Buying a lathe.

Have you looked for used ones? You might be able to get a nice deal looking at local online classifieds.

As I am doing for another member(for expensive earphones), I can Middleman something for you since I live in the US(if the price is a huge difference)

Before you'll buy make a list what will you do MAXs and MINs with the lathe:
Diameter,
Thread sizes,
Body or housing length,
Metal and tools types (HSS or inserts) >> motor power.

With a big machine you can make small parts too, but a little one will choke on a big part.

lazeristasUVISIR said:

Before you'll buy make a list what will you do MAXs and MINs with the lathe:
Diameter,
Thread sizes,
Body or housing length,
Metal and tools types (HSS or inserts) >> motor power.

With a big machine you can make small parts too, but a little one will choke on a big part.

Click to expand...

Those are definitely some good ideas. I know you are on a limited budget, but in the long run, its cheaper to buy a bigger lathe/mill/welder/whatever right out the gate then to need something bigger and upgrade later on down the road. I really wish I would of bought a bigger lathe to begin with, but I was limited on space for it so I settled with the one i mention in my first post.

second, get a quick change tool post. ill post a link to the one I bought. the 4 way tool post that a lot of the smaller lathes come with will piss you off in a hurry. Be prepared to get a bunch of shims to get the tool piece at the right hight.

6 - 12" WEDGE QUICK CHANGE TOOL POST FOR ALORIS 100 AXA | eBay

third, depending on what you plan on turning down, having a variety of indexable bits and hss bits is useful. I turn a lot of tempered alloy steel and stainless steel and can say that plan m2 HSS bits wont last. having a higher grade HSS like M-35, M-42, cpm T-15, cpm M-48, and T-42 (10% cobalt) will work wonders. Especially the 2 cpm alloys will chow down on 304 ss like its aluminum. Some good coated Cemented carbide inserts will also last a long time as long as you dont chip them first. I personally have never had one chip in regular use unless something moved or jammed the thing up.

If its mainly aluminum and bronze/brass and mild steel, then the M-2 HSS is a good match. its much easier to grind than the cobalt super HSS's.

There is a seller on ebay that is selling the T-42 alloy cheap. Its a china alloy, but its comparable to the CPM t-15.

5pcs 10% Cobalt 5/16" Square Tool Bits Tougher than M2 | eBay

for those of you who are interested in the different HSS's. . .
Crucible High Speed Steels for Cutting Tools
Latrobe Specialty Metals

Oh, yeah, with hard to machine alloys, pay attention to the recommended cutting speed.

here are some useful websites related to speeds and feed rates.

Cutting Speeds - LittleMachineShop.com
TABLE 2-8. *SUGGESTED CUTTING SPEEDS AND FEEDS.
Cutting Speed and Feed Rate Calculations

My new toy :wave:

Thanks everyone for the help.



G400 9x19

I made a trip down to the USA to pick it up from the grizzly show room. It was 300 pounds in the product specs, but I didn't comprehend just how heavy that was.
I had to take off everything from it to make it lighter so that it could be lifted.
Slid the crate down a ladder as a ramp to get it out of the van, and it took three people to lift it up to the (temporary) stand.

Got some Al stock from the scrap yard, got loads of practice to do before I can make a heatsink.

Great looking new machine with nice features. It looks to be very well set up for cutting threads. I don't see the tailstock on it in the picture. Did it come with a four jaw chuck as well? You will enjoy this machine, and easily make your own hosts with it.

billg519 said:

Great looking new machine with nice features. It looks to be very well set up for cutting threads. I don't see the tailstock on it in the picture. Did it come with a four jaw chuck as well? You will enjoy this machine, and easily make your own hosts with it.

Click to expand...

Yup, it came with a 4 jaw chuck, 4 way tool post, Live/Dead centres, Follow rest, steady rest, and some other chuck type thing.

I removed the tail stock to reduce the weight while I was moving it around.

Can't wait to make a host on this

Gratz!! Can't wait to see what you make.

Yes, we expect good things ARG

Nice! (Thats the same one I have).
I highly reccomend a quick change tool post.
The tool post and a drill chuck was the only thing I had to get.
It is a pretty complete unit.

I didn't get the quick change post, that will come later I got drill chuck while I was in the US, they are really cheap there.

I still have lots of tools I need to buy, plunge cutter, thread cutter (internal and external), small tap for grub screws and a knurling tool.