budding engineer

Hello to all, im an engineering enthusiast from Lancashire looking for advice from some more advanced chappies. look forward to speaking soon.

Hello Thomas and welcome to the excellent forum.

If you have any questions at all please ask away, someone on here will almost certainly know the answer.

Brian

Welcome Thomas, ask away, there is usually someone who can offer advise and sometimes an alternative train of thought!

Welcome from another Lancastrian Thomas

David

Hi Thomas!

Welcome to the Forum!

Plenty of advice on here from folk with all sorts of expertise.

is there a M E Club near to you?

If so, consider joining it, for the advice, demonstrations and socialising, when conditions allow!

Howard

thanks for the warm welcome guys, yet to buy my first lathe to be honest, although I have done some machining in my time, a long time ago now, always wanted to get back into it, so the garage is becoming a workshop

Welcome Thomas!

Hello & welcome Thomas.

Hope you find yourself a nice lathe when you are ready. If you struggle with the spec's of any machine you find then ask away. There is a plethora of different lathe owners on this forum.

Steve.

maybe I should start a workshop build thread to record my journey, would there be an appropriate place on this forum to do that?

1st i would create your profile so members can see your background.

Maybe the tearoom would be a place to start your journey. I personally am not the perfect oracle to listen to. But i have posted many youtube video's of my workshop & projects done. From building my garage & workshop to fitting my machines. I have many more planned. Steviegtr on youtube.

I have received many negative comments from seasoned forum members about me showing my mistakes.

But my methodology is surely to be proficient you must 1st fail.

I do not build steam engines or clocks. But i usually make things that do not cost much, usually from scrap.

I am probably best described as a Pleb. Which is as i understand a person of low interlect.

So if you start as described & build on that , giving your experiences to the members, i am sure it would be beneficial to most .

Steve.

Before you spend money on a lathe, you need to decide the use to which it will be put.

If your ultimate aim is to build a 6" scale traction engine, a big lathe will be needed, but it won't be too much use if you want to be a watchmaker, or vice versa!

Some make Locomotives, some Traction Engines, others, Tools, or unusual mechanisms.. A great many restore Motorcylces, Cars or Stationary engines in 12" to foot scale.

Each to their own!

But once you have experienced the joy of owning a lathe, and the world of opportunities that it opens up for you; you will, never want to be without one!

Your budget needs to allow for tooling, not just cutting tools, but measuring instruments, such as micrometers or callipers, and Dial Test Indicators and a stand (probably a Magnetic base ) Then you will start to hanker after Taps and Dies!.

Once you get a 4 jaw independent chuck, DTIs become a necessity for really accurate work.

Bear in mind that a 3 jaw chuck is unlikely to hold work absolutely concentric.

Also, for the sort of money that hobbyists are likely to spend, you will not be getting an heavy duty industrial, high precision machine. A £500 machine will not be the equal in precision, quality or longevity of one costing £20,000..

Having said that, with care, fantastic work can be done on quite modest, and elderly machines.

You can learn a lot of the basics (and make mistakes with minimal cost impact ) by making a few basic tools, such as a Centre Height Gauge, Tailstock Sliding Die Holder, Mandrel Handle, Tap Wrenches, Die Holders.

Better to scrap an embryo Tap Wrench that an expensive casting!

They will all be useful, and in making them you will learn, and gain confidence

Don't forget a reasonable Bench Grinder for grinding things like High Speed Steed lathe tools, and when you become proficient, to sharpen your drills.

Hope all this rambling helps

Howard