/diy/ - Do It Yourself

awesome, make a pipegun.

>>322452
How much did it cost?

you have all the set? live center, cutting tools?

Tool post grinder.

Which is really just a bench grinder attached to your toolpost with a very high quality wheel.

>>322466
£420 + £45 shipping. It's a bit heavy 45kg.

>>322467
I don't know what cutting tools come with it - I am hoping it has some! Advert was kinda vague.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360344827331

will be fun make that

the same

>>322489
>not using a joule thief to run them off of a AAA battery.
shiggy.

>>322452
get an indexing head and hob some gears

band-saw and a drill press they don't get the glory but end up doing allot of the work on many projects.

bench grinder to grind high speed steel bits

vise and files

>>322505
AAA are the wrong shape for the area they need to fit in. Adding in a joule thief would also increase the size even more.

>>322521

>>322527
Which is a lot longer than the things in >>322488

>>322505
>giving a simple boost circuit a silly name
>resorting to a boost circuit in the first place

>>322537
>Thinking a white led is going to produce any sort of decent light from 1.2-1.5 volts

>>322538

No, but a joule thief run too long will ruin a perfectly good rechargeable cell.

Which you should be using anyway because alkalines are wasteful and shit.

>>322542
That diagram doesn't use rechargeable cells. Your strawman argument is invalidated.

>>322516
Yeah, I already have a pillar drill and bench grinder. Have seen band-saws pop up every now and then in the Lidl or Aldi for real cheap.

>>322548
>That diagram doesn't use rechargeable cells.

It's a bad diagram and you should feel bad.

>>322564
Why? I didn't post it. It seems to look fine to me.

some one remenber the minilathe?

>>322467
Found out it has a dead center and doesn't come with cutting tools. So will add some to the order. I also reckon a tailstock MT2 drill chuck is much needed too.

I think a 4 jaw chuck is needed, or better yet, a milling attachment. What say you /diy/ ?

Found some exploded diagrams. Yet to find the manual.

>>322882
4 jaw chuck and milling attachment are very useful if you don't plan on getting a mill. They are a bit advanced so there is other stuff you will need first though.


First thing you need is a pair of calipers and a dial indicator (perhaps a dial test indicators as well). Tailstock drill chuck is also critical.

Be careful with what cutters you buy. Cheap brazed carbide is universally garbage. They tear/rub the metal instead of cutting and its just awful.
Get a bench grinder and HSS blanks (generally a good choice so you learn about how tool geometry affects cuts).

If you don't want to grind your own tools then high quality carbide cuts very well:
http://latheinserts.com/HOBBY-LATHE-KITS_c112.htm

>>322906
Got electronic calipers and a nice dial indicator with magnetic holder already. Got a bench grinder (cheapo but hopefully good enough). So you think I should skip getting precut tools and go straight for grinding my own? I'm ok with that.

Also, why are there all kinds of tailstock collets available instead of a drill chuck? Surely the chuck will do all...?

>>322471
"heavy", a "heavy lathe weights like 500kg.
Make another tools for your lathe, like morse cones, and so.
Build flashlights, kubotans, a hammer,

>>322937
Skip precut tools and just get HSS blanks. Learning to grind tools is exceptionally useful and saves a lot of money.

Make sure you find a good webpage/book that shows how to do it. Cutter geometry changes dramatically depending on what you are cutting, and with experience you can grind tools that leave near-mirror finishes.

Collets are more precise than a chuck and will be more rigid since they have a larger contact area. Not necessary until you genuinely need one.

>>322452
i have a little lathe too. bigger than that, but still a benchtop one.

just get HSS cutter blanks and a bench grinder. maybe a couple carbide tips just in case you have to cut on something really hard, but they tend to chip & break if used at low speeds

get a 4-jaw independent chuck if you can. the cheapo 3-jaws don't center very well, and the 4-jaw lets you grab non-round objects, or hold stuff off-center

accessories? there's not a lot for most little lathes. a live center and a jacobs chuck center for sure. a bullnose center is another (for turning larger tubing)... I doubt anybody makes a milling attachment, toolpost grinders or taper attachments for the tiny lathes. you can make a faceplate yourself, if it didn't come with one

you will want a dial indicator on a adjustable magnetic base, to check that things are centered

a few years back I bought a mini-mill and a mini-lathe. both of them cost ~$1500 each.

I've probably spent at least $2000 on accessories for the mill. I doubt I spent $500 on accessories for the lathe. and everything I bought was the cheap China-made stuff....

fun hobby, but damned expensive

>>322937
Any bench grinder will work. as you will learn, it isn't that difficult.

>Also, why are there all kinds of tailstock collets available instead of a drill chuck? Surely the chuck will do all...?
the collets are more accurate (like +/-.0005 mm concentric in theory) but the lathe isn't going to be that accurate to begin with (be happy if it can hit .01mm).
just get the drill chuck.

Ok, I added the cutting tools and tail-chuck to the order. Also added a quick change tool post.

I am also going to get a 3D plastic printer, maybe the Makerbot Replicator instead of a mill. I figure the hard metal stuff can be done on the lathe, and the structural stuff, on the Replicator. What say you?

>>322461

Looking at old STEN gun diagrams and AK47 blueprints - maybe I can scale them down? lol!

Aww fuck, I live in a country that doesn't encourage engineering and locks me up for 5 years for even thinking of such things.

Ben Krasnow does some pretty neat shit with his lathes.

He makes vases and dishes here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K43v_ABjQIU

He makes a solid-hybrid rocket engine here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLPWqCMb7DE

He makes most of his mechanical projects with either a CNC router or his lathe:
https://www.youtube.com/user/bkraz333

>>324005
A 3d printer is not a substitiute for a mill.

If you are going to buy a 3d printer dont get the replicator. Its like 2300$ and can't even print ABS.

The makergear mosaic 2 looks pretty nice if you want something flashy.

>I just bought one of these and I don't know what to do with it.
The average american consumer.

>>324158
Eh? It prints ABS as standard - they are now doing PLA. I don't give a fuck about PLA, whatever is hardest and cheapest.

>>324188
>>I just bought one of these and I don't know what to do with it.
>The average american consumer.

It's American you fucking retard. Use capitals for proper nouns you fucking braindead cunt.

If you read the thread you will realise I am British. I have immediate projects to use the lathe for, but am fishing for ideas.

Stay retarded, Bro!

>>324158
I agree with this guy. Don't buy a Makerbot. Terrible machine. I have known a few people that have bought this and they found it to be a terrible paper weight. They keep having troubles with the model lifting from the build tray. They have also had issues with layers splitting like crazy, along with corners melting and not holding shape.

Avoid makerbot. If anything, find a used Dimension 1200. Same deal, but actually executed well because its actually a professional machine.

>>324812
Yo thanks for this! I now know I should get a pro machine for $30,000. It all makes sense. Just because some retards can't make decent tool paths?

Will look at the MakerGear though...

>>324807
Actually it´s U.S citizen.. American can be any one who lives either on the southern or northern parts of that Continent.

Nigga u dumb.

>>324907
Stop digging that hole deeper, old chap. You are not doing yourself any favours.

>>324907
>British Dictionary, UK english
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/American?q=American

adjective

relating to or characteristic of the United States or its inhabitants:

Seriously that's one of those popular troll arguments on /b/ that some people actually believe and vehemently argue.

>>324907

>>324802
The standard model is advertised as "PLA Optimized" and has no heated bed.

Sure, you can give it a spool of ABS, that doesn't mean your prints are going to work without a heated bed.

PLA is worse than ABS for structural stuff, and 3d printing in general doesn't produce the most robust parts.

when you can build a cnc machine for under $800 why would you waste $1k on a 3d printer

and if you build it properly leaving enough room on the z axis you could replace the spindle with a melted plastic extruder anyway if you suddenly had an uncontrollable relapse of stupid that you decided you had to have a 3d printer after all

>>324188
pretty amusing when people hate americans so much they decide to spend all their worthless life on an american board.

>>324907

>American can be any one who lives either on the southern or northern parts of that Continent.

>Two American continents, but benefit of the doubt says N. America was inferred

>North America is composed of several different countries

>Only one of which is The United States of America

>But anyone on the continent can be called an "American"

Then why are the Amerifats getting so frusbuttrated over Mexicans moving back to their "homeland"?

>>325190
why are you buttfrustrated into keep posting?

Eurofags trolling each other calling the other amerifat.

My sides.

>>325195
>>325192
>>325190
>>325177
>>325156
>>325153
>>325088
>>324907
>>324807
>>324188
WHY YES IT'S A LOVELY LATHE YOU STUPID FUCKS! op hope you have a fantastic time experimenting with your new lathe

OP make machined titanium fly fishing reels.
then sell them for 2k each

>>323225
^^^This
Plus you should post the max swing radius of the workpiece as well as the max length from chuck to tailstock, so we can see how big your projects can be

>>325249
^^^these. Oh and if you plan on tapping anything, a floating tap head comes in handy for not ripping out threads on the way out

Whats the horsepower (or pony) of that beast ?

you really in the UK?

What CAN'T you do with it?!
The lathe is the most versatile tool there is, it can pretty much build itself.
Start by honing your skills. Get yourself a nice set of carbide bits and some scrap steel rods. Look at lathing videos on jewtube, practice making tapers, knurling, try cutting some threads.
You like to fish? Make a fishing reel. You a car person? Make a camshaft.
The possibilities are endless, rest assured I am very jealous.

>>325279
>>325279
Why so jelly? It is really cheap being Chinese and all, compared to the old Myford Super 7 or (USA) South Bend lathes which are insanely expensive second hand (like 10x as much) and need belt changes rather than a modern motor speed control.

>>325253
>>325253

Yes, I do want a sprung or floating tap, that was an essential when I used to to CNC milling. But in the meantime I have got a tailstock chuck for £15 and can just take it slow and watch out.

HP? Its 550W which is 3/4HP I think.

Yep, UK.

>>325249

It's a 7" x 14" - and comes with a 4" chuck.

There is loads of info on these cheap chinese lathes at http://www.mini-lathe.com/

Also check out Adam Savages Cave Lathe at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVgQ6khAI20

I would love one of them (and the room to go with it!).

>>325246
SHEEEEEIIIT! Thats a fucking good idea dude!,

Am thinking of making a forge so I can cast stuff before working on it! Way to recycle all that swarf!

>>323231

Considering .01mm is ~4 TEN THOUSANDTHS of an inch... yeah the engine in your car doesn't even have parts that accurate.

>>325720
Yes it does. It's not uncommon to have a tolerance of .0001. Half a though is nothing.

>>325771
You are full of shit.

Five tenths is about as low as a high end CNC mill can go. Below that is grinder range. A car will never have parts with tenth accuracy.


The whole accuracy jerkoff is pointless because almost anyone who makes broad claims of the capabilities of a machine doesn't even understand what accuracy means.

Turning a 1" long bar to 0.001" accuracy is a lot easier than turning a 10" long bar to 0.001".

A 10" bar of aluminium will grow to 10.0002" for every degree Celsius it heats up. Machining a part to tenth accuracy literally means that it cannot even become one degree warmer as you cut it. The machine must remain temperature controlled as well.

>>325799
And you obviously have no idea how tolerancing and dimensioning works. Thank you for bringing that fact out in the open. Final parts are measured at room temperature, no exceptions for industry. The engineer takes into account the application when finalizing dimensions and tolerances. Do you think the tiles on a spacecraft are measured at the temperature they are during re-entry? No, they're measured at room temperature and are meant to expand to the proper size under that heat. The amount of ignorance when it comes to metalworking on this board is astounding,

>>325799
Another thing, half a thou is what a good machinist should be able to hit on a conventional machine.

>>325925
We invite you to stick around and improve the board then.

Or don't.

>>325929
It's my hope to do so.

>>325925

I never implied anything that you are arguing against. I am well aware that measurements are made at the standard temperature of 20c.

What I said is that you cannot machine to tenth levels without an incredible amount of money because the temperature change from cutting (or just turning on the machine and running the spindle) fucks everything up.


Your claim that a machinist can do 0.0005" is meaningless and exactly what I was arguing against.

I'd be able to turn a 2" long bar of aluminium to a 1" diameter at 0.0002" with a good micrometer and some luck, but getting a 10" bar to 1" with the same tolerance would be impossible.

The final accuracy depends just as much on the part as the machine/operator.

>>325948

>10" bar to 1" with the same tolerance would be impossible.

No it wouldn't. It's been done, it can be done again. Just because you've never seen it doesn't mean it can't be done.

>Your claim that a machinist can do 0.0005" is meaningless and exactly what I was arguing against.

The point of my statement was that a properly set up CNC can easily do less than .0005 in tolerances.


>What I said is that you cannot machine to tenth levels without an incredible amount of money because the temperature change from cutting (or just turning on the machine and running the spindle) fucks everything up.

Now you're just back tracking. You never mentioned anything about cost, you said it simply can't be done due to the part heating up. Guess what, we have formulas for that.

>>325960
I was talking about my own capabilities on a manual lathe. Regardless, its a job for a cylindrical grinder.

I really dislike when people describe a machines accuracy with a single number. It is deceptive and really doesn't actually mean all that much when you think of all the possible operations you might perform. I try to refrain from saying anything more than "my machines positional accuracy is 0.0002 + 0.0005"/12" ".


If you visit cnczone for example, there are piles of people claiming that their mills hit 0.001" because that is the amount of backlash they measured with a dial indicator.

Even if your machine was flawless, it would still take a ton of operator skill to hit 0.0005" because of part/cutter deflection, temperature, surface finish etc... and very few hobbiests realize that.

>>325992
Okay, here's where we messed up. I'm talking production, not hobby.

And as far as different operations, that really doesn't matter. a thou is a thou is a thou.

Also, just to point something out. I notice you keep putting a leading zero on your numbers. You don't do that unless talking about metric.