Dennis Shinn wrote:

Totally new to metal turning on an engine lathe. Bought an inexpensive
(read cheap Chinese) Grizzly machine which is about all I really need
for my hobby type projects but - seems to me I'm getting way more
chatter trying to turn stuff than even this machine should produce.

I'm trying to turn a grooved disk, 3" in diameter. I faced off a piece
of stock (in a three jaw) and turned about 2" reasonably true. Then
took an old carbide cutter my brother gave me, looked something like a
thread cutting tool, and ground the end to about a 3/8" radius. On a
green wheel, of course.

If I 'touch up' the tool on the ginder, go back to the lathe, I'll get
a really nice curly chip off the stock at first then the tool will
start to chatter and I'll get a whole mess of little semi-circular
shavings, if you will.

I've checked and rechecked the tool for center and it's as close as I
can get. This chatter occurs with or without lube. (Using Lennox
ProLube applied manually).

Am I just asking more of this lathe than it can produce? It's the
12x36 Grizzly gear head model.


What Randy said, but if it's a new lathe and you're new to it make sure
that you've taken out the lash on the ways, cross slide and (if you use
it) the compound. You should tighten the gibs until the horizontal feed
won't move, then back it off until you can still feel some resistance.
Do the same for the cross feed and compount.

That won't necessarily fix things, but if you have things too loose
there it _will_ chatter. Rigid tools chatter less.

--
-------------------------------------------
Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com