Member postings for larry Phelan

I had to do something similar with my Craftsman lathe in order to cut an M12 thread.I just had to change the ratios and it worked out fine.Some lathes can cut more threads than listed on the charts,so it,s worth playing around.

That is a nice job ! I also like the use of the rollers,I think they,re a much better job.

Would like to make something like that for my lathe.

Next project--------------------?

Well done !

Many thanks Clive for your reply, I seem to recall that Tubal Cain said something similar in one of his books.

It just looked to be a useful addition,but you dont really know until you make some of these things,then you find that while they work,you dont really have the need for them [like a lot of the stuff we end up with ].

Still,I think it,s great book and I learned a lot from it,still do. Book might be out of date,but we must remember that when it was written home engineering was a different ball game.How many could afford even a simple bench grinder,never mind a tool and cutter grinder. Tubal remarked in his book that it would be a poor workshop that did not have T&C grinder,so I suspect that most of us have poor shops,but we get along OK. These things are not cheap and I doubt if most of us could justify the cost. I regard them as being "nice to have".

Again,thanks for your reply. Should I dig up my unfinished project or should I let it slumber in peace?

Never got around to making one of these spindles,but it did remind me of another item from his book,a tailstock turret tool holder,which I started to make years ago,but never got to finish [sound familiar? ].

Did any of you ever make one of these units and did you find it useful?

One day,I must see if I can find it and maybe finish it off.

Not sure what it is,but it looks like a nice bit of equipment, better than most of the crap on offer these days.

To judge by by some of the spelling and grammar on this site,you need not feel out of place,but dont let that bother you !

Welcome to the club !

The only drone I ever knew was a maths teacher in school,and boy,he was a drone !!

It was years later that I met a real teacher who introduced me to the real beauty of maths

These people are born,not made ,think of your apprentice masters !.

That,s what they mean when they say "Terms and conditions apply" !!

Rejoice !!! you are one of a rare breed !

I HATE THREE MINUTE EGGS !!!!!!!!!!

My thanks to Mick1 and Wheeltapper, Set up as advised and managed to get to within 5 thou first time.

Since the job was not to RR spec,I was happy enough with this. I was simply facing off the end of a 2" shaft,nothing fancy [not yet anyway ]. I was more interested in the method rather than the finish,although that was quite good. At least I know where I,m going now.

Again, my thanks to all who helped.

Should not be too difficult to find 3/8 steel,silver or otherwise. I,m sure I,ve seen silver steel from some of the usual suppliers in both systems and 3/8 mild steel can be bought off the shelf,and it,s near enough to 9.5mm.

I have machined silver steel on my mill,just a bit harder than mild.

Looks to be a fairly sturdy machine,should be no need to bolt it to the floor,never mind wheeling it around.

Mills that size are not wheelbarrows,they like to be left alone.

My LUX mill is bolted to a box tubing frame just sitting on the floor [ I dont like drilling floors unless I have to ] and I dont have any bother with it dancing around. I think perhaps blunt cutters/wrong feed rate might be the real problem.

As an aside,I wonder how does the LUX compare to the Tom Senior,or would that be considered an insult?

The LUX was all I could afford at the time and there is very little secondhand stuff over this way. Still,it does the job !

Too long !

Thank you also Not -done-it-yet,I knew there were some good tips out there !

Thank you both,Wheeltapper and Mick1

This is more what I am looking for. Will have another go at it tomorrow.

Thank you Martin C,

I am well aware of the stuff on U tube,I have watched much of it,without being able to hear the soundtrack,so am not much the wiser,but thanks anyway for your advice,I,m sure it was well meant.

Meanwhile--------back at the ranch !

Hi All,

I have managed to cope with most things on my lathe except the use of steadies.

What I want to know is,how do I go about setting up a fixed steady,if I need to machine the end of a long bar? This is something that,s going to crop up somewhere along the line and I want to know how to go about it,when the time comes.

I have spent hours playing around with it and am none the wiser,just cannot get it right.I know it,s simple,like most things,when you know how,but I dont !

So,any help from you lads?

These things are a great idea !! Just the thing to give to your Mother-in-law.to show how much you care,or to that nabour who gets up your nose all the time !

Might try making one myself,although my turning skills are not that good, still---------------------?

Nice job,all of them.

If you think £5/10 is too dear for a quality file,you may be at the wrong game. Good tools do not come cheap,at the beginning,but end up being the cheapest in the long run. How do I know ? been there ,done that,have a box full of junk to prove it !

I,m still using tools I bought 50 years ago,they seemed dear at the time,but now ?.Along the way I was tempted by "bargain" offers [like many of us ],then I got sense and left them alone. A good file is a pleasure to use,while a bad one is a pain-in-the-arse,and sometimes in the hand as well.

You dont need a full set,just two or three to meet most of your needs and add to to them as required.Suppose you spend £50 on your files,how many pints will you buy for that,and how long will they last you ?

£50 over how many years ? No contest ! Go for it and enjoy using proper tools.