Lathes are very handy

[JasonW]

Found another cool use for the the lathe. Was doing the rear brakes on my truck when I decided to machine the drums on my 12x36 lathe. The lug holes just lined up with the slots on the face plate.The drums turned out pretty good with minor chatter marks on the last 1/2". I could only get two bolts to hold the small (10" dia) drum, other than that I was very pleased.
I am glad I slapped a cheap shower rod cover over my lead screw. Cast iron dust gets everywhere.

The lathe and mill/drill are proving to be very handy tools. I am glad I made the plunge. They are slowly saving me money. I can't wait to get my ball screws installed in the mill/drill

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[wierdscience]

Can I offer you some advice on cast iron?Watch out for the dust,I found out early in my career that it can cause some bad sinus infections,you might want to wear a dust mask when working it,just some advice.And ya I don't know if I could exist without a lathe!

[Thrud]

I hate even clean cast Iron. I have a Cleanstream Goretex HEPA filter on my Shopvac and it works great - hardly any mess that way.

[bspooh]

Thrud, I bet your vaccuum can't suck up your sisters meatloaf....

brent

[NickN]

Jason, What did you get for a 12x36? I've been thinking about getting one. Thanks, Nick

[JasonW]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by NickN:
Jason, What did you get for a 12x36? I've been thinking about getting one. Thanks, Nick</font>

Nick, my 12x36 gear head was a Taiwan import bought in Canada. I am sure the experts on this board will tell you to get a used American unit. Not much was available in my area so I decided to by a new. I am sure the American units are more rigid to the Asian imports.I perferred a Taiwan unit over china. I also got a deal on an RF45 mill/drill. It has been good mill so far.I wish I had the opportunity to get a good used BP. Maybe next time.

My only complaint about the mill and lathe are small oil leaks are starting to appear. They are small now, I will investigate more if they get worse. The closest lathe to mine that I can find, is this unit at Harbor freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=33274
My lathe was upgraded to a 2 Hp motor for free!
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[This message has been edited by JasonW (edited 05-03-2003).]

[This message has been edited by JasonW (edited 05-03-2003).]

[England14]

Jason, next time you turn a brake drum try wraping some sort of rubber or something simmular around the out side of the drum. Maybe an elestic belt. It will help on the chatter. Put those cast iron fillings on your rose bushes they'll love it!

[dvideo]

FWIW....

The very newest, state of the art Cell Phone Communications Networks are going up in China. Way more advanced than what is in place here, and way cheaper to operate - to boot. If we slam some of the machine tools, as they do deserve, we can also realize that the leading edge of the art will be along the chinese coast in 10 years or so. I think it will be a different art, a lot more tied to carbon fiber and electronics rather than our own approach. Precision will be an active element rather than based on mass. 50 micron tolerance with computer-vision assisted feedback. such things even on cheap systems. You can see it coming, even as today's handles break off in your hands.. strange times....

-- jr

[NickN]

Thanks Jason. That lathe at the link is like the thing called a Grizzly. A friend of mine bought one and it's leaking oil. As far as Rong Fu's, I have two - a belt drive and a gear drive. So far (going on two years) no leaks from the geardrive. And they both get a lot of use - production.

[Thrud]

brent
You trying to get me in trouble with the SPCT?

Hell no - the firehalls won't even touch it during "toxic round up week"!

Alistair and I are trying to have her bake one in a Anvil or APC shape so we can sell them. I figure the APC would prove quite profitable, but the Miltary would have to find a way to get rid of the smell of her "cooking".

It would also sell well as rat, cockroach, and maggot repellant...

(she is gonna kill me if she ever finds this site...)

[docsteve66]

So far as seals leaking goes- Bearings and seals are pretty well standardized now-a-days. I think I would consider using a "speedy Sleeve" or "Seal saver" under seals on any asian shafts.

"Cool use for a lathe"- wife insists on inflating riding mower tires by feel or thumping- and always gets them too well inflated. Air leaks through the pores she creates. Replaced tires with good tread several times. Stop leak won't fix the leaks( speed too slow, side walls leak also).

Chucked a piece of rod in the three jaw, end extending out of left hand end of the gears. Bolted the wheels to the rod, filled with leak stop, ran the thing at variable rpms (slow to keep centrifugal forces (quiet Thrud!) from keping the stop leak away from the tire's bead. Took several hours to fix one- the tire actually had a coating of stop leak on side walls. Now they stay up!!!!

[lynnl]

Now that's an original idea Steve! Do you realize you may be the first humanoid to ever use a lathe for just exactly that purpose?
One of our first objectives should always be to exceed the intelligence and imagination of our tools.

Don't know what it'll get you, unless maybe HSM sponsors an "Unusual Tool Applications" contest. But of course a happy wife certainly ranks right up there amongst the reward priorities.

[Thrud]

Lynn

Since most of us can barely pass the "dumb as an axe handle" test, (myself included) you may be asking too much to exceed the intelligence of our tools. Mind you most Ladies tend to think we use the little head for thinking anyway - hence the phrase "You are such a tool!"

High praise indeed.

[NAMPeters]

Neat use of the lathe Steve. Go easy on the wife slow leakage seems to be endemic to these small wimpy tires. I have tubed several to cure the problem but I think I will try the lathe thing on the next leaker. Thanks

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Neil Peters

[This message has been edited by NAMPeters (edited 05-08-2003).]

[docsteve66]

Neil: Wife mows through "goat head " stickers (thorns). Tubes failed. Inside her tires feels like they need a shave. She did over inflate a NEW tire though and made it leak.

I used to mow (bush hog mainly), always whacked HER plants. Sez I " woman plant those things in straight lines, maybe I can miss more." then one day I bragged "missed your xxxx's (what ever they were), come look." Derned if I had not whacked her plants and left a patch of weeds. So she took over mowing, I notice the plants are mostly in straight lines now. Widow woman says to wife "he is fooling you, any one can tell weeds from garden plants". Wife still believes I can't tell em apart.
Steve
PS: as usual, wife is right