Hello to the forum

Thanks for accepting me to your forum.

I am a keen DIY mechanic working mainly on motorcycles, I had long fancied learning some machining. Having never so much as touched a lathe in my life, I decided to buy a Warco mini lathe a couple of years ago in my retirement. I have read many helpful posts on here over the past yea or so and realised that I should belatedly introduce myself. The mini lathe has been a rewarding learning experience and I seem to find I am being drawn deeper into the world of hobby machining. Now looking for a mill and possibly a larger lathe but that is perhaps a bit of greed as the mini lathe has done everything I have asked of it for turning (but not really adequate for my attempts at milling on a lathe). Why is this so addictive - I fear having a go a making model steam engine is about to take a hold on me!

Jon

Hello Jon and welcome. There are quite a few m/c people on here and I'm sure they will be along soon.

Brian

Welcome along Jon from a fellow motorcycle tinkerer. Mainly pre-war stuff for me. Where in the world are you ? Lots of help with any queries on the forum. Enjoy.

Welcome Jon, we've hooked another one! Additive is the word.

I can recommend Stewart Hart's PottyMill engine as a sensible combination of learning challenge and not too difficult. It's a real engine with valve-gear, a considerable advance on a simple oscillator. I built mine from this cramped version of the plans, Stewart's originals are clearer. (I can't find Stewart's plans on the web, he might oblige if you Personal Message him.)

Not only mini-lathes struggle with milling. Lathe geometry restricts milling in several ways. Lathes lack rigidity because milling causes lifting forces just where lathes are designed to resist push whilst milling cutters tend to come loose because there is no drawbar to keep them secure. As the workspace and travel are tiny, milling on a lathe is downright awkward. Compared with a real milling machine, lathes are rubbish. Milling machines don't make good lathes either. Buy both - now you're an addict, there's no excuse not too!

Enjoy,

Dave

Welcome to the forum, Jon.

Neil