I found a 36 inch used metal lathe for sale for 350. What would this be
good for? I like working with metal. I have a couple of welders and am
wanting to increase my tools in my garage!

wrote:
I found a 36 inch used metal lathe for sale for 350. What
would this be good for? I like working with metal. [...]

Making round things, with or without threads. Some people make
fittings, steam engines, brass cannons, telescope/camera adapters...

On 22 Apr 2005 07:12:37 -0700, Dave wrote:
wrote:
I found a 36 inch used metal lathe for sale for 350. What
would this be good for? I like working with metal. [...]

Making round things, with or without threads. Some people make
fittings, steam engines, brass cannons, telescope/camera adapters...

Camera adapter plates for medium and large format cameras. I think my
machines have been used more for that in the last year, than for anything
else. Having a friend who is a semi-pro photographer, and who knows lots
of people, probably has something to do with that. It's fiddly, one-off,
very occasional work, which is the sort of thing I like. Want one or two?
No problem. Want a couple dozen? I know a guy with a shop, here's his
card...

Make SQUARE things too. It oftens comes as a real shock to
non-metalworkers
that you can TURN a perfect CUBE on a lathe -- as long as you've got a
four-jaw
on it.

- Carl

"Dave" wrote in message
ps.com...
wrote:
I found a 36 inch used metal lathe for sale for 350. What
would this be good for? I like working with metal. [...]

Making round things, with or without threads. Some people make
fittings, steam engines, brass cannons, telescope/camera adapters...

Now that is something I would not think of, since what you are really
saying is that you can make flat surfaces. If you are making a flat
surface how do you decide whether to use the lathe or the mill?

Carl Hoffmeyer wrote:
Make SQUARE things too. It oftens comes as a real shock
to non-metalworkers that you can TURN a perfect CUBE on a
lathe -- as long as you've got a four-jaw on it.

- Carl

"Dave" wrote:
wrote:
I found a 36 inch used metal lathe for sale for 350. What
would this be good for? I like working with metal. [...]

Making round things, with or without threads. Some people
make fittings, steam engines, brass cannons, telescope/camera
adapters...

"Dave" wrote in message
oups.com...
Now that is something I would not think of, since what you are really
saying is that you can make flat surfaces. If you are making a flat
surface how do you decide whether to use the lathe or the mill?

Almost anything that can be done on a mill can be done on a lathe .. and
vice-versa. The choice is one of matching geometries. For example, while
one can turn things on a mill, you would be hard put to turn a 1/2" diameter
by 24" long shaft on a mill. But a 1/2" thick by 24" diameter might be
do-able. Similarly, a rotary table is a slow and inconvenient way to turn
things .. but suppose you have to turn only a partial circle. You can, as
stated earlier, make flat surfaces on a lathe using a four-jaw chuck or some
other holding device but it will get increasingly more difficult as you
progress and take far longer than the same operation on a mill. Also, to
mill a long item on a lathe would be difficult and tedious using a milling
attachment, or require a huge lathe. But the decision isn't difficult. If
it's mostly flat, you go for a mill. Mostly round, its the lathe. Also,
try threading on a mill without using taps or dies. With very really
modest amount of experience, and if you have both tools at your disposal, it
is rarely a deep question.
The interesting question, though is how to machine things that are
difficult on either a lathe or a mill ... a keyway slot in a pulley is the
first one that comes to mind --easier on a lathe than on a mill. Also, the
question of milling on a lathe should be restricted to not using a milling
vice because that's really a kind of cheating. Conversely, except for
doing partial circles, a rotary table should be left out because it is to
the mill what the milling vice is to the lathe.

Boris

--

-------------------------------------
Boris Beizer Ph.D. Seminars and Consulting
1232 Glenbrook Road on Software Testing and
Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006 Quality Assurance

TEL: 215-572-5580
FAX: 215-886-0144
Email bsquare "at" sprintmail.com

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"Boris Beizer" wrote in message
nk.net...

"Dave" wrote in message
oups.com...
Now that is something I would not think of, since what you are really
saying is that you can make flat surfaces. If you are making a flat
surface how do you decide whether to use the lathe or the mill?

Almost anything that can be done on a mill can be done on a lathe .. and
vice-versa. The choice is one of matching geometries. For example, while
one can turn things on a mill, you would be hard put to turn a 1/2"
diameter
by 24" long shaft on a mill. But a 1/2" thick by 24" diameter might be
do-able. Similarly, a rotary table is a slow and inconvenient way to
turn
things .. but suppose you have to turn only a partial circle. You can,
as
stated earlier, make flat surfaces on a lathe using a four-jaw chuck or
some
other holding device but it will get increasingly more difficult as you
progress and take far longer than the same operation on a mill. Also, to
mill a long item on a lathe would be difficult and tedious using a milling
attachment, or require a huge lathe. But the decision isn't difficult. If
it's mostly flat, you go for a mill. Mostly round, its the lathe. Also,
try threading on a mill without using taps or dies. With very really
modest amount of experience, and if you have both tools at your disposal,
it
is rarely a deep question.
The interesting question, though is how to machine things that
are
difficult on either a lathe or a mill ... a keyway slot in a pulley is the
first one that comes to mind --
snip

At that point you pull out a shaper :-)
- Carl

On 22 Apr 2005 05:34:32 -0700, wrote:

I found a 36 inch used metal lathe for sale for 350. What would this be
good for? I like working with metal. I have a couple of welders and am
wanting to increase my tools in my garage!

Normally...a "36 inch lathe" means (at least in the USA) a lathe that
will swing an object 36" in diameter. A huge monster of a lathe
suitble for making battleship parts, locomotives and such.

Now if its a lathe that can spin a part 36" Long...then thats exactly
what you can use easily at home.

You can make pins and bushings, bolts, threaded items, flashlights,
earthworm shockers, clocks and watches, dead falls, blunt instruments,
test equipment, diamond cutters, sex toys and sex machines, G

Look around you. Virtually anything round can be made on a lathe.
The uses are endless.

I just made a bunch of contact tips for my several MIG welders a few
weeks ago. I think I now have a lifetime supply G

Gunner

Rule #35
"That which does not kill you,
has made a huge tactical error"

Can you "mill out" with a lathe? Like make a rectangle hole bigger in a
pto yoke?

With the right tool attachments and a little ingenuity, there is little you
CAN'T do on a lathe.
As for your specific question a little more detail is required. If you want
to mill a rectangular hole with rounded corners, then yes, with the proper
tooling attachment sit might be done on a lathe (it might be better done on
a mill). If you want a retangular hole with square corners, then I can't
think of any rotating machine that will do the job. You will need a broach
or punch.

For shaping metal the three fundamental machines seem to be the lathe, the
mill, and the bandsaw.


wrote in message
ups.com...
Can you "mill out" with a lathe? Like make a rectangle hole bigger in a
pto yoke?

Holding a concrete pad down!
Seriously tho, check the lathe out for wear and operability. If it is even
a moderately well worn lathe, it will be a valuable item for your home shop.
If you're in the Southern Calif. area, I'd love to come over and do some
work on lens cells for my telescopes as well as eventually doing some mounts
for those telescopes. A 36" swing lathe can handle the large parts that
need to be swung without any problems.
I'd also put a 1 HP. 115V motor on the lathe so that you can use it without
needing 3ph. power although that will mean that you can't take the big cuts
that the original motor would be able to do.

--
Why isn't there an Ozone Hole at the NORTH Pole?

On Fri, 22 Apr 2005 11:12:00 -0700, "Bob May"
wrote:

Holding a concrete pad down!
Seriously tho, check the lathe out for wear and operability. If it is even
a moderately well worn lathe, it will be a valuable item for your home shop.
If you're in the Southern Calif. area, I'd love to come over and do some
work on lens cells for my telescopes as well as eventually doing some mounts
for those telescopes. A 36" swing lathe can handle the large parts that
need to be swung without any problems.
I'd also put a 1 HP. 115V motor on the lathe so that you can use it without
needing 3ph. power although that will mean that you can't take the big cuts
that the original motor would be able to do.

So. Cal? Need shop time? Come on over to Taft most any weekend and
Ill let you have free run of my shop

http://home.lightspeed.net/~gunner/myshop

Gunner

"At the core of liberalism is the spoiled child -
miserable, as all spoiled children are, unsatisfied,
demanding, ill-disciplined, despotic and useless.
Liberalism is a philosphy of sniveling brats." -- P.J. O'Rourke

In article , Gunner says...

http://home.lightspeed.net/~gunner/myshop

Nice updated shop photos. Especially the Gorton 016.
What happened to your toe, the cats chew on it? g

Jim


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please reply to:
JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
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On 23 Apr 2005 09:21:34 -0700, jim rozen
wrote:

In article , Gunner says...

http://home.lightspeed.net/~gunner/myshop

Nice updated shop photos. Especially the Gorton 016.
What happened to your toe, the cats chew on it? g

Jim

Sigh...it still hurts to think about it. When they say you cannot
remember pain..take it with a grain of salt.

My son and I were moving my hydraulic press. It was dark in that area
at night, we were in a hurry, and he missed removing one of the 1"
thick, 6x8" press plates which was sitting on the press. It slipped
off. Nailed me on the diagonal across the end of the foot. Busted 3
of the 5 toes. Fortunately, it didn't land on the right foot, else
it would have busted 3 of the 6 toes.

G

Gunner

"At the core of liberalism is the spoiled child -
miserable, as all spoiled children are, unsatisfied,
demanding, ill-disciplined, despotic and useless.
Liberalism is a philosphy of sniveling brats." -- P.J. O'Rourke

In article , Gunner says...

My son and I were moving my hydraulic press. It was dark in that area
at night, we were in a hurry, and he missed removing one of the 1"
thick, 6x8" press plates which was sitting on the press. It slipped
off. Nailed me on the diagonal across the end of the foot. Busted 3
of the 5 toes. Fortunately, it didn't land on the right foot, else
it would have busted 3 of the 6 toes.

I guess it could have been worse, if it had landed on the instep
it could have done much worse damage. Ever considered steel-toed
flip-flops?

Just out of curiosity, what's kind of tooling does that smaller
Gorton mill take in the spindle - B&S or MT?

Jim


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==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

Stryped sez:

"What is a lath good for?"

A lath is a thin narrow strip of wood useful for building lattices or
holding plaster to walls.

Bob Swinney

wrote in message
oups.com...
I found a 36 inch used metal lathe for sale for 350. What would this be
good for? I like working with metal. I have a couple of welders and am
wanting to increase my tools in my garage!

I missed the staff meeting but the minutes show wrote
back on 22 Apr 2005 05:34:32 -0700 in rec.crafts.metalworking :
I found a 36 inch used metal lathe for sale for 350. What would this be
good for? I like working with metal. I have a couple of welders and am
wanting to increase my tools in my garage!

If you mean it can hold something 36" in diameter, you got a huge lathe
(I used one a bit larger to turn 31 foot long drill collars. I've seen
some rather hefty prop shafts being turned on others that size.)

If you have one which is 36" between chuck face and tail stock, you
have a "more normal" sized one.
Which means you can turn anything up to 36" long. Or longer if the
machine has a bar feed option (where longer stock is stuck in through the
chuck.)

That size pretty much covers most uses. It is it round, you can pretty
much do it. Thread it, bore it, face it, smooth it, you can make plugs,
bells, whistles, washers, breaches, propeller shafts, new wheels for the
four poster, yea even sex toys. You can even make julienne fries with it,
but you'll need to hold the potatoe just right.

And yeah, you can also injure yourself in methods most unpleasant, even
unto death, faster than you'd ever thought possible, if you don't follow
safe machining practices.


tschus
pyotr



--
pyotr filipivich.
as an explaination for the decline in the US's tech edge, James
Niccol wrote "It used to be that the USA was pretty good at
producing stuff teenaged boys could lose a finger or two playing with."

Well if you have a bunch more lath's you can naial em on the studs and
plaster over them like they used to do in old days before sheetrock
and gypsum board was invented.......Or you can nail em on your roof
rafters and then install slate or cedar shingles on them......

==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!

wrote in message
oups.com...
I found a 36 inch used metal lathe for sale for 350. What would this be
good for? I like working with metal. I have a couple of welders and am
wanting to increase my tools in my garage!


Lath is used for holding on plaster.

In article .com,
says...

I do not own a lathe, but have learnt on them in the past

Not being rude. Your questions indicate complete ignorance of the lathe.

I would be _certain_ to have a look at the lathe, in the company of
somebody who knew lathes. It's a cheap price for a lathe. It may be junk
(either crappy make or very old), and a beginner on a junk lathe will be
very sorry IMO. You will have no way to try it, or know what you are
doing.

I found a 36 inch used metal lathe for sale for 350. What would this be
good for? I like working with metal. I have a couple of welders and am
wanting to increase my tools in my garage!