Member postings for asimpleparson

Surely if Myford were any good they'd still have a big factory? My glorious Chinese lathe (bless the leader) is excellent for what I paid for it. Up the workers!

Perhaps look at what the Government uses to store data. It's usually a format that's going to last a long time. Both Oxford and Cambridge house vast archives of data, it may be worth getting in touch.

Many thanks Neil, and Merry Christmas to you all. Stay safe.

SP.

Hi all.

Can anyone suggest a DTI for using to set up work in my 4 jaw chuck? I have seen them from £10 upwards, although I wouldn't expect much at that price. What is a reasonable price to pay for such an item? Is it worth looking at second hand kit?

SP.

I have to heartily agree with you SOD, it was indeed in a ply box, strapped to a pallet, and would have been a very awkward lift indeed. Very well protected though. I recycled the packaging.

If my back goes I can't go to work, and I really like my work, (it's the only place I get a quiet cup of tea!) so I always try to share the load (there's usually a 'Dave' about who can help out). I'm not in the business of making life hard just for man points! I can happily lift it now, but it's a lot closer into my body without it's packaging, and I can squat next to it and use my thighs rather than my back.

Just some thoughts that may or may not be helpful?

As a beginner I went for the Axminster C2. Reasons?

It's not a fly-by-night company, and has a shop within 50 miles of me (although I had mine delivered). The size, heft, and extra weight of the box it came in made it a two man lift until I unboxed it.

As I said, I'm a beginner so I didn't worry about the finer details, I just wanted to start cutting metal without a great deal of fuss, so I jumped in and any issues I'll correct as I go. First thing I did was order two cans of the correct paint colour for the cream/blue scheme to touch in the rough areas. It maters not a jot to the function.

Support from Axminster has been excellent, and the whole process of ordering, delivery and subsequent comms with the company very smooth.

I intend using it exclusively for several years until I come to the point when I will buy into the next size up and my C2 will be either relegated to a second machine, perhaps being set up for specific tasks, or sold on (they tend to hold their value quite well, and prices surely will only steadily increase on new machines),

Mine only has a 250w motor, but as a beginner I doubt I'll notice that as I'll not be taxing it that hard. I don't think I will get the benefit of a brushless 500w for what I do with it. With some TLC and a bit of time and effort they go from cosmetically basic, to quite nice (in my eyes).

There is a vast amount of modifications that can be made too, if tinkering is your thing.

From what I've read and seen, superb work was done in the past by owners of far inferior lathes, so I would just pick one of the established companies, and just enjoy whatever you buy.

SP.

My mistake. Apologies, it's nearing the end of a long week, and rather busy this time of year!

M8 bolts.

I went to fit the chuck and thought to check the rear, and running my finger over it I could feel the ridges of rough sharp metal around the holes.

'Deburring' that's the word I'm looking for.

No problem with Arc by the way, very happy with prices, customer service, website, catalogue, and the whole shebang. Happy customer. Will be using them again very soon.

SP.

Thank you so much guys for the advice and photos. It is much appreciated.

Today I got hold of 4 X M6 bolts and hacksawed their heads off. Then using a thead file and a file I cleaned up the ends. I wound them into the chuck and after protecting the lathe bed with a wood platform (in case I dropped the chuck) it all went perfectly through the spindle flange. I wound on some nuts and gave them a nip up. Seems to work very well. Point to note. The back of my newly purchased chuck was not ready to mount. It required cleaning up with several implements to remove (I'm sorry I haven't a word for this yet) rough areas of cut metal on the edges of 4 circular areas at the back of the chuck. If left as they were they would have made the chuck sit ever so slightly awkwardly on the flange. I have only been in this game a short time, but I now regard anything of Chinese origin as a 'kit of parts' that needs further 'fettling'. I don't have a problem with it given the relative cheapness of the items.

If it wasn't for these Chinese tools on offer I would be priced out of the hobby, as I don't have the experience to purchase a used British lathe. I admire those who buy old Myfords, ML1, ML2 etc, as I find their rebuilds and 'work arounds' fascinating. I would dearly love to own such a machine once I have more skills.

Edited By asimpleparson on 19/12/2019 20:47:46

I put a small piece of square section steel bar in my newly fitted 4 jaw chuck of my 1st ever lathe, and faced the end. Previously I would have attempted to file this, and probably been slightly unsure of my results, maybe even scrapping the part and starting again, but now I am 'man with lathe' it's the job of a few seconds to get a great result.

Chuffed to NAAFI breaks with my new found capabilities!

P.S, I promise to continue practicing my filing!

SP.

Yes, it's a shame it didn't come with the studs, but making/modifying them should be straightforward.

My lathe and it's originally supplied 3 jaw didnt come with washers, just the nuts. Would you suggest adding plain washers or some other type? I think spring or shakeproof may be a bit harsh.

I think the important thing that this thread highlights is that buying a mini lathe from an established supplier is easy, but adding the things that make it do the various jobs that we need it to do is not quite as straightforward as it may seem, and a real beginner may need a bit of assistance in order to avoid purchasing the wrong things.

I'm lucky in that I think I have just enough nous to make what I need to fit the chuck. Instead of buying what is needed, I will be finding some bolts of the right type, winding on a nut, cutting off the head with a hacksaw, facing the end with my lathe, winding off the nut past the modified portion to restore the thread, and then using the result. Yes, I'm that raw.

Penny for your thoughts?

SP.

My spindle (with the 72mm flange register) has enough holes to enable both the 3 jaw or 4 jaw to be fitted. The three jaw has 3 mounting holes, and the 4 jaw has 4.

It doesn't matter if I offer up the 3 jaw or the 4 jaw, there are holes in the flange to match the ones in the chucks I have. It looks like I'll just have to find some studs the same size as the ones that came with my 3 jaw.

Seems there are quite a lot of variations in spec on the mini lathes. Perhaps even variations in a given quantity of the same machine from the same supplier!

'Caveat Emptor' when it comes to buying accessories. Nothing that can't solved though.

SP.

Edited By asimpleparson on 18/12/2019 19:13:19

My apologies.

My lathe is an Axminster C2. It (contrary to most articles and advertising) has a spindle flange with a 72mm register, and came with a 100mm 3 jaw chuck.

The 100mm 4 jaw fits perfectly up against the flange, and the holes line up, but the supplied bolts won't go past the headstock into the holes in the flange and thence into the chuck. They are too long.

I disregarded the info on ARC's site with the two red ** because everyone seems to assume the C2 has an 80mm chuck and the smaller spindle flange. The dimensions highlighted with the two red** show a 55mm register, which I don''t have, I have 72mm, so Arcs info isn't correct for every C2 lathe. It seems to assume they all come with the smaller 80mm chucks with a 55 mm register, for which you'd then need their adaptor.

Apologies if I'm not making sense? It's been a long day!

SP.

HI all.

I got a 100mm 4 jaw independant chuck from Arc, and it comes with 4 allen head mounting bolts, which are useless for mounting the chuck. You can't get them into the spindle flange past the headstock casting. My 3 jaw has 3 studs that wind into the chuck and then easily pass though the spindle flange and then 3 nuts go onto them to fasten it all up. I would swap them into the 4 jaw but there are only 3 of them. What does everyone else do? Cut the heads off the supplied bolts and use them as studs?

P.S

Please excuse my terminology, I'm still learning.

SP.

My Axminster C2 (new) has a 100mm chuck and a spindle with 72mm register/flange. Most sources (including Axminster advertising) say it has an 80mm chuck and the smaller spindle. It seems specs may vary according to what is available. Beware ordering things like face plates, chucks etc. and make sure they will fit.

SP.

You're eactly right Brian. My lathe has a 100mm chuck and a 72mm register. I shall order the correct face plate and return the last one to RDG if possible. Lesson learned!

Ah, I've got it. There's a face plate for the 4 inch spindle plate. Wow do I feel stupid now!

Hello all.

This afternoon I removed the 100mm 3 jaw chuck on my Axminster C2-300 lathe in order to fit the 160mm face plate, and lo and behold, there seems to be no way of fitting it! It looks like I have the wrong face plate. Can anyone one tell me which one will fit this lathe? Or is there an adaptor plate?

If you need me to supply measurements of the various bits I can do that if it helps.

I still have the receipt for the face plate, although I've de-greased it and lost the plastic wrapper. I wonder if they will accept it back? If not, Ebay?

My apologies in advance for my being the 'veriest beginner'...

SP.

Good grief. Sometimes, we are so base, and then we can attain this level too. I'm lost for words. How can we plunge the depths in one minute, and then rise to such beauty the next? The passion and ability here is nothing short of jaw dropping. You see Apes using sticks, and then ...this.

Stunning. Where on earth do they find the time? Does the person who actually designed this live amongst us?

Hi all.

Thank you for your help. Very interesting reading about the reasons for 'foreign' marking. Every day is a school day.

I really don't know what to do with the thing. Does it have any value? Can someone make use of it? Can it be made into something? I'm loathe to chuck it in the bin, and I'm not too keen on it rotting in a cupboard either. I have no cause to remove the back from a wristwatch, my faithful little Casio has screws!

If you can think of a use for it, then it's yours for the price of postage.