Help wanted

I have recently purchased a metal lathe and I’m teaching myself watching videos on YouTube etc. Is there anybody close to Lichfield in Staffordshire who would be willing to offer a few hours of practical guidance to help me please?

Take a look at Trent Valley Model Railway Society, Sutton Coldfield Model Engineering Society, or Lichfield Model Railway Society.

Hopefully, you will find someone who has the equipment and the preparedness to tutor you.

Buy some books, and study them, you will, at least, have some theoretical knowledge before you start putting some of it into practice.

If you want some suggestions, PM me.

There are quite a few to choose from, some of which may be written specifically about your lathe.

Tell us what lathe you have, and you should, be able to, get some "wrinkles" from users.

Do not be over ambitious. make simple tools, which you can use in the fure, as learning projects.

In this way, you will become familiar with measuring equipment, drilling, tapping and using Dies, as well as lathe tools .

Make your mistakes on relatively cheap readily available material rather than expernsive castings!

Howard

Good advice Howard, joining a local model engineering club will bring dividends in terms of advice but also borrowing that odd tool you don't have.

I forgot to mention they may also have a library to borrow books from at your local model engineering club.

Hi Paul,

I am in Kings Bromley so close to you. PM me if you still require any help.

The amateurs lathe and various online PDFs and articles will help keep you going

"I have recently purchased a metal lathe and I’m teaching myself watching videos on YouTube etc. "

Welcome to the rich man's hobby, from now on you will never have your hand out of your pocket, LOL! It will soon become apparent that you will need a decent grinder, then a bench/pillar drill with a decent machine vice, then a milling machine plus all the associated tooling. Then comes the rotary table followed by a dividing head. Not to mention all the files, drill bits, taps and dies and reamers etc. you will need and that's before you start buying a stock of material to start on a project, a percentage of which will end up in the scrap box. Then when you to assess the way to tackle the next job you will find that for all the tools and equipment you have bought that you just don't happen to have the right size cutter or bit so will then be shelling out yet again and waiting on its delivery. Happens to me all the time and that's even after almost a lifetime of collecting and amassing a very well equipped workshop but you still enjoy it all.

Edited By Chris Crew on 01/10/2023 19:54:41

And your time is worth about 50p per hour if you want to sell what you've made.

As Howard has already mentioned the club I am a member of can I suggest you have a look at the website of the Sutton Coldfield MES - we are just off the A38 at Little Hay,

Our website at www.scmes.co.uk has more details including the (members only) workshop classes run in the club workshop.

Nick, I presume your club has a workshop as well which will provide facilities like a larger mill than a home machine shop might have if there is one in the home shop at all? As well as sets of tap, dies etc that club members can use?

Presumably also an extensive library of back issues of Model Engineer and books?

Our workshop is very well equipped and available for members to use and there are plenty of helpful and knowlegable members around as well.

Many thanks Nick. When ever I hear people asking for help online as regards information sources I always try to point them to local clubs because there is so much on offer there in terms of information as well as that one piece of equipment they need to use for one operation that they don't have and would otherwise need to buy.

Thank you all so much for your help & advice! I will definitely look at joining a local club and really appreciate all your suggestions! 😊 Somebody asked which lathe I had- it’s a Chester DB10 super.
Thanks again Paul