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Re: "tuning up" a mini lathe

 

charles wrote:
> So, I arbitrarily picked an earlier date, April 16, 2021, and it is MUCH
> better. If you look at "Adjustments" here, you will find all sorts of
> things with "Adjusting the gibs" topping the list. And the site has many
> links to others.
>

This is exactly the sort of resource I was hoping for. Nice detail, and
good pictures showing what to do and why. Thanks!

=----------------------
paul fox, pgf@... (arlington, ma, where it's 42.5 degrees)
Re: "tuning up" a mini lathe

 

Hi Paul,

My advice: proceed with caution.

If you're new to using a lathe/mill you may not have the skills necessary to get the best out of your equipment, let alone understand why, even more so, the skill to make accurate corrections/adjustments/modifications.?

Let my story be a cautionary tale...I bought a Real Bull lathe many years ago. Because of all the chatter about these things needing work right out of the box, I assumed mine would too. After only a few hours of using it, I decided I had detected a problem and set about trying to "fix" it. I read up on the procedure (YouTube wasn't really a thing then), got all the advice I could find, then set about what I hoped would be an improvement. By the time I had finished, the lathe truly did have a serious problem, and I had the hindsight to realize my skills were inadequate to correct it.

I ended up selling the lathe off (with full disclosure to the buyer, of course) and bought a new Micro-Mark 7x16. After a few test cuts I realized the it was displaying the very same characteristics as the Real Bull. The problem was never in the lathe itself, it was in the "nut that holds the handles" (said "nut" being me).

I decided to just use the lathe as it was out of the box, and as Chris Albertson suggested, only try to make a change if it was really needed for what I was trying to do.

The proof of this advice is in the fact that after many, many years, and making no modification to the lathe at all, I am turning out work with far more accuracy and repeatability than I ever have before, despite the lathe being far more "limber" than it was when I first got it.?

Buy from a known supplier, like LMS or Micro-Mark or Grizzly, then use it, a lot, before you decide if you really have a problem.

Just my two cents...
Kurt Severson
Re: "tuning up" a mini lathe

 

Thanks for the info about Frank Hoose selling the mini-lathe site.? That explains it.? I don't know why so much information is now gone unless I'm not using the site correctly.? Thanks to the "Internet Archive" (A.K.A 'Wayback Machine") we can see the site as it once was.

Charels E. "Chuck" Kinzer

On Thursday, January 4, 2024 at 09:40:57 AM PST, ChazzC <chaz-creswell@...> wrote:


Frank Hoose sold mini-lathe.com earlier this year;

Re: "tuning up" a mini lathe

 

bruce wrote:
> Well I cannot speak specifically to a mill, Home Shop Machinist has a

Argh!! I can't believe I wrote "mill" twice in my post. I meant "lathe",
every time.

> great book ¡°The Complete Mini-Lathe Workshop¡± by Ted Hansen; a lot of the
> chapters deal with making the lathe more accurate and robust. Pretty
> amazing array of tooling and add-ons.
> It's currently their featured book:

Thanks!

paul

>
> [1]Hansen-Book-NEW.png
> [2]Shop The Home Shop Machinist,
> A Metalworking Magazine
> homeshopmachinist.net
>
> This also has some good info on setting it up and tuning it:
>
> [3]978-1-56523-695-0.jpg
> [4]Mini-Lathe for Home Machinists
> foxchapelpublishing.com
>
> (Fox Chapel is the American publisher of The Workshop Practice series
> published in England; I don¡¯t have one to hand so I don¡¯t remember the
> publisher. )
>
> On Jan 4, 2024, at 9:16 AM, Paul Fox <pgf@...> wrote:
> People here and on other forums often talk about having had to clean,
> fix, shim, adjust, tweak a new lathe in order to make it accurate and
> useable. And that being willing to do so lets you start with a less
> expensive mill, from HF or Vevor, say, rather than one from LMS or
> Grizzly.
>
> But I've yet to see an overall guide to what all of that work entails,
> and how its done.
>
> Does anyone have a pointer to a video, or a blog, or similar, that goes
> through all of what might be entailed? It's hard to convince myself I
> want to go through the effort, without understanding it better. I'm
> pretty sure I have the skills. But I might not have the patience or
> the equipment or tools.
>
> And: is it always possible for the home hobby user to fully adjust a
> cheaper mill? Are there some problems that just can't be fixed?
>
> paul
> =----------------------
> paul fox, pgf@... (arlington, ma, where it's 41.4
> degrees)
>
> --
> Bruce Johnson
>
> The less a man knows about how sausages and laws are made, the easier it
> is to steal his vote and give him botulism.
>
> Attachments:
>
> ? [5]Hansen-Book-NEW.png
> ? [6]978-1-56523-695-0.jpg
>
>
>
> References
>
> Visible links
> 1.
> 2.
> 3.
> 4.
> 5. /g/7x12MiniLathe/attachment/118179/
> 6. /g/7x12MiniLathe/attachment/118179/1
> 7. /g/7x12MiniLathe/message/118179
> 8. mailto:[email protected]?subject=Re:%20Re%3A%20%5B7x12MiniLathe%5D%20%22tuning%20up%22%20a%20mini%20lathe
> 9. mailto:bruce.desertrat@...?subject=Private:%20Re:%20Re%3A%20%5B7x12MiniLathe%5D%20%22tuning%20up%22%20a%20mini%20lathe
> 10. /mt/103525200/1007597
> 11. /g/7x12MiniLathe/post
> 12. /g/7x12MiniLathe/editsub/1007597
> 13. mailto:[email protected]
> 14. /g/7x12MiniLathe/leave/12906700/1007597/484577620/xyzzy


=----------------------
paul fox, pgf@... (arlington, ma, where it's 42.8 degrees)
Re: "tuning up" a mini lathe

ChazzC
 

Frank Hoose sold mini-lathe.com earlier this year;

Re: "tuning up" a mini lathe

 

You find most accuracy problems is with operator.? I helps if lathe is right but good operator can over come this problem.?
It like DRO on cross slide it is only aid to new person all do is look at marks not number.? The flex in just everything comes in play and you have adjust.?

Dave?

Paul Fox
8:16am? ?
People here and on other forums often talk about having had to clean,
fix, shim, adjust, tweak a new lathe in order to make it accurate and
useable. And that being willing to do so lets you start with a less
expensive mill, from HF or Vevor, say, rather than one from LMS or
Grizzly
Re: "tuning up" a mini lathe

 

The "mini-lathe.com" site was, I think, the first "go to" site for many years.? I just checked the site and it looks completely different, and very sparse, compared to what I remember.




I checked the "Internet Archive" for this site and the last capture they have before it changed and lost almost all information was November 26, 2022.? Here it is.? There is a LOT here.? But when I selected "adjustments", it seemed sparse and not the original.




So, I arbitrarily picked an earlier date, April 16, 2021, and it is MUCH better.? If you look at "Adjustments" here, you will find all sorts of things with "Adjusting the gibs" topping the list.? And the site has many links to others.




"Gadget Builder" has a wealth of mainly various accessories you can make.




Little Machine Shop is another place you should get familiar with.? They have "Learning Center" and "Info Center" tabs but are more about using the machines than upgrading them.




There is a vast amount of info out there on this, and you can cast a wide net.? And enough YouTubes to make your eyes bleed.

But this brings us to a more basic question.? None of us can really tell you what YOU should or should not do.? Some people use the lathe right out of the box and don't do anything to it.? That can be due to the quality variability with some just being better by luck from how it came out of the factory.? The other big variable is what YOU plan to do with it.? People have different needs for accuracies and the MANY features that can be made for these.

It might be best to just start "making some chips" and then see if you think something needs improvement.? And then search for a solution to just that issue.? If you are new to this, learning how to grind lathe tools is a good first step and, for these small lathes, I recommend HSS tool bits as opposed to carbide or carbide inserts.? Many of the carbide tools in the form of a complete tool shank are total junk.? Inserts can be fine, but I just think most will get better results with properly ground HSS bits.

Charles E. "Chuck" Kinzer
On Thursday, January 4, 2024 at 08:40:00 AM PST, Thomas Key <takey89@...> wrote:


Great question Paul.? I sure hope you get some good answers because I can also use some help getting my mini dialed in.

Tom

On Thu, Jan 4, 2024 at 8:16 AM Paul Fox <pgf@...> wrote:
People here and on other forums often talk about having had to clean,
fix, shim, adjust, tweak a new lathe in order to make it accurate and
useable.? And that being willing to do so lets you start with a less
expensive mill, from HF or Vevor, say, rather than one from LMS or
Grizzly.

But I've yet to see an overall guide to what all of that work entails,
and how its done.

Does anyone have a pointer to a video, or a blog, or similar, that goes
through all of what might be entailed?? It's hard to convince myself I
want to go through the effort, without understanding it better.? I'm
pretty sure I have the skills.? But I might not have the patience or
the equipment or tools.

And:? is it always possible for the home hobby user to fully adjust a
cheaper mill?? Are there some problems that just can't be fixed?

paul
=----------------------
paul fox, pgf@... (arlington, ma, where it's 41.4 degrees)
Re: "tuning up" a mini lathe

Chris Albertson
 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

My approach is very unpopular here. ?I wait until I notice a problem, then I fix it. ? Sometimes you might have some kind of issue like the head not being exactly where it should be on the bed but maybe you are making smaller parts and a 1 in 1,000 error does not show up on your 20mm long part but it might show up on a 220 mm long part.

On Jan 4, 2024, at 8:39?AM, Thomas Key <takey89@...> wrote:

Great question Paul.? I sure hope you get some good answers because I can also use some help getting my mini dialed in.

Tom

On Thu, Jan 4, 2024 at 8:16 AM Paul Fox <pgf@...> wrote:
People here and on other forums often talk about having had to clean,
fix, shim, adjust, tweak a new lathe in order to make it accurate and
useable.? And that being willing to do so lets you start with a less
expensive mill, from HF or Vevor, say, rather than one from LMS or
Grizzly.

But I've yet to see an overall guide to what all of that work entails,
and how its done.

Does anyone have a pointer to a video, or a blog, or similar, that goes
through all of what might be entailed?? It's hard to convince myself I
want to go through the effort, without understanding it better.? I'm
pretty sure I have the skills.? But I might not have the patience or
the equipment or tools.

And:? is it always possible for the home hobby user to fully adjust a
cheaper mill?? Are there some problems that just can't be fixed?

paul
=----------------------
paul fox,?pgf@...?(arlington, ma, where it's 41.4 degrees)
Re: "tuning up" a mini lathe

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Well I cannot speak specifically to a mill, Home Shop Machinist has a great book ¡°The Complete Mini-Lathe Workshop¡± by Ted Hansen; a lot of the chapters deal with making the lathe more accurate and robust. ?Pretty amazing array of tooling and add-ons.

?It's currently their featured book:



This also has some good info on setting it up and tuning it:



(Fox Chapel is the American publisher of The Workshop Practice series published in England; I don¡¯t have one to hand so I don¡¯t remember the publisher. )



On Jan 4, 2024, at 9:16 AM, Paul Fox <pgf@...> wrote:

People here and on other forums often talk about having had to clean,
fix, shim, adjust, tweak a new lathe in order to make it accurate and
useable. ?And that being willing to do so lets you start with a less
expensive mill, from HF or Vevor, say, rather than one from LMS or
Grizzly.

But I've yet to see an overall guide to what all of that work entails,
and how its done.

Does anyone have a pointer to a video, or a blog, or similar, that goes
through all of what might be entailed? ?It's hard to convince myself I
want to go through the effort, without understanding it better. ?I'm
pretty sure I have the skills. ?But I might not have the patience or
the equipment or tools.

And: ?is it always possible for the home hobby user to fully adjust a
cheaper mill? ?Are there some problems that just can't be fixed?

paul
=----------------------
paul fox, pgf@... (arlington, ma, where it's 41.4 degrees)







--?
Bruce Johnson

The less a man knows about how sausages and laws are made, the easier it is to steal his vote and give him botulism.

Re: "tuning up" a mini lathe

 

Great question Paul.? I sure hope you get some good answers because I can also use some help getting my mini dialed in.

Tom

On Thu, Jan 4, 2024 at 8:16 AM Paul Fox <pgf@...> wrote:
People here and on other forums often talk about having had to clean,
fix, shim, adjust, tweak a new lathe in order to make it accurate and
useable.? And that being willing to do so lets you start with a less
expensive mill, from HF or Vevor, say, rather than one from LMS or
Grizzly.

But I've yet to see an overall guide to what all of that work entails,
and how its done.

Does anyone have a pointer to a video, or a blog, or similar, that goes
through all of what might be entailed?? It's hard to convince myself I
want to go through the effort, without understanding it better.? I'm
pretty sure I have the skills.? But I might not have the patience or
the equipment or tools.

And:? is it always possible for the home hobby user to fully adjust a
cheaper mill?? Are there some problems that just can't be fixed?

paul
=----------------------
paul fox, pgf@... (arlington, ma, where it's 41.4 degrees)






"tuning up" a mini lathe

 

People here and on other forums often talk about having had to clean,
fix, shim, adjust, tweak a new lathe in order to make it accurate and
useable. And that being willing to do so lets you start with a less
expensive mill, from HF or Vevor, say, rather than one from LMS or
Grizzly.

But I've yet to see an overall guide to what all of that work entails,
and how its done.

Does anyone have a pointer to a video, or a blog, or similar, that goes
through all of what might be entailed? It's hard to convince myself I
want to go through the effort, without understanding it better. I'm
pretty sure I have the skills. But I might not have the patience or
the equipment or tools.

And: is it always possible for the home hobby user to fully adjust a
cheaper mill? Are there some problems that just can't be fixed?

paul
=----------------------
paul fox, pgf@... (arlington, ma, where it's 41.4 degrees)

Lubrication on mini lathes

 

What do use and how offing using Lubrication?

Dave?

This what my manual has on the subject.
?? Lubricate the moving parts of the device with NLGI2 grease or 20W machine oil between uses.
Particularly, service the lubrication points on the carriage and the lead screw.

Re: is this an original minilathe

 

I could find anything before the 2000's on mini lathe.?
The designer had look at what really need for turning today.

1) How offen does anyone cut left hand threads.?
2) Signle point Thread most do not? do
3) Is DC or VDF drive gives simple drive motor.?
4) Back gears not need use a larger motor for torque at low speed.?
5) Most buying a mini lathes are looking for lathe they can move easily keep weight under 120 pounds so two can move the lathe.?
6) Chuck just use the flange used on chuck most will never use a 4 jaw. If do just chuck plate.?

I do not know why a sub size morse tapper.? I had Center dating back to 1960's that a short it land in the trash can.?

Dave?

Re: is this an original minilathe

 

The terms, mini, micro and baby seem to have originated with Seig. I don't know that there is really much use to more fine grained than "small bench top" lathe' at most maybe "Table top" to distinguish the smaller easily moved (under 100lbs) from the larger more static models.

Swing obviously plays some part in this' but an Atlas /Craftsman 6x18" with its greater weight, and rear mounted motor is much less portable than a 7x14.

Re: is this an original minilathe

 

Here link I found
You see a lot today mini lathes



Dave?

Re: is this an original minilathe

 

I try fined more data on history.?
About all found was size 6 to 7"
But today you find lathes call mini lathes to 8" swing too.?
Back 1960's you see small simple lathes with 6" swing but they where not call mini lathe just small.

Re: is this an original minilathe

 

All saw was done on mill or worst.?
But all got job done.?

If a grinder was used it is not the one thinking of . It call a right angle hand grinder.?

Dave?

Re: is this an original minilathe

 

It would handy to have a surface grinder available, to make precision blocks.

ralphie

Re: LMS 5100 Lathe Bed and Headstock Modifications

 

They have??common carrier rates for over sea shipping.??
The big cargo containers in 2002 cost $6,000. But 60,000 . The common carrier containers is will with lot different cargo .

Dave?

Re: is this an original minilathe

 

Make a raising block on mini lathe not hard. All the power is on head stock makes easy.?

I seen other lathes set with blocks for one of time job then remove.??

Dave?

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