mini lathe help !!!

john_lawson said:

Lucky :'( i wish i wouldn't have had so many kids now that i'm broke lol
just kidding they are worth every child support check

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Have you considered selling any of them for medical experiments?

Peace,
dave

;D ;D

I have a HF like 4 miles form my house!! ;D ;D ;D

I hope you guys know that to make heatsinks like Jay and Likeitbright you need more than just a lathe.

At half a grand Ill pass.

Xplorer877 said:

I have a HF like 4 miles form my house!! ;D ;D ;D

I hope you guys know that to make heatsinks like Jay and Likeitbright you need more than just a lathe.

At half a grand Ill pass.

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Like what? We all start somewhere

I remember another post touched on this as well. But from what I remember you'll also need a drill press to make the set screw holes, along with that tool that threads the hole to accept the set screw. A killer saw to cut through the 2" diameter aluminum rod. An arsenal to grinding and shaping tools to use on the lathe. Those can be very expensive because they have to be very strong and sharp. Safety gear like goggles gloves. That's just off the top of my head. I'm not the one to ask. I don't own one and have no idea how to properly use a lathe. But I have talked to people who have bought a lathe and then found out that a lot more is needed for a decent machine shop.

Don't get me wrong I would love to have one and I hope I don't discourage any of you from going for it. Just be aware of what your getting into before hand because it can be very pricey. You'll need to sell a lot of heatsinks before you pay it off. Lol!

To make a basic heatsink, very little is actually needed.

A lathe, they all come with the basic's ie tool to cut. A hacksaw for cutting the soft aluminum stock or precut stock as some use. Drill bits, no need for a press to drill set screws, just a good eye and a steady hand. A ten dollar tap and handle and some oil.

 Voila! heatsink

Aside from the lathe, I spent $50. Canadian, which is like 10 bucks U.S :-?


I bought mine in the summer, and this was the first of three heatsinks. Like anything practice... TheMonk also got into this not long ago, it depends if you have the use for one to justify the expense.

Ok if you say so. Like I said I don't really know much about them. Just going off what I read. Still expensive. Lol

That looks awesome BTW!!!

well i want a lathe to make my own heatsinks, i make lasers alot and buying from people or from a machine shop $25 plus, and i make 4-5 lasers a month and when i sell them it will pay the lathe off