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11:56 AM
June 17, 2010
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booze23
| | Toronto, Ontario, CA | |
| New Member | posts 19 | |
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Hi, new to this website and hobby trade. Just graduated from mechanical engineering in Toronto, Ontario, and I'm eager to learn some machining skills! I am planning on trying some of the beginner projects posted on the site. Does anyone have any advice on how to get started on a Hardinge lathe? My school has a couple of machines in the shop that I can use (i think they're HLV something-or-anothers). The guys there told me the best way to learn is to get your feet wet, so to speak. I've done a couple weekend's worth of work on a lathe and milling machine. Glad to meet everyone on this site.
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1:32 PM
June 17, 2010
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Wooly Mammoth
| | South carolina, USA | |
| Senior Member | posts 182 | |
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Hello booze23, and welcome!
Since I joined this forum, I've experienced only positive feedback….. there are some VERY knowledgeable folk here. Heck, with your education, you're light years ahead of at least THIS enthusasitic bumbling beginner… :)
FWIW, check the 'Plans' area. I'm making the 'spring center' as my first official 'project' – well, OK, there HAVE been a few other ultra simple ones I've done over the years… back in the Mesazoic era, I 'turned' thin barstock with a drill press and files to make firing pins for damaged shotguns… and, NO they weren't matchlocks… even I'm not THAT old – just seems like it sometimes :)
Looking forward to benefiting from your current enginerring background.
– Don 'Perfecting "enginerring my way out of corners" [mostly :)] since 1947'
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8:56 PM
June 17, 2010
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booze23
| | Toronto, Ontario, CA | |
| New Member | posts 19 | |
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Post edited 6:09 AM – June 18, 2010 by Tyler
Hi Wooly,
"Since I joined this forum, I've experienced only positive feedback…..
there are some VERY knowledgeable folk here."
- Yeah, I'm impressed with the community help you can get here on the site.
And the projects don't seem too intimidating (yet).
"FWIW, check the 'Plans' area. I'm making the 'spring center' as my first official
'project' "
- I think I will start with the spring center and tap handle as beginning projects.
Do you follow speed and feed charts very closely when it comes to making your
cuts? I've been told that those numbers give you a 'ballpark' estimate, but an
experienced hand will fine tune using a bit of feel.
"I 'turned' thin barstock with a drill press and files to make firing pins for
damaged shotguns."
- sounds impressive! I used to use an old Dremel to turn small wooden
dowels for my 'makeshift' furniture repairs at home. Not a pretty sight, but I
had fun.
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6:14 AM
June 18, 2010
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Tyler
| | Seattle, WA | |
| Admin
| posts 1306 | |
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Hi Booze23, I'll echo what Don (AKA Wooly) said, welcome to the site!
If you get stuck on any of the projects just ask for help. My only request is that you post pictures of your finished projects and share any innovations you came up with along the way. Since there are dozens of ways to complete every project, you might find a more simple way to do the work. If so, please share that with the rest of us!
I haven't used a Hardinge lathe before, what specifically were you wondering about?
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NOTE: I work full time and I'm attending college full time as well. So if it takes me a few days to respond, please don't take it personally. If it's urgent please send me a Private Message.
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11:03 AM
June 18, 2010
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booze23
| | Toronto, Ontario, CA | |
| New Member | posts 19 | |
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Thanks for the welcome, I will post up any tricks or projects I learn/complete. As far as a Hardinge is concerned, I was wondering what people's thoughts were of them (or at least those who may have used them). I have nothing in particular to ask about yet; I'm just not familiar with the controls and adjustments yet, I suppose I should just start practicing with one and ask for help when the time comes. I've also read a little about metal scraping. Has anyone tried this before? It looks like you can make some incredible work with the proper technique. I'm pretty excited to learn whatever I can from this craft.
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11:20 AM
June 18, 2010
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Wooly Mammoth
| | South carolina, USA | |
| Senior Member | posts 182 | |
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Hi booze…
RE feeds & speeds… I'll defer to those with experience… my BGT ["Big Green Tank ' - probably made from a melted down Chinese tank or locomotive :):):)] has step pulleys for the headstock, and also for the milling head & motor… but I've just set the lathe belt for the slowest speed & left it at that… the same as I've done with my wood lathe. [ultra-newbie with the metal lathe, but have @ 20 yrs with the wood lathe.]. Since the BGT doesn't have 'power-feed', I just feed by feel, and observe the result on the metal in the chuck. Have minus ZERO experience with 'scraping'… someone PLEASE educate me… I may be ancient, but I can still learn… :)
RE the Dremel 'lathe' :) Yeah, I've wrapped a Dremel in heavy corrugated cardboard GENTLY in a vise and used it to turn wood, brass and aluminum for tiny scratchbuilt model parts… In a pinch, you can do the same with a hand-held electric drill for small stock as well.
RE the Hardinge lathe… ya dance with the one ya brung… :):):)
– Don – some day I'll tell ya about my summer job in Canada, 1967, your Centennial year. :) and maybe about the Canadian girls… wait, no, can't tell that one :):):)
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12:57 PM
June 21, 2010
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Tyler
| | Seattle, WA | |
| Admin
| posts 1306 | |
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…. I'm just not familiar with the controls and adjustments yet, I suppose I should just start practicing with one and ask for help when the time comes. I've also read a little about metal scraping. Has anyone tried this before? It looks like you can make some incredible work with the proper technique. I'm pretty excited to learn whatever I can from this craft.
As far as the lathe goes, it would be best if you had someone show you at least the basics. Or you could watch some youtube video's about lathe safety and operation. Jumping in feet first is fine, but little mistakes (like not knowing how to use / shut off the power feed) can result in damage to the lathe – and potentially to yourself. Although I suppose if you knew how to turn on the power feed turning it off should be obvious …
I'd also highly recommend looking up speed and feed rates online or (better yet) in the Machinery's Handbook. If you don't have a Machinery's Handbook, get one. It's got an overwhelming amount of content, but you'll be amazed at how much you'll use it when you have questions about things like feed rate, drill sizes for tapping and threading, etc. I'm sure there's even a section on scraping.
Don't buy a new handbook, get a used one on ebay for $10 or so. If it's within the last 10 years or so it should have everything in it that you'll need. Also, try Youtube for scraping videos as well. I haven't had the pleasure of scraping anything myself, but I know people who have. It's a ton of work, but like you said, amazing things can be created with this technique. Flatness to within tenths (.000X) is possible if you're patient.
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NOTE: I work full time and I'm attending college full time as well. So if it takes me a few days to respond, please don't take it personally. If it's urgent please send me a Private Message.
- REMEMBER: You need to subscribe to your posts so that you'll receive an e-mail update when a member replies. You can also set your profile up so that you're auto-subscribed to all your posts. To set up Auto-Subscribe go to Profile > Personal Options > Auto-Subscribe to Posts.
- If you are having trouble posting pictures, be sure to visit the FAQ section of the forum for instructions.
- If you are having trouble viewing the forum posts, consider trying a different browser like Firefox or Chrome.
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