Member postings for not done it yet

Isn’t that why the SDS type of drilling machines were developed?

Yep, cut withe carriage and then adjust the top slide so it follows the part without cutting or diverging.

Simple way is to not use it for anything accurate.🙂 Mine only gets used for things like threading and turning short tapers - or sometimes cutting up to a shoulder where a tiny bit of alignment doesn’t matter for that few tenths of a mm cut. Most of the time it is jammed at the end of its travel, so no errors from the gibs.

Remember, the lathe will cut best when the cutter is directly over the cross slide dovetails, not hanging out as far as it will reach (unless really necessary).

A couple of items, I bought at an exhibition, from RDG were, in my opinion, not up to scratch. No receipt, so had to put up with me buying cheap. Not bought much from Chronos and don't particularly expect high quality for low prices, so that puts them lower on my list. Chronos were quick to rectify one faulty part, mind.

I’ve (nearly) always been happy with Arc and Rotagrip - and have found both to be top notch re enquiries and service. Your requirements did not seem to particularly fit either RDG or Chronos. Gloster tooling would certainly be above them on my list, too.

You asked and that was my honest opinion. I sometimes have to order something from where I can get it. I work down the list of suppliers. You’ve had most of my list that would be appropriate for a drill chuck.🙂 I’ve certainly stopped buying anything that I can’t fix myself or afford to throw away, if sub-standard. That means very little of importance direct from China. I’m not that ultra-precise with my machining, but l try to avoid any supplier that I consider a risk of, shall we say, bottom end products.

Sorry if I should not have avoided mentioning those suppliers.- but I just disagreed with a couple of previous posts, I suppose. I’m just ‘picky’ when it comes to making purchases.🙂

The last reluctor ring I bought was for a peugeot 607 and cost about three quid. Press fit. Peugeot don’t sell them - they were going to supply a new driveshaft for about £450 (and likely didn’t include VAT🙁 ).

That’s OK if the buyer is up for ‘lucky dip’ about accuracy, I suppose. I would go to Rotagrip, as Arc are out of stock. Neither RDG nor Chronos would be high on my list.

I think I would think a bit outside the box. Like a slightly smaller standard thread (3/8”?), buy in longer bolts of the correct strength, rethread and turn the shank to the fitted size. Or pick a more sensible size for the project.

How long does alignment take? 2 minutes?

I generally bump the vise up to the mill column (or with a parallel slipped to take up any slack) and bolt it down if it only needs to be rough and ready, as that is close enough for some jobs.

After fitting and tightening down (gently) it takes naff-all extra time to square it up with a dial gauge or dti before tightening further/fully and checking again.

A couple of suggestions, maybe more.

Measure the bed to centre height (or have I missed it?). Bed length - usually measured as a maximum size when fitted between centres, too. The chuck attachment may also be enlightening.

Cheap bits on ebay can be a good source of parts to try (like the taper).

Diameter of the faceplate could be a useful measurement, as might be the hole through the spindle.

Measuring tapers (roughly) can be by measuring how far rods, of different diameters, will enter the taper - followed by some trigonometry.

Machine threads size and form have already been mentioned.

Looks like a good little lathe. Howard will certainly help and point you in the right direction.

Back-lash on a lathe is generally only in one direction on each slide and is reasonably constant - unless the screw is worn in the most-used area, so not anywhere near as much of a nuisance as when using a mill. 10 thou (or 0.25mm) will still be 10 thou (or 0.25mm) extra cut when dialled in.

None of us (I hope) cut in both directions on a lathe, when approaching the finish size. Reducing back-lash is possible but generally doesn’t remove it completely. A new nut and feed screw would still exhibit some back-lash when made in metal. The machine doubtless arrived, new, with some back-lash.

3-D printing might be a serious project? Very low infill requirement, but may still prove expensive in time and materials?

On the other hand … a good secondhand lathe at rather less than a third of the price for a brand new one can be attractive.🙂 I did check the condition of my four main machines (lathe, 2 mills and surface grinder) before buying - although the surface grinder was such a bargain that it was going in the van whatever its condition.

I did, however spend some money on checking out several machines, before buying my lathe.

That is a slow moving application with little load.  Either oil of grease would suffice. I would likely grease it.

Edited By not done it yet on 04/03/2023 13:58:50

Our (old) tractor’s front wheels were mounted with tapered roller bearings. Grease nipple one side, felt seal on the other side of the axle stub. They were greased, every day when in use, until some old grease was visible. That effectively kept the bearings running in clean lubricant. The rotational speed, even flat out in top gear, was pretty low, mind. With steel wheels, top gear flat out may have been 5mph. 🙂

Mark, you have a PM.

It seems like a needlessly tricky little bit of machining all up for such a simple engine.

From the ebay listing:

“YOU WILL NEED THE USE OF A SMALL LATHE AND MILLING MACHINE AND BE ABLE TO SILVER SOLDER.”

So maybe not such an easy starter project with just a lathe?

And most things were easily scaled down from feet and inches drawings to feet and inches models? Fairly obvious when most model engineers were still only using imperial machines?

I cut my base horizontally, after fitting several brackets across where the cut was to be made. It is now re-assembled exactly as it was originally - less the kerf. Yes it is B. heavy! Mine was slid off the Ifor Williams trailer (like the machine body and base) down an inclined plane.

Bill mentioned a single converter, as opposed to two inverters, but converters are likely rather more expensive than two VFDs. Also no programming, variable speed - and with other cons, to boot!

My tiny Raglan mill came from an engineering company. But it most certainly was not used for any production process. I don’t consider that to be an “industrial mill” just because it was used in a commercial enterprise.

Nor does ‘one swallow’ make a summer, as they say. They also say that ‘the exception proves the rule’. Many a “proper industrial lathe” has been used by a hobbyist.

Reality rules.🙂

My power feed runs on a 230V VFD, but remains wired in star config. I've never experienced any problem, as yet, with the reduced power. The spindle motor on mine, as a matter of fact, is running with a 220V VFD but is wired Star. But I have taken into account the reduced power output in this configuration for its duty.

I consider the 2B to be a fair improvement over the 2A (the knee operation, table size and headspace. Mine also has a long riser block, so even more height available over the table when vertical milling - and I don’t need to remove the vertical head to go milling horizontally.🙂

The power feed versions lose about an inch of long travel, if that is important and I really appreciate the DRO on mine. Avoids any backlash adjustments when positioning the work.

I find that supplier usually inflates the listed sales price somewhat above reality.