5th year of shop work, I run swiss style lathes, and I've got more experience on manuals than most of the folks in my age group. I'd post a big ol' story. But I don't feel like it. thanks guys! I'm biding my time to pick up a bridgeport locally. and it's only a matter of time before some nice toolroom lathes become available. the perks of living in michigan!

**cockerpunk** · 04-20-2022, 03:36 PM

another solution would be stoning the rust off.

**XEMON** · 06-06-2022, 10:06 PM

Nothing new per day, but keep modernizing my old lathe ... made a "chuck end stop" this we ...
it's just wood for now, but I'll likely mace one out of aluminum if I use it ...

Also found a good spot for the DRO:

**cfos00** · 07-13-2022, 12:48 AM

So I just picked up a new-to-me lathe, a 250lb 8x20 Harbor Freight that has something I'v never had before. It has a belt tension lever. When and why would I use it? What purpose does it serve (obviously add tension to the belt, but to what purpose)? Any help would be great.

**XEMON** · 07-13-2022, 01:14 AM

Heat + weight = droopy 😅

**DocsMachine** · 07-13-2022, 02:02 AM

Originally posted by cfos00 View Post

So I just picked up a new-to-me lathe, a 250lb 8x20 Harbor Freight that has something I'v never had before. It has a belt tension lever. When and why would I use it? What purpose does it serve (obviously add tension to the belt, but to what purpose)? Any help would be great.

-Generally that's when you have two or more speeds (pulley diameters) coming off the motor. The lever is a fast way to detension so you can swap from high speed to low, etc.

I've also seen people use it to release the drag from the motor, when doing hand operations- that is, things like turning the chuck by hand, to wind in or wind out a tap, or to check concentricity as you're dialing in something in the 4-jaw.

Doc.

**Chuck E Ducky** · 07-13-2022, 07:36 AM

Some of my shop tools.

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