Who has machine tools?!?

[desertT1]

I am not a big fan/user of Reddit, but I have found it useful for super specific or nuanced topics. I follow the ender3 and Tucson subs specifically because I didn’t really know where to get better information. Maybe there is a 3-in-1 sub, or maybe even one for your specific brand.

[flyweightnate]

Looks like they might be able to help with the compound base.

Wondering about forums, etc as much as anything.

[desertT1]

I'm going to set about polishing the turd... getting my inexpensive 3-in-1 to be slightly more usable, starting with a milling vise and maybe moving to an AXA on a better compound. And replacing the heavily worn, heavily loaded halfnut.

Anyone have recommendations on resources for these little hobby machines?

Not sure about 3-in-1 stuff, but little machine shop might have parts/accessories about the size you want.

[flyweightnate]

I'm going to set about polishing the turd... getting my inexpensive 3-in-1 to be slightly more usable, starting with a milling vise and maybe moving to an AXA on a better compound. And replacing the heavily worn, heavily loaded halfnut.

Anyone have recommendations on resources for these little hobby machines?

[BrickHaus]

My coworker heard me talking about my lathe and " tool steel" he brought this box of old machinist materials to to work today. Said it was his grandfathers and he didnt know what half of it is. Such a super score here!!!

[Walker]

Working weekends and not feeling well, I haven't had a chance to remove the grease and set them up. I retire on June 3rd, so I will get more time...

Not to mention, I am new to machining...... I have a lot to learn....

[DocsMachine]

Ah doc. Ill always take any knowledge you guys want to drop. I can likely learn or re learn something every day.

-That's the spirit. I certainly don't mean to sound like I'm "talking down" to anyone, and of course I can't keep track of who has years of experience and who doesn't.

When I first got into machining, I got tons of advice from lots of people- in many cases it was the same advice, repeated, and in some, it was bad advice ("Oh yeah, you can just slap that endmill in a drill chuck and go to town!" ) but it was all worth listening to.

And today, I try to give out the advice I wish I'd gotten back then.

Im hoping I know enough to make this a nice little hobby machine.

-There's tons of info online about those little lathes, full of tricks to make them better. There is, of course, a limit to how good they'll ever be, and some, like the electronic leadscrew, are kind of putting lipstick on a pig but with a little work, they're capable.

My first lathe in this biz was a Grizzly 9x20, and I did a lot of good work on that thing before upgrading. (And heck, half the reason I upgraded was just to get a bigger spindle bore. )

The tool post is a huge plus. He did add boring bars so the bar holder may also be usable.

-The problem with those is the cutting tip geometry is poor at best, and if you chip a tip, you pretty much have to have a diamond wheel to re-dress it. ($$$) They're certainly better than nothing, just be aware of the limitations.

Doc.

[XEMON]

Hey!
That's nearly the same size everything as I have in my "shop" but in a more spacious space!

Does your flat belt pop out every time you push it a bit too?

[BrickHaus]

Im gonna say the fact that your chuck adapter has counter sunk holes for mounting screws vs mine having studs and nuts on the back side of the chuck tells me our lathes are similar, but yours is built slightly better.

Awesome to see, i got my grandpqs old drill press too. It needs some work though I managed to stiffen it up enough to use it so far.

[evilfishsticks]

I picked up essentially the same lathe as BrickHaus minus the tooling just before winter. It was brand new in the box still for 200 bucks, got it off some guy whose employee asked him to get it to make boat parts and then quit like 20 years ago, so it sat unused. It's still covered in the shipping grease and I thought I'd have time to give it a good cleaning and greasing and oiling over the winter... that never happened. I also have my dad's old drill press sitting in my step mom's garage just waiting to come to my house. I'm just about wrapped up on my home renovation projects so hopefully I'll get around to using these soon.

[BrickHaus]

Ah doc. Ill always take any knowledge you guys want to drop. I can likely learn or re learn something every day.

I did service machine tools for 6 years i quit due to travel requirements and pay. In that time I did learn quite a bit about maintenance. Im hoping I know enough to make this a nice little hobby machine.

The tool post is a huge plus. He did add boring bars so the bar holder may also be usable.

He thought he had a milling table for it too, but we never found it.

[DocsMachine]

I think I mentioned it earlier in the thread, but it's worth reiterating: A manual lathe like that lives in oil. You cannot "over oil" it, unless, as I've said, your socks start to get squishy.

When you go to use it- even for a quick job- wipe down the working ways and re-oil them. Oil anything that spins, slides or pivots. Ypu''l find plastic gears and a belt drive under the left-hand cover, those you don't have to oil.

But the carriage ways, the cross-slide ways, the compound ways, the screw pivots (most of which are almost certainly not actual bearings- they're steel-on-iron, and thus must be copiously lubed.)

For something like that, a bottle of cheap motor oil is perfect, and a few bucks on eBay or Amazon should get you a good Eagle brand trigger oiler. Slightly better still, maybe grab a bottle of 90W gear lube- it's a little thicker and thus will stay in place a little longer.

In case you didn't know, that's an 0XA tool post- one of the best upgrades you can get for that machine. You've got a standard 5-piece set that it came with, but that's really only three usable toolholders- the other is a boring bar holder and the last a parting blade holder. A few bucks on eBay can get you another 3-pack or even 5-pack of standard toolholders.

AND... absolutely do not bother with anything carbide, yet. The machine simply doesn't have the rigidity, and "sharp honed" inserts are expensive and fragile. You would be far better served by a few dollars worth of 5/16" or 3/8" HSS. Grind them to shape with a bench grinder, and hone them with a whetstone or oilstone. That machine will work very well- for what it is- with sharp HSS on aluminum.

The drill chuck will be handy too, but looks like it'll need an arbor- chances are it's JT2 (Jacobs Taper2) to MT2 (Morse Taper 2) but you'll want to confirm the Jacobs before you buy.

Apologies if you know all this already, but I thought it worth noting.

Doc.

[cfos00]

I used one of these (Chinese clone) for a long time! They work great. I would recommend a wedge toolpost changer if you can get one, but they don't need major changes to do great.

[spydrmn]

I feel like I'm late to the party. Here's my slice of heaven. Southbend 9A. Grizzley bench top G463. Tawainese drill press.

[Levi]

Congrats! Lots of capability there for 300 bucks. Nice score!