captinjohn

Edwin: Where do you find the series 100 Tool post? Thanks Capt,n

Edwin

My Feedback: (2)

Got mine from Enco. This is the set I bought. You can also get additional tool holders from www.lathemaster.com that will fit the phase II set. The lathemaster set costs more (its a wedge type, dont know why it costs more but it does no matter where you buy it), but additional separate pieces are cheaper than at Enco, go figure! I had to press out the post on the cross slide, drill for a bigger one and we tapped it. Then I made a brass bushing to take up the slack. The inside diameter of the tool holder was much larger than the post. I suppose you could turn a post that would be the right size, but I dont know how to cut threads yet. Never covered that in school. Back in post #34 is a picture of the quick change setup.
http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?P...PARTPG=INLMK32

Edwin

Volfy

My Feedback: (23)

I have the [link=http://www.lathemaster.com/QUICK%20CHANGE%20TOOL%20POST%20SET.htm]Lathemaster QCTP[/link] on my LM 8x14. I like the direct bolt on and no mods necessary.

Campgems

I've got an old Jet 10x24. It has a slide mount that the 4 way post attaches to. Just had to make a new base for a Rocker that I picked up on ebay to fit that slide. I guess I hadn't thought about not having a slide for the tool post. With the 4 way, you can mount a tool holder and use a rocker under it to get some of the same effects as the lantern post. Just a bit more trouble, but it will work.

For the QTC for the 8x12 or 9x20, you might look at the one by A2Z CNC on Ebay. They have a low cost setup that I have three of, one that I intend to use on my 10x20. Just have to make another slide for it. The prices have gone up on these guys since I bought mine a couple years back. Still a good buy though. take a look at Ebay item number 320054444631. All the disclaimers, not interest in the company, just a pleased customer.

Don

tim220225

My Feedback: (4)

Capt,n, check my post showing the lathe and mill. You will see my 200 or BXA tool post on the Clausing. What you would need is the 100 or AXA series. Size of the post and holders is the only difference and it relates to the swing of the lathe. I wish I knoew you were looking as I just sold one on Ebay with 5 holders. Sorry. I prefer the wedge style over the piston style. I had a piston style one and wore it out and could not get parts. The one I have now came from Phase II and I got it from Enco. Like $170.00 for the set. You will see Aloris is the industry standard and they are American made but pricey too. Up to a 12 inch swing lathe will be AXA, 12 inch or so will be BXA on up the swing chart. The imprt stuff usually converts to the AXA or BXA and up to 100 to 200 etc.

tim220225

My Feedback: (4)

For what it is worth to all. Enco advertises in Machinists Workshop and Home Shop Machinist magazines. Very good bi-monthly magazines and worth every penny I pay for the subscriptions. Every month they offer free UPS shipping on all orders over $99.00 placed at www.use-enco.com . Shipping can eat up your budget when buying this stuff because of the weight. This months code is MW86.

captinjohn

Tim220225: Is this your Lathe? Capt,n P.S. Wish it was mine!

tim220225

My Feedback: (4)

That is my lathe. Second Clausing I have owned. Fairly easy to work on and made in the USA. Parts are still available from Clausing not too far from you in Indiana. Pretty much anything but the castings and sheet metal pieces. There are many used tooling dealers that have about anything you could want. I like the hydraulic variable speed system as opposed to the belt system my 4900 had. Rebuilding it consisted of new seals and a packing. I chose to replace the piston and spring but they were just fine when I tore it apart. But I am anal and as long as I was there... Why not? The originals were 32 years old when I did this.

Volfy

My Feedback: (23)

What do you guys think of this [link=http://www.wmhtoolgroup.com/Shop/index.cfm?navPage=4&iid=137565]Jet belt-drive 13x40[/link]? I've been looking around for a bigger lathe and this is about the only belt-drive I could find in this size.

Don, I don't think Jet makes the 10x24 any more. The only one smaller than the 13x40 is the 9x20.

tim220225

My Feedback: (4)

Jet, Wilton, GMC they all look the same just a different badge and paint. Many times you can get these on ebay with free shipping. Well, nothing is free but the price with shipping on Ebay is the same as what you could get from a dealer near me without shipping. He wanted another $800.00 for shipping. Personally I prefer belt drive over geared head machines. Should you crash one the drive belt will slip and maybe shear a pin on the lead screw. On a geared head you will be replacing gears etc. Maybe even your britches!! I worked at a place years ago when a guy forgot to look and crashed a LeBlond, myself and a few others went diving under anything we could find. Sounded like a bomb went off. Bad part is all the other machines kept right on running. Could have ruined the day for the plant but we realized right away what happened and hit the power disconnect. Took about ten minutes but we were all laughing it off but man what a noise.

Campgems

No they don't make it anylonger. It's a shame as it is the smallest I've found with power cross feed. It wasn't the best of lathes, and all jet 10x24s are not equal. I bought a second face plate for mine and it was way loose on the nose, to the tune of 0.080". It has a few issues, but it does a good job. I couldn't turn down the $500 price on it. It is basicly the 12 by that Enco and others sell, just a taller head stock and a longer bed. I still use my little Taig for small and quick stuff though. I can spin it up a lot faster than the jet, so small parts get a better finish. I also have an adaptor on the mill adaptor for my fordom handpice and I use it as a OD grinder. I used it just the other day to grind a step on an electric motor shaft for one of the guys in the club who is getting into Helocoptors. Getting things moving fast enough for working on 3/32" shafting is a chalenge. I ended up using a 2" cutoff wheel for the grinding. I need to setup a proper high speed spindle for grinding I guess. Something around 50K rpm would be good for the small parts. Espically ID work.

Don

Volfy

My Feedback: (23)

Back gear belt drive, power cross feed, cam lock spindle, and a nice quick change gearbox are the main features I am looking for in my next lathe. I'm not fond of gear heads for the reasons Tim220225 mentioned. Also, most of gearheads in the price range I'm looking at typically don't have spindle speeds below 70rpm. Back gear belt drive can get down to 50rpm for thread cutting.

I would like a larger lathe, if only for the mass and rigidity. Most of the stuff I'll use a lathe for are not that big, but having the size and capacity sure would be nice. Jet made in Taiwan tend to be better quality and precision than the copies made in China. But even Jet will eventually move all their production to the Mainland. I do keep an eye on Ebay for a nice used Clausing or Mazak for sale locally, but I have no problem buying brand new imports. Problem with the imports is that quality could vary greatly - even among machines that look almost identical. My experiences are that as long as you do the home work up front and don't buy blind, there are good import machines.

tim220225

My Feedback: (4)

Volfy, I agree with your comments. I have tooling that is made in the USA but most is import. Just watch your vendors. I know a guy who bought a Harbor Freight lathe and couldn't for the life of him figure out why the slides were binding. He cleaned the Cosmoline off etc. Tore into it and found casting sand in the dovetails with other goo. Runs well now.

Mike@Accurate

A good (cheap) source of tool posts is [link=http://www.jtsmachinery.com]JTS Machinery[/link] . They have a wedge "Type A" (0-12" ) QCTP set for $129. You get 10% off for ordering on Tuesday. The QCTP's are not on the web site, part number is 830A-W (wedge, or 830A-532 for piston style (($99/set)). $116.10 (on Tuesday) is not bad for a 0-12" wedge QCTP set. They have tons of other stuff too. Both American & Import. Good hunting, MIKE

sscherin

My Feedback: (1)

I just got an Email from Enco today

The 9" x 20" Bench Lathe is on sale with free shipping untill Dec 31st

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INPAGE?P...cials/308-0338

$999 with Stand

If you are around or have a friend in Seattle check out the Tool Crib at the Boeing Surplus Retail Store.

The tooling there is sold by the pound!

Don't forget to stop outside at the scrap metal bins. big chunks (for what we do) of billet aluminum cheep.

tim220225

My Feedback: (4)

That machine is very nice. The only problem I see for anyone is the spindle bore diameter of .787. That would be an issue for me and my style of machining. I prefer the raw stock to be held by the chuck or collet and extend into the spindle. Basically anything over 3/4" raw stock would have to be cut and held by the jaws and maybe a little into the chuck body if you are lucky on the chuck bore. My reason for the preference is the stock is more secure in my opinion. If you have ever had a piece come un-chucked you know what I mean. This usually happens when you are finishing the last feature. [>:] Most raw stock I use for hubs is at least 1-1/2" to start.

Edwin

My Feedback: (2)

Tim,
That is the exact problem I've had about 3 times since I bought that lathe. Wish I'd gone up a size now. The best thing about this thread is all the new web sites I've added to my favorites list.
Edwin

tim220225

My Feedback: (4)

You do the same thing I do. Look for new tips and web pages to gleem more information from. You might try to find collets to fit your lathe. I have a 6 inch 3 jaw and an 8 inch 4 jaw. Most of the time I use the Burnerd collet chuck. I can get a piece all the way into the chuck about 4 inches or so and not even need to use the spindle bore. The collets also allow me to re-chuck and re-work any part with no run out to worry about. repeatability is rated at .001 total which is only .0005 on the radius.

captinjohn

Well, I got my Lathe today. Give it a wax job! I am posting a few photos because...I got questions! The square tool block will clamp 3/4+ inch tools. Or is it better to get a tool holder that is 3/4 inch square. Also what speed is best for aluminum? I clamped a flywheel in it to see what dia it would hold. Seems ok with the Homelite flywheel with more to spare. It came with 2 sets of jaws. The only thing that concerns me is...the electric motor seems noisy in the ccw direction, but is quite in the other direction. I may call H.F. about a new motor? Here is photos. thanks Capt,n

Mike@Accurate

The 4-way tool holder will hold a big tool. The important thing is that the tool's cutting edge is at (or near) the centerline of the work. QCTP's have a nut you adjust for height. After setting one up, it stays at the right height when you take it off. With a 4-way you typically use a tool a little short and shim it up to the CL. I say typically because these machines are often metric (IE 8mm tool) and the tools you will find are imperial (IE 5/16" ). Also, some profiles will require grinding material off of the top of the tool requiring shimming. The 4-way can hold 4 tools, all shimmed, for a rapid quick change. Change one and you will likely have to set it up. I've seen tools stored with their corresponding shims to take some of the hunt and peck out of it. I have a 9x20 and use mostly 1/2" tools. In most cases 1/4" tools would be fine. I also have a QCTP (wedge from JTS Machinery) and it is easier to use and a big timesaver. MIKE

Edwin

My Feedback: (2)

I watched a machinist friend turn down the fins on a ryobi fly wheel on the small 3x7 mini lathe from harbor freight. I didnt think it could be done. He sandwiched the part between two centers (tail stock). I would have found that hard to believe, but he did it. That just convinced me to go bigger. He also just bought 12x40 (I think) lathe from Grizzely. Its amazing what real machinist can do even with the cheap stuff. Hope to be that good someday. Practice practice practice.
Edwin

captinjohn

Where can I find more photos of set-ups? I sure hope to see more! Its nice to see Lathes with parts for our RC engines being modified....for the better...we hope! Capt,n

tim220225

My Feedback: (4)

Another way to check for center height accuracy is to take a lite face cut. When you can turn just past center and have a smooth finish with no little *** of material standing out your tool is at the center of the work piece. Speed is dependant on tooling the material etc. For your machine I would say maybe 1100 RPM with HSS tools. Try this link to Little Machine Shop for the round nose tool I am referring to. I have some that are old from there and use them in my 12X24 Clausing. http://littlemachineshop.com/product...ProductID=1967 If you have one or grind one with a rounded nose you will get a fine finish on aluminum. I also use super fine sand paper or scotch bright. Then I use Mothers compound and polish them up using the lathe. Just make sure you level and set the machine up properly, including bolting it to the table and don't forget to align the tail stock with the head or center line of the lathe and you will love it and turn your first hub out in few hours. Go slow and take your time. Also don't take agressive cuts with the machine and you will hold concentricity. When you part one off go very slow or you will break your tooling.

tim220225

My Feedback: (4)

Looks like you will have a tough time turning the flywheel down as the chuck jaws will interfere. You need a mandrel or a live center for the tailstock and a dead center clamped in the chuck as Edwin talked about. Otherwise you will be out of round. Another way I have done it is to use the tapered end from an old crank. I had lots of them and have cut the ends off with the taper to use as a mandrel. Slide it into the tapered end of the flywheel and tighten the nut. Then I chucked it and indicated the shaft cut off in and started cutting. You may need to take a cleanup cut on the face of the flywheel to seat the hub good.

captinjohn

I do not plan on turning down any flywheels. I just wanted to see if it fit in. I may bore a flat spot for a hub to seat against. Most flywheels only need a little more clearance for hub to seat good. I know I could taper the hub adapter down some...but I like the full dia I am using. More surface contact. Also I have been saving crankshafts to cut off. I plan on cutting the center out of the flywheel with a hole saw (works nice) and the mount the center part on a crank shaft in Lathe. Then I can tru it up. Photo for that later. Keep the good tips coming....it really helps. Capt,n